That neglect is the reason that it was made worse. Everything added to Windows that was worse is actively designed to generate some kind, any kind, of revenue growth. Without the full force of the organization behind it, it now has to struggle to prove some kind of worth and that enshiftification is the result.
I think neglecting Windows is a huge failure for Microsoft. Azure might be where all the money and growth is, but it wouldn't be anything without Windows. Owning a platform is a massive advantage. Apple has their own platform. Google has Android. Microsoft has Windows. Every other major tech player from Meta to OpenAI is desperately trying to get themselves a platform. Because it's so fundamentally important to succeeding at this scale.
For Microsoft to neglect their platform is, in my opinion, a massive strategic mistake. Microsoft already failed with mobile and it cost them an entire seat at that table. If people hate Windows, it's going to have knock-on effects to everything that Microsoft sells including Azure. I would argue that Windows is what keeps Azure from becoming just another commodity cloud provider.
At some point I guess things became "good enough". The leap to Windows 95 was huge. The leap to Windows 2000 was huge. Leaps in hardware was huge as well around at that time.
It's many years ago I felt things started to plateau. When was the last time you were excited about a new processor? Or a bigger hard drive? If Microsoft makes their money from OEMs, and OEMs want to sell new hardware, I guess Windows needs to demand more resources... to keep the OEMs happy. TPM 2.0? For our security, or an easy way to sell new hardware, since Windows 10 will be "obsolete" and you "have" to upgrade to Windows 11.
And just to squeeze out some extra bucks, Microsoft discovered what Google and Facebook found out years ago... there is serious money in advertising.
I have an old Windows 8.1 PC in a corner. It has all I need, really. Enough disk and RAM for my usage (not a gamer).
> I see a future where it does roll into azure and become a hosted only “feature”
It seems that way. And most people would probably follow along, not knowing any alternatives. But I like the idea of "local first", no online account required.
I have to disagree with the author in one key detail: IMHO Windows wasn't neglected, it was actively made worse over the last decade(s)...
That neglect is the reason that it was made worse. Everything added to Windows that was worse is actively designed to generate some kind, any kind, of revenue growth. Without the full force of the organization behind it, it now has to struggle to prove some kind of worth and that enshiftification is the result.
I think neglecting Windows is a huge failure for Microsoft. Azure might be where all the money and growth is, but it wouldn't be anything without Windows. Owning a platform is a massive advantage. Apple has their own platform. Google has Android. Microsoft has Windows. Every other major tech player from Meta to OpenAI is desperately trying to get themselves a platform. Because it's so fundamentally important to succeeding at this scale.
For Microsoft to neglect their platform is, in my opinion, a massive strategic mistake. Microsoft already failed with mobile and it cost them an entire seat at that table. If people hate Windows, it's going to have knock-on effects to everything that Microsoft sells including Azure. I would argue that Windows is what keeps Azure from becoming just another commodity cloud provider.
At some point I guess things became "good enough". The leap to Windows 95 was huge. The leap to Windows 2000 was huge. Leaps in hardware was huge as well around at that time.
It's many years ago I felt things started to plateau. When was the last time you were excited about a new processor? Or a bigger hard drive? If Microsoft makes their money from OEMs, and OEMs want to sell new hardware, I guess Windows needs to demand more resources... to keep the OEMs happy. TPM 2.0? For our security, or an easy way to sell new hardware, since Windows 10 will be "obsolete" and you "have" to upgrade to Windows 11.
And just to squeeze out some extra bucks, Microsoft discovered what Google and Facebook found out years ago... there is serious money in advertising.
I have an old Windows 8.1 PC in a corner. It has all I need, really. Enough disk and RAM for my usage (not a gamer).
You can look at the recent earnings and see Microsoft is negative 1%.
I see a future where it does roll into azure and become a hosted only “feature”
> I see a future where it does roll into azure and become a hosted only “feature”
It seems that way. And most people would probably follow along, not knowing any alternatives. But I like the idea of "local first", no online account required.