“I struggle to think of anything that Windows could add to its functionality that would make me want a new version.”
Windows 7 and OS X 10.8 are fine desktop OSes that one can continue to use for years to come. However, I can think of two improvements for future versions:
* Better file systems. Windows was supposed to get WinFS, OS X was destined to adopt ZFS. Unfortunately, neither of those panned out. HDDs are on their way out, we need native support for a file system that is reliable and is optimized for SSD use. Preferably, both Apple and Microsoft use the same open source solution for all their platforms, but that's not likely to happen.
* APIs to aide cooperation between mobile apps and desktop apps and TV screens. Right now, there are few good examples of mobile apps adding to the desktop experience, or the other way around. At the moment, only Adobe Nav[1] and Adobe Color Lava[2] come to mind. This is something Apple en Microsoft need to solve, not make each developer do so for themselves. Look at the brilliant folks at Panic and their Status Board app: they spent months working on a solution to display high quality graphics from an iPad to a TV screen [3]; those things should be much easier.
Windows 7 and OS X 10.8 are fine desktop OSes that one can continue to use for years to come. However, I can think of two improvements for future versions:
* Better file systems. Windows was supposed to get WinFS, OS X was destined to adopt ZFS. Unfortunately, neither of those panned out. HDDs are on their way out, we need native support for a file system that is reliable and is optimized for SSD use. Preferably, both Apple and Microsoft use the same open source solution for all their platforms, but that's not likely to happen.
* APIs to aide cooperation between mobile apps and desktop apps and TV screens. Right now, there are few good examples of mobile apps adding to the desktop experience, or the other way around. At the moment, only Adobe Nav[1] and Adobe Color Lava[2] come to mind. This is something Apple en Microsoft need to solve, not make each developer do so for themselves. Look at the brilliant folks at Panic and their Status Board app: they spent months working on a solution to display high quality graphics from an iPad to a TV screen [3]; those things should be much easier.
[1] http://www.photoshop.com/products/mobile/nav
[2] http://www.photoshop.com/products/mobile/colorlava
[3] http://www.panic.com/blog/2013/03/the-lightning-digital-av-a...