On the Call: Microsoft CFO Klein

On Oct. 26, Microsoft Corp. will launch Windows 8, the biggest revamp for its operating system since Windows 95. On a conference call Thursday, an analyst asked Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein about the risk of introducing such a radical new system.

QUESTION: Over the past several months many of those reviewing Windows 8 for PCs, while praising the significant innovation behind the OS, have continued to focus on the dual interfaces and the adjustment that users will have to make. Is that something that causes you concern just when it comes to initial adoption levels of Windows 8?

RESPONSE: You know, not a lot .... At Microsoft when we do innovation, historically across our products, oftentimes there's new things that come. ... What we've seen over time is that those innovations deliver way more value, way more productivity and way better usability. I'm very confident that that is even more true with the great technology and capabilities in experiences that we have with Windows 8.