Microsofts Windows 10 operating system preview hasattracted more than 1 million testers to date, and tens upon tens of thousands of votes on itsuser forums. Curiosuly, one dominating theme has emerged over the past few days: Requestsfor better support in Iran.
The VergesTom Warrenwrote a post last weekdetailing the top 10 Windows 10 requests, noting thatusers are askingMicrosoft to include support for the Persian calendar in its new operating system. Since Warrens article was published, a number of other Iran-focused requests have risen to prominence on the public board.
A sampling:
Iran, a country ofmore than 80 million people, has all but taken over the top list of Microsofts user request forum. That will certainlycatch the eyeof Redmond.
Iranian users have previouslycomplainedthat theyhave been excludedfrom thenew Windows ecosystem. If Microsoft somehow missed those earlier paeans, it wont be able to dodgethis very public, and perhaps even slightly embarrassing show of interest and consternation from the country.
What Microsoft can, or will do remains to be seen. It isnt clear if the company has addressed the matter directly on the public record. I have a request for comment in with the company, but as its around 4:30 in the morning over there, I dont expect a speedy response.
Microsoft has been clear so far that it wants direct feedback from testers to help it guide the final development of Windows 10. And while the Iranian-centric petitions have less to do with what is new in Windows 10 than what has been lacking in both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, the feedback underscores that there is market demand for the Windows Store. Thats good new for Microsoft, a company that is still looking to grow developer buy-in for its newly reconstituted Windows platform.