4 ms·
Is this the first time Microsoft has branded an update as a dot X release instead of a Service Pack? I for one welcome this change and hope it signals a switch
by moot 13y ago
Is this the first time Microsoft has branded an update as a dot X release instead of a Service Pack?
I for one welcome this change and hope it signals a switch to more frequent major OS updates.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- jffry 13y agoDepends if you count Windows 2.0/2.1 and 3.0/3.1 as similar-sized increments to this [0] At least in the past 10 years, Microsoft's language has been all about "Service Packs". The landscape of mobile OSes, their app stores, and the movement of web browsers to an always-up-to-date model is conditioning consumers to expect continuously-updated software. It only seems natural that desktop OSes (which are the most entrenched in point releases) will eventually follow. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1#Improvements_over_Windows_3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1#Improvements_over_...
- bmm6o 13y agoThere was also Windows NT 3.1/3.5/3.51 (among other lesser known ones: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Windows http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Windows)
- lancewiggs 13y agoThe branding did recall to mind Windows 3.1, which was the first usable Windows. The video was clearly not targeted at me - lots of jumping around the product and distracting. It just seems sad versus the Apple approach of focussing on end users doing things.
- jmspring 13y agoI'm waiting for some Windows 8 for Workgroups... I mean, Win3.1 was quite usable, then OS/2 (joke), 95, then XP (some flavor of NT w/ a service pack wasn't horrible). It takes some iterations, sometimes, to get it right. There are things I don't particularly care for in Win8, but compared to Win7, it is much snappier on older hardware and that I appreciate (stuffing it in a VM). I also appreciate the faster release iterations.
- pedalpete 13y agoI agree it was a tad distracting, but I think your comparison with Apple is slightly flawed. In the Microsoft ad, you're supposed to be able to project yourself to be the person doing these things. You're supposed to feel that 'you' are opening an e-mail and looking at photos or "you" are searching for Marilyn Monroe, etc. etc. That is similar to the Apple ads, but the Apple ads do two things differently. 1) they are at a slower pace and with less frantic movement and music, so it is easier to understand 2) apple ads will often have a voice over explaining what is happening. I don't like the Microsoft ad, but the ad does focus on an end user doing things. Everything in that ad is a user doing things. I think they need to refine their approach though, and make it about things people care about doing.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- MattDL 13y agoIn one of the articles I read on this (sorry no link) I'm pretty sure it mentioned their new philosophy, for hardware and software, was rapid iteration.
- jcampbell1 13y agoA company must live atop a mountain of stupidity to call a free upgrade a "service pack". It is really fun to watch Microsoft walk out of it's own echo chamber and create interesting things. It is an interesting time to be the software business.
- shaneofalltrad 13y agoDon't forget this download lasts a year, as it is a trial only. Read the fine print after your two hour set-up to see everything is useless after the set date. I ended up canceling my update.
- trimbo 13y agoWindows 5.1 was "Windows XP" It only came out a year or so after Windows 2K, which was 5.0 technically.