Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) has released a
sweeping redesign of its world-dominating Windows OS, introducing a
touch-enabled interface that intends to bridge the gap between PCs and
fast-growing mobile phones powered by company’s toughest rivals.
The debut of Windows 8 indicated the biggest
challenge to the system since the year 1995, when the company first offered
built-in Internet support. The overhaul could be Microsoft’s most significant
product since Bill Gates won the agreement to build an operating system for
IBM’s first PC in 1981.
To succeed, the new version needs to be
innovative and elegant enough to lure customers, who have fallen for notebook
computers, smartphones and tablets running on iOS and Android.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, said in an event in
New York that there must be no doubt about Microsoft shattering perceptions
about what a PC really is.
The first PCs and other gadgets operating on
Windows 8 were supposed to go on sale on Friday.
The software version is designed to be used on a
variety of machines, including PCs, computers, tablets and more. Microsoft’s
new Surface tablet is the first computing device that the company has made
after setting its focus on software for a span of over 30 years.
The revamped operating system signifies an
attempt to pull off a tough balancing act as Microsoft maintains its highly
profitable legacy in software while attempting to get a grip in the newer and
more fertile field of mobile devices.
Till date, the booming mobile device industry has
been defined greatly by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Google’s Android-based devices
and Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets. Tablets have been undercutting the sales of
laptop and desktop computers after Apple released its ground-breaking iPad in
the year 2010.
If Windows 8 is a hit, it could also help in
lifting the fortunes of struggling PC manufacturers, including Dell and HP,
whose stocks have faltered with the rise of mobile computing.
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