When Steven Sinofsky left Microsft, leaving an unfinished, amateur Windows in the wild, Microsoft temporarily divided his duties between two people, Julie Larson-Green, a top Sinofsky lieutenant, and Tami Reller, who many feel should be in the running for Microsoft’s next CEO job. But when the software giant announced its massive reorganization this year, both Larson-Green and Reller were out, with the former heading off to a new Devices business and Reller being put in charge of the overall marketing at the company.

WHO RUNS WINDOWS?

If you’re not closely following Microsoft’s internal dramas, you might be wondering: Well, who’s running Windows then? The answer to that question is Terry Myerson. And the next obvious question is: Who the heck is Terry Myerson?

Terry Myerson

Before diving into what & how Windows 10 came into what it is today, let’s jump back about Terry’s life. Terry Myerson was born in 1972. He graduated from Duke University in 1992 and founded Intersé Corporation, which Microsoft eventually acquired in 1997. At Microsoft, he led software and engineering teams behind Microsoft Exchange and Windows Phone before his executive promotion in the company’s July 2013 reorganization after Sinofsky had already created a lot of mess

Rethinking Windows from Top To Bottom

The first thing he did, was the decision to listen to people. He tried to understand what people want to Windows. Furthermore, under Satya Nadella’s supervision he could think bold and futuristic which could never had happened under the company’s previous CEO.

Fixing The Core Of Windows

Perhaps which will go largely unnoticed is the foundation which Windows 10 is laying on. Windows is essentially was using the same 2004 code of Vista until Windows 10. That means only new version of Windows could add features like visual changes and so on. What he & his team was remarkable

• Taking the decision to go with Windows 10 as SaaS – Software as a service. Means, to add features they wouldn’t need to update the whole system. Here goes the main work “THE UNDERLYING WINDOWS CODE HAD GONE INTO A MAJOR OVERHAUL” which didn’t happen until Terry Myerson came into as the Windows Chief.
• Making Windows 10 the one stop OS for everyone. The Universal apps scenario was foresighted by him and his team which makes Windows the best platform for all developers. Make one app & run everywhere it was a masterstroke
• Throw off stubbornness and putting the start menu back where it was.

Making The next Windows Lucrative, Attractive & Fast

Windows 10 looks very attractive sleek & fast. Thanks goes to the vision of Satya Nadella along with Myerson. There’s one person who needs mention too & that’s Joe Belfiore. Belfiore had been only looking after Windows Phone prior to 2013. However the reorganization put him charge on Windows 10 for PC/Phones too. Much like what Craig Federighi does for apple. 

Dropping Internet Explorer For Good

The decision to drop Internet Explorer was a very needed & bold idea. However, none of this would have ever happened if Ballmer was still in charge. Internet Explorer was a pain in the *** for every developer out there. Quite frankly it was a nightmare & was only good to download a new web browser. However, with Microsoft Edge, the successor of Internet Explorer, Microsoft is looking towards a fresh vision in browser industry.

Key features of Microsoft Edge

• New EdgeHTML engine which brings it to on par with Mozilla/Chrome engine boasting all the latest in Web.
• Extension Support (though not available yet)
• Auto update support (just like Chrome)
• Minimalistic UI – means no junky UI like Internet Explorer
• Reading View support
• Taking notes on the fly
• Cortana support

Final Thoughts

With Windows 10 is on the horizon and so many exciting products in hand like the Hololense, Microsoft is slowly starting to be relevant again. On Build 2015, Satya said, Microsoft needs from people needing to Windows, choosing to Windows, to loving Windows. The last word is very hard to come by for a company like Microsoft to earn it with so many misfires & bad decisions in the last decade (e.g. I’m looking at you Scroogled campaign!). However, the Microsoft is winning back Windows fans by giving away free Windows 10 for everyone, even pirates.

It’s a big question now to see what Windows 10 brings for Microsoft. However, with most positive reviews everywhere, it’s pretty much certain Windows 10 will not be a Windows 8 for sure.