After 40 years developing a Windows operating system, you’d think Microsoft could get it right, right? But no, Microsoft continues its unfathomable pattern of following up success with unmitigated disasters.
Windows 7: Released in 2009 and destined to become one of the most popular Windows operating systems ever, if not the most popular. What do we get next? Rather than building on Windows 7’s success, we get the unmitigated disaster that was Windows 8.
Windows 8: Released in 2012. I still remember when I first loaded Windows 8 and stared at that blank desktop wondering how the heck one gets started. There was no Start button and seemingly nothing to indicate where to go next.
Of course, I soon learned that the Start button was actually hidden and easily revealed with a mouse over. Just the same, many users railed against the full-screen Start menu, with detractors declaring that switching back and forth between the full-screen Start menu and desktop was a “jarring experience”.
Windows 8 was so poorly received that it was soon superseded by Windows 8.1, released just under a year later.
Windows 10: Released in 2014. At first criticized for what was perceived as excessive telemetry, but ended up being one of the most popular Windows operating systems, probably second only to Windows 7.
So does Microsoft build on Windows 10’s popularity? Nope, the company follows up that success with Windows 11.
Windows 11: Released in 2021. Do you remember when Microsoft declared that Windows 10 would be the last Windows version ever? It’s easy to argue now that Microsoft should have stuck to its word.
It begs the question… why was a Windows 11 even needed? Well, my theory is that Microsoft spent so heavily developing “Windows X” that, when that project was finally abandoned, all that expenditure with no end result needed to be justified.
So, the idea for Windows 11 was born. And much of what constitutes Windows 11 was then ported over from the failed Windows X project.
When one considers that Windows X was designed to be a lightweight mobile operating system supposedly to challenge iOS and Android, and Windows 11 was largely based on Windows X, it becomes easier to understand why the Windows 11 experience on PCs has been less than desirable.
It’s also easier to understand why, five years later, Windows 11 remains under constant development. Some good news is that one victim of the Windows X-ported UI elements, a fully moveable Taskbar, is slated for a return in Windows 11 26H2, expected to roll out in October 2026.
BOTTOM LINE:
After 40 years of development, you’d be forgiven for thinking we should be looking at the perfect Windows operating system, but instead, we’re looking at Windows 11.
That said, Windows 11 has improved out of sight in the five years since its initial release, and with the ongoing development plus Microsoft seemingly now listening to consumers, I have high hopes that Windows 11 will eventually meet, if not surpass, consumer expectations.
Do you think there might be a Windows 12 in the future? Personally, I doubt it, but with Microsoft, one can never be certain about anything.
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