With Microsoft having finally released its next iteration of the Windows operating system, Windows 10, both critics and fans are weighing in on all its promises.
The new operating system will be released to the public sometime during the first half of 2015.
"Windows 10 represents the first step in a whole new generation of Windows," said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft's operating systems group.
One of the more interesting features of Windows 10 is that it is the first operating system from Microsoft to be unified across all devices, meaning it will serve as the operating system for both mobile and desktop. Of course it will be optimized for different devices, but Microsoft is finally delivering what it has been promising for so long.
Unifying the systems in Windows 10 will also let software developers easily create apps that work on a range of devices and provide the capability to optimize apps to look different on different devices.
Despite this, some are still skeptical. This is not the first time Microsoft has announced an OS offering better interoperability with mobile devices.
Despite the fact that Microsoft's operating systems haven't integrated very well in the past, the company has had some luck. For example, integration of Windows Phone's Office and OneDrive is rather well done. Still, many consider it to not really be on par with efforts from Apple and Google with iOS and Android.
Analysts suggest the success of Windows 10 is crucial for Microsoft going forward. Not only could it reposition the company, but it also helps consumers to have faith in the new CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella.
The fact that Windows 10 seems to be blending old aspects of Windows with new ones is a good sign, some industry watchers have noted. Many considered Windows 8 to be somewhat of a disappointment, doing away with a number of features that Microsoft users were fond of. For example while the Start button returns and will be an integral part of Windows 10, it will open up a number of tiles in Windows 8 style.
"This is what Windows 8 should have been," said tech analyst at Kantar WorldPanel, Carolina Milanesi. "Here they are doing the right thing."
