With Bill Gates departing from his part-time role on Microsoft’s board, the manufacturer and tech titan has seen fresh new steps in welcoming a new era.
According to The Verge, Microsoft reorganized its Windows + Devices team last month, with Surface chief Panos Panay as headman of both Windows and hardware, while still early in his role there have been a few forward pushes that could entail what’s to come for the future of Windows.
The start of this is Microsoft’s Windows Insider Leader, a beta programme that sees millions of people testing Windows 10.
“In my first 30 days as the Windows leader, as I’ve been spending time listening, learning, and working with the team to build a vision for the next era of Windows, I’ve been in awe of the Insiders group and the level of dedication and depth of knowledge they have,” explains Panay in a new blog post.
“To keep this momentum going and continue to grow and innovate in Windows, it’s clear we need the right person to lead this powerful community into the next era, which is why I’m excited to announce Amanda Langowski as the new lead for the Windows Insider Program.”
Langowski is a Microsoft and Windows veteran, with more than 20 years at the company. Previously, Langowski worked on Windows beta programmes, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone, and finally the team that ensures that builds of Windows are available for devs inside and outside of Microsoft.
Langowski is taking over as the face of Windows 10 testing, and lead an important feedback loop. Dona Sarkar was the previous leader in this role, having held it for the last few years. Sarkar is now on the Microsoft Developer Relations team, remaining with the company. The previous leader of the team, Gabe Aul has since left Microsoft for a VR and AR engineering role at Facebook.
A New Vision
Microsoft is getting ready to create a new vision for where Windows goes next, says Panay. After trying a variety of new ways to entice creators to Windows over the past five years, Microsoft is walking back some of these changes. The pace of new updates for Windows 10 has slowed in the past 12 months – testers and Windows fans have only to wonder – what comes next?
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Right now, Microsoft is focused on its upcoming Windows 10X dual-screen devices, but changes coming to the desktop version are likewise expected. Panay has yet to finalise his vision for Windows’ new direction. However, you can expect to see a renewed focus on the OS at Microsoft, especially in terms of simplification and cleaning up areas that haven’t been looked at for quite some time.
A fair assessment for Windows 10 is that it has indeed improved in the last 5 years, but what is sorely needed now is a fresh vision for where it needs to go, as well as a brand new fresh face.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s bold goal is “we want to move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows, to loving Windows.”
Edited by Luis Monzon
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