The Surface line has officially crossed the billion dollar mark for revenue demonstrating a 24% growth from the previous quarter. In other words, the big holiday season looks to have been successful in pushing the Surface Pro 3, which drove the growth, into more hands than ever.
The Surface Pro is an amazingly well-built product. I'm glad it's finding modest success.
"We have bigger hopes, higher aspirations for Windows," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Wednesday, standing on a stage above a secret room filled with crazy holographic technology. "We want to move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows, to loving Windows. That is our bold goal." He's right: love is a problem that Microsoft needs to solve.
I use Windows because out of the options, it's the one that bugs me the least. Now, I have a tendency to dislike all software - it's crazy how many faults and problems we accept in software - so it's unlikely they'll ever get me to 'love' anything, but I still get the general idea: without dominance, mobile users need to choose Windows willingly. This is new ground for Microsoft.
Some of the new features that Joe demoed on Wednesday will be available for our Windows Insiders starting today with our newest build - 9926. However, not everything you saw on Wednesday is included in this new build. Much is still in-progress and we’re getting it out to you as fast as we can - so you can try it out and give us feedback. Over the course of the next few builds, you will see us refine Windows 10 and continue to improve the experiences as well as quality and stability.
This new build contains the first set of features unveiled earlier this week. Neowin has a bunch of screenshots.
Microsoft unveiled its plans for a free copy of Windows 10 for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users yesterday, but it looks like Windows RT is being left out in the cold. In a statement provided to The Verge, Microsoft confirms the Surface Pro 3 and "entire Surface Pro lineup" will get the update to Windows 10, but Windows RT won't get the full OS. "We are working on an update for Surface, which will have some of the functionality of Windows 10. More information to come," says a Microsoft spokesperson. This means tablets like the Surface RT and Surface 2 won't get Windows 10.
Windows RT is dead.
The Microsoft Windows 10 announcement is still ongoing, but one thing is standing out - Microsoft is finally, finally taking its own tools seriously. They showed a whole slew of new applications, and like Windows 10 being one single platform from phone through Xbox to PC, all of them are 100% universal. And, for the first time, these modern/Metro applications look like real, working, full-featured applications, instead of simple viewers or broken crap.
It goes very far: proper Metro Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook - that run on phones, tablets, and PCs, sharing their data automatically, and running the exact same code. Even their new browser - codenamed Spartan - is a universal application. It's all looking really, really great, and based on the live stuff we've seen so far, it seems like Microsoft is actually pulling it off.
For the very first time, it finally feels like Win32 can go the way of the dodo. All these new applications are proper, grown-up applications that look like they can actually replace traditional Win32 ones. Even though Win32 applications are now properly integrated into Metro (they use the same gestures and stuff now), it feels like Microsoft is finally hitting the point where it can leave Win32 behind, and focus entirely on modern/Metro.
Microsoft is currently presenting Windows 10, and they unveiled that it will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users (and for Windows Phone 8.1 users).
Beyond this, Myerson shared Microsoft's vision for Windows as a service, not just an operating system. A big part of that is Microsoft's new commitment to keep devices consistently updated throughout the "supported lifetime for the device." It sounds like that means those upgrading from Microsoft's older versions of Windows will consistently receive updates to keep it as up-to-date as possible. Myerson noted that this will let developer "target every single Windows device" when they build apps - anything that makes it easier for developers to reach more users will certainly be appreciated by both the developer community as well as end users.
Sounds good to me. The idea of big, monolithic releases is archaic.
The biggest takeaway Microsoft is hoping to deliver this week, sources say, is that Windows 10 is built on a single, common "core" (known internally as "OneCore") that will work across a variety of devices, from phones, tablets, PCs, large-screen displays like the company's Perceptive Pixel multitouch-screen devices, and ultimately, Xbox.
OneCore implies more than just the common kernel that Microsoft touted as part of its Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 stories. In addition to the OS kernel, OneCore also includes the dynamic link libraries (DLLs), application platform layer and other pieces of the operating system. Microsoft's pitch to developers with Windows 10 will be they can target the same core environment with their apps, and those "Universal" apps will work across a range of screen sizes. These apps will be available in a single store, rather than separate Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox stores.
