Windows 10 Creators Update first thoughts

3D

When I started programming (4th grade - high school) I was working in DOS. One of my crowning achievements was creating character based menu environments to make it easier for non-technical people to use their computers (aka: launch programs). The first time I saw Windows 3.1 I remember thinking, “How do you program any of that?”

Clearly Windows (and the mouse) was going to change how people used computers. But it was daunting at that time.

I feel the same about 3D right now. I can’t draw. I don’t think in 3D. Watching all this 3D stuff takes me right back to those high school days.

Game Broadcasting

I don’t game anymore. CEO & Co-founder & Benevolent Dictator & Dad doesn’t seem compatible with gaming. But I do like watching gaming. I know a lot of people think that’s crazy but as Meyerson pointed out more people watch League of Legends World Finals than the World Series.

I thought that stat was particularly interesting because it was The Crystal Method and their performance at League of Legends World Finals in 2013 that introduced me to professional gaming.

Now I generally watch Starcraft 2 tournaments which somehow match the intensity of a soccer match for me.

Anyway, Microsoft reaching out to gaming professionals as “creators” makes total sense to me.

Communications

The only thing I took away from this part of the presentation is that we still haven’t figured out how to communicate effectively in this age of information overload.

Surface Studio

I like Panos. He is a gifted presenter that truly loves his products. He tells great stories that drive what he builds. I also believe he is absolutely necessary because no one else at Microsoft can sell their hardware vision.

So, an update to the Surface Book is nice to see. In my interview with .NET Rocks (oh, hey, that comes out tomorrow!), I mentioned I’d like a Surface Book. Good to see they’re continuing to push it forward.

But, really, everyone was waiting for the Surface Studio since images were already leaked. As Panos oozed about the Surface Studio, I finally figured out why I wasn’t impressed:

@WithinRafael and @fearthecowboy I've come to the profound conclusion that Surface Studio is not targeted at developers.

— Rob Mensching (@robmen) October 26, 2016

Once I realized this wasn’t a machine for me, I was more impressed. The 1-1 mapping of paper to pixels is really cool. Laying the monitor down and being able to draw on it looks really cool. Except I can’t draw (see above).

Then something clicked. It looked to me like Microsoft was out doing Apple in the category Apple (used to?) claim they loved most. Creatives. Someone famous agreed with me:

Good thing Apple makes phones because Microsoft just destroyed their computer business.

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 26, 2016

We’ll see if it works. Until I see the Windows logo glowing behind the DJ decks, I’ll withhold judgement.

Conclusion

At this moment, I actually like that Microsoft is publicly naming their Windows 10 releases after their primary target audience. Certainly more than naming them after islands or cities or cats. However, I reserve the right to change my mind if the names start getting confusing. Although the engineer in me seriously misses version numbers.

Otherwise, this event was mostly a no-op for me personally. We’ll see what comes of it for Microsoft.

In the meantime, keep coding. You know I am.