A Window of Opportunity?

You may not know it but if you use a PC, you’re on the threshold (forgive the pun) of something new. This week it was reported that Microsoft will provide a sneak peek at its vision for the next generation of Windows at its April BUILD conference, according to a new report.

Windows 8 didn’t achieve the success that Microsoft had hoped for as many users were put off by the new interface and lack of a Start Menu. OK, Windows 8.1 was a lot better, but it still didn’t go far enough for many people. Another update to Windows 8.1 is expected this year, next year, we’ll see Windows 9, codenamed “Threshold”.

Reported on here, according to sources who spoke to Paul Thurrot, a well-known Microsoft watcher with a track record of breaking stories about the software giant, the next version of the Windows could launch in 2015, but details about how much of an overhaul it will get from version 8 are still thin on the ground.

At its annual BUILD conference taking place in April 2014, Microsoft is also expected to launch Windows Phone 8.1.

Are you a PC or Apple user? I’ve been a PC user since the time that PC’s first appeared on the scene. From DOS to Windows, my journey has been interesting. Apart from the early Apples, I never bothered with Macs… that is until about 4 or 5 years ago when I bought an early version of the MacBook Air. Whilst I still use a PC for most of the time, I also use a Mac every day. They are terrific computers – easy to use, and it’s no wonder that Apple became the most valuable company ever.

But things may be changing – I see that, as reported here, Apple fell out of favour with UK consumers in 2013, losing its coveted spot last year as one of the UK’s top ten brands. The previous year, Apple’s iPad held the number 6 slot on YouGov’s BrandIndex report, but this year the technology giant is nowhere to be found.

Apple faired a little better in YouGov’s worldwide brand rankings for 2013 – taking fourth position along with car maker Volkswagen – but still falls behind rival Samsung which ranks in the top 25 brands in 13 of the 15 countries surveyed for the report.

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Martin Pollins

Managing Director at One Smart Place

Martin Pollins is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with wide experience in corporate finance and business management. He has served on the boards of several companies, including those listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM and OFEX. He is Chairman and Founder of OneSmartPlace and was a Council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales from 1988 to 1996. He was managing partner of PRB Martin Pollins, based in Sussex, the first Accountancy firm to advertise on British television.He went on to create and launch the CharterGroup Partnership (the UK’s first Accountancy network) and then LawGroup UK (at the time, one of the largest networks of lawyers in the UK). In recent years, he helped to raise several £millions to fund British films such as The Da Vinci Code, Bridge of San Luis Rey, Head in the Clouds and Merchant of Venice with actors such as Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham. Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Steven Berkoff, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and many more.

He has written over 700 business publications (see Glossaries at http://onesmartplace.com/resources/glossaries/) and is editor of Better Business Focus (see http://onesmartplace.com/resources/better-business-focus-magazine). His Blog, on a wide range of subjects can be found at: http://onesmartplace.com/blog/

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