Windows 10 is
the next version of Microsoft’s Windows computer software for tablets,
desktops, laptops and smartphones, which brings back the start menu.Photograph: Microsoft
Microsoft has unveiled its next version of the Windows software
which presently powers about 1.5bn PCs in use on the planet. Windows 10
will aim to entice users put off by Windows 8, whose lack of a start
menu (introduced in 1995 with Windows 95) was more suitable for touch
interfaces than a keyboard and a mouse – even though keyboard-reliant
users outnumbered touch users by millions to one.
Windows 8 was a radical departure from the tried and tested Windows
interface introduced in Windows 95. Users were puzzled at best, and
businesses were slower to update than usual. Microsoft hopes Windows 10
will bring users back and entice businesses to ditch the four-year-old
Windows 7, seven-year-old Windows Vista and the now-discontinued
13-year-old Windows XP.
1 Start menu
The start menu is back, but it’s still got Microsoft’s live tiles from Windows 8 bolted on to the side.Photograph: screengrab
After complaints from users about its absence,
the start menu is back. Clicking the start button brings up a menu,
which – although isn’t exactly the same as Windows 7 or those before it –
is more familiar than the full-screen tiled interface of Windows 8.
This should be much more useful for desktop users, but the tiled
interface from Windows 8 is tacked on to the side.
2 Continuum
When connecting
or disconnecting a keyboard Windows 10 will switch between a
touch-based interface and a mouse and keyboard-focused interface.Photograph: screengrab
Windows 10 attempts to blend the best of Windows 7 with Windows 8.
One of the smartest things Microsoft has added is Continuum, which
detects the state of the computer and presents the right interface
depending on whether a keyboard and mouse is being used or the screen is
being touched.
For machines like the Surface Pro (which has a detachable keyboard),
when the keyboard is attached it behaves like a desktop machine; without
it, Windows switches to a more touch-friendly interface with an
on-screen back button and other touch elements to make things a bit
easier with fingers on a screen.
3 One Windows for all devices
Microsoft is
using Windows 10 to attempt to unify its various software platforms
across different devices under one Windows brand and software.Photograph: screengrab
Microsoft has talked a lot about Windows being more than simply
desktop computer software. Windows 10 is meant to unify desktop PCs,
Windows tablets and Windows Phone smartphones with one interface, one
way of operating and one account.
Apple has taken a similar route with its iCloud accounts and the upcoming Continuity
feature between iPads, iPhones and Mac computers – although its iOS
software on the iPhone and OS X on the desktop have been kept separate.
4 Universal apps
Microsoft promises that Windows universal apps will run on any Windows product, including smartphones, tablets and desktops.
Along with the “one Windows for all devices” idea, Microsoft is
pushing what it calls “universal Windows apps”, which is the new name
for apps downloaded from the Windows Store. The idea is that one app
will be able to run on all Windows platforms, including Windows Phone.
Microsoft has been talking about this for over a year.
How it will work is not yet clear, but it is likely that new Windows
apps will have a condensed version for Windows Phone and full-size
versions for tablets and computers. Apple’s universal apps do something
similar between the iPhone and iPad, but are not the same as the desktop
OS X apps.
5 No more full-screen; universal apps can be windowed
New Windows
Store apps, which previously only operated in full-screen mode, can now
be used in traditional windows on the desktop.Photograph: Microsoft
Bringing back the start menu has given the traditional Windows
desktop more prominence again. To help merge the Windows 8-style
“modern” apps from the Windows Store with the traditional desktop,
Windows 10 can now run the newly renamed “universal apps” in windows on
the desktop, as though they were any other desktop app.
6 Snap assist
The window Snap feature has been enhanced to size windows for better multi-window productivity.Photograph: Microsoft
The snapping feature, which automatically resizes windows on the
desktop to fill part or all of the screen, has been enhanced, allowing
tiling of windows, snapping side-by-side and an array of new layouts to
including virtual multi-desktop modes to try to help computer and tablet
users be more productive with both universal apps and traditional
desktop Windows apps.
7 What will it run on? Is Windows RT dead?
Is Windows RT dead?Photograph: Alamy
Windows 10 will run on most things that Windows 8 can run on. That
includes almost any new PC bought in the last couple of years, but will
exclude some older PCs, as Windows 8 requires a 64-bit processor.
Processors supporting 64-bit operation have been on sale from Intel
and AMD since 2004, so most PCs still in operation will support 64-bit
software.
The fate of ARM-based Windows tablets (that is, not running x86
processors) is unclear. Windows RT powers the Microsoft Surface and
Surface 2, Nokia Lumia 2520 and the Dell XPS 10, among others. Microsoft
has yet to announce whether Windows RT, which only runs on tablets
powered by smartphone-class ARM processors, will be upgraded to Windows
10. A question about RT’s future wasn’t answered at the introduction on
Tuesday.
8 When will it be available, and what will it cost?
The technical preview of Windows 10 will be available soon, with but Windows 10 won’t be available to buy until 2015.Photograph: Screenshot
Microsoft showed off Windows 10 on Tuesday, but it won’t actually be
available to users until 2015, after Microsoft’s developer conference
in April called Build. Microsoft will be courting businesses before
consumers, but Windows 10 is unlikely to appear in most businesses until
the end of 2015 at the earliest.
Most consumers will buy Windows 10 with a new PC, but for those
feeling adventurous and wanting to have a poke around Microsoft’s latest
and greatest, the company is allowing users to sign up for early
previews of the software still in testing.
It is recommended only for those that are happy to deal with and tech
savvy enough to cope with buggy software and the potential for data
loss, but those interested can check out the Windows Insider Program.
How much the final retail edition of Windows 10 will cost Microsoft
hasn’t said. Windows 8.1 costs £100 from Microsoft, but a Windows 10
introductory discount is likely.
10 What’s in a number?
Terry Myerson and Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s Operating Systems Group unveil Windows 10.Photograph: Microsoft
Yes, Microsoft did skip from Windows 8 (or 8.1 to be precise) straight to Windows 10.
What happened to Windows 9? Perhaps Microsoft has been using base 9,
so 9 is 10. Or 10 just sounds better? The Xbox 360 (aka the Xbox 2) and
its successor the Xbox One (aka the Xbox 3) are proof that Microsoft is
happy to throw out conventional numbering when it feels like it. • Microsoft unveils Windows 10: ‘It wouldn’t be right to call it Windows 9’ • Surface Pro 3 review: the most lappable tablet yet
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