Posted on 07/21/2015 10:23:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has said it intends to have one operating system for all types of devices. It apparently takes that promise seriously. The company, which has announced that Windows 10 will power not only PCs but also tablets, phones, and even Xbox, will also make a version of the OS for Internet of Things connected devices.
These machines -- which include things like smart thermostats and other household appliances -- won't run the full operating system. Instead, they will run customized versions of Windows 10 designed to enable their functionality. Whether it's a smart toaster or a complicated piece of machinery in a factory, Windows 10 will power it -- or at least that's what Microsoft hopes will happen.
Microsoft laid out how the operating system will work on the IoT at its recent Build developer's conference in a presentation led by Sam George and Steve Teixeira, two executives from its IoT group.
IoT is an opportunity
The presentation started with George and Teixeira laying out what Microsoft sees as the opportunity created by the IoT. The pair showed a number of reasons why the the world is moving rapidly toward a connected future, as seen in the graphic below.
Source: Microsoft
Teixeira explained that it is the confluence of these factors that drives demand and creates opportunity. For example, connectivity used to be slow and expensive, he said, "Today between 3G, 4G, mobile data as well as broad Wi-Fi coverage, data is almost there and you can depend on that for building new solutions."
Add in cheaper hardware, easier development, and increasing demand, and you have market forces pushing the IoT forward.
"We can marry all these together. It's no longer just about these devices in the world kind of working independent of one another," George said. "It's these devices connected to one another, connected to the cloud producing a solution that really exceeds the sum of all the parts ... People see the value and it fuels the demand for more."
George cited a statistic from Gartner saying that there will be 25 billion IoT-connected devices by 2020. He also referenced an IDC study which says the market will grow to $7.2 trillion by that year.
"We are convinced that we are in the next generation of computing and that it's going to be big," he said.
Comprehensive solutions from device to cloud
However big the market gets, Microsoft intends to serve it through Windows 10 from "the smallest devices through the large devices to massive hyper-scale cloud," Teixeira said.
The company will do that, he stressed, using one platform.
"Whether its Hololens or Raspberry Pi or WIndows desktop or phone [it's all one platform], he said. "You can extend that to the IoT editions ... It's the same platform ... and it's Windows, so you know it can go into enterprise."
It's free for IoT
The "IoT Core Edition" of Windows 10 will be free. (This was expected, since Microsoft has stopped charging for Windows on certain tablets made by its OEM partners.)
That's a seemingly minor concession, but it's important because even a small charge might make Windows a less attractive option for developers.
Security is key
"We're putting a big priority on end-to-end security," George said while speaking about how Windows and IoT will work on the company's Azure cloud platform.
He noted that IoT is a new world when it comes to keeping devices safe. Because of that, Microsoft is "following all of the industry best practices, but we have some ideas to take it further," he said.
What one OS means
No matter what the hardware platform, Microsoft will have universal apps, universal drivers, and a universal interface that adapts for the screen you are using it on. That does not mean your smart coffee machine will be able to play Angry Birds, but you will be able to communicate with it across your phone, tablet, PC, or even some wearables.
The goal of the universal platform Teixeira explained is simplifying things for developers. "I apologize. We made you guys write multiple, different drivers to get one piece of hardware to work across the ecosystem," he said after detailing just how much work it used to take to work in the previous Windows setup.
He added that in the end, the whole goal of Windows 10 for IoT is building better, more responsive hardware.
"I don't just want to make devices necessarily that are just sitting passively in the corner," Teixeira said. "I want devices that I can talk to, that can see me, that can understand my gestures."
I’ll wait for Windows 10.11a
I don’t want anything in my life with any MS software in it.
Right now, I have one of the MS DVR/STB and it’s incredibly slow and very limited in functionality. Why would I want to allow MS to become a part of my HVAC system, appliances, car, security system, etc. when time and time again MS has shown themselves to be a simple target for hackers?
I think the IoT is a very bady idea, all in all.
Just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done.
Why bother?
Does anyone else out there see the ease with which dominant Big Brother scenarios can very easily emerge?
CA....
Sounds like they are learning from Apple, a little bit anyways. MS Windows still has a long way to go.
Just a few articles earlier there was a report of hackers taking over a jeep and crashing the vehicle by cutting of the engine and slamming on the brakes. Airplanes will be next then, toasters and garage door openers.
Anyone who puts their front door lock on the Internet deserves what they get.
I hear ads for that sort of tech all day long. You’d have to be nuts to do it.
I prefer manual locks myself. Remote status monitoring is ok, but no control.
I don’t get the desire to have every device monitored or managed. ..I have refused automatically running our thermostats ...having a smart phone is one thing...don’t want a smart house etc.
precisely. This is the very reason government at all levels must be eliminated from private sector transactions. We will either be free of government intrusion or we will be controlled by government. There is no middle ground.
I don’t know why some of the older posters aren’t getting my joke...
Translation = Microsoft abandons traditional Window in order to be just like Apple, Google and Amazon.
Microsoft is going to fail here too if they decide to charge people for their Operating System. It means that they will not have as many users on their data base, and that will cost them sales in their new database.
Apple, Google, and Amazon do not do that..., and offer free upgrades to their O.S. it’s why they have exploded in growth.
Plus if this software does not work with older Microsoft Operation Systems. Then expect Microsoft to bleed off more customers to Apple, Google, Amazon, etc...
Overall it’s a step in the right direction by Microsoft, but not enough. I think if they don’t move away quick enough from their old model, then they will be out of business in 20 years or less.
I believe various flavors of Unix have been performing that internet-of-things function already, and quite successfully, for at least a decade. People would be surprised at the number of devices that run various embedded Unixes. Unix may not be worth a farthing as a personal OS, but it’s a damn fine backroom and/or embedded OS.
Personally I find the IoT more than a little worrisome to begin with: embedded operating systems were my specialty for 20 years of engineering, and they're not easy. Adding Windows to that mix is downright scary. It's a suitable desktop OS -- I use Win7 everyday and it works fine -- but it's not an embeddable OS. I'm not sure any good will come of this. But that's just my opinion...
If it won’t run my old photoshop I won’t update.I’m too damned old to spend big bucks on software.
Or at least “windows 10 service pack 1”.
I think a lot of them would be surprised how many ATMs are running Windows XP.
I’m going to put it on my gaming rig. Most of the early adopters in the flight sim world are pretty happy with it. That’s ALL I do on my gaming rig, so I don’t care about big bro watching my antics on my A2A Cessna.
ME TOO! Privacy is all but gone! Everything is about ID and tying that ID to everything... Adding ID to your thought;
IDIoT
I think that's prophetic.
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