At first blush, Microsoft’s Windows 11 looks to be a solid update to the operating system software that powers most of the world’s PCs. …
At first blush, Microsoft’s Windows 11 looks to be a solid update to the operating system software that powers most of the world’s PCs. Windows 11’s biggest change is its new streamlined look, reminiscent of smartphones and tablets. Microsoft also added capabilities to help people with the new ways we’ve all learned to work. That includes built-in video chat software, technology to make video games look better, and more-modern looking buttons and windows for controlling apps and sorting documents. But its most important feature will be what it doesn’t do. After announcing Windows 11 last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said his company is building its technology to work with as many products as possible, including software for competing Google Android-powered smartphones. “Today, the world needs a more open platform — one that allows apps to become platforms in their own right,” he said. “Windows is a platform where things that are bigger than Windows can be born.” He pushed this point by inviting Google to bring its app store onto Windows. He also told developers they’re now allowed to sell programs on the Microsoft Store for little to no commission, a stark shift from Apple’s and Google’s 15% minimum take that’s led to lawsuits and antitrust probes around the world. And he said he’d welcome Apple’s FaceTime and other technologies on Windows 11 and in the Microsoft Store. “We want to remove the barriers that too often exist today and provide real choice and connection,” he said. “Operating systems and devices should mold to our needs, not the other way around.” Microsoft’s move with Windows 11 marks the latest in a sea change for the world’s most highly valued software company. Two decades ago, Microsoft’s attempts to crush competitors through its Windows software led a federal judge to declare it a monopoly. Microsoft’s sharp-elbowed tactics and problem-prone software made it so reviled that people across the tech landscape shorthanded the company as M$ in chatrooms for what they saw as the company putting profit before the needs of people using its products. Competitors joined in too. In the early 2000s, Google marketed its nascent search engine with the corporate ethos “Don’t be Evil.” And when Apple began formulating its “Get a Mac” campaign to help market its computers in 2005, it cast the Microsoft-powered PC as a bumbling and arrogant fool. “The fact is you’re selling like hotcakes now, and I’ve got to get my message out, so I’m doing a little buzz marketing for good old PC, the only computer you’ll ever need,” said the character PC, played by comedian John Hodgman, who then holds up signs saying “Amazing!” and “Totally cool!” But things have changed since then.
