Microsoft CEO Nadella: We Want People To Love Windows 10, Not Just Use It

Windows has long been one of Microsoft's biggest cash cows, but in a world where the PC's dominance has been usurped by mobile devices, the OS isn't getting as much attention as it once did.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to change that. During a brief speech Wednesday at the Windows 10 consumer event in Redmond, Wash., Nadella said he wants people to look at Windows not just as a tool for getting work done, but also something they use all the time -- even in their personal lives.

"We want people to love Windows on a daily basis," Nadella said at the event. "We want to make Windows 10 the most loved version of Windows."

Microsoft currently has around 1.5 billion Windows users, but it's safe to say the OS isn't as popular as it was back when Windows 95 hit the market and people lined up outside stores for hours before the launch.

[Related: Microsoft Lifts Curtain On HoloLens Headset During Windows 10 Launch]

Windows Vista and Windows 8 had a lot to do with dampening customers' enthusiasm for the OS, according to Microsoft partners. But Microsoft thinks it can win them back by making Windows 10 something that runs on the PCs and devices of the future.

This includes Hololens, the augmented reality headset that lets users view holographic images in their surrounding environment; and Surface Hub, the giant touch enabled display for videoconferencing and whiteboard brainstorming in meetings.

"We want to move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows and loving Windows. That's our goal," Nadella said at the event.

Emilie Hersh, CEO of Interknowlogy, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based Microsoft partner, said one of the most impressive things about Windows 10 is that it's just as useful in the home as it is in the office.

"Everything Microsoft is building shows Windows in several different aspects of your life. I have a Dell tablet in my kitchen and that's now my virtual cookbook. Being able to go from work to home to personal use is a nice blend," Hersh said.

Scott Stanfield, CEO of Richmond, Calif.-based Microsoft development partner Vertigo Software, said his firm is planning to start developing apps for Hololens as soon as it becomes available.

Stanfield said he understands why Microsoft is putting so much emphasis on Windows 10, but in a world where Windows serves as the DNA for all kinds of devices, the actual OS becomes less important in some ways.

"If I were Nadella, I'd want people to fall in love with Microsoft again, not just Windows," Stanfield told CRN.

Using names from the video game Halo -- like Cortana and Spartan -- are smart moves on Microsoft's part, according to Stanfield. "There's a nice connection there with the younger generation who've grown up playing the game," he said.