It seems like a lot of folks aren’t exactly enthusiastic about Microsoft’s new Windows 8 logo. I like it quite a bit. It’s simple, meaningful and extremely flexible — none of which you could say about the previous logo — and it manages a feat that’s really quite hard to pull off with a logo. 

It is what it says

This is a window.

It is what it is

This is Windows.

Redefining Windows

It also, I think, helps to redefine what Windows is. Between the logo and the Metro design language, it’s pretty clear that “Windows” no longer refers to a mish-mash of windows hanging in space.

It is a window, with multiple panes. Or multiple windows with multiple panes.

Simpler, more flexible.

Knowing Microsoft, some of the old Windows will stick around for a while, but all the hints are we’ll be seeing a lot less of it over time.