I’ve been using the Windows 10 Technical/Insider Previews (slow ring, now build 10130) on my primary work laptop since October, and it’s clear to me that in Windows 10 Microsoft has successfully salvaged the Metro/WinRT technology, introduced with Windows 8, to create a winning new OS version.
Windows 8 really doesn’t bring anything new to the table of advantage to the enterprise. From a productivity standpoint, why introduce change and a learning curve, steep or otherwise, that returns no net return on productivity? The new Metro “Apps” have no useful place in the enterprise and were designed primarily for the consumer market, and for administrators, locking down these apps looks daunting.
Windows 8 is about moving real Windows (in contrast to Windows CE derivatives such as Windows Phone) downscale — to mobile, consumer-oriented devices. The disruptive “Metro” user experience is the most visible aspect of this strategy, but only part of the big picture.
businesses could be well served by treating Windows 8, like Windows Vista, as a “let’s skip this one” version. Let’s give Microsoft a chance to get it right on the desktop-Metro coexistence, which is just plain sub-optimal in Windows 8.
The arrival of the Windows 8 Release Preview — with its corresponding app development tools — heralds a new phase in the acceptance of mobile form-factors into enterprise computing.