Ask Paul: February 22 (Premium)

Happy Friday, everyone.  Here’s the final Ask Paul for February! Where does the time go?
The future of Windows … when?
kshsystems asks:

You have spent a lot of time talking about Microsoft's attempt to operate "Windows as a Service". What I think Microsoft seems to be ignoring is that Windows 10 has one foot in the past and one foot in the future. The result is a mixed bag for the end user and for the developer. Microsoft has put a lot of investment in hypervisor and container technology. What do you think about Microsoft putting some of this to work? E.g., move the deprecated APIs, Win32, MSI, etc. into a container as a compatibility box for "old" apps, and leave a clean 64-bit, Appx modern surface for native apps?

Two things come to mind.

To give Microsoft a bit of credit, it’s astonishing that a codebase as old and complex as Windows 10 can actually be updated at the frequency it is updated. We often talk about the two big feature updates we get each year, which makes sense since they are literally Windows version upgrades. But we also receive at least one---and usually two, these days---cumulative/quality updates each month, and several other updates each month as well. It is amazing that there aren’t more problems.

Two, I think that is exactly what Microsoft needs to do. I don’t know how or why this hasn’t happened yet. But if you think back to my comments about Windows 10 S being a step too far, the basic issue there is that it was a one-way street: You were either all-in with modern apps only or you had to leave. That’s a terrible design, aside from the fact that it treats Windows users like children.

More recently, I wrote about Microsoft’s addition of Sandbox to Windows 10 19H1, noting that it seemed like a step in the direction you’re describing. “I’ve always believed that Windows should offer a way—perhaps in S mode only—in which any application downloaded from the Internet is somehow wrapped in a container, or virtual environment, or whatever, and isolated from the system, seamlessly, for the user,” I wrote. “In other words, downloaded applications should be sandboxed.” Windows Sandbox, admittedly, does not address this need. But again, it seems like a step towards doing so.

So why don’t they just do this?

I have a guess: What Microsoft really wants is for Win32 and the desktop to magically just disappear and for Windows to transition into a platform that looks, works, and is updated like iOS. When you think about it, iOS is really just macOS with all the desktop stuff stripped out, but with added touch-based functionality and a secure mobile apps platform. They’ve been so hell-bent on making that happen that they’re ignored what customers really want and need. And your solution---whatever form it takes---is exactly how Microsoft can achieve a win-win in which the platform itself is more sophisticated, secure, and reliable, and customers can still run the apps on whi...

Gain unlimited access to Premium articles.

With technology shaping our everyday lives, how could we not dig deeper?

Thurrott Premium delivers an honest and thorough perspective about the technologies we use and rely on everyday. Discover deeper content as a Premium member.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC