Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system could transform its fortunes in the battle against Apple, an East Yorkshire software developer has said.
The computer giant has lost ground to its rival's wildly popular iPhone, Macbook and iPad products in recent years.
Microsoft's last release, Windows 8, did away with the Start Menu tool previously used for navigation - much to the annoyance of many users who found its new interface hard to learn. Now the company has skipped a number to emphasise Windows 10's difference to what went before.
Simon Hudson, director of East Yorkshire software business Cloud 2, believes the changes could have a major impact.
He said: "Most of the discussion seems to be about the fact it's called Windows 10, which I think is frankly facile. I don't care about what it's called, I care about what it does.
"I expect a compromise around the user interface, because people are hung up on Windows 8 not being very good.
"Actually Windows 8 is very good, it's very fast, and I expect a compromise. Screenshots of the new system seem to show a traditional menu merged with a touch menu."
Microsoft announced Windows 10 last night in San Francisco and it will be released in the UK before the end of 2015.
Users rely on a wide array of different devices in today's world, from smartphones to tablets to laptops and PCs.
Mr Hudson believes the biggest prize will go to the firm offering one operating system across all platforms.
Microsoft tablets and computers already share systems but the change could bring smartphones into the fold as well. It is something he argues Apple has so far failed to do.
The developer said: "The things you see on your smartphone will be the same as the things you see on your desktop.
"If they can pull that off I think it's a really big deal, especially for businesses but also for consumers who don't want the task of learning more than one thing.
"It will be a game changer, because they will be way ahead of everything Apple is doing. Apple has two different environments."
Mr Hudson, whose company creates intranets and interactive statistics dashboards for the public and private sector, has seen the value of connected devices first hand. He recently found himself without a laptop on the way to a crucial London business meeting. Mr Hudson said: "A colleague happened to have a spare Surface (Microsoft tablet) with him and I was able to log on, give it my credentials and within ten minutes all my settings and data were there on the device. "If Microsoft can do that for smartphones it will be really powerful. "I see the new operating system as being a hybrid between Windows 7 and Windows 8, with some improvements."
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