14 DAY TRIAL // A report that has been released today reveals that Microsoft could be bringing back the animated character Clippy in a future Office update, confirming that the company is now planning to reintroduce old and popular features in its new software.
Ever since Satya Nadella was appointed Microsoft CEO, the company’s chief executive has been talking about the importance of consumer feedback for future products, emphasizing that most, if not all, products will be based on the opinions that users submit.
Microsoft’s intentions to listen to customer feedback aren’t new, and some of the products that the company is planning to release are said to be entirely based on it.
Case in point, Windows 9, as the upcoming operating system is very likely to feature some of the options that users have been requesting for years. Including a Start menu, that is.
The Start menu coming in Windows
It’s no secret that the Start menu is coming in Windows 9, despite Microsoft’s previous announcement that another Windows 8.1 update could feature it.
But what’s more important than the feature itself is the reason Microsoft is bringing it. Windows 8 was so often criticized by its adopters, that Microsoft not only got tired with the amount of criticism, but also understood that it was mandatory to bring options that would actually make adopters feel its products more familiar.
The Start menu, however, will get a few tweaks and won’t look exactly like the one in Windows 7.
Microsoft is working to introduce modern elements, such as live tiles, but also new options that would pretty much help expand the Start menu to the entire screen, acting very similarly to the existing touch-optimized Start screen.
Clippy is also coming back
The animated character Clippy that helped us learn Office is also coming back in a future update of the productivity suite, with new reports indicating that Microsoft could reintroduce it as soon as Office 16.
Once again, Clippy won’t keep the look and behavior of the original version, but will come with a much more modern approach that will allow users to find more information about Office easier.
Clippy could at some point become Cortana and allow consumers to use voice commands to learn new things about Office and the built-in features.
And this isn’t entirely impossible, as Cortana is set to make its appearance on the desktop as soon as early 2015, which means that it could be ready for the debut of Office 16 next year.
Microsoft doing things in its own way
Even though Microsoft is bringing back some of the features that users have been asking for, the company is actually tweaking them to better fit its new products, which means that their functionality might not be entirely what you expect it to be.
The Start menu, for example, will still have the often-criticized live tiles, but word is that Microsoft will allow users to remove them. At the same time, Clippy won’t be the same entertaining character, but more of a virtual assistant that could interact with you in a much more advanced way.
The company says it’s not stepping back
Even though it does so many changes to its products, the company claims that it’s not stepping back, and all improvements are actually supposed to enhance the experience that users get.
Microsoft Executive Vice President of operating systems Terry Myerson said earlier this year, when talking about the improvements made in Windows 8.1, that the company would remain committed to its modern approach, including the focus on touch, but it only wanted to make sure that consumers would discover the benefits of its software by making it easier to perform certain tasks.
“We're not stepping back. We totally believe in touch. Touch is just fantastic. But there are hundreds of millions of new PCs shipping every year without touch. We want to support those. We want our customers to love our products. If they come to us and say I'd love it more if it supported this, we want to be a company that listens and responds and responds quickly,” he said.
In the end, the fact that Microsoft is tweaking all these comebacks isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s up to the users to decide this. The good thing, however, is that until one point, Microsoft is really listening.