Microsoft: Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows

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Microsoft executive Jerry Nixon confirmed at the company’s Ignite conference last week that the upcoming Windows 10 update will be the company’s last version of Windows. That doesn’t mean Windows is going away — far from it, in fact. Microsoft plans to update the OS in a more incremental manner going forward, and that could mean a much more dynamic platform.
For the last few decades, Microsoft would sit down and build a new version of Windows every three years or so. This new version would start shipping on new PCs, but by and large, consumers didn’t run out and buy the new version to upgrade their computers. They simply got the new Windows when they got a new computer. With Windows 10, Microsoft isn’t even getting cash from those who do want to buy the latest and greatest version. Following the furor over Windows 8 and it’s tablet-centric design, Microsoft has announced Windows 10 will be a free update for one year from release.
You currently get plenty of updates on Windows, but they aren’t really the same kind of updates that Microsoft is planning for Windows 10. Windows Update has thus far been a hub for security patches and bug fixes, which is a necessary evil when you’re running the most popular desktop operating system in the world. Windows 10 would get “real” updates that add functionality and change the way the OS works over time.

This would be more like the Chrome model for software updates, where new versions are pushed out frequently. Sometimes you open Chrome and it looks a little different or does something new. Almost no one knows what version of Chrome they are running because it changes so frequently. This experience might be the future of Windows. It makes you wonder how long they’ll bother with the “Windows 10″ branding. One day it might simply be “Windows.”
It sounds like making Windows 10 free isn’t just a mea culpa from Redmond. This “final” version of Windows has the core changes necessary to be updated incrementally, so Microsoft wants as many people as possible to be running it. Built-in apps like Xbox and Mail have been designed to be designed in Windows 10 to be updated independently of the OS, and even Office for Windows 10 will get incremental feature updates rather than a big launch every 3-4 years.
Most of Microsoft’s income from Windows is based on new PC sales, so it’s not likely to take a hit from using this ongoing update model. This is Windows as a service, which is something Microsoft has been wanting to do for years. A few years ago Microsoft might have had the clout to charge an additional subscription fee for Windows as a service, but now? It’s not clear if Microsoft will go down that road, or if the new PC license fees will be enough to satiate investors. We’ll see what happens after the free update period for Windows 10 is over.