I wonder what the "actual" (non-marketing) version number will be, since Windows 8.1 is actually 6.3... But I guess this is marketing departments for you. (Meanwhile, Apple have been releasing version 10 for about 10 versions over now.)

Hopefully this is a return to a more sensible direction for windows. MS needs to realise that Windows is not, has never been and will never be "cool" in the way that Apple or Android can be, but that they're simply the best enterprise/productivity OS and that's not a bad thing.

I think the only people who think an OS is "cool" are the fanatics/evangelists anyway, so less of those is a good thing I'm sure I have come across MS fanatics in my time, though a mainstream OS is more likely to have the fanatics drowned out by the regular users. Millions of people do fun things with their PCs, not just enterprise and productivity. They don't think of "Windows" specifically, but that's because people think in terms of their whole gadgets/devices rather than something like an operating system (and the same is true of Apple and Android users, the average user doesn't care about OS X or Android specifically, rather their laptops or their smartphone). I think that MS should cater for consumers and business user, not just the latter. The Windows 8 debates were about UI preferences, not about fun vs productivity.

You guys are almost there, but you're missing the bigger picture.

Microsoft knows Windows 10 will be a success, because Windows 8 really wasn't. That's why they're planning for the future. When the doomed-to-fail Windows 11 launches, they have TWO marketing strategies: "Taking it to 11" and one-upping Apple are now viable counter-strategies to the natural ping-pong of windows releases. If they'd stuck with Windows 9, that wouldn't work!

More seriously, I have no idea what they're thinking. Sadly enough, I'd believe it if the marketing executives at Microsoft felt that generating confusion over the name was a viable mindshare-gaining tactic.

ok, where is the SDK?

You guys are almost there, but you're missing the bigger picture.

Microsoft knows Windows 10 will be a success, because Windows 8 really wasn't. That's why they're planning for the future. When the doomed-to-fail Windows 11 launches, they have TWO marketing strategies: "Taking it to 11" and one-upping Apple are now viable counter-strategies to the natural ping-pong of windows releases. If they'd stuck with Windows 9, that wouldn't work!

More seriously, I have no idea what they're thinking. Sadly enough, I'd believe it if the marketing executives at Microsoft felt that generating confusion over the name was a viable mindshare-gaining tactic.

They will brand the doomed-to-fail Windows 11 as "Windows II".

Then people will think it's Windows 2.

Then Microsoft will release the revolutionizing-better-than-ever Windows 3.

...

I for one can't understand the completely unnecessary vitriol in this thread.

- Was there a lot of outrage regarding Windows 8 when it launched? Yes.

- Was the operating system worth the upgrade? That's individual to each user and largely depends on what you're doing with it. For me it was.

- Is it a better user experience? Maybe. In the end it's just different.

As for the topic in question:

- Is the OP's Windows 10 video worth moaning over? No, because that would be missing its main objective, which is to get people to try out the preview.

- Is the video well made and/or compelling? No.

- Is Windows 10 worth moaning over? No, because it hasn't shipped yet.

- Is Windows 10 going to be the last thing you'll ever need? No.

- Will Windows 10 be "better than OSX"? Have you actually tried using OSX and objectively compared it to 7 or 8? Could it be that they're all decent operating systems once you get used to them? In the end they hang and crash, they all have security holes and could overall just be better.

- Will you be using Windows 10? Unless you're a hobbyist with an agenda, a poor Linux user, a devout Apple user, working on/developing exclusively for Mac or Linux, or you don't need a desktop computer in the first place, then probably no. If you're writing code for the OS that a good chunk of desktop computers will likely be running in two or three years' time, then there's a good chance that yes, you will be using Windows 10.

- Does the naming scheme matter? Like, seriously!

- So, to get back to the original point - why moan about it? Let them ship it, wait for Service Pack 1 like we always do and then judge it for what it is. Who cares whether it's called Windows 10, Windows 9, Windows X or CatOS_XOXO - it's not the name that will be running your applications.

Reading this much name-calling and preemptive hate is saddening. Not because it's wrong or right, but because it just doesn't make sense.

Reading this much name-calling and preemptive hate is saddening. Not because it's wrong or right, but because it just doesn't make sense.

Where was the hate? I saw a lot of people poking fun at what is a slightly ridiculous marketing stunt.

Reading this much name-calling and preemptive hate is saddening. Not because it's wrong or right, but because it just doesn't make sense.

Where was the hate? I saw a lot of people poking fun at what is a slightly ridiculous marketing stunt.

You're right - hate is the wrong word. But I will stick with moaning. It's kind of flustering to see pretty much the entire thread completely skip over the video (which, admittedly, is bad) and what it was trying to say, and focus on the name instead.

It's kind of flustering to see pretty much the entire thread completely skip over the video

I'm reasonably sure pretty much no one bothered to actually watch the video. At least I didn't.. seemed boring.

Downloaded the ISO and installed it into Virtual Box though.. looks OK I guess.. like Win8 with the some things fixed to be more like Win7 and Store apps starting in desktop Windows that can be minimized.

Does the naming scheme matter? Like, seriously!

I'll counter-argue this because the chosen name does demonstrate how much of Microsoft's movements remain marketing-driven. That's a genuine cause for concern for those of us who will be using it, because it suggests a risk of even more stupid decisions being made for no good technical or customer reason. Naturally the evidence that this will actually be the case is thin on the ground at the moment, but history does repeat itself. Nonetheless it's one to watch carefully over the next 6 months rather than be too paranoid over now.

As for the rest of your points, I'll be downloading it, installing it and using it in anger when I return to work next week, because that's a big part of my job. All I want is for it to not suck, and initial indications are good, yes. Meantime we're all just having a bit of fun over the jump to 10.

https://twitter.com/mikko/status/517358472715710465