Windows 10 & The 2015 Software Market

Microsoft Windows 10

In recent months, there has been a tidal wave of good (& bad) press about Microsoft's upcoming operating system "Windows 10". Apart from some confusion as to why it wasn't named "Windows 9", the main point of debate is Microsoft's odd departure from routine by putting out the beta version for scrutiny & improvement by the general public. Microsoft, like all top-of-the-line software manufacturers is normally very discrete about sharing its product information before its official launch because you never know when some competitor will tweak it a little & beat them to the market. While nobody knows the real reason why Microsoft has taken this out-of-the-box approach, the more sceptical section of the market analyst community is hinting that Microsoft 10 is probably even more error-ridden & clunky than its predecessor Microsoft 8.1, & the Microsoft 10 deadline being practically around the corner, the programmers at Microsoft are not sure they can work out the kinks in time by themselves.

Indeed, the one thing that most computer users hate most is sea changes in the basic working principles of a new operating system. Even self-proclaimed computer aficionados prefer their new operating systems to work along familiar lines so that they don't have to break stride in whatever they happen to be working on in order to spend at least a fortnight getting used to the quirks of a new OS. This is the main reason that Windows 7 is still the preferred choice over Windows 8.1. However, much to the computer user community's intense chagrin, Windows 10 is incorporating a whole slew of utterly alien features in replacement of the familiar & much-loved staples, some of which are as follows:

One OS

Microsoft representatives have not provided any clear explanation as to why, but Windows 10 will be a "universal OS" - that is, it will be compatible with desktops, laptops & palmtops; that is likely to cause a number of hiccups in the user experience because desktops run on flowing electricity only (unless connected with a UPS), laptops have in-built rechargeable batteries & palmtops work almost entirely on touch-screens. This means that desktops require voltage monitors (especially in Developing World nations like Pakistan), laptops require battery life indicators & palmtops work only on icon-based operating systems. If Microsoft is going to incorporate all these features into one OS, that automatically means that booting time will be noticeably longer than for operating systems that are tailor-made to suit individual machine categories.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has faced a mountain of lawsuits over the years alleging that including the Internet Explorer browser in every edition of its operating systems is a form of monopolization. It has braved every storm with such stoicism that even today, IE is the single most popular browser in the market. Granted, part of the reason is Google Chrome's tendency to crash every other day, but still, hats off to Microsoft for its singularity of purpose. So why oh why is the company side-lining such a well-loved product that is in no way waning in popularity to make way for a new browser? True, IE will also be available on Windows 10, but why bother with a new browser at all?

Compulsory Windows 10 Updates

Microsoft is probably hoping to straighten out any future problems that its Windows 10 clientèle may face, with its Windows Updates. Until now, these updates were optional; however, all Windows 10 users will have no choice but to download the updates whenever Microsoft releases them. The sceptics insinuate that the reason for this new policy is that Microsoft is secretly apprehensive that Windows 10 is likely to be even slower & more dissatisfying than Windows 8.1 & wishes to patch up the problems as they appear, without generating an uproar; but the problem with this approach is that many Developing World nations (once again, like Pakistan) have extremely slow (or sporadic) bandwidth & the afore-mentioned updates are going to be a long time downloading - which will be a strike against Windows 10 market share.

Opinions & Facts

The worldwide OS market is worth several billion US dollars per annum. According to website www.statista.com (one of the world's largest statistics portals), worldwide revenue hasn't dropped below US$30 billion since 2009; but it also shows another slightly disturbing point: worldwide revenues for 2013 were US$34.4 billion, while revenues registered for 2014 were US$32.8 billion - a drop of approximately 5%. If we base our analysis on Market Economics 101, which states that any change beyond 2% is cause for concern, then this decrease means that 2015 may not be the most profitable year for the launch of new operating systems.

Famous American financier Bernard Baruch once said, "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts."

While I am quite sure that the market analysts of Microsoft are perfectly competent & their assessments are based solidly on facts, my assessment of the same facts leads me to believe that Microsoft Windows 10 is not ready for its slated release on July 29, 2015. However, let us wait & see. After all, miracles can happen!