Microsoft needs you to fall in love with Windows. Soon. - CNET

When you think of cool tech, Microsoft Windows probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind.

You're not alone. Even after Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, got into the business of selling sleek and powerful gadgets, like its Surface tablet-slash-notebook hybrids and Nokia phones, the company Bill Gates co-founded 40 years ago has struggled to convince people it's on the cutting edge of tech.

Case in point: Windows 10. The highly regarded operating system, released last year and designed with mobile devices like the Surface in mind, runs on slightly more than 12 percent of the world's PCs. That doesn't sound too bad until you consider that more than half of the PCs ruing Windows out there run on a version that was released by Microsoft more than six years ago.

So while Windows may be the world's most popular software, people aren't rushing to use the latest versions on PCs, let alone on the phones and tablets that are the biggest growth engines in the tech industry today.

That's why Microsoft needs to work on changing its image this week at its aual "Build" conference in San Francisco. The company is expected to talk up refinements to Windows and unveil new tools that encourage developers to make their iPhone and Android apps work on Windows, too.

Wiing developers over is a big deal. And in Microsoft's case, it may be a big ask.

"If you can't get developers to buy into it, then you've lost the whole thing," said Brian Blau, an analyst at research firm Gartner. To stay relevant, Microsoft has to make a dent in the mobile market, he added. "Long term, they can't continue in the current state they're in."

Satya Nadella, who took over as CEO two years ago, has already shifted the business to go mobile. Right after he took over, Nadella aounced versions of Microsoft's popular Office software (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) would run on Apple's iPhones and iPads and on devices powered by Google's Android software.

Microsoft has also tried creating software the help developers reuse the code they created for mobile devices so that their apps run on Windows.

This week, Microsoft fans are hoping they'll provide new details about HoloLens, an "augmented reality" headset that overlays computer-generated images onto the real world. Imagine looking at a blueprint on a table and seeing the building generated in 3D on top. Or working on your pipes at home and having a plumber show you what to do from miles away. That's the promise of HoloLens.

Whether Microsoft will be able to recapture attention for its software and devices, is still open for debate. But at least Microsoft knows it needs to change .

"Long-term Windows growth and vibrancy rests on our ability to reinvent personal computers and personal computing," Nadella told Microsoft investors and analysts during a January conference call. "We accept that challenge."

That's good, because after all, the first step toward progress is admitting you have a problem.