Windows has leapfrogged nine and gone all the way to ten, but is still missing a trick that Apple sussed years ago
At the time of writing, Windows 10 has just dropped and the verdict from those who’ve tried it appears to be broadly positive. At the very least, it washes away most of the taste of sheer evil that Windows 8 had left in everyone’s mouths. It’s a smart, modern take on Windows, even if it worryingly underpins the theory that Microsoft gets it right precisely every other major update. Hold your breath next time around, then.
However, one thing Microsoft hasn’t handled terribly well is the update process itself. In order to push adoption of its latest OS, Microsoft has made it free, which is a very good thing for most people. But a quick search online showcases the confusion that’s now spread across the internet like a particularly nasty virus. Is the update really free? How long will it be free for? How do you get the update? Is it possible to use your copy of Windows 10 on a different PC to the one you update on? Are there activation keys? Which version should I run? Even some tech-savvy users are sitting waiting for an Exciting Upgrade Button™, which Microsoft helpfully says should arrive any day now; or possibly within a few weeks... Who knows?
It’s a stark contrast to how OS X works: download it from the Mac App Store. That’s it. If you’ve a Mac that’s supported, you can download a copy of the latest OS X. There are no versions. There are no product keys. There is no activation. There is no freebie window. You just download, install and away you go.
In a sense, these two install processes mirror associations with the companies that created them. Microsoft, even when it means well, has a tendency towards bloat and complexity that it can never quite free itself from. Apple, for the most part, advocates elegance and simplicity. But before Apple fans roar about how ‘their’ platform is the OS that deserves 10/10 (or X/X), Apple’s processes also showcase other aspects of how the company works – ones that aren’t so positive.
A good example is that the OS X upgrade is a ‘latest or nothing’ deal. If you’re running OS X 10.8 and would quite fancy upgrading to OS X 10.9, tough – it’s no longer an option. Now, it’s Yosemite or bust. Given the massive bugs buzzing around Apple’s latest OS, you’d perhaps be smart to upgrade to the previous major release, but Apple won’t let you. Additionally, the only route to a major OS X upgrade is through the Mac App Store, which is fine when the Mac App Store is working, which isn’t always. Having a single place to access all of your software is great right up until the point that place isn’t available. Then you’re looking at a walled garden, wishing you had a sledgehammer.
Perhaps, then, Apple and Microsoft could learn a little bit from each other when it comes to their ‘perfect tens’. Microsoft could finally shake off years of corporate thinking and attempt to streamline everything until there’s no more streamlining to be done. Make the Windows upgrade process simple to the point it can be explained in a single line of text, and it cannot be simplified any further.
On the other side of the equation, Apple could be less rigid in the way it has people upgrade, providing wider means of accessing its software, and the option of installing older versions of OS X if a user wants to. Both are likely wishful thinking, though, and unlikely to happen when each company inevitably finally turns up its operating system to eleven.