
Microsoft Unveils New Operating System, Dubbed Windows 10 - awa
http://www.wired.com/2014/09/microsoft-unveils-windows-10/
======
deciplex
So, they called the third Xbox the Xbox One, they called the ninth Windows
(or, at least, the version of Windows after Windows 8) Windows 10. Lest you
think it's just Microsoft, Nintendo is calling their new 3DS device "New 3DS",
and this is after a minor disaster with WiiU where a lot of potential
customers thought it was just a new controller for the existing Wii.

Is there some new paradigm in marketing circles where giving a product a
confusing name is believed to increase sales?

~~~
ethomson
Sadly, it's not new. The former Sun Microsystems was the king of this
insanity. Like how Java jumped from 1.4.2 to 5, except that it was still
sometimes 1.5.

Or worse, the SunOS renaming fiasco, where SunOS was also concurrently
Solaris. So that SunOS 4.1.1 was also Solaris 1.0. Except that, crazily, so
was SunOS 4.1.1.1.

Eventually, SunOS 4.1.4 (aka Solaris 1.1.2) was the last of the old BSD-based
SunOS line and Solaris 2.0 came out, which was mostly SysV and different
enough that most everybody started calling it Solaris. (Except that `uname`
still reported SunOS 5, of course.)

And then everything was sane again. At least until Solaris 2.7, aka SunOS 5.7,
which they started calling Solaris 7.

So, Microsoft has a ways to go before the names are completely ridiculous.
(ObDisclaimer: Microsoft employee.)

~~~
mgkimsal
Java got so bad they had a 'Java Naming Help Desk': javanaming@sun.com

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seanmcdirmid
Haters gonna hate. That is the second time today a Windows 10 story was
knocked off the front page even though it had enough karma to stay on.

~~~
showsover
Indeed, I saw several posts last night that now have disappeared.

It seems that HN does not like Windows, which is sad I think. It's a great
operating system (currently running 8.1, which is very good). I'm waiting for
the resizable metro-apps to be honest. Full screen just doesn't do it on my
27" screen.

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sytelus
Interestingly OSX Yosemite announcement on HN had almost 10X more points and
comments [1]. Even more interestingly Windows has roughly 4X larger share of
market than OSX at present.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7834665](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7834665)

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nnethercote
Even-numbered Windows releases tend to suck, and odd-numbered ones tend to be
good. Looks like they're aiming for two bad ones in a row!

~~~
readerrrr
I think the rule is every other not odd-even.

~~~
delecti
Well we've never had the opportunity to test which it was.

~~~
basch
and still dont. Windows 8.1 was a full update, it counts as the odd.

~~~
deciplex
You can post this as many times as you want, it still completely misses the
point.

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ps4fanboy
Resizable metro app windows might actually see me use them more than the
single time I have since installing Windows 8.

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mikeyouse
Someone on twitter wondered out loud how many different utilities and programs
inside Windows are running a "Is Windows 9*" check. Interesting question that
might explain the Windows 10 name.

~~~
yaeger
If that were true it would show exactly how messed up the Windows kernel is.
To drag compatibility from 1995 around is just messed up if it is linked to
the "Product Name". Not the kernel version or even the working title. nope.
The customer facing, cooked up by marketing, product name.

~~~
mikeyouse
Anonymous but possible confirmation;
[http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/2hwlrk/new_windo...](http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/2hwlrk/new_windows_version_will_be_called_windows_10/ckwq83x)

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rbanffy
I find it interesting the note about the Mozilla HDMI stick running FirefoxOS
has more upvotes than this.

~~~
ps4fanboy
HN isnt really receptive to any news coming from Microsoft.

~~~
tdicola
There have been at least 3 different articles I've seen about Windows 10 on
the homepage today. One about the announcement, one from the BBC, and this one
from Wired. I think that's enough coverage, personally.

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userbinator
It looks nice and shiny, but I wonder how many new restrictions have been
implemented and/or functionality removed, all in the name of "security"... to
me it looks like Windows is heading quickly towards being a consumer-centric
walled-garden.

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techdog
This is all over the web. Why should I care that Windows 10 is named Windows
10? Why should I care about this story at all? So what? What about Windows 10?
The fact of it being unveiled is not news.

~~~
JohnTHaller
It's the new version of the OS that powers a huge majority of the desktops and
laptops on the planet. And, even if you don't do anything Microsoft, it's
likely a majority of the visitors to your website use it as well.

It also represents an interesting take on the convergence of mouse, keyboard,
and touch as opposed to trying to force touch interactions on everyone.