Microsoft has been hinting about all this for years now, but they've never managed to pull it off. If they do pull it off tomorrow, they'll be the first to have a completely unified platform on all consumer-oriented device types. Apple has both iOS and OS X, and Google has Android and Chrome OS - and both of them seem to be taking steps towards unification, albeit in different ways.
Whether or not this is actually what will turn things around for Windows in mobile is a whole different girl scout cookie.
While one phone is a member of a new 400 series, and the other is a 500 series device, the two handsets are far more similar than they are different. Both use 1.2GHz Snapdragon processors; dual-core in the 435, quad-core in the 532. Both have 4-inch 800×480 screens, with the 532 supporting the Glance feature found on many other Lumias. Both have 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, and both support microSD cards up to 128GB. Both are 3G devices supporting up to 42Mbps HSDPA. Both have VGA-quality front-facing cameras. The biggest practical difference is in the rear-facing cameras: 2MP fixed focus on the 435, 5MP fixed focus on the 532.
These are basically the Nokia X devices, but with Windows Phone. They look very interesting and tempting, but I'm not exactly comfortable running Windows Phone on hardware this low-end; the operating system and its core applications will work fine, but most non-core Microsoft and third party applications are slow even on higher-end hardware, so I shiver at the thought of how they run on this hardware.
We installed the top 10 apps from Download.com, and you'll never believe what happened! Well... I guess maybe you might have a good guess. Awful things. Awful things are what happens. Join us for the fun!
Braver women and men than I.
I have a confession: I'm the proud owner of an iPhone 6. In fact, it's now my full-time device. After using Windows Phone on and off since its introduction in 2010, I've grown frustrated enough to give up and switch back to iOS fully.
I'm the resident Microsoft expert here at The Verge, and for years I've switched between Android, iOS, and Windows Phone to check out new apps and how each platform is progressing, but it's now clear Windows Phone is being left behind. I'm not alone: Ed Bott, a fellow technology writer, has also given up on Windows Phone, and Microsoft has left its loyal customers frustrated by focusing on iOS and Android. Microsoft may have made some significant changes to Windows Phone this year with the 8.1 update, but like the many previous versions and updates I'm still left waiting for more. I'm through waiting.
I was a loyal Windows Phone user from day one - bought a 7.x device on launch day, and an 8.x device on launch day - but it's clear to just about everyone by now that the platform has failed. I doubt there is much of a future for Windows Phone as a separate entity. Windows-proper on PCs will continue to do well, but Windows on phones and tablets is starting to look more and more dire by the day.
With the Nokia purchase, Windows on phones/tablets may well be Microsoft's biggest financial blunder in its history.
I learned Windows programming from documents included with the Windows 1.0 beta and release Software Development Kits. These included a printed API reference, of course, but beyond that the most important document was the Programming Guide, which was published with the SDK in 1985 as 258 7"x9" looseleaf pages in a binder. This document contained five sample programs that I studied in great depth in attempting to learn the Windows API.
Starting just a few minutes ago at 1 p.m. ET, Microsoft has begun to roll out another OS update for those utilizing the Preview for Developers program.
Heading into Settings and Phone Update, users can tap the Check for Updates button to begin downloading the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1.1. Part of this update should enable Cortana for those in Europe, which was announced this morning. As usual, we also expect some bug fixes and optimizations as well.
Cortana will be available in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Sidenote: this developer program is the best thing to happen to Windows Phone in a long time. Good job, Microsoft.
One area Huawei is unlikely to return to, unless the market changes: Windows Phone.
Huawei produced two models running Microsoft's smartphone OS before it said it was putting its plans for future Windows Phones on hold.
"We didn't make any money in Windows Phone," Kelly said. "Nobody made any money in Windows Phone."
Of course nobody is making any money with Windows Phone. Why do you think Microsoft had to rescue the failing smartphone business from Nokia?
