Last month, Microsoft reorganized its Windows + Devices team, putting Windows and hardware on its own Panos Panay. It is still early to see the fruits of the new corporate strategy, however the first changes are beginning to emerge: for example, Panay has announced a new boss for the Insider division, which showed (some) highs and (several) lows with the latest Windows iterations. The Insider program, in short, has failed to guarantee stable and reliable updates on the first try, and this must obviously change.
"In my first 30 days as a Windows leader, while I spent a lot of time listening, learning and working with the team to build the new vision for the next Windows era, I admired the Insider group and the level of dedication and depth of knowledge that have the individual elements ", wrote the new boss on the official blog. "To maintain this dedication and continue to grow and innovate on Windows, it is clear that we need the right person to lead this powerful community into the next era, which is why I am excited to announce Amanda Langowski as the new manager for the Windows Insider Program".
Who is Amanda Langowski, the new Insider manager at Microsoft
Amanda Langowski he is a veteran at Microsoft and the Windows division, and has worked for the company for over 20 years. He also previously worked on the beta programs of Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone and within a team that made sure that Windows builds were available to engineers inside and outside the company. Langowski will now oversee all Windows 10 testing phases, a previous role played by Dona Sarkar. Sarkar remains in the company, however, taking on a new role in the Microsoft Developer Relations team, while the previous head of the Insider part, Gabe Aul, left Microsoft last year to work on VR and AR at Facebook.
In the post Panay points out that Microsoft is preparing to build one vision for the next stage of Windows. In recent years the company has tried in various ways to attract developers and creators to Windows, but over the past 12 months the pace of release of updates in the operating system has definitely decreased. At the moment the focus is clearly on Windows 10X for dual-screen devices, but there will also be many changes coming to the desktop version. Panay has not specified what will be the news on the latter, but work on simplifying the interface will probably be resumed by cleaning up some areas not considered for some time.
Five years ago Satya Nadella had declared that the ultimate goal of the company was to make Windows a product "loved" by people, and not just a "chosen" product. Windows 10 has certainly improved, but it is also true that a new face and a new vision for Microsoft's operating system is needed, above all thanks to the technological evolution of the last few years. For example, the future of Windows on the desktop could be that of an operating system that adapts to the user's needs based on his habits, needs and interests, even if at the moment there is still talk of new icons and greater consistency stylistics.
Last week Windows 10 celebrated its billionth user, an important milestone even if it arrived late, and in the teaser video published to celebrate the event it showed a new increasingly clean graphical interface. We don't know what it will bring us "the new era of Windows", but some of these responses are likely to arrive during the Build 2020 event, which will exceptionally be held online only this year to help tackle the COVID-19 epidemic.
