There's much more to getting Windows 10 right than just perfecting the code. Microsoft needs to make us enthusiastic about Windows once again.
For Windows 10 to be a success, Microsoft only has to make a great operating system, right?
Wrong.
I used to be a Windows guy, but then I moved to Mac for my day to day computing, and that made me much happier and productive. However, the more I use the Windows 10 preview, the more I like it. To me, it is proof positive that Microsoft has it within itself to build on what Windows 7 had to offer and deliver an operating system that can combine traditional keyboard and mouse inputs with the modern touch idea in a meaningful - not to mention productivity-boosting - way.
But Microsoft has a bigger challenge to address than just making Windows 10 an operating system that combines the old and the new. Microsoft has to make people enthusiastic about operating systems once again.
Cast your mind back to the launch of Windows 95 - if you can remember that far back - and recall the excitement and enthusiasm that surrounded that release. Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars on building up hype around that operating system, and while it was unquestionably flawed, it got people who had never heard of "Windows" talking about Windows 95. The excitement was palpable.
People were fervently passionate about Windows, and most didn't really know why. They bought PCs with Windows 95 on them, read magazines about Windows 95, and even watched VHS tapes of their favorite TV stars using Windows 95.
