Microsoft chief talks “new era” following Windows 10 launch

Microsoft's Satya Nadella has been talking to the BBC during a recent sit-down interview as the chief executive claimed Windows 10 is just the start "of a new era" for the company.

The Windows 10 software started to roll out on Wednesday with Microsoft introducing a wide variety of new features, such as the Edge browser, a built-in personal assistant (Cortana) and much more.

After skipping a potential Windows 9 the company has offered the brand new package as a free upgrade to most of their existing customers. Microsoft has seemingly struggled in its new venture into the mobile market which has left many people doubting their newest Windows package, however Mr Nadella seems to share a brighter view on proceedings.

During an interview with the BBC, Mr Nadella said: "Windows 10 is a huge milestone for us as a company, and quite frankly the industry."

It would seem Mircosoft's chief exec has a certain soft spot for Cortana, Windows 10's voice-controlled personal assistant. Nadella has seemingly brushed off comparisons to similar systems such as Google Now, insisting that Cortana will set the brand apart from its competitors.

"I'm really excited about Cortana. I think of it as [being] as profound as perhaps the PC operating system. If you think about our history in technology, we've had concepts that have changed how people have interacted with their computing resources.

"One of them was a graphical user interface, the second was the browser and the web. I think of Cortana as the third platform" he said.

The whole idea around Windows 10's launch is to obviously keep the already solid customer base happy, while attracting other consumers that are using products of Microsoft's competitors.

Many comparisons have been made between both Google and Microsoft for the last few years as both technology giants continue to pursue very similar products. However, Mr Nadella was keen to reassure people regarding privacy issues that have been reported of late, offering Windows 10's alternative to an issue that Google has reportedly suffered from.

He said: "One of the foundational pieces of making anything more personal is trust.

"We're not trying to sell you advertising, we're trying to in fact sell you software or devices so you as a user can trust it, that it's working on your behalf. I as a consumer may want to sometimes trade off my data to get a free service, and that's ok. But it's the other users of that same data – that is where trust matters.

"I absolutely want Microsoft to be trustworthy. How consumers make choices between companies, I'll leave it to them."

The general consensus has been pretty positive regarding the launch of Windows 10 thus far, with hundreds upon thousands of reviews posted online already. This should hold the software in good stead for its immediate future and developers, Microsoft, must be much happier with this launch – after the badly received Windows 8 launch.

To be fair, the words: "badly received" probably doesn't do it justice.

Either way, Nadella seemed keen to brush the old cliché of "oh everybody needs Windows" under the rug, possibly looking towards a more emotional connection with its consumers. He said: "We want Windows to go from where users need it, to choose it… to loving it."

If you would like to read more about Satya Nadella's BBC interview click here.