Decade in review: 12 stories that changed Microsoft, Windows and Xbox forever in the 2022s
Source: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images for Microsoft
X years is a long fourth dimension. But information technology's even longer when you're talking technology, where platforms can ascension to ubiquity and fall to anonymity quicker than in whatever other industry and there'due south no such affair as "business organization every bit usual."
The 2022s were mostly good to Microsoft, and the company embarks on a new decade with a strong brand and healthy bottom line. As nosotros welcome the 2022s, nosotros looked back on the previous decade'southward highs and lows for Microsoft, its products and platforms, the company'south leadership and its millions of users.
These are the 12 nigh momentous Microsoft stories of the 2022s.
October 2022: Microsoft closes Skype deal
Source: Windows Central
It's kind of difficult to imagine a time when Microsoft and Skype weren't old pals. Even so, earlier the 2022 transaction, Skype had inverse hands a couple of times, from eBay to a Silver Lake investment group. The Microsoft acquisition story broke mid-October of that twelvemonth, about a half-twelvemonth later information technology was announced that Skype would be coming to Windows Phone 7. Microsoft shelled out a absurd $8.5 billion to acquire the net communications pioneer, and while the purchase was announced earlier in the year, the deal was finalized October thirteen, 2022.
Then Skype CEO Tony Bates became President of Skype Division at Microsoft, reporting directly to then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. At the time the story went live, we were curious to see how the implementation of Skype would happen with Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Nosotros all know how that ended upwardly. Windows Phone is effectively dead, and Skype comes baked into every Windows 10 PC.
June 2022: Microsoft announces Surface Pro
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Fundamental
Microsoft's Surface Pro was a critical and controversial release. Announced June 18, 2022, during what many called the "mail service-PC era" of declining laptop sales, Microsoft kept pushing the concept until information technology finally resonated with the masses three years subsequently. It can also be credited with reinvigorating a brackish laptop manufacture, and making Ultrabooks not simply relevant and exciting but keeping sales alive too. Microsoft did all of this while not alienating its key PC partners like HP, Dell, and Lenovo, who all benefited in the long run.
Initially mocked, the Surface Pro has become the poster kid for innovation and a radical rethinking of what a laptop could be for modernistic users. Only it wasn't until Surface Pro three and Surface Pro four that Microsoft truly realized its vision. Since then, steady improvements, including removing fans, has made the Surface Pro one of the best PCs effectually.
Microsoft nonetheless occasionally struggles with hardware issues similar Intel'due south Skylake processor fiasco from 2022, bombardment degradation problems, processor throttling, and never including the Type Cover in the terminal pricing. Only the company mostly treats these as learning moments and always seems to meliorate from the bad press.
Equally we head into 2022, the Surface Pro design is at present so iconic companies like Apple and Google borrow heavily from Microsoft. The Surface Pro is now accepted as a legitimate alternative to the traditional laptop – not a gimmick, not a fad. Information technology likewise solidified Microsoft's hardware ambitions and is the base for all time to come Surface hardware.
Microsoft still has more than work to exercise with the Surface Pro – at that place can never exist likewise much bombardment or processing ability – but the overall concept is here to stay. Surface Pro 10 is an adjunct of that design pushing mobility even further. And the forthcoming dual-screen Surface Neo is an fifty-fifty more than radical theory of mobile calculating that is about to kick off the next decade.
August 2022: Microsoft releases the mess that was Windows 8
Source: Windows Central
Windows 8 was among Microsoft'south most radical changes ever made to its desktop platform. Amid the ascent of smartphones and tablets, Redmond saw real threat from the growth of portable productivity, developing a new affect-optimized Windows Shell effectually the "Metro" pattern language.
Under the leadership of then-CEO, Steve Ballmer, and Windows head, Steven Sinofsky, it introduced the controversial tile-based Start screen and closed app store, doubling downwards on the allure of mobile OSes. Simply Windows eight was largely considered a disappointment amidst consumers and enterprises upon its Oct 2022 launch, straying as well far from the company'due south legacy desktop vision. While Microsoft felt it was the major change Windows needed, with some values withal present today, information technology simply lacked the familiarity most desired.
Microsoft would later backpedal on those changes, releasing the free Windows 8.1 update, reintroducing the Start button, and allowing users to boot to the desktop. Simply the impairment was done, with Windows 8 usage dwarfed by Windows 7, and other past variants. Microsoft would afterward find its balance with Windows 10, available every bit a free upgrade for Windows vii and 8 users, only Windows 8 is arguably Microsoft'south depression-point for the decade, and it was clear the company simply had to do better with its side by side Windows Os release.
July 2022: Steve Ballmer announces "One Microsoft" vision
Source: Microsoft
In July of 2022, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a sweeping reorganization of the company. This reorg was meant to unify the company's notoriously divided sectors and create a more than cohesive, unified "One Microsoft." The shift was to optimize the talents and resources of each division and to make cross-collaboration within the company more than efficient. The desired effect for customers was that there would be a more than organic and integrated synergy of Microsoft'south products and services.
