14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8 will reach the market in October and Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive officer, expects it to turn into a best-seller only months after its official debut.
Ballmer said in an interview with The Seattle Times that Windows 8 has been designed to suit multiple needs and it's at least as important as Windows 95, which is considered “the biggest thing in the last 20 years until now.”
Windows 8 will be installed not only on desktop PCs, but also on tablets and mobile phones. Its main focus however is the PC market, Ballmer explained.
“There's going to be close to 400 million PCs sold in the next year, which makes it a big market. And whether it's 405 (million) or 395 (million), it's a big market, and Windows 8 will propel that volume,” he told the newspaper.
Asked about Microsoft's reaction in case Windows 8 disappoints, Ballmer replied with a smile. That won't happen, he says, as Windows 8 is nothing more than “a fantastic product.”
“We're trying to really re-imagine the world from the ground up with Windows 8. [...] And then people orient their development schedules around Windows 8 and its new properties and attributes,” the CEO explained.
Windows 8 is however just one of the products that will see daylight next month, as Microsoft gets ready to launch an impressive series of updates and new services or devices. Beside the Surface tablet, Windows Phone will also be officially rolled out, while Microsoft Office and Windows Server will follow in the next months.
This is “the most epic year in Microsoft's history,” says Ballmer who thinks that the next few months will be essential for the Redmond-based software giant and its future.