Dear Readers: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you for a great 2014!

Zac Bowden

Dear Readers: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you for a great 2014!

Hello! My name is Zac Bowden, and on behalf of the entire team at WinBeta, I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for sticking with us throughout this epic past year. We’ve come so far, and have done so much! You and I sat together as we witnessed the birth of Windows Phone 8.1, the demise of the Nokia Lumia brand, and the unveiling of Windows 10. It’s been an incredible year, and I have some good news for you: We’re just getting started!

As 2014 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on our achievements and look to the future. This past year, WinBeta has stepped into its shoes. I’d like to think we have a foot in the world of Microsoft coverage now, and that’s all thanks to you. This time last year, we were simply a blog, reporting on Microsoft news. A year later, we’re more than just a blog. Instead of just reporting on the news, we began breaking it. We published a number of spectacular exclusives regarding Windows 10 and many other products from Microsoft this year, and you got to experience them first hand.

Now 2015 is almost upon us, and I want to express something to our readers. We are serious about what we do here at WinBeta, and I mean that. I want WinBeta to be your first choice when it comes to Microsoft-centric coverage. We want you to think of us when you want your daily scoop of Microsoft news. We want to be the website you recommend to friends when they ask for a good Microsoft-centric website.

We have an excellent team who work around the clock bringing you the latest news as it happens. Our team is just as dedicated about Microsoft as you are, and we mean that. Our staff sometimes stay up until 3AM bringing you breaking news, not because we have to, but because we want to. WinBeta isn’t our full-time job, it’s our hobby. We all have day-jobs, yet no matter where we are, whether it be at work, parties, weddings, you name it, we find the time to sit down and bring you the latest Microsoft coverage.

Now, I’m not sure about you. But I think that’s dedication… Some might say a little too much dedication. Nonetheless, I’d also like to thank our team for their hard work throughout the year. Sean, Joseph, Dilraj, Hammad, Fahad, Manish, Dave, and Kip (Our newest additions to the team being Kip Kniskern from LiveSide, Sean Cameron, and Dave Shanahan). Of course, there would be no team without our Editor in Chief and Managing Editor, Ron and Michael. They’ve managed and steered the website and the team in a new direction which has enabled us to become more efficient and able to work as a team.

To kick off 2015, we are planning to roll out a new design for WinBeta, which makes content even easier to find whilst looking pleasing to the eye. The rollout is scheduled to take place at the end of the year, unless something comes up. We’ve been pushing out more content as of late, and its time we had a design that allowed us to present you with more information from all the corners of the site.

Going back to content — if you like a story you read, please share it to social media. Help us get that exposure so we can continue growing. If you like a story, Tweet it, Like it on Facebook, or share it to Reddit. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this past year as much as we have, and we hope you’re planning to stick around for the year ahead, as we’ve got Windows 10, Surface, Office 2015, Microsoft Lumia and many more fantastic things to experience together. Thank you for being the very foundations of what makes WinBeta great, and Happy New Year to you all. Stay safe — if you’re going out to party, drink responsibly, and have fun. We hope to see you back in early 2015.

PS: News will be a bit slow until the holidays are over.