Ballmer's successor Satya Nadella embraced this, and Ballmer's vision became the catalyst for a major cultural shift that propelled the company forrad during the concluding decade.
Some Microsoft employees say the past atmosphere of fear has been replaced with a culture that encourages taking risks with new things and learning from failures.
This new civilization is evident in many of the bold moves the company has fabricated in the past decade, such as decisively cutting investments in areas where the company could not compete, prioritizing cloud computing over Windows, investing heavily in other platforms, and pushing tech innovation with products like HoloLens are just a few examples.
September 2022: Microsoft acquires Nokia
Source: Windows Central
The history of Microsoft's mobile efforts arguably had no single bigger story than the acquisition of the internationally adored Nokia. Prior to this, Microsoft had struck an understanding with the Finnish telephone maker to put Windows Phone on its devices, finally bringing Nokia a more modern solution than the, at this point, aboriginal Symbian.
And so, for over $vii billion, Microsoft got itself a first-political party smartphone make that virtually could agree prolonged the life of Windows Telephone and Windows 10 Mobile, albeit not for also long.
But at the fourth dimension, this was the most exciting news Windows Phone fans could have imagined. Microsoft would not merely make the platform but funnel its huge wealth into making phones. The hereafter was vivid. For a short fourth dimension, anyway. The impact of the conquering at the end of the decade is near non-existent, as Microsoft'southward mobile efforts shift to Android, but like Nokia'due south.
February 2022: Nadella named Microsoft CEO
Source: Microsoft
When Microsoft announced that Steve Ballmer would be stepping downwardly as CEO, speculation well-nigh who would replace him ran wild. That person concluded up being Satya Nadella, who has since turned Microsoft around in a major fashion, for the better. Always since Satya Nadella took charge, Microsoft stocks have rocketed sky-loftier and are the strongest they have ever been.
Satya Nadella has been able to achieve this by refocusing on Microsoft'southward strengths, rather than chasing markets that it realistically will never be able to catch upwardly in. Satya Nadella put more than emphasis on the cloud, Azure, and enterprise-grade software and services, and put many consumer-facing ventures on the dorsum burner. He stopped projects that were unsuccessful, such as Windows Telephone, Groove Music, and Microsoft Band, and instead focused on areas in which Microsoft could succeed, like with Microsoft Teams and Office 365.
All of these changes take been a huge positive for Microsoft. Stockholders tin't go enough of Microsoft right at present, and that's mostly thanks to the changes Satya Nadella brought in when he became CEO. Focusing more on the enterprise and less on consumers has proven to exist nothing but successful for the company, which means this trend is probable to continue for years to come. Satya Nadella has also improved Microsoft's reputation in several fundamental areas, including the open-source customs, Linux customs, and embracing competitor platforms such equally iOS and Android.
January 2022: Microsoft reveals HoloLens
Source: Windows Central
Few hardware announcements shock the world equally much as HoloLens did in 2022. Revealed during the Windows 10: The adjacent chapter issue in New York City, the creator of HoloLens Alex Kipman took the stage and blew everyone abroad. Sure, the world had heard of holographic calculating, and there was talk someday it could happen. On that winter Wed, Microsoft astounded the audience by not merely demoing a vesture holographic reckoner but announced it was going on sale in early 2022. This thing wasn't a concept. It was real.
TIME Mag even named HoloLens gadget of the year.
In hindsight, Microsoft wasn't also clear on the objective of HoloLens – gaming, piece of work, just for fun? Only that was something it would figure out along the way. Somewhen, HoloLens became a tool for developers, and soon major companies were trialing potential use cases for work environments. While consumers were wondering if one would ever continue sale, Microsoft was putting HoloLens to work, eventually nailing military contracts worth hundreds of millions.
Four years afterwards, Microsoft announced HoloLens 2. Information technology then went on sale only 9 months subsequently. It's a dramatic shift in comfort, features, and usability, including letting companies custom blueprint the headset for diverse jobs.
While the mainstream bending for HoloLens is still being kicked down the route, so far, Microsoft has handled HoloLens skillfully past avoiding the finicky consumer market. It's articulate that Microsoft is taking its time and moving charily towards a holographic hereafter. Microsoft at present has the almost advanced wearable PC in the world running Windows 10, and this try sets the background for the next decade, where holographic calculating could be something you habiliment every day (at least at work).
July 2022: Microsoft launches Windows 10
Source: Dan Rubino / Windows Central
Microsoft's Windows 8 was met by a tsunami of complaints from customers and the media. Microsoft chose to include a tablet-friendly interface and forced information technology on the desktop, which didn't go down besides well. It was a shame since the underlying OS was pretty good. With the lackluster adoption charge per unit for Windows 8 and complaints from the community, Microsoft had to knock it out of the park with Windows x. And information technology did.
