Innovation in mobile and cloud; not in PCs

The history of IT is the history of innovation. But innovation is not evenly distributed, and it does not stay with one technology.

For a long time, innovation focussed on the PC. The "center of gravity" for innovation was, for a long time, the IBM PC and PC-DOS. Later it became the PC (not necessarily from IBM) and Windows. Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP all saw significant expansions of features.

With the rise of the Web, the center of gravity shifted to web servers and web browsers. I think that it is no coincidence that Microsoft offered Windows XP with no significant changes. People accepted Windows XP as "good enough" and looked for innovation in other areas -- web browsers, web servers, and databases.

This change broke Microsoft's business model. That business model (selling new versions of Windows and Office to individuals and corporations every so often) was broken when users decided that Windows XP was good enough, that Microsoft Office was good enough. They moved to newer versions reluctantly, not expectantly.

Microsoft is changing its business model. It is shifting to a subscription model for Windows and Office. It has Azure for cloud services. It developed the Surface tablet for mobile computing. Microsoft's Windows RT was an attempt at an operating system for mobile devices, an operating system that had reduced administrative tasks for the user. These are the areas of innovation.

We have stopped wanting new desktop software. I know of no new projects that target the desktop. I know of no new projects that are "Windows only" or "PC only". New projects are designed for mobile/cloud, or possibly web browsers and servers. With no demand for new applications on the desktop, there is no pressure to improve the desktop PC - or its operating system.

With no pressure to improve the desktop, there is no need to change the hardware or operating system. We see changes in three areas: larger memory and disks (mostly from inertia), smaller form factors, and prettier user interfaces (Windows Vista and Windows 8 "Metro"). With each of these changes, users can (rightfully) ask: what is the benefit to me?

It is a question that newer PCs and operating systems have not answered. But tablets and smartphones answer it quite well.

I think that Windows 10 is the "last hurrah" for Windows -- at least the desktop version. Innovations to Windows will be modifications for mobile/cloud technologies: better interactions with virtualization hypervisors and container managers. Aside from those, look for little changes in desktop operating systems.