Do we need Microsoft Windows 10

Do we need Microsoft Windows?  

What will happen to Microsoft Windows in the future, will it slowly fade away or can Windows make a comeback.

Windows 95 was 20 years old yesterday, how has our relationship with Microsoft Windows operating system changed over those 20 years?  Here is a great article by the verge on Windows 95 being 20 years old

Most releases of Windows (excluding Windows Vista and Windows 8) were improvements on the previous version and warmly welcomed by businesses and individuals.

Recent versions of Windows (Windows 7 onwards) seem to involve Microsoft insisting/pestering/forcing users to upgrade and use their products, Defaulting windows Edge browser as the default browser, making people upgrade their browsers.   

This was viable tactic for Microsoft when they dominated the market place but with mobile platforms and alternatives eating away at their market share, is it time for Microsoft to change tactics and persuade users to upgrade (e.g. carrot instead of stick)

What is Microsoft strategy for the future? Will Microsoft's lack of mobile platform be it's achilies heel.  The article below details Microsoft's future strategy.

Exclusive: CEO Nadella talks Microsoft's mobile ambitions, Windows 10 strategy, HoloLens and more

It got me thinking about Microsoft, I have used Microsoft windows pretty much for all my life.  I did have an Amiga 500 to play games when I was at high school but since then all my computers have had Windows on them.

Not only have I used windows but the whole office suite of word, excel, powerpoint etc.

During my work as a developer I have had a few tangles with Unix and it was OK but without putting in some effort it all seemed a bit different, slightly strange and not worth the effort to master it.  One of my goals for the operating system of my computer is for it to just work with limited input from myself.

Just work

Most users just want the operating system to work and are not interested in any of the new features (and possibly new features in Microsoft Office).  

Microsoft adding or more accurately removing features in Windows (Removal and then adding back in the Start button, making all applications open full screen) has put users off upgrading Windows.  

Microsoft's focus of improving Windows and adding new features annoys a large base of  Windows users who are happy how older versions of Windows works (particularly home users).  The effort needed to learn a new version of Windows and additional unwanted new features is leading many users not to upgrad their version of Windows.

Most PC's came bundled with Windows, all the computers at work used windows, there wasn't the motivation for me to not use windows.
Microsoft was king of the hill.

Most of the world used windows and it's mainly it's products

What happened next

Ask yourself this question

Could you live without a PC?

If you asked me that question 10 years ago, I would have said no way.
things from 10 years ago the windows version was XP

The best selling phone was 

 Nokia 1100
Google maps was created in 2005!

Phones did not connect to the internet, they were for talking and texting.
If we assume internet phones were born with the creation of the Apple Iphone This was created in June 29, 2007

In 2005 we used computer, probably big ugly towers or boxes with a monitor the size of a great big fat monitor that you had to get the Hulk between rooms.  Actually little known fact monitors never moved, you put them in a room and that is where they stayed forever.  The only reason people got rid of monitors if they moved house.

Microsoft's attitude at this time was to try and bash all its competitors with a great big Microsoft biggest company in the world hammer.  Due to 99 percent of PC's using Windows, they could get away with it.*

*be aware this is a fast and loose history based on my ever increasingly unreliable memory.  It's a gisty history."

Fast forward to 2015

Sales of windows are shrinking (but still massive in the millions) with users reluctant to move from their existing version of windows (unless they have Windows 8 of course, where Windows 10 was a must have upgrade to allow programs not to be opened in full screen mode)

Microsoft are still selling millions of copies of Windows but sales are of Windows are slowing.

Slower sales of Windows isn't all fault of windows 8 and it's lack of start button or odd navigation that jumps out say hi and then quickly disappearance when you try and click it, GRRRRRRR stupid charm menu.

Remember the question, do you need a PC, most people don't need a PC anymore because most people surf the net, use social media and email people, all of these things they can do on their phones and tablets.

The whole idea of the PC now seems odd, people don't need PC's, people need the internet.People don't need windows, managing printers, tasks, resources. People need one app to do one specific thing like an app which monitors how far you ran with zombies chasing you.

The majority of people use the internet to check email, Facebook, twitter, Instagram and all sorts of other social media sprouting up every day. People use the internet to watch TV.

A couple of factors have really kicked in to help this, Mobile phones are now smart phones and are frickin massive. People don't have to have massive phones because they also have tablets which are massive smart phones but without the useless talking bit (which no one uses), which people don't use because people converse into txt speak using social media with mysterious words like LOL, 2G2BT, AFAIK, BYKT.

Cloud

The most popular set of tools on Windows is Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) but there are cloud alternatives available now.

Google has a range of free tools which provide most of the functionality of Microsoft Office applications, there are many other credible alternatives.

If you search for Office apps for tablets there are plenty of options to allow people to do without Microsoft Office.

You can even access Microsoft Office Cloud version giving people another reason not to need a home computer but just an Internet connection.

Windows for the work place but is needed at home

Windows use to be useful to people at home, do write documents, play games, surf the internet. As a CRM developer Windows is vital for work because I need to run Visual Studio and other Software which I can't yet do purely on the Internet.

The cloud has the potential to remove the reliance of Office workers on Windows and Microsoft Office, the main driver of this is applications are becoming accessible via the internet, removing the reliance of Microsoft Windows. There are many alternatives to the Microsoft Office products.

Chromebooks

Google created Chromebooks which have a minimal operating system and tiny hard drive.  Google don't charge anything for the operating system and because it doesn't do much it doesn't need a high powered machine to run.  This scaled down approach brings down the cost of Chromebooks, making them very cheap computers and popular with Students.

Chromebooks not only take a small piece of the market away from Microsoft but importantly show users they don't need PC's with Windows installed.

Using a Chromebook means you have to work in the cloud, are students in the habit of working in the cloud and what reason would they return to working locally?

Apple Mac's

There are a good if expensive alternative

Company Computers

Many office jobs give workers a computer and the majority of computers are laptops.  This means users don't need to buy an extra PC but use the company PC.

Conclusion

The combination of smart phones/tablets have moved a growing number of users away from computers/laptops.  If people don't need laptops people don't need Microsoft Windows.

The small business world could easily run their business in the cloud and avoid signing up to many Microsoft products like Office.

Microsoft's Windows 8 fiasco stopped users upgrading older versions of Windows or buying new computers.  Windows 10 is a great improvement but there are concerns over privacy

Windows 10 violates your privacy by default, here's how you can protect yourself

Most people who buy PC's will get Windows 10 because the alternatives on a computer involve a bit of extra work (linx), working in the cloud (Chromebooks).  The real problem for Windows is people not buying a PC but using a tablet or mobile phone to access the internet, watch videos/TV, socialize.

The majority of internet users don't need a powerful computer.

The Windows picture is from here