Top 10 Microsoft Windows 8 launch insights
What Redmond's milestone launch means for the company's future as we enter a 'new era' of computing
So the day is finally here - Windows 8 has hit the market.
After years of talk and a slow trickle of information that became a torrent of updates and insights, Microsoft has pushed its Windows 8 operating system out on to the market for the world to fawn and fuss over.
V3 has been covering the story in detail for years now, following the platforms slow growth to release and reviewing the platform earlier this year, with our view of the new system broadly positive.
Certainly it represents a major change for the firm, from its traditional and somewhat staid Windows interfaces that have been the mainstay of computer life from Windows 95 to Windows 7. Windows 8 changes all that, though, with its bright, interactive live-tile system.
Whether or not it proves a success is anyone's guess at the moment, with many split as to how the average users and the IT directors in large organisations will take to the platform.
10. Ballmer's legacy will be judged on Windows 8
Steve Ballmer has always been something of a marmite figure in the IT industry. And while his role at the head of Microsoft has seen a rise in profits and continued success in many markets, there have also been some stinkers.
However, Windows 8, and its subsequent impact on the market will likely be the yardstick on which his entire tenure is judged.
If it succeeds, and drags Microsoft up in the mobile market while proving a hit with consumers and businesses, then his decision to push forward with such a bold change will be heralded for many years as a great piece of leadership and decision making.
But, if it proves a flop, with consumers disinterested and businesses confused by the Modern UI, causing Microsoft's once dominant position to wane, many will ask: What was Ballmer thinking?
Top 10 Microsoft Windows 8 launch insights
What Redmond's milestone launch means for the company's future as we enter a 'new era' of computing
9. It could bolster Windows Phone 8 use
Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has not proved a huge hit so far, despite favourable reviews of the platform and several nice devices from the likes of Nokia offering the system at fairly reasonable price points.
However, with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 set to hit the market at the same time, running the same core code, the firm could be on to a winner.
It will enable consumers to get used to the new interface on desktop and tablet devices and so have a better understanding of smartphones from Samsung, Nokia and HTC running the platform. It should also allow developers to cross-code for the platform to boost the apps available for both systems.
This could well prove the fillip Microsoft needs to see its mobile market share grow at the expensive of rival platforms Android, Apple's iOS and even BlackBerry users.
8. BYOD will hamper Windows 8 uptake
The launch of Windows 8 is the first Microsoft operating system release since the emergence of the bring your own device (BYOD) trend. Firms are seeing huge pressure from their employees to support the device of their choice, which has helped precipitate the decline in PC sales and massive growth for smartphones and tablets.
According to Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff, this means Windows 8 will marks the end of the ‘irrelevant' Microsoft OS. At a recent Salesforce event, Benioff told delegates IT chiefs are no longer talking about traditional computers, and instead discussing devices like the iPhone 5 and Kindle Fire HD.
He cited one IT chief who had said that she has shunned an upgrade to Windows 8 in favour of pursuing a BYOD strategy, letting staff access enterprise systems using the devices and platforms they prefer.
Benioff is well-known for his jibes at rivals, and of course Microsoft could argue that it too stands to benefit if firms do decide to ditch a traditional Windows 8 PC upgrade cycle in favour of BYOD. After all, a major part of the Windows 8 launch is its Surface tablets and Windows Phone 8 handsets.
However, it's difficult to imagine a situation where staff pick a Windows option over the more glamorous Apple and Android devices available, unless IT chiefs go for a watered-down BYOD scheme and restrict workers to Microsoft tablets and phones to make support easier
Top 10 Microsoft Windows 8 launch insights
What Redmond's milestone launch means for the company's future as we enter a 'new era' of computing
7. The traditional PC market needs Windows 8 to reverse flagging sales
Recent analyst reports have underlined just how important Windows 8 is to the PC market. Sales are stagnating and vendors such as HP, Dell and Acer must be hoping that the new platform will reinvigorate spending on all-in-one devices.
For these long-term partners, the desktop and all-in-one markets are their bread-and-butter and could usually be relied upon to bring in the bulk of their revenues.
However, with Apple's iPad device and similar systems from Google and Amazon hitting the market, it's been a tough sell, as recent sales figures have shown.
While the tablet market is where Microsoft is probably hoping to gain most traction with the new platform, it too will be hoping its partners turn things around, to help push Windows 8 far and wide across the world.
6. Windows 8 could finally put XP out of its misery
A decade in the world of computing is tantamount to a century in most other businesses. In the span of 10 years we will go through multiple generations of system design and enter and exit entire eras in the industry.
