Windows 10 Storm – True or False?

 

How does the introduction of Windows 10 by Microsoft in July 2015 compare with previous releases? Has Microsoft’s new operating system taken the market place by storm? The following information on the Windows Supersite blog (http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-momentum) gives a sense of how this new release compares with previous releases:

“Earlier today we learned via a tweet storm from Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s CVP for Marketing in the Windows and Devices group, that Windows 10 is now installed on over 75 million devices in its first month of availability.

That is an overall average of 2.5 million upgrades per day since its release on 29 July.”

These numbers allow us to compare the progress of Windows 10 against its predecessors which is fine however, we must keep in mind that the last major Windows OS releases were all not free upgrades.

The only one that came close was Windows 8 when it was offered to new PC buyers at a price of $14.99.

Users who had Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 prior to that new PC offer still got a good discounted price of $39 to purchase the Windows 8 upgrade. Even those deals did not help Windows 8 much in the long run.

Windows 8.1 was a free upgrade for users on Windows 8.1 but it was not a major release like Windows 10.”

So with those caveats out there let’s compare the Windows 10 roll out to past major Windows releases.

Windows 95 – 40 million in first year (*)

Windows 98 – 530,000 boxed copies in first four days (retail) (*)

Windows ME – 200,000 boxed copies in first three days (US retail) (*)

Windows XP – 300,000 boxed copies in first three days (US retail) and 17 million in two months (*)

Windows Vista – 20 million in first month (*)

Windows 7 – 100 million in first six months; 450 million in less than two years (*)

Windows 8 – 60 million in just over two months and 100 million in first six months (*)

Windows 10 – 14 million upgrades in first 24 hours and 75 million in first month (via Microsoft)

*Sales numbers from A brief History of Windows Sales Figures, 1985-Present published on 07 May 13 by Harry McCracken in the Technoligizer column at Time.com

Another bit of information bodes well for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system:

“In a session with tech writer on Microsoft’s campus today, the company revealed that of the 75 million installations of Windows 10 they announced a few days ago, some 1.5 million of those are for Enterprise SKUs.  A number of writers in attendance, including Peter Bright of Ars Technica, tweeted out the information: ‘of the 75 million machines running Windows 10, 1.5 million are running the Enterprise SKU’.’

“The number is significant in that enterprise customers are traditionally reluctant to jump in and upgrade as training issues along with cost (Enterprise SKUs are not free like the consumer editions are), so this comes as more good news for the early adoption of Windows 10.”

So if mid-sized and large companies are adopting Windows 10, which is a cost to them, in an economy which is not the most robust, it bodes well for this new operating system (in my opinion). What does the enterprise translate to from the Microsoft perspective? The following from the Microsoft Volume Licensing website gives an idea.

“The Microsoft Enterprise Agreement offers the best value to organizations with 250 or more users or devices that want a manageable volume licensing program that gives them the flexibility to buy cloud services and software licenses under one agreement.”

While this is a lower limit of the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, the typical enterprise is a firm with over 10,000 employees. If the estimate of 2 to 3 devices per employee is the norm, you can see that this quickly becomes a large number of users of Microsoft products. Not all of these devices will be using Windows 10, but a substantial number of the computers in the enterprise will be.

Windows 10 comes in a number of different configurations for varying devices. These include Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise and Windows 10 IoT Core.

Again, Supersite blog asks the following:

“Now the big question will be can the momentum be sustained and help them [Microsoft] reach their goal of having Windows 10 on one billion devices in the next 2-3 years.”

Can Microsoft engage the one billion devices in the market place today connected to the internet, given the popularity of IOS and Android? As businesses and consumers want more and faster connectivity between devices, and with security being as critical as it is, the enterprise model is increasingly important. This is one of Microsoft’s core strengths.

Given the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), (see my blog Windows 10 and the Internet of Things), the following versions of Windows 10 may well be best sellers in an expanding market for Microsoft.

“There will also be versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise for industry devices like ATMs, retail point of sale, handheld terminals and industrial robotics and Windows 10 IoT Core for small footprint, low cost devices like gateways.”

As a Windows Insider and Windows 10 user since the inception of the beta program, I am confident that Microsoft is going in the right direction with this new, innovative operating system and the Windows 10 storm is real. It is another step in keeping up with the exponential advance in technology in our world today.

Sincerely,

H. Court Young
Author, publisher, speaker and geologist
Promoting awareness through the written word
Research, freelance writing & self-publishing services
Facebook: HCourtYoung
Phone: 303-726-8320
Email: tmcco@msn.com
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Tribute to NASA/JPL for the New Horizons - Pluto Mission

 

I watched with amazement during July 2015 as a small grand piano sized spacecraft, named New Horizons, made a journey of over 3 billion miles to explore a planet named Pluto (I am showing my age). The photos of this small planet, so distant from our world, were, and continue to be, stunning. Scientists and researchers in many disciplines will be very busy for numerous years analyzing new discoveries from both the photos and the data from this small spacecraft on its journey through our universe.

