We've been waiting a long time for evolution in Windows. Over the last two years or so Windows Phone (and also Windows PC) has changed dramatically. Yet the people who shout loudest are the ones who don't think anything Microsoft has done is either good enough or helpful.
Now Windows 10 is here, and it is unarguably Microsoft's greatest achievement. Does that mean it's their best OS? Absolutely not. Everything about Windows 10 is polarizing opinion. Some key examples include the Start Menu, Continuum, and Hamburger Menus. Microsoft is quite obviously throwing everything they have into Windows 10. It's a complete reboot of every system at their disposal. They are attempting to accomplish that which has been tried before but never accomplished. Completely uniting all the systems. PC, tablet, smartphone, Xbox, and IoT, together under one UI, and one banner. One Windows for everyone, and everything, and the last Windows. Ever. Apple has tried with Continuity, but iOS and OS X are still too far apart. Google has tried with Chrome and Android, but the same problem arises. Microsoft has already come closer than any other major software developer with Universal Applications. But will it work?
I've fondly awaited the arrival of new builds for the Technical Preview, and now the Insider Preview. I've watched, along with a lot of you, Microsoft's progress with their newest OS. And, to be quite frank, I've been enjoying it. I don't necessarily agree with every decision they've made, or how they've backtracked on some decisions, but I've enjoyed watching it. I look forward to the final product, and I will use it as gladly as I used Windows XP, 7, Vista, 8, and 8.1. I already think it is a better OS than 8.1 in many ways. More...complete, even without being polished. But it's not the features that are polarizing opinion and causing such controversy. It's the design. I've seen so many arguments all over this site about those blasted Hamburger Menus, and the Start Menu, and the Settings page, and the icon design, and Edge, and Cortana. Basically, everything even slightly different has been criticized. However, I think Microsoft is playing it smart.
Let me use the Hamburger Menus as an example. You see, Microsoft has started moving everything over to Hamburger Menus, and it's possibly the most controversial move they've made so far. Especially in Windows Phone. It's detrimental to one-handed use; it doesn't fit with the rest of the OS; it doesn't work as well as the ellipsis; pivots would be better. It goes on and on and on. Well people, let me tell it to you straight. Windows Phone is at the bottom of Microsoft's priority list. And it's understandable why. PC is where Microsoft is focusing it's energy, because that's where most of its user base is--that's where the money is. And on PC...the Hamburger Menus WORK. They're obvious, clean, and anyone using the system will know that they should click that funny little button. And on large touch screens, like the Surface Pro 3, it still works. It's touch friendly. And I hope you're not attempting to use the Pro 3 with only one hand. With Windows Phones, the benefits aren't quite as obvious. But I can see where it is. It's about uniformity. It's supposed to be ONE Windows. The same UI. On PC, the ellipsis doesn't make as much sense. It's less obvious to users, it's not as mouse and keyboard friendly. And because PC is Microsoft's priority, of course they're going to make the UI decisions based on what's better for PC. When you're trying to united so many utterly and completely different devices, you have to make sacrifices. This is sacrifice number one. We sacrifice a small amount of usability for a huge amount of uniformity. When people look at Windows Phone, we want them to see the same amount of productivity and beauty they see on PC. If someone decides to use Windows Phone, we would alienate them by presenting a completely different UI then on PC. Where are the Hamburger Menus that they're used to? Why does it look so different? Didn't Microsoft promise uniformity? Isn't this supposed to be one OS? Do you understand what I mean? Microsoft is doing everything they can to please every party, and even though they'll never succeed, they're getting pretty close. They're making UI decisions that fit PC AND phone, even if smartphone users have to make a compromise. In other words, they're doing what the majority says (PC) but still trying to listen to the minority (smartphone).
