But, Microsoft took its time with the transition from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone, and by the time Windows Phone launched most of the potential customers had already chosen sides and invested in either the iOS or Android ecosystem.
And the Windows run time (what the RT stands for) sounds closer to Windows 8 than iOS is to Mac OS X.
More than 1.5 billion devices used Windows 7 and earlier versions of the system at the time of Windows 8's launch, making the OS both the most popular of its kind and one of the company's key sources of revenue.
The integration of Internet Explorer will be complete by the time Windows 98 is available next year.
By the time Windows 8 tablets appear, a third version may well have won Apple even more customers.
Market forces are also encouraging the emergence of dynamic windows at this time.
FORBES: Dynamic Windows Improve Efficiency, Human Experience in Buildings
Very nice support for "virtual desktops previews" to help handle a large number of open application windows at one time.
Kind of like how Microsoft jumps on those error messages every time Windows asks if you want to report it to them, right?
FORBES: Here's Why I'm Grateful Microsoft Doesn't Build Airplanes
Yes, over smaller time windows, some of the strategies showed better performance than a random investment, but over the long run those differences mostly went away.
FORBES: Computer Simulation Suggests That The Best Investment Strategy Is A Random One
Deadlines need to be met, Tweets have to be sent, updates and meetings and discussions have brief time windows to hurry through before they expire on Outlook.
FORBES: 4 Benefits Your Business Receives From Delayed Filing
But how does a long-time Windows user, especially someone who loved every other version they tried, get to the point where they have so much hated the latest release?
FORBES: Why Windows 8 Is The First Windows Release I Absolutely Hate
Upgrades will be tier-for-tier, with Vista Home Premium users getting to switch up to Windows 7 Home Premium when the time is right, Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional, and Vista Ultimate users getting an upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate.
In some ways, the proposed break-up would put Microsoft in the competitive position it faced in the mid-1990s, when Netscape threatened to develop middleware that could have undermined the dominance of Windows except that this time the challenger would be Microsoft excluding Windows, a firm uniquely equipped (not least with billions of dollars in revenues) to take up the fight.
Yes children, there was indeed a time before Windows and some of us have lived long enough that we can remember it.
At the same time, windows and the sunroof are automatically closed, seat belts are tightened and your hazard lights go on, Audi explains.
Even so, the ATIV Odyssey is at least another sign that Verizon will have much more than a token Windows Phone lineup this time around.
ENGADGET: Samsung ATIV Odyssey brings even more Windows Phone 8 to Verizon this December
It is unclear if Microsoft will have voice support in Mobile Server, but it does not plan to offer speech recognition in Windows 2000 until some time in 2002.
Microsoft software engineers are the best in the world as Windows 7 has sold close to 500 million copies in a short time, and the Windows OSes totally dominate the computer industry.
If the Windows 8 launch is successful, this perception may change over time, but not unless the Windows mobile ecosystem grows as robust as competitive offerings.
FORBES: Surprise! Microsoft - Not Apple - Has The Best Tablet Ad on TV
Elop says they have the flexibility to ensure they can differentiate over time while using Windows.
It took closer to 20 minutes from download to complete install time on both Windows Vista and Windows 7.
FORBES: Macroing With The Razer DeathStalker Ultimate in Eve
Even though Microsoft owns shares in Facebook, Home is not available at this time for the Windows Phone platform.
This could also be a plus for Qualcomm, which has an effective lock on Windows smartphone business for the time being.
FORBES: Google's Motorola Deal Could Give Windows An Opening
But it seems likely that he decided that the completion of Windows 8 was a good time to review how the company was working.
When you log in to the new Windows phones for the first time, for example, you are asked to enter your social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and so on.
BBC: Le Web: The tech world's best talk about the hottest trends
But by the time that a Windows PC did almost all of what a Mac did (albeit worse and with many more bugs and holes) at a significantly lower price then Apple was relegated to a backwater of the market with, what was it, 4% market share?
FORBES: The Real Danger To Samsung And Apple: Commoditisation Of Smartphone Handsets
David Pogue, New York Times: In time, maybe the Windows RT apps will come.
FORBES: Mixed Reviews for the Surface Do Microsoft No Favors
But the slides describe potential upcoming Windows features like a faster boot time and facial recognition.
FORBES: With 'Windows 8' Leak, Microsoft Gets Its Very Own Gray Powell
Microsoft will continue selling software the traditional way, for a one-time fee for one Windows computer.
Elop says first Windows Phone units will be in time for holiday sales.
应用推荐