That neglect is the reason that it was made worse. Everything added to Windows that was worse is actively designed to generate some kind, any kind, of revenue growth. Without the full force of the organization behind it, it now has to struggle to prove some kind of worth and that enshiftification is the result.

I think neglecting Windows is a huge failure for Microsoft. Azure might be where all the money and growth is, but it wouldn't be anything without Windows. Owning a platform is a massive advantage. Apple has their own platform. Google has Android. Microsoft has Windows. Every other major tech player from Meta to OpenAI is desperately trying to get themselves a platform. Because it's so fundamentally important to succeeding at this scale.

For Microsoft to neglect their platform is, in my opinion, a massive strategic mistake. Microsoft already failed with mobile and it cost them an entire seat at that table. If people hate Windows, it's going to have knock-on effects to everything that Microsoft sells including Azure. I would argue that Windows is what keeps Azure from becoming just another commodity cloud provider.