Australian resellers react to Windows 10

There has been mixed reaction from Australian resellers that CRN spoke to about Microsoft's Windows 10 and related technology announcements today.

Some told CRN that they had watched the webcast early this morning, while one reseller was actually in the US to see the event unfold live.

Fast50 company ZettaGrid's chief technology officer Nicki Pereira said that he was impressed, even though he is by no means a Microsoft fanboy.

"Coming from someone who still uses Windows 7 with a Mac laptop at home I must say that this is the first Windows release that has got me excited in years," he told CRN.

Microsoft's announcement did not grab managing director of Sydney reseller PicNet, Marco Tapia, in the same way: "I couldn’t see anything that tells me to rush to the store to buy it."

Tapia questioned the strategy of releasing the Spartan web browser. "Why another browser? We have Chrome and others as good as white bread we don’t need another failed venture from Microsoft."

The chief at the Microsoft Gold partner also lamented the perpetual upgrade cycle.

"To me there is nothing in [Windows 10]. But I am sure I will need to upgrade to it one day due to the locking of hardware and Windows," said Tapia, adding, "until the day that Windows loses its monopoly status."

Combo's founder and boss David Markus was in the US to observe the unveiling live, and also worried about the upgrade and patching cycle. "[I'm] happy to see Microsoft moving to OS-as-a-service. The whole version thing has created a real industry headache."

"Just last week in New York City, I observed bus ticket machines running Windows 7. These ticket kiosks are located on hundreds of bus stations in New York. Updating them is clearly not a high priority for the NY Metro but they are now a liability rather than an asset," Markus said.

"The challenge is, how do we get all these systems on line to get all the upgrades so all systems are current, safe and compatible? The live platform is the inevitable future but it will create a new age of technical challenges for business and consumers alike."

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