In the coming weeks men and women will be ending their 11-year relationship. The transition away from the familiar will inevitably leave many bewildered and dazed, but progress is necessary.

Windows 8 is arriving.

Approximately 31 percent of global personal computers are still stuck in the previous decade bound tightly to their comfy Windows XP. Oct. 26 will be the first time in more than a decade that Microsoft is looking to progress and finally stifle the growth of Apple.

Windows 8 and the radical new redesign will enable the brand to finally renter the “cool tech” scene it once dominated. For years, Windows had been a mere medium in which your computer activity resided. Now Microsoft wants you to update because the new features of Windows 8 are central to your computer behavior.

Across the globe, the ubiquitous Windows start screen and logo had been plastered on retinas for years. Back in 2003, Apple was not a major player in the personal computer industry. It claimed a 2-percent market share compared to Windows claiming a staggering 94 percent.

In 2006, Windows Vista was released with the intention of making Windows XP obsolete. Unfortunately, the engineers at Microsoft were overeager and pushed the release too soon. Security and driver issues surfaced. These highly publicized complaints wreaked havoc on Microsoft’s reputation for the next several years until Windows 7 was released in 2009 to replace the mess.

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s opportunity to rebrand as a cool and innovative brand similar to the way it was viewed about a decade ago. In the meantime, Apple, Google and Facebook have emerged as major titans in the technology industry. This operating system release may prove to be a turning-point for an aging brand.

Windows 8 symbolizes the convergence of tablet, mobile and desktop computing. Up until this point there was a learning curve in order to become proficient in the latest technology release. Microsoft’s tiling style is now uniform across all of its devices. This innovative step outpaces Apple because its devices still exhibit different user experiences.

Dubbed the “Metro User Interface,” this new approach to the desktop eliminates the icon-filled screen and transforms it into a collection of touch-ready tiles live with updates that constantly stream in from Facebook, Bing Stocks and Weather.com. This transformation of appearance, although substantially different from the status quo, enhances the fluidity of the user experience.

Microsoft’s enthusiasm about Windows 8 is palpable and the planned $1-1.5 billion marketing campaign is designed to make a powerful statement in the tech marketplace. Microsoft is planning launch parties across the United States at its 27 newly minted shopping-mall stores.

The Microsoft store is just a piece of the company’s new philosophy of generating an active brand community similar to Apple. These stores are not designed to sell; rather, they are promoting the simple and integrated climate associated with the new Windows 8 feel.

The Windows division of Microsoft recently boasted $4.62 billion in revenues and was responsible for the second highest proportion of revenue behind the server services division. Therefore, if Windows 8 is a tremendous success, it can catapult the operating system division to new heights if there is a high adoption rate.

The infamous “Start” button is now an article of computer history and was replaced by the “Start Screen”. These monumental shifts in the way we navigate the computer screen my change our habits regarding browsing for the next decade. Microsoft’s dominance and the convergence of devices coupled with the Windows 8 launch could have the potential to reinvent the way we interact with technology.

Jared Rosen is a sophomore advertising and marketing management major. His column appears weekly. He can be contacted at jmrose03@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @jaredmarc14.

 

Published on October 16, 2012 at 1:00 am