With Windows 10, Microsoft is trying to redeem himself – Le Figaro

The software giant wants to generate new revenue through subscriptions to its services.

The new Microsoft on. Tuesday in San Francisco, the software giant has unveiled Windows 10, the latest version of its flagship operating system. He thus created a stir by going directly from version 8 to version 10, showing the urgency in which it is located. It was rumored that Microsoft announces free to update Windows 10, but the group has refused to confirm it.

Only two years have passed since the arrival of Windows 8 Two years which the software publisher has shaken to its foundations. This version, with the tablet surface, would position Microsoft against the Apple iPad. With imagined interface for touch screens, it was also to bring a new generation of innovative PCs and convertible.

The record is mixed. Microsoft has struggled to convince users of the value of cosmetic changes in Windows 8 and to update their PC. He has seen the emergence of new competitors, such as Google Chromebook computers, easier to access and cheaper. The rise of Android tablets, often purchased at the expense of low-end PC, has been hampered by the tablet surface. Yet some 256 million tablets will be sold this year, against 308 million PCs, according to projections by Gartner. They surpass computers starting next year.

Windows 8 also baffled historical Microsoft customers business. According to the Forrester Institute, only 20% of them offer computers with Windows 8, which imply that employees are trained to new uses and that it has compatible software. In total, 13% of PCs running Windows 8, against more than half of Windows 7 and a quarter for the older XP, according to figures from NetApplications.

With Windows 10, Microsoft wants to show that he learned from his mistakes. Windows users will find the “Start” button at the bottom of the screen to access their favorite applications. They can choose to move only in the classic Windows interface, designed for use with a keyboard, and not launched Windows 8 for touch screens. “It brings the familiarity of Windows 7 with some elements of Windows 8″ says Joe Belfiore, vice president at Microsoft. Windows 10 also introduces a Notification Center, to find the recent activity of its applications.

Windows 10 should be available for download in beta in October and will arrive in stores and on the PC mid-2015. While Google and Apple have two different systems for computers and tablets, Microsoft still believes that Windows can do everything at once. Tablet Surface 3, release this summer, embodies this strategy. On persistent rumors that Microsoft Windows 10 offer for customers who purchase Windows 8 update for Windows 7 would cost only $ 30. This would mark a clean break in the habits of Microsoft, who built his fortune selling expensive licenses its operating system. It follows a few months to make free choice for manufacturers of Windows phones and tablets with screens less than 9 inches diagonally.

The speed of the transition to Windows 10 will be crucial for Microsoft, which expects to generate new revenue through the sale of services. He takes such a commission on software sales from the Windows Store and sells storage of files in the cloud. Microsoft initiated this transition with its Office suite. It is now available for free on most platforms, with a paid subscription to edit files. Office 365 had 4.4 million subscribers at the end of June These cloud offerings are now an activity of 4.4 billion dollars a year for Microsoft. Yet still low compared with a company of $ 70 billion.