When Microsoft announced Windows 10, the first question many people asked was what happened to Windows 9? While we have heard the reasoning about the programming issue for legacy applications, Microsoft is pushing a line that sounds a bit more interesting than the 'it breaks old apps'.
Microsoft's Tony Prophet, who is the corporate vice president of Windows Marketing told a different story while on stage at the Dreamforce Conference in San Francisco. So what did Prophet say about Windows 9? Simply, "It came and it went".
It's a short answer that skirts the issue but we interpret it to mean that Windows 8 morphed into Windows 9 during its lifecycle since it was updated so many times to add new functionality back in to the OS.
That's a short answer for why Microsoft jumped the number 9, but in reality, Windows 7 and 8 were not the 7th or 8th versions of Windows, so the numbering has never been logical.
Prophet also wanted to hit home that Windows 10 is not a simple step up from Windows 8 but is a huge change for the company in the way that they build Windows to how it will be deployed.
Windows 10 is not going to be an incremental step from Window 8.1," he explained. "Windows 10 is going to be a material step. We're trying to create one platform, one eco-system that unites as many of the devices from the small embedded Internet of Things, through tablets, through phones, through PCs and, ultimately, into the Xbox"
His statements on Windows 10 echo what was said at the announcement of the OS that occurred a couple of weeks back.
The branding behind Windows 10 will likely work in Microsoft's favor too as it will allow the company to distance itself from Windows 8. While Windows 8 has been significantly updated to improve the mouse and keyboard experience since launch, the reputation damage has already been done.
Source: Business Insider
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