A long-standing oddity of Windows is that its branded number has for some years now not matched the version number stamped into the kernel and other parts of the operating system. Windows 7, for example, reported itself to software as being version 6.1. Windows 8 is 6.2, and Windows 8.1 is 6.3.
Current public builds of Windows 10 repeat this trend - they purport to be version 6.4 - but not for much longer. Chinese site ITHome published a picture showing the version number to be 10.0. Version number 10.0 is also cropping up on BuildFeed which tracks build numbers, and has been further corroborated elsewhere.
Interesting little tidbit of information.
AnandTech on the Windows 10 Technical Preview:
Although we have only seen the Technical Preview and a single update to it so far, you can see the potential for Windows 10 and what it will be able to accomplish. It is an ambitious goal to provide a single platform across such a swath of different devices, and one that was held back by the user interface before. With Continuum, it appears that it may be the best of both worlds. Even more exciting is how much more upfront and open Microsoft has been on this entire process, with not just the technical preview but also soliciting and requesting user feedback on the changes. One of the biggest change requests was a simple animation on the Start Menu, and that has already been implemented, so this really is a different world than when Windows 8 was given a sneak peek.
From a technical point of view, Windows 8 was great. However, it was hampered by bad user interface and interaction design at virtually every level. If Windows 10 will undo at least some of the damage done, then it's a great leap forward.
Microsoft is sending out emails to Windows Phone app developers informing them that they will no longer be able to unlock any Windows Phone 7.x devices, like the Lumia 900, for app testing after December 31.
Microsoft recommends that app developers who want to unlock those phones do so before the deadline so they can continued to be used for app testing for another 24 months.
I'm guessing very few people are on Windows Phone 7.x at this point, so this kind of makes sense. The move to WP8 is nearing full completion.
With Windows 10, the update approach is set to change substantially. Microsoft is acknowledging the need, and even desirability, of making regular incremental improvements to its operating system. It's also, however, acknowledging the different appetite for change between consumers and enterprise users.
While all users, both enterprise and otherwise, will be using the same core operating system, for the first time, there will be different update policies for different kinds of user. The old fiction of not making feature changes to a shipping operating system is finally being put to bed.
A very sensible move in the current computing environment. I wonder if regular users, too, can opt for the slower update policy. There's a UI for the settings in the Windows 10 Technical Preview, but it's non-functional.
So, why did Microsoft skip version 9, jumping straight to Windows 10? On Reddit, someone who claims to be a Microsoft developer, points us into an interesting direction.
Microsoft dev here, the internal rumours are that early testing revealed just how many third party products that had code of the form
if(version.StartsWith("Windows 9"))
{ /* 95 and 98 */
} else {and that this was the pragmatic solution to avoid that.
I want this to be true. It's perfect.
Microsoft finally surprised us all: At the eagerly-awaited first briefing for the next Windows, the firm revealed that they had decided to skip the 9 and call it Windows 10 instead. From a features perspective, we only learned about a few minor new features that hadn't already leaked. And as promised, the technical preview won't ship until October. Which starts tomorrow, by the way.
To say that this was a different kind of Windows event is a major understatement. I want to focus on the details of the announcement here, but it's at least worth pointing out that Terry Myerson's team is approaching Windows 10 with a completely different - for the better - approach. Not just when compared to the past few releases. But when compared to every Windows release from the past 20 years. Everything is new again.
It's looking like a good release so far - I'm especially very happy with the further neutering of Metro and the Expose-like functionality. Odd they're skipping 9 though.
Microsoft may have demonstrated its new Start menu earlier this year, but thanks to a recent "Windows 9" leak we're now seeing every single part of the company’s plans for bringing back this popular feature.
It boggles my mind why Microsoft doesn't just remove Metro from the desktop altogether. Is there anyone who wants to run those comically large touch-optimised applications in windows on their desktop? Why not restrict Metro to where it belongs, i.e., mobile? Why all this extra work?
It just doesn't seem to make any sense.
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