Microsoft is fixing everything you hated in the past

May 5, 2015 13:38 GMT  ·  By

Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft in February 2014, and since then, the Redmond-based tech giant has continuously been looking into means of changing its way of doing business.

More of a gentleman approach, without aggressive criticism aimed at its rivals (at least until this morning), a friendlier collaboration with users across the world, and frequent updates on the work going on within the company at any given time.

That’s how the new Microsoft has tried to win the hearts of customers across the world, in an attempt supposed not only to boost its revenues but also to help it achieve its purpose of providing people with solutions to get their job done.

It’s no secret that you can’t please everyone out there, and no matter how hard Microsoft is struggling to overhaul its business, there will also be people criticizing the company for the way it does that or for doing it later than expected.

But in essence, Microsoft is on the right track right now, and recent announcements at BUILD and Ignite are living proof that the company is heading towards a new direction where customers are indeed playing the key role.

Fixes for the things you hated

The first thing a company the size of Microsoft needs to do in order to get closer to its customers is to admit its own mistakes. Microsoft hasn’t said it clearly, but since the debut of Windows 8.1, it continuously undoes changes that were made by Steve Ballmer in older Windows releases.

The removal of the Start button and Start menu is pretty much the best example. Windows 8 came without a Start button, and the Start menu was replaced with a Start screen, and we all know what happened next. Windows 8 failed to excite, and its market share after two years and a half on the market pretty much speaks for itself: only some 3 percent of PCs across the world are still running Windows 8.

In Windows 8.1, Microsoft started backtracking on these wrong decisions and brought back the Start button to help users get around the operating system more easily.

Joe Belfiore, Alex Kipman, Terry Myerson, three of those who are pushing Microsoft in a completely new direction
Joe Belfiore, Alex Kipman, Terry Myerson, three of those who are pushing Microsoft in a completely new direction

And with Windows 10, it’s all being done at a bigger scale. Everything you hated about Windows and related products is changing in a way that would better address your needs. If you don’t like something, just make your voice heard and Microsoft promises to listen to your suggestion. No other big company does that, at least not on products that are critical to its future.

Everything is changing

And now that we’re getting closer to the release date of Windows 10, we can already see how the company is planning to adjust its operating system in order to better tackle the existing climate.

Below is a wrap-up of the things that Microsoft has changed lately, most of them often criticized in the past and improved in the last couple of years based on feedback:

· Windows 10 will be free for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users - this is the first time in the company’s history when Windows is offered free of charge; · Office Touch will be offered for free as well on devices running Windows 10; · The Start menu is back and so are some Aero features that were removed in Windows 8, with Microsoft now tweaking both to better address feedback; · Multiple desktops are arriving in Windows 10 after so many years and so many requests submitted by loyal users who have been running previous Windows versions for more than a decade; · Transparency is becoming a key feature of Microsoft’s products, pretty much because Windows users appear to be loving this feature; · Icons in Windows 10 are changing and the recent builds do reveal a new Recycle Bin icon, which could be a sign that all icons are going to be replaced; · Internet Explorer is getting the axe and Microsoft is replacing it with Edge, a new browser with a new engine, a new UI, and a new name; Internet Explorer will still be offered in Windows 10, but only as a backup solution until it goes dark completely; · HoloLens, which brings holograms in your life, is pretty much the most innovative product developed by Microsoft in the last decade; · More hardware - Redmond is spending a fortune on becoming a relevant player in the hardware industry, and the number of Surface tablets is growing every year; Microsoft Band is also selling really well and so does Xbox One; · Android and iOS apps can work on Windows with minor tweaks; · Microsoft Edge also has extensions and can work with those built for Chrome, again with minor tweaks;

These are just a few ways that Microsoft is changing its approach towards the customer with Satya Nadella at the helm of the company. Of course, there are other minor aspects that will be adjusted in the coming months, and we all know that little things do matter, but the ones we listed here are the common ones that made the headlines very often in the last years.

Microsoft cannot please everyone, but at least it can try to do that.

And yet, there are some things that users would change about the new Microsoft, but given the fact that the company’s transformation process is not yet complete, these could change as well.

Yes, there are things that Microsoft still doesn't get right, and yes, there's still a lot of work to be done in many areas, but keep in mind that not everything can be changed overnight.

· The new browser isn’t called Spartan, despite the plethora of requests sent by Windows 10 testers; · The hamburger button, which is more or less borrowed from Android, upset many Microsoft enthusiasts who were hoping to get a truly unique experience on their devices; · Windows Media Center is discontinued in Windows 10 because only few people used it; · Windows Phone flagships are still missing, with Microsoft focusing entirely on budget models - devices such as the Lumia 930, which is still Redmond’s 5-inch flagship, are lacking key functionality, such as Glance Screen, which wasn’t offered because of the display installed on this model;

Needless to say, there are many things that you might not like and that are very unlikely to change in the coming months, but as we said, Redmond cannot please everyone.

But while the company itself has a long way to go to fix all the annoyances in its products, there's one thing that we should keep in mind: Microsoft has never been so willing to listen to what you have to say and that makes it really loveable. Congratulations, Mr. Nadella, you’re making Microsoft a company that is hard not to love these days.

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