This was a mission which was launched January 19, 2006. According to the NASA – New Horizons website (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html) the mission is described as follows:

“Voyage to an Unexplored Planet and a New Realm

The New Horizons mission will help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of the dwarf planet Pluto and by venturing deeper into the distant, mysterious Kuiper Belt – a relic of solar system formation.

The Journey

New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006; it swung past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February 2007, and will conduct a five-month-long reconnaissance flyby study of Pluto and its moons in summer 2015. Pluto closest approach is scheduled for July 14, 2015. As part of an extended mission, the spacecraft is expected to head farther into the Kuiper Belt to examine one or two of the ancient, icy mini-worlds in that vast region, at least a billion miles beyond Neptune’s orbit.

Sending a spacecraft on this long journey will help us answer basic questions about the surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres on these bodies.”

It is also noted on the NASA website:

“The United States has been the first nation to reach every planet from Mercury to Neptune with a space probe. If New Horizons is successful, it will allow the U.S. to complete the initial reconnaissance of the solar system.”

Clearly this “mission” was accomplished in July 2015 with typical space pioneering flair which included awe inspiring photographs and enough data to keep many scientific disciplines occupied for years to come. And, I might add that the mission is not yet over. This little spacecraft is continuing on to explore the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto (which includes a vast region of icy objects called Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and dwarf planets).

In tribute, I am announcing my publication of a new digital book entitled “Meteorites and Meteorite Impacts Around the World, An Introduction to Meteorites, Mass Extinctions, Climate Change & Meteorite Impacts on Earth – 2015 Edition.” This new 50-page e-publication is available for download in Kindle format from Amazon.com. It presents an overview of the known meteorite impact craters around the globe. White the focus is on meteorite impact craters; it presents information about the origin, types and mineralogy of meteorites. Included is a linked table of the known meteorite impact craters on Earth. In addition, you will learn what the consequences might be if one of these “visitors from outer space” were to impact the Earth today.

Please visit the following link for more information or to purchase your copy today - Meteorites and Meteorite Impacts Around the World, An Introduction to Meteorites, Mass Extinctions, Climate Change & Meteorite Impacts on Earth – 2015 Edition.

My eBook about Meteorite Impacts Around the World is part of a series which includes another NASA/JPL mission which ended in 2001. This mission to the Near Earth Object (NEO) named EROS, was another stunning scientific success by NASA and JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). I documented the journey to EROS with more than 300 high resolution images and the corresponding NASA/JPL commentary, including links, in EROS Adventure, Journey to an Asteroid. This was an exploration trip to one of the locations where meteorites and asteroids, which impact our planet originate from.

These missions demonstrate the technological, engineering and scientific prowess available today. America has been a leader in exploration, both of our planet and of the solar system.

Think of what could have been done had the money spent in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East wars been invested in this type of exploration and research. While, I am sure a few people and organizations profited greatly from these “adventures” in the middle east, investment in scientific research and exploration typically benefits the entirety of the human race and hence our planet.

As in many of my blogs, I call into question our “leaders,” especially those in the United States Congress. I term them the “Rs” and “Ds” respectively and believe their motives collectively, with a few exceptions, are totally and completely self-serving. While this can be said of all of us to one degree or another, our top corporate and government leaders should be held to a stricter standard, especially if their anointing is “public service” in either the government or corporate realm.

So why have none but Ron Paul and his son Rand Paul called for less military spending (which could and would be used for scientific and other research and training), instead of additional government contracts for the development and production of weapons systems and war technology by private and public companies?

Why the call from the mainstream neocon/neolib “Rs” and “Ds” to continue defense department/pentagon buildups, massive weapons systems and more wars around the world, instead of funding for NASA and other public and private scientific institutions? Clearly, the “Rs” and “Ds” are reaping immense portfolio rewards, at the expense of this and future generations. This continual implementation of “war is good for us” policy benefits a few elites (the top 1%) (and their corporations) but the entirety of the human race suffers.

As I noted previously, these space missions are truly awe inspiring not only for my generation, but for the generations which follow. If we had a significant increase in this type of spending, we would have younger generations stepping up to meet the challenge as we would need more scientists, inventors, engineers, entrepreneurs and doctors. This would benefit the younger generations both from a monetary point of view, as well as from a challenging professional career standpoint. It is for this reason that I ask my readers in the United States to consider carefully their choice of leaders in this upcoming presidential and congressional election of 2016. If we want the next generations to pursue engineering and science then we need to provide an infrastructure in which they can do so. This will require a paradigm shift to get away from the military industrial complex (MIC) spending which has taken over our society from the end of World War II.

As I close this blog, I once again commend NASA and JPL (and all the other people and institutions involved) for a stunning triumph in the New Horizons – Pluto mission. This remarkable event truly is worthy of a “Mission Accomplished” from the entire human race.

Sincerely,

H. Court Young
Author, publisher, speaker and geologist
Promoting awareness through the written word
Research, freelance writing & self-publishing services
Facebook: HCourtYoung
Phone: 303-726-8320
Email: tmcco@msn.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hcourtyoung
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hcourtyoung
Blog: http://hcourtyoung.blogspot.com