Nadella promises single converged Windows OS

If you have a desktop, or laptop PC with Windows, then you’re running some version of the traditional Windows operating system–most likely Windows 7 or Windows XP according to current market share data.

If you have a tablet with Windows, it might be the same Windows 8 (or Windows 8.1) operating system that runs on desktops and laptops, or it could be Windows RT, which Microsoft developed specifically for running Windows on ARM-based hardware.

If you have a smartphone with Windows, then you’re actually running Windows Phone–the mobile operating system developed by Microsoft.

It can be very confusing. I’ve experienced a number of occasions where readers have confused or conflated Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 as if they’re one and the same. It’s also puzzling for some people because an Android or iOS tablet and smartphone share the same OS, but with Microsoft you have entirely different operating systems depending on whether you choose a smartphone or a tablet.

Well, Satya Nadella has some good news. He told analysts that [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Microsoft is working on converging all of the flavors of Windows into one–a single Windows OS [/inlinetweet]no matter what platform or device you use.

For more about what Nadella said, and what that might mean for the future of Windows, check out the article I wrote for Forbes: Microsoft Strives For One OS To Rule Them All.