Microsoft CEO Wants One OS To Rule Them All

By Kevin Parrish
published

On Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told analysts during the FY14 Q4 earnings conference call that the company plans to merge all of the major Windows releases together into one platform that fits all screen sizes.

This move to one platform is backed by the “Universal Windows Apps” tool revealed during BUILD 2014 back in April, which allows developers to write a single app for desktop, mobile devices and the Xbox One console. A unified store is expected to be launched in April 2015 as part of the “Threshold” release of the Windows platform.

"This means one operating system that covers all screen sizes," Nadella said. "We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes. In the past we had multiple teams working on different versions of Windows. Now we have one team with a common architecture. This allows us to scale, create Universal Windows Apps."

He clarified that Microsoft will continue to offer different versions (SKUs) of Windows such as Windows Pro, Windows Server and so on, but they will essentially be identical at the core. He also acknowledged that the stores will be unified, as will commerce and developer platforms.

Nadella also mentioned that the company will be talking more about the future of Windows in the coming months, and what the next installment will bring to customers. Currently, Microsoft is expected to ship Windows 8.1 Update 2 in August or September, followed by a possible Windows 9 public beta in Q4 2014. After that, there may be an Update 3 in 1Q 2015 if the Windows 9 public preview isn't available.

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Kevin Parrish
50 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Merry_Blind
    Well that's good and all, but I thought we already knew this since Windows 8 was 'officially' the first step into this whole process.
    Reply
  • canadianvice
    Or, you could have a mobile OS and a desktop OS.
    Even Apple doesn't have the audacity to try and merge desktop and mobile into a single platform because it doesn't work.

    They're too diverse.
    Unless a disc comes with both, and the option to install them is diverse. I'd like to see a Windows disc with the necessary files for both, but three options:
    Mobile
    Desktop
    Both

    That would mean you don't waste HDD space on the part you don't need.
    Reply
  • Avus
    This <mod edit> idea again...

    <Mod Note: Watch your language>
    Reply
  • shiitaki
    For me, one of the reasons I love my iPhone and iPad is that I DONT have the baggage of Windows. Microsoft really doesn't get it. Apple is going to continue to dominate because they are doing the obvious and integrating all of the devices in to a coherent system that just works. Microsoft is trying to put Windows on every device,that only works with it's self. Research in Motion sat on it's ass without a clue. Chrome gets a little better, and Apple gets a little cheaper, and there won't be any where for Microsoft to hide except the IT department. Microsoft keeps screwing their core customers on the desktop chasing some fantasy utopia that only exists in Redmond, they might even loose the corporate desktop. The last thing anybody want's is a phone or tablet with a restore partition, patch Tuesday, or System Restore. The fact is we don't want those on our desktops either!
    Reply
  • Zepid
    Or, you could have a mobile OS and a desktop OS.
    Even Apple doesn't have the audacity to try and merge desktop and mobile into a single platform because it doesn't work.

    They're too diverse.
    Unless a disc comes with both, and the option to install them is diverse. I'd like to see a Windows disc with the necessary files for both, but three options:
    Mobile
    Desktop
    Both

    That would mean you don't waste HDD space on the part you don't need.

    But that is 100% incorrect. Apple has a different OS on mobile because they literally can't design an OS to save their lives. This is apparent when Apple dropped the last shred of original in-house code when they ditched OS9 and instead skinned FreeBSD for OSX. They are talentless hacks who put a new coat of paint on existing open source products.
    Reply
  • xenol
    As long as the OS understands what device it's on and can adjust it's GUI accordingly.

    Apple also basically has one OS... if you say the kernel is the OS. iOS is built on the same kernel as Mac OS X.
    Reply
  • Onus
    This article is aptly titled. This "one OS for everything" idea needs to be cast into the fires of Mt. Doom.
    Over the next year or so, I believe there's a hard lesson coming, and that is that to become OR remain successful, a business must deliver what the Customer wants, not what it thinks the Customer should have, particularly for the sake of ongoing revenue.
    Reply
  • tom10167
    Would this mean that the operating system would take up as much space on a phone as on a PC?
    Reply
  • de5_Roy
    i read the headline as "Microsoft CEO Wants One OS To Ruin Them All". anyway, the idea is nice and all, but not worth pushing. ms can't have x86 applications run on arm-powered devices. xbone has the same underlying uarch as desktop pcs so it's not a stretch. all they can do is facilitate file accessing and modifying compatibility across a wide range of devices. other than that, the idea only benefits microsoft, not the users.
    Reply
  • daekar
    A few thoughts in no particular order:
    1) Weren't they already doing this with Windows 8? Why on earth were they still working on non-unified core pieces?
    2) Isn't this entirely predicated on mobile devices with x86 processors?
    3) I'm really hoping they get it right. The day when your phone IS your computer, and simply docks to a keyboard/mouse/monitor are not far away. If MS does things right, my next phone could be a Windows Phone that replaces my desktop and runs x86 applications.
    4) The rapid rate of Windows releases puzzles me. Windows 9 is on the horizon already?
    Reply