Two years ago, I sounded the alarm: Microsoft cannot afford to lose the education market to Google services and Chromebooks. Since then, the software giant has unleashed an impassioned effort to improve its education offerings and halt Google’s progress.
It started with the infamous education event in May 2017 at which Microsoft introduced Surface Laptop, a luxury MacBook Air competitor that has never, and will never, find a home in the cash-strapped education market. Introducing Surface Laptop at that event was really about launching Windows 10 S, an offering that was, to put it politely, ahead of its time. And while something like this may someday make sense for education---and for individuals and businesses, too---let’s just say it failed and move on.