The Beauty of a Fresh OS

The most fun & exciting experiences I've had with software from Microsoft have consistently been the joy of logging into a fresh install of Windows.



The sheer joy of it, lack of clutter, the responsiveness (my computer routinely feels one year younger after a new install) are all things that will wear off quick enough, but I'd hope Microsoft engineers got around to do more to preserve this feeling, as I find the blank desktop really difficult to dislike.

From the untouched, virgin desktop it's exceptionally easy to set out to do real work. A new browser, downloaded in less than 3 seconds (Gigabit downstream is one of the things I will miss from studying), new developing framework in less than 60 seconds, crisp graphics drivers in less than 2 minutes.

If they're really serious about improving Windows, the pristine look and feel of a fresh install is what they ought take a look into..

Love, hate and genius. Connect the dots.

"- If everyone exposed to a product likes it, the product will not succeed. The reason that a product “everyone likes” will fail is because no one “loves” it.

The only thing that predicts success is passion, even if only 10% of the consumers have it.s" - Scott Adam

I'll just quote Kathy Sierra's take on this insight.

And I could not agree more. Pushing for excellence, will take you away from the safe 'middle ground', some will hate it, but if enough people really love it... It'll be hard to fail (think: global trend cascade).

If the product is objectively better, the mass market will move along and embrace the new product, but not because they really care, but because the default option gradually lose ground.

This mechanism is what keeps super-size corporations from doing all the product development by themselves. Sometimes loveable products come into being in less restrictive environments.

"We aim not to please, we aim to sweep you off your feet."

Any organization that doesn't have room for thoughts like this, is by default incompetent in making at least some of the best innovations of the future.