With each successive release of the Windows operating system it has gotten bigger and bigger. While it doesn’t help that it has to keep supporting so much legacy stuff from previous versions it has also suffered from more and more being added to the core OS.
This has lead to anti-trust battles with both the DOJ and the EU to the point that Microsoft had to release a special version in Europe without the Windows Media Player as in integral part of the OS. It doesn’t matter that the sales numbers of that EU specific version were nothing short of laughable, they still had to make it available.
It would seem though with Microsoft’s push into the Software as a Service (SaaS) world they are rethinking just what really needs to be included as a base part of their next version of Windows. As both LiveSide and The Inquisitr are reporting that Mail, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker are not going to be a part of the base install. As Duncan Riley from the Inquisitr says
It’s a courageous move by Microsoft, empowering users to make an installation decision that may see them gravitate to the competition instead of Microsoft software. And yet, it’s says alot about how Microsoft sees itself and its role today. Finally we’re moving past the old school monopolist who seeks to lock in users to as many products as possible, to a platform provider, who respects that their user base should be able to choose between Microsoft desktop or online products, and other products.
Personally I think this slimming down of Windows is a smart move on Microsoft’s part; but I don’t think they are going far enough. I can think of any number of other built-in applications or applets that could be removed in much the same way. Right off the top of my head there is Wordpad, the wannabe word processor, there is Fax and Scan and one could go as far as to suggest Windows Media Play. None of those really need to be a part of a base install.
However, I would go even one large step forward and suggest that even the Windows Desktop is something that doesn’t need to be shipped as part of the install, at least not the desktop that we are used to today. I could see it shipping with a bare bones corporate type desktop. Leave the desktop for the consumers as something that they could download separately much like you can do with Linux.
There are plenty of developers out there who could design a much better desktop than Microsoft. Stardock comes to mind right away, but they aren’t alone in being able to produce a high quality desktop that we would be able to pick and choose from on our own.
Microsoft is slowly entering the real world of consumer choices - whether they want to or not - and what they ship as part of their base install of the next Windows operating system will show how much they are really listening to the marketplace. They are making some interesting first moves and it will be interesting to see how much further they are willing to go.
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