Why Microsoft Can't Change the Windows Interface; Too Much

Microsoft has long been the operating system of choice for many to write software.  Though not all industries count on it they way they once did, most still do.  And here lies the problem.

With lots of software come lots of responsibility.  This is one of the many places where Linux and it's variants have troubled enterprise and residential clients in the past.  If your software worked yesterday, you would expect it to work tomorrow. 

Since most people aren't very fluent in computer, even the least little change can cause great confusion.  To expect one thing and get another is a frustrating thing even if you are used to speaking digital.  This is why enterprise IT departments don't like untested software, changes or devices.  

So you can surely understand the reasons for people being unhappy with Microsoft's changes to the desktop and it's function in the Windows 8 release.  

Well we can look forward to similar changes with the Window's 10 release.   This insistence to make such major interface changes seems short sighted and possibly led to the decision to make the release free for valid, current users.  The possibility also exist that Microsoft was simply concerned about the market share that other OS's have been gaining, though it's still a small portion, the numbers are significant enough to warrant paying closer attention. 

The heart of the interface change is with regards to current software.  Windows is far larger in size than it would otherwise be based on the backwards compatibility it offers.  Far more so than Linux, Mac or other choices offer.  Macintosh forces this issue far more than other operating systems and it works for them.  The difference being that Mac customers want the latest and greatest.  Where there are far more people on the Microsoft and Linux side that tend to run older software.  This is especially prevalent in large companies, where software changes are not looked upon favorably.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Though they have back tracked from the travesty that was Windows 8, I imagine there will still be a fairly, large segment of Windows users that will want to wait as long as possible to make the change.  

There are many more reasons to be confident in Microsoft's products than skeptical, but that doesn't mean that people will be accepting enough to take the chance with their personal data.  

People tend to feel lost and uncomfortable when things don't look familiar.  The advantage of change it that you can introduce new features, implemented in a unique way.  The downside: people will be confused at first and may not adopt the changes.  

Apple seems to think that people will like whatever they will do, which they tend to.  There is an overall advantage to forcing upgrades, mainly that you don't have to continue to support your mistakes.  There are always going to be bugs, I guess that question is then, old bugs or new bugs.  

New bugs may be mysterious, but this option gives you the ability to fix the old nagging bugs that you don't like.   Continuing to support the previous system means that more of the bugs are known and you tend to have better security.  So like everything else, you must decided what your priorities are. 

It is obvious that Microsoft has wrestled with these things and we shall see if Windows 10 is a better mixture of form and function than Windows 8 was.  Taking money off the table was, I feel, a good move, and may lead to a bit more adoption than if people were expected to be paying for what seems to mostly be an upgrade and ultimately a revision of the Windows 8 fiasco. 

Restructuring the way we look at computer service

The fact is, computer service as we knew it at one time is dead.  The conditions and the environment has changed, and unless you have a ton of enterprise clients that are supporting the majority of your business costs, it is hard to make a living at it.  If you are a freelance IT person it is likely you are working for temp service/s, finding work on BBS sites, poor, in debt, or all four.

Some Mom and Pop stores have been able to stay open based on a fairly large amount of repeat business, but usually if you fix the machine right, it will be a long time before you see them again.  There just aren't that many people that have complicated and dire enough problems that they would need to pay one to take care of things.  Not enough to be counted on as a steady income at-least.

Generally speaking, you can buy a computer and just keep adding things to it until it becomes too full or too broken, and then go buy a new one.   It used to be that one needed help to build a computer and install stuff on it.  For the most part today, most people that need powerful machines either buy them from Amazon or similar, or they build them on their own.  With Google and YouTube there is not much the person of average intelligence couldn't setup or do on a computer or related; reasonably.

So, things being as they are, what do you need the IT guy for.  He now has to go get a job at a company that can support thousands of users and get paid a lot less than he would have 20 years ago by opening up his/her own store.

This is not to say that people that specialize in technology aren't useful, skilled, or necessary.  Or that one couldn't open up a shop and do well, just that it isn't as easy as it once was, the specifics have changed.  The market has become smaller, many people are too poor, and still more just are not going to see enough value to pay for help.   In the enterprise and small business space there is a lot of noise and it is very crowded.  It is not enough to simply design web-sites, build computers, or install operating systems anymore.

If people were able to work on their own cars, without ensuring a catastrophe or death, they would do that at the same frequency.  This is a bit harder and generally more expensive then it once was when a tuneup solved most problems, this is also changing fast.  Perhaps at some point, with 3D printing and similar technologies, we will see the death of the auto dealer and other similar consumer sale companies.  If you can just purchase a variety of raw materials and actually produce the product on your own, inexpensively, and consistently most people will likely choose that option.


As technology moves forward it is obviously going to adversely affect some industries.   What is important is how we respond to these challenges.

Change is part of any successful system and must be dealt with; the sooner the better.

One way that the tech industry has continued to evolve is through the creation of the tech consultant.  In an effort to save the mid-level skill and experience positions, by the professionals themselves.  Similar to the way radio and entertainment personalities have transferred to the pod-casting platform as radio stations, newspapers and other forms of traditional media have been eroding.

This has been a great start, but we shouldn't see this as the limit to the transition, rather a stepping stone to the next step.

In order to employ people you need to be in a position to fix a problem.  This is not to say that you should build in externalities that force the problem to continually replicate it's self.   There still needs to be a concerted effort to clearly estimate market-size, demand, and possible scaling issues.  It is impossible to plan for every eventuality, but we can try.

You can not force a particular technology to stay relevant.  So you need to be far more diverse than one was once forced to be.  This is no easy task and shouldn't be seen as something that is just going to be apparent from an initial survey.  

This is a good position for the nerd to be in, since they are in their element.   For the average Joe, this may prove to be a challenge, but then again they probably should choose their career path according to their skills and interests.

In order to transition to new areas of technology you have to be flexible -- not in the dirty way, thought that may help in certain circles -- and find joy in the technical details of a project, though you may not be passionate about the content.  This is true in everything, but based on the amount of time you tend to spend with the content in tech, it is especially important to identify things you may not be able to stay focused on or work with creatively.

This is basically a verbose way of saying that you shouldn't necessarily limit yourself based on your dogma, experiences, or interests.  Some of us tend to do this as an almost defensive response.

Also, it is important to stay apprised of what is happening in industries that you may be abstractly connected to.  For instance reading avionics publications and white papers even though you work in web design.  Since there are applications for certain aspects of web technology in the aircraft and marine sector.

Ignoring this parallels may not necessarily hurt your chances of maintaining a good career, though you never know, you may also just learn something unique to one industry that you can use to make yourself invaluable in another.

Lastly, expand your interests in other completely unrelated areas.  Both for the networking possibilities and to make sure that your concepts and ideas don't become a victim of the environment they were conceived in.

Studying history, sports and rock climbing for instance may lead you to discover a way  you can implement a service to aid people in these areas.  Whether it be an actual technology related improvement, or if the information simply aids in your ability to connect with people socially, it is worth the time investment.

It is important to remember and be comfortable with allowing change to come in time, and to allow your ultimate concept of self to be detached from what you are working on.