Today, Microsoft unveiled more or less, cut and dry updates on Windows 10 and the Microsoft ecosystem. It’s not necessarily compelling, however, it is a welcome improvement to an already well-established system.
We saw the release of Fluent Design, which is Microsoft’s new design standard, moving away from metro. It’s designed to be more fluid, materialized, and interactive. Which, for such a big computing, software, and VR company helps set a tone. We this sort of universal design aspects with Google, with Material Design, or even here, with @overtherock, with Parallax Design.
We also saw an artistic update to Windows 10, where there was a new Remix feature, which allows all community videos of an event to be synonymously uploaded into one”movielike” format, what you can edit, draw, and note on the movie, curated to what you want. This is an incredible idea, but not game-changing. It’s one minor update, a small part of the whole refresh.
What’s also part of the refresh is a fully enclosed OneDrive– where all of your files are shared between all Windows devices, once again, a similar part of what we saw in Google Docs. The biggest innovative feature in this entire this entire system, is actually the multitasking, which now can give you history based on what you opened throughout the day. Once again, a welcome addition, but nothing too extreme.
And then there’s Virtual reality, which Microsoft is pushing to blend into our own, with interactive controls and advanced VR headsets. They want to make them more economic and cheaper, which they are pushing out with their OEM’s to do. As of right now, we don’t know how, but these sets, still, unfortunately will sell for $200+, at their cheapest.
What we see here is that Microsoft is trying to catch up with Google and get their own leg ups over them, with small, but matterful innovations that help them develop smaller, more meaningful aspects that eventually grow into a major feature, which, ironically, is exactly what Google has been doing for a long time.
To be frank, they really are just a hit-pitch middle for Apple and Google. If you want good design and simplicity, you go for an Apple product. Want innovation, great design, free services and a hint of complexity? You go Google. And now, Microsoft is trying to rock what it is- a second best for everything. Their products aren’t as simple as a Mac, nor are they as well-packed as a Google one. Take the new Surface book for example, where Microsoft’s new computer finds itself to be nowhere as simple as a Mac, but it’s faster, has more features, and is specced beast. However, compare it to say, the Pixel tablet/computer, it’s quickly outpaced by the complexity and innovation produced by Android OS.
Well, now, Microsoft seems to be shaping up to it’s new era, where a true consumer can find true, win-win enjoyment in their products.
Over The Rock 