I believe firmly that Microsoft is making every decision based off of this philosophy. They're trying to find the compromise between productivity and uniformity. Hamburger Menus probably aren't the best solution for just PC, and it's not the best solution for just phone. But it's the best solution for PC AND phone. I didn't start this just to talk about Hamburger Menus, it was just the easiest example. The entire UI is like this. Yes, it's different from Metro, but OF COURSE it's different from Metro. Quite simply, Windows 8.1 on PC AND Phone was a failure for Microsoft. Windows 8.1 failed to lure people from Windows 7, and Windows Phone 8.1 failed to dramatically increase Microsoft's market share. Why shouldn't they try something different? At least they're not throwing away our beloved Live Tiles. The Windows spirit is still there, but it's going in a different direction.
Now I've already gone on for quite a long time, so I'm going to try and wrap it up a little bit. I think Windows 10 for PC looks amazing, and will be infinitely better than 8.1. Will it be better than 7? We'll see. I think Windows Phone will look amazing when it's FINISHED, but we still have half a year before that. Microsoft is heading in a good direction, and Nadella is been doing great. All Microsoft needs to do is figure out how marketing works. The reason Apple and Samsung stole the market out from previously big players like HTC and LG is because both of the two largest companies in the business invested billions in marketing. In my opinion, Microsoft is a fantastic software developer. Live Tiles were and still are truly brilliant. Oh yes they've made some STUPID mistakes in the past, but Apple has made just as stupid mistakes. The only difference is, they're so large already that it barely makes a dent in their claim of the market. Microsoft can really sell their software but they have to SELL it. (Anyone else think Microsoft regrets giving Apple money when they were going bankrupt? Haha). Microsoft--marketing is where you fail. It's not design, regardless of what the loud ones say. It can be messy at times, or even non-existent other times, but I know that true art takes TIME and we can't expect instant gratification. I'll gladly wait until fall for the definitive Windows Phone, I'll gladly wait for the slow evolution of Windows 10 over time. But, Microsoft, it doesn't matter how beautiful your OS is, or how amazing, if know one cares about it. Where you fail is advertising. You have money, use it.
Oh, I've been going on long enough. I'll leave it here. I'll check in every day to see what you guys think (and how many of you wish to yell at me) and add my thoughts.
Now Windows 10 is here, and it is unarguably Microsoft's greatest achievement. Does that mean it's their best OS? Absolutely not. Everything about Windows 10 is polarizing opinion. Some key examples include the Start Menu, Continuum, and Hamburger Menus. Microsoft is quite obviously throwing everything they have into Windows 10. It's a complete reboot of every system at their disposal. They are attempting to accomplish that which has been tried before but never accomplished. Completely uniting all the systems. PC, tablet, smartphone, Xbox, and IoT, together under one UI, and one banner. One Windows for everyone, and everything, and the last Windows. Ever. Apple has tried with Continuity, but iOS and OS X are still too far apart. Google has tried with Chrome and Android, but the same problem arises. Microsoft has already come closer than any other major software developer with Universal Applications. But will it work?
I've fondly awaited the arrival of new builds for the Technical Preview, and now the Insider Preview. I've watched, along with a lot of you, Microsoft's progress with their newest OS. And, to be quite frank, I've been enjoying it. I don't necessarily agree with every decision they've made, or how they've backtracked on some decisions, but I've enjoyed watching it. I look forward to the final product, and I will use it as gladly as I used Windows XP, 7, Vista, 8, and 8.1. I already think it is a better OS than 8.1 in many ways. More...complete, even without being polished. But it's not the features that are polarizing opinion and causing such controversy. It's the design. I've seen so many arguments all over this site about those blasted Hamburger Menus, and the Start Menu, and the Settings page, and the icon design, and Edge, and Cortana. Basically, everything even slightly different has been criticized. However, I think Microsoft is playing it smart.
