Developing wearable tech and other ideas
for the Internet of Things just got a lot
cheaper. Microsoft announced at their Build
conference on Wednesday that they will give
away licenses for their Windows operating
system for free on any device with a screen
of less than nine inches. That means
manufacturers of small tablets, phones and
any other small devices won't have to buy a
license from Microsoft to use Windows,
making it a lot more competitive with the
Google Android operating system.
The announcement of the new policy
accompanied a whole host of other news
from Microsoft involving the new Windows
Phone 8.1 and other software updates but
for the free Windows licenses will likely
stand out to startup companies and device
makers as the biggest news since they will
be able to spend money that would have
gone to a license on other ways of
improving their product.
"The news today shines a light on continued
Windows innovation in ways that benefit our
customers, partners and developers alike,"
said Terry Myerson, executive vice
president of Microsoft's OS group during
the keynote where the announcement was
made. " Our commitment is to make
Windows more personal and accessible to
individuals, and to ensure a vibrant
ecosystem through closer collaboration with
our industry partners."
The Internet of Things is a pretty broad
term but Microsoft was proud to show off
some of the possibilities of Windows on tiny
devices and applied to the growing "maker"
market in areas like 3D printing. Of course
part of the draw to the Internet of Things is
how it's possible to connect numerous small
devices, phones, wearable technology that
tracks vital signs, even to smart appliances
in the home. It's easier to build applications
for them if they run on the same system
and if that system is both widely known like
Windows and free to license as it will be
now, developers could easily turn to
building with Windows in big numbers.
Microsoft has been attempting to build a
market in smaller devices like tablets and
smartphones where iOS and Android have
continually dominated. Encouraging
manufacturers to switch to Windows with a
free license may be the solution especially
when phone makers, although able to use
Android for free, still have to pay Google to
put Google apps on the phone.
It's easy to get caught up in the hype of the
Internet of Things but when a juggernaut
like Microsoft starts making real
commitments to building on it, the
predictions of economists and the
projections of entrepreneurs building smart
devices look a lot more certain
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