Microsoft is putting up a brave face after its latest edition of office software, Windows 10, drew mixed response in the first 24 hours of its unveiling.
The Windows 10 Global Technical Preview was on Wednesday, and initial reports in blogs and social networking sites were not encouraging, but Microsoft expressed confidence that the product would get positive global feedback once more people get to try it.
“It is just about 24 hours…Tech Preview is designed for PC experts who are comfortable downloading unfinished software,” said a Microsoft spokesperson in India. “We expect the participation of more global users to provide the most robust set of feedback we’ve ever had.”
Mark Hachman at PC World commented: “The Start menu isn’t an overtly pro-business element, and neither are the windowed apps, virtual desktops, or the nifty Snap Assist tools. That would be like saying mouse support is strictly for businesses.”
{{/usCountry}}Mark Hachman at PC World commented: “The Start menu isn’t an overtly pro-business element, and neither are the windowed apps, virtual desktops, or the nifty Snap Assist tools. That would be like saying mouse support is strictly for businesses.”
{{/usCountry}}Windows 10 is important for Microsoft as its current offering, Windows 8, is marred by low user acceptance and glitches that update patches were unable to address. Some common complaints were the new Start screen, Internet Explorer requiring frequent refreshes, excessive backing up of files that filled up hard disks with redundant files, and issues in upgrading from Windows 7.
“Devices using Window have evolved, are evolving, the challenge is to meet not only the demands of existing forms of devices but also those evolving,” Vineet Durani, director, Windows business group, Microsoft India, told HT.
Market analysts are optimistic. “Microsoft has tried to balance the demands of different users by focusing on overhauling the new operating system in terms of adaptability across various devices,” said Sandeep Ladda, India Technology leader, PwC. “The return of the popular Start menu, and addition of innovative features such as Multiple Desktops, Snap View and Universal App Store are likely to bring momentum.”
The software variant for mobile devices has not been unveiled yet. “We will have more to share on the Windows experience for mobile devices at a later date,” a Microsoft India spokesperson said.