Windows 10 Event: Is Microsoft ready for Prime Time?

Tomorrow, January 21st 2015, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella takes the stage to introduce, quite possibly, the last Microsoft Windows we’ll ever need. With over a million testers worldwide, and half a million actively using it, Windows 10 is going to be about consumers, as much as it is about enterprise users.

With Apple and Google racing to the top for both markets, a lot is riding on tomorrow’s event. By the same token, the “wow factor” won’t be so much about what we don’t know, but rather about what users are hoping for.

One easy conclusion is that this event won’t be about the Windows Taskbar. Well, at least not entirely. We can all agree we heard enough about that, to the point of being merely a distraction from the real changes Windows users will face later this year.

There will be mention of it, we are sure, but within context of the bigger picture: Windows is going to be the first attempt at a truly responsive operating system, a feat that’s suddenly hard to top in a world where mobile and desktop are still split in two different ecosystems. This is especially important, as Microsoft needs to recuperate the ground lost during the mobile revolution, and Windows 10 might just give Microsoft, the edge it needs.

There has been talks of Windows 10 targeting smart home devices, a market that Apple and Google are already pioneering. Microsoft OneDrive will be a definite focal point, especially during portions of the presentation within the context of the Internet of Things. Considering the responsive philosophy on which Windows 10 is being built, OneDrive holds a particularly strong significance to the success of all services in connection with the operating system, such as Microsoft Office, Xbox, and the ecosystem of mobile devices Microsoft will be focusing on this year.

We can also expect a demonstration of how Windows 10 will allow Windows Phone and desktop environments to work together, something Apple has put a lot of work into its own OS X Continuity features.

Cortana will also get its fair share of attention. Virtual assistant integration has been a viral subject since last year, considering the level achieved by competitors Siri and Google, we can assume widespread integration of voice assistants on most mainstream desktop environments.

The pricing model of Windows 10 will be a hot button issue. While some are predicting Windows 10 will have a unit price depending on features and services, others have theorized that Windows 10 will require a subscription. There are also sources who believe Windows 10 might be released for free, and function as an ad service platform, but not many are willing to believe it will happen, certainly not to a comprehensive degree..

Whichever the case, it’s important for Microsoft to offer a model that everyone can afford. With the rise of affordable cloud-based computing provided by Chromebooks, and the increasingly affordable high-end Apple offerings, there is a lot of expectation building on tomorrow’s event.