Let me use the Hamburger Menus as an example. You see, Microsoft has started moving everything over to Hamburger Menus, and it's possibly the most controversial move they've made so far. Especially in Windows Phone. It's detrimental to one-handed use; it doesn't fit with the rest of the OS; it doesn't work as well as the ellipsis; pivots would be better. It goes on and on and on. Well people, let me tell it to you straight. Windows Phone is at the bottom of Microsoft's priority list. And it's understandable why. PC is where Microsoft is focusing it's energy, because that's where most of its user base is--that's where the money is. And on PC...the Hamburger Menus WORK. They're obvious, clean, and anyone using the system will know that they should click that funny little button. And on large touch screens, like the Surface Pro 3, it still works. It's touch friendly. And I hope you're not attempting to use the Pro 3 with only one hand. With Windows Phones, the benefits aren't quite as obvious. But I can see where it is. It's about uniformity. It's supposed to be ONE Windows. The same UI. On PC, the ellipsis doesn't make as much sense. It's less obvious to users, it's not as mouse and keyboard friendly. And because PC is Microsoft's priority, of course they're going to make the UI decisions based on what's better for PC. When you're trying to united so many utterly and completely different devices, you have to make sacrifices. This is sacrifice number one. We sacrifice a small amount of usability for a huge amount of uniformity. When people look at Windows Phone, we want them to see the same amount of productivity and beauty they see on PC. If someone decides to use Windows Phone, we would alienate them by presenting a completely different UI then on PC. Where are the Hamburger Menus that they're used to? Why does it look so different? Didn't Microsoft promise uniformity? Isn't this supposed to be one OS? Do you understand what I mean? Microsoft is doing everything they can to please every party, and even though they'll never succeed, they're getting pretty close. They're making UI decisions that fit PC AND phone, even if smartphone users have to make a compromise. In other words, they're doing what the majority says (PC) but still trying to listen to the minority (smartphone).
I believe firmly that Microsoft is making every decision based off of this philosophy. They're trying to find the compromise between productivity and uniformity. Hamburger Menus probably aren't the best solution for just PC, and it's not the best solution for just phone. But it's the best solution for PC AND phone. I didn't start this just to talk about Hamburger Menus, it was just the easiest example. The entire UI is like this. Yes, it's different from Metro, but OF COURSE it's different from Metro. Quite simply, Windows 8.1 on PC AND Phone was a failure for Microsoft. Windows 8.1 failed to lure people from Windows 7, and Windows Phone 8.1 failed to dramatically increase Microsoft's market share. Why shouldn't they try something different? At least they're not throwing away our beloved Live Tiles. The Windows spirit is still there, but it's going in a different direction.
Now I've already gone on for quite a long time, so I'm going to try and wrap it up a little bit. I think Windows 10 for PC looks amazing, and will be infinitely better than 8.1. Will it be better than 7? We'll see. I think Windows Phone will look amazing when it's FINISHED, but we still have half a year before that. Microsoft is heading in a good direction, and Nadella is been doing great. All Microsoft needs to do is figure out how marketing works. The reason Apple and Samsung stole the market out from previously big players like HTC and LG is because both of the two largest companies in the business invested billions in marketing. In my opinion, Microsoft is a fantastic software developer. Live Tiles were and still are truly brilliant. Oh yes they've made some STUPID mistakes in the past, but Apple has made just as stupid mistakes. The only difference is, they're so large already that it barely makes a dent in their claim of the market. Microsoft can really sell their software but they have to SELL it. (Anyone else think Microsoft regrets giving Apple money when they were going bankrupt? Haha). Microsoft--marketing is where you fail. It's not design, regardless of what the loud ones say. It can be messy at times, or even non-existent other times, but I know that true art takes TIME and we can't expect instant gratification. I'll gladly wait until fall for the definitive Windows Phone, I'll gladly wait for the slow evolution of Windows 10 over time. But, Microsoft, it doesn't matter how beautiful your OS is, or how amazing, if know one cares about it. Where you fail is advertising. You have money, use it.
Oh, I've been going on long enough. I'll leave it here. I'll check in every day to see what you guys think (and how many of you wish to yell at me) and add my thoughts.
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