The fact that Windows XP remains the most popular version of the platform after more than a decade on the market is a testament to both the longevity of the XP platform and the reluctance of businesses to upgrade to other newer systems offered by Microsoft.
That needs to change with Windows 8. For all the familiarity and compatibility users enjoy, the platform has become woefully out of date and its glaring security weaknesses are costing billions of dollars in losses from cybercrime. It's time a modern, secure OS take over as the dominant version of Windows and XP can finally be retired once and for all.
5. Microsoft could be too late given Google and Apple's head start
A decade ago, such was Microsoft's dominance of the PC industry, it could release an operating system as woeful as Windows Vista, and still have little to fear from any competitor.
But today, PC industry isn't what it was, as mobile is where it's at. Here, Microsoft faces competition the like of which i'ts never known, thanks to Apple and Google.
Of course, Microsoft has past had experience in crushing Apple - but that really is a dim and distant past. Today Apple is worth more and has deeper pockets than Microsoft. As for Google, Microsoft has spent the best part of a decade trying to unseat it in the search market, and got nowhere.
Both Apple's iOS and Google's Android have carved up the market between them so effectively some industry watchers have even questioned whether a third way is even needed. But if Microsoft is to maintain its position in a post-PC world, it needs its Windows 8-Windows Phone 8 axis to be a hit.
Top 10 Microsoft Windows 8 launch insights
What Redmond's milestone launch means for the company's future as we enter a 'new era' of computing
4. The interest is there given Surface sellouts
Some may have mocked the Microsoft Surface for its high price-tag and unfamiliar software, but that doesn't mean there's no interest out there.
Within 24 hours of going on sale in the US, the 32GB Surface was promptly listed as ‘sold out' on Microsoft's website, suggesting that Windows fans flocked to get their orders in for the company's first own-brand tablet computer.
Although not snapped up as quickly here in Blighty, Microsoft updated its UK website earlier this week to let buyers know that the 32GB Surface has sold out on British shores too.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft is going to post record fourth quarter figures. For all we know, it may have just put a handful of the tablets up for sale on its website. Still, it does show that the tablet market isn't all about iOS and Android, and that there are people out there after a Windows 8 slate.
3. Normal users could struggle to adapt to Modern UI
A whopping 70 percent of the world's computers use Windows, which means there are a lot of people out there who will soon be switching to Microsoft's latest operating system.
However, Windows 8 is a far departure from previous iterations of the software, and while it has the potential to create an easier user experience, these radical changes are likely to cause problems.
Sure it's colourful and pretty, but with no buttons, menus or toolbars, Windows 8 is going to be tricky to get to grips with. Most adopters are going to have to learn how to do the simplest of tasks, be it accessing the web, creating a document or finding the dreaded Start button.
Another tweak likely to cause issues is the fact that most Modern UI apps are full screen, which will no doubt confuse users when trying to switch between applications. Get ready for lots of questions at Christmas, techies.
Don't believe us? Have a watch of this poor guy trying to get his head around the Windows 8 interface.
Top 10 Microsoft Windows 8 launch insights
What Redmond's milestone launch means for the company's future as we enter a 'new era' of computing
2. Corporate adoption is likely to be slow
The midst of a recession is not the best time to launch a new operating system into the business market. Big firms, already cautious and slow moving, have been holding off from investing in the current climate, which perhaps partly explains why PC sales have been falling.
It is also only three years since Windows 7 was released, and many organisations are still in the throes of a migration to this version of Microsoft's platform, so it looks unlikely that Windows 8 will see large-scale adoption, even if it did not introduce major changes.
On the plus side, Windows 8 is compatible with the management tools that large companies already have, so this should not present a problem if Windows 8 tablets start to infiltrate the corporate infrastructure in future.
1. This is a defining moment in the history of technology
Ever since Microsoft formed in 1975 it's been one of the biggest technology companies in the world, with Windows the base of the vast majority of the IT-driven world we now live in.
As such, it's not hard to imagine that the folks at Redmond, from rank and file software coders to Steve Ballmer himself, have had a few sleepless nights pondering if they've made the right decision to push out such a radical platform upgrade.
It's a great system in many ways: fast, fluid, colourful, engaging and dynamic but it's so far removed from the solid, if staid, desktop environments of all other Windows systems it could alienate many.
Then again, as the world becomes ever more mobile and billions more first-time internet users from developing nations get online in the coming years, there could be a huge new user base for Microsoft to tap into with the system and Windows 8 could be the basis for this growth.
So while the launch is huge for Microsoft, it's also a huge moment in the history of computing, as the company that did so much to create the world of Word, Excel, PowerPoint housed in the Windows landscape moves on to a "new era" of computing.