Microsoft’s co-founder defends the recently released operating system

Jan 28, 2013 07:32 GMT  ·  By

Even though he’s fully focused on his charity work, Bill Gates talked about Windows 8 on several occasions, trying to convince everyone that Microsoft’s newest operating system was actually a very advanced piece of software.

Gates praised Windows 8 twice in the last few days in two different interviews, once again emphasizing that sales weren’t quite disappointing as some analysts had hinted.

First of all, Microsoft’s co-founder said in an interview with Fox Business Network that Windows 8 was just the beginning of an exciting era, naming the touch support and the growing number of apps as two of the main strong points of the revamped Windows OS.

“The way they have built touch in, the way they have the application store, it’s off to quite a good start. You know, making sure they have more, the best applications, more applications, you know, they’re on a really good trajectory,” he said.

He continued to praise not only Windows 8, but also the Surface tablet, in a second interview with CNBC, this time during a conversation regarding the sales figures recorded so far.

Gates hinted that both the Surface tablet and Windows 8 “have done well,” claiming that 60 million sold copies in just two months wasn’t at all a bad performance.

“I’m engaged as chairman on a part-time basis. But my full-time work for the rest of my life will be the foundation work. Microsoft's got a lot of exciting things going on. It’s a competitive field. Windows 8 has done well. Surface computer is doing well. So, you know, I share lots of ideas about where office should go and, you know, I think the field as a whole should be proud of how quickly it's moving and Microsoft will lead in a lot of those areas,” Gates explained.

Microsoft initially said that it had managed to sell around 60 million Windows 8 copies in two months after launch, but the company remained completely tight-lipped over Surface RT sales figures.

According to analysts, Microsoft’s first tablet in history is a flop, with some suggesting that sales aren't exceeding 230,000 units worldwide.