Once, a wonderful teacher I had taught me “Engineering is about making sacrifices, you loss something to gain another one”. That has stick to me ever since. Personally, I think Windows 8 is suffering from that. Microsoft doesn’t want to scarify much of it in order to keep it compelling to the established based, which is fine! However if Microsoft wants to propel this new operating system into the future, it needs to get rid of the old thing and focus on the new things, in order to make it appealing and a good future OS.

As we all know, if you try to please everyone, somebody will not be pleased. In Windows 8 case, even with its evolved core, it’s based on yesterday’s technology and way of handling computers. That’s what’s avoiding Windows 8 to take off, or at least to be taken seriously as the next OS.

Windows 7 is a fine operating system, which can be kept up to date for older systems to use it. When I mention older, is anything that’s not using touch as their main way of interaction. For Windows 8 though, Microsoft should get rid of all those ways of workings and underneath technologies, to focus on new ways of interaction. This will not be a short term bet, however will be the proper one.

The situation is not the first time in computer history such a change was made, as a matter of fact Apple went through this transition a decade ago. Granted Apple didn’t have the installed base Windows has now, so it was easier for them to get rid of their old thing (aka Mac OS 9), than it is for Microsoft, that’s why we suggest keeping Windows 7 alive. In the old days, Mac OS 9 became obsolete. Apple made the decision to re-focus on a new operating system, and most importantly, they clearly decided there was no return or maintenance to the old model. Indeed the beginnings of the new OS X were rough, but little by little they polished it. Still there are some functions that I miss from OS 9, however that’s the past, the current OS X is a nice OS to work with. The previous was writing a long history short.

Going back to Windows, if they get rid of technologies like registry and CMD prompt, they can focus on building a much better and attractive Windows 8 than the one that’s currently today, which is trying to do two things at the same time: satisfy the old school audience while trying to attract the new touch based audience. In the process is not enchanting neither. True, that making such significant changes will render Windows 8 incompatible with a large portion of current software, however isn’t that the idea behind Metro (or whatever its name is)? To our understanding the idea is to build for the new interface, which forces the developer to focus on the new stuff rather than the old way of handling a computer. If that’s the idea, why not embrace it with full force?

For those who doesn’t like the change, there’s Windows 7 for them. The objective will be to gain new hearts and minds with Windows 8, for sure it will not be easy convincing people to do this, however the damage control that Microsoft repeatedly has to make (I.e. bringing back the Start menu) hasn’t been a walk in the park either.

Microsoft has been wise to adapt to the coming changes, and to some extent they have been quick to do it (giving their size and entrenched market), however they need to be even more aggressive if they still want to be the leader in OSs, they stakes are too high.