Windows 10 took the traditional (and familiar) desktop environment, turned it up to eleven and improved performance across the board. This version of Windows was a huge boon for Microsoft's OS against the competition, allowing both desktop and notebook PCs to kick in a affair of seconds consistently, handle even more than demanding PC games without issue, and offer a vastly more than efficient user feel every bit a whole.
Fast-forward to the latest rollout of updates for Windows 10, and you've got an incredibly stable platform for creators, gamers, full general calculating, and anybody in between.
September 2022: Phil Spencer leads Xbox One
Source: Windows Cardinal
Phil Spencer had previously led Microsoft'due south internal games endeavour, albeit in a hamstrung fashion. The disastrous positioning of the original Xbox I in 2022 torpedoed the brand at the worst possible time, as the gaming manufacture moved increasingly towards digital licenses with users "locked in" to a platform. The boost gave Sony a massive head start, and Xbox has been fighting an uphill battle to regain ground ever since.
With the previously leadership ousted, Spencer non but took the reins of Xbox just was promoted to the Senior Leadership Team, putting gaming at the centre of Microsoft'south wider functioning for the very first time. Equally a result, a flood of investment hitting Xbox, leading to the largest studio portfolio in the sectionalization'southward history, alongside highly strong initiatives in game streaming with Projection XCloud and pioneering industrial engineering on the hardware side.
Xbox still has a loma to climb, but the make has never been in a amend shape. That all started with Spencer's, and thus Xbox'southward, rise to a senior leadership role in Redmond.
Oct 2022: Arrow Launcher becomes Microsoft Launcher
Source: Daniel-Rubino/Windows Central
Microsoft Launcher isn't the most powerful or pop app Microsoft makes for Android, only it truly shows the monumental shift that Microsoft made in regards to mobile. After the pass up and death of Windows Phone and Windows x Mobile, Microsoft reestablished itself in mobile phones through its vast library of apps on Android and iOS.
Microsoft Launcher came out of the Microsoft Garage and quickly gained integration with other services like Microsoft To Do, Office 365, and Cortana. Information technology shows glimpses into Microsoft'southward vision for Android. In fact, the same team that makes Microsoft Launcher will make the launcher for the Surface Duo, Microsoft'due south first Android telephone.
Over the last decade, Microsoft moved from a first-party mobile Os to fully embracing Android and iOS. Officially moving Arrow Launcher out of the Microsoft Garage and converting it to Microsoft Launcher illustrates that switch. Now, you can run an Android telephone with Office 365, Microsoft Launcher, Microsoft Edge, Your Phone, xCloud, Remote Desktop, SwiftKey, and many other Microsoft services.
October 2022: Microsoft says Windows Phone is dead
Source: Windows Central
Windows Phone was a platform that many loved, but in 2022, it had go articulate that Microsoft was no longer interested in pursuing its ain mobile platform. In October 2022, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore confirmed on Twitter that evolution on Windows 10 Mobile was winding downwardly, and that the company was now focusing on Android and iOS as the premiere place for Microsoft software and services on devices that fit in your pocket.
This marked the beginning of the finish for Windows Phone, equally Microsoft stopped releasing new features and hardware for the platform. At the time, Microsoft was hoping to reenter the mobile marketplace with a foldable phone powered past Windows Core OS, but that programme eventually fizzled out in favor of running Android on it instead. This product ultimately became the upcoming Surface Duo.
October 2022: The nascence of Project xCloud
Source: Windows Key
Projection xCloud is Microsoft's game streaming service that's available in public preview at the moment. You tin play around 50 games for free and the company says that the service will also back up your existing purchases and Xbox Game Pass in 2022. Being able to play your games wherever you lot are, without the need for a console, is the time to come of gaming, and Microsoft wants to reach as many gamers as possible.
In many parts of the globe, gaming consoles aren't common but smartphones are. The ability to only download a small app, log in to your Microsoft Account, and commencement playing a "AAA" blockbuster hasn't been possible before. That'due south changing and with xCloud, there are no downloads, no patches, it just works.
While competitors like Google Stadia too exist, Microsoft's bandwidth requirements are the everyman at the moment. You can even utilise your phone'south data plan to play games like Gears 5 and Body of water of Thieves. This is what sets the service apart, and reaching as many players every bit possible is the company's vision for the future of gaming.
UH OH
An internet connection will shortly exist required when setting upwardly Windows xi Pro
Microsoft has appear that later this twelvemonth, users will exist required to connect to the cyberspace and sign-in with a Microsoft Account during the out of box setup experience on Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft has already been enforcing this requirement on Windows 11 Home since launch last October, and Windows 11 Pro is now expected to follow suit soon.
Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/decade-in-review-top-microsoft-windows-xbox-stories-2010s
Posted by: martinhambsood.blogspot.com
0 Response to "Decade in review: 12 stories that changed Microsoft, Windows and Xbox forever in the 2022s"
Post a Comment