4 ms·

I'll go against the flow and say Windows 8 was the last time they tried something new and bold.

layer8 3y ago
That’s not a contradiction. However, they largely failed in that, and one might say that it was predictable. Most Windows users don’t care about “new and bold”. They care about stuff working, having a consistent UI, stuff not changing each year, not having their preferences reset by updates, and not being subjected to ads and telemetry.
- solardev 3y ago
  I honestly can't remember any improvements from 7 to 11, except more ads and more config screens for the same options, making everything super confusing. I miss the old Windows that would just stay outta my way... now every time I have to reinstall Windows or boot up a fresh VM, there's always a "wtf is this" moment when you see all the ads and Bing and Cortana spam at first startup. I wish the VSCode team would take over Windows and trim the fat lol
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    They already kind of did. "Azure OS" with Web applications. That is why Windows desktop has become a mess.
- Clamchop 3y ago
  I'm going to skip over telemetry and config resetting, I think everyone hates these. But as for dazzling new changes, the enterprise market probably doesn't love it but it's candy for consumers, judging from the hype around Apple's announcements. They can definitely drive sales. There are downsides to having the same product in both positions, it appears. But Microsoft often flubs the execution whoever the changes are for.
  - layer8 3y ago
    > They can definitely drive sales. Consumers don’t buy Windows though for the most part (they get it for free), it’s enterprises that do. Consumers also definitely are annoyed by Windows becoming stuffed with ads, UI becoming less intuitive and stuff constantly changing, their default browser being hijacked by Edge, etc.
pjmlp 3y ago
By Windows 10, .NET Native and C++/CX with WinRT, were looking cool as COM evolution with modern tooling. Then they had to screw it all up.

That’s not a contradiction. However, they largely failed in that, and one might say that it was predictable. Most Windows users don’t care about “new and bold”. They care about stuff working, having a consistent UI, stuff not changing each year, not having their preferences reset by updates, and not being subjected to ads and telemetry.

solardev 3y ago
I honestly can't remember any improvements from 7 to 11, except more ads and more config screens for the same options, making everything super confusing. I miss the old Windows that would just stay outta my way... now every time I have to reinstall Windows or boot up a fresh VM, there's always a "wtf is this" moment when you see all the ads and Bing and Cortana spam at first startup. I wish the VSCode team would take over Windows and trim the fat lol
- pjmlp 3y ago
  They already kind of did. "Azure OS" with Web applications. That is why Windows desktop has become a mess.
Clamchop 3y ago
I'm going to skip over telemetry and config resetting, I think everyone hates these. But as for dazzling new changes, the enterprise market probably doesn't love it but it's candy for consumers, judging from the hype around Apple's announcements. They can definitely drive sales. There are downsides to having the same product in both positions, it appears. But Microsoft often flubs the execution whoever the changes are for.
- layer8 3y ago
  > They can definitely drive sales. Consumers don’t buy Windows though for the most part (they get it for free), it’s enterprises that do. Consumers also definitely are annoyed by Windows becoming stuffed with ads, UI becoming less intuitive and stuff constantly changing, their default browser being hijacked by Edge, etc.

pjmlp 3y ago

By Windows 10, .NET Native and C++/CX with WinRT, were looking cool as COM evolution with modern tooling. Then they had to screw it all up.