What is Windows 10?
I get asked by friends and family all the time – what is Windows 10?
I thought it would be fun to document everything we know about Microsoft’s next Operating System in one place, on one page.
So without further ado, here’s what we know about Windows 10 so far.
What is Windows 10?
Windows 10 is the most comprehensive and exhaustive overhaul of Microsoft’s Windows franchise in the history of the company. It is a complete rethinking of Windows partially in response to the poor reception Windows 8 got in the marketplace.Microsoft’s definition is pretty cool. Here it is:
Windows 10 (“Windows”) is a personalized computing environment that enables you to seamlessly roam and access services, preferences and content across your computing devices from phones to tablets to the Surface Hub.
Rather than residing as a static software program on your device, key components of Windows are cloud-based, and both cloud and local elements of Windows are updated regularly, providing you with the latest improvements and features.
When will Windows 10 be available?
Microsoft will make Windows 10 available sometime in 2015 – either in the middle of the year or toward the end of the year.What will Windows 10 cost when it is released?
For the first 12 months after Windows 10 is released, users on Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows Phone 8.1 can get Windows 10 as a free lifetime software upgrade.It is not clear what Windows XP, Vista and other users will have to pay. It’s also not clear at this time what Windows 10 will cost after the one year period.
How many versions of Windows 10 are there?
As I said here, here are the versions I have been able to dig up:- The version of Windows 10 that we are all playing around with right now in test form is Windows 10 Desktop. This will be the version that runs on Intel-based PCs, laptops and hybrid/2-in-1 devices.
- The version of Windows 10 that will be available in test form starting in February 2015 is Windows 10 mobile. That version is optimized to run on ARM-based Windows Phones (from Microsoft and other OEMs), as well as on ARM- and/or Intel-based small tablets, ideally under eight inches in size.
- There’s a Windows 10 “Industry” SKU for devices like point-of-sales terminals, ATMs and kiosks.
- There will also be a custom version of Windows 10 inside the Surface Hub — the conferencing system that Microsoft announced last week.
- There’s Windows 10 “Athens,” which also will work on ARM or X86 cost- and resource-constrained devices. Athens is based on the Windows 10 common core and will support the “Universal Apps” model.
- There is apparently a different custom version of Windows 10 that will power the HoloLens augmented-reality goggles.
- There will probably be Windows 10 embedded versions of the OS that will run inside cars and fridges etc
- There will inevitably be versions of Windows 10 at the Server Level – I am assuming Windows 10 Server.
We can assume there will be:
- Windows 10 Home
- Windows 10 Professional
- Windows 10 Enterprise
- Windows 10 Mobile
Will there be a preview version of Windows 10?
There will be several previews of Windows 10.- Windows 10 Technical Preview
- Windows 10 Consumer Preview
- Windows 10 Developer Preview
- Windows 10 for Phones Technical Preview
What are some of the UI changes made to Windows 10?
Windows 10 Start Menu
The Start menu is back and comes with
some new features. It comes first with the ability to be resized along
with the Live Tiles within.
The Start menu also features empowered
search capabilities as well, able to crawl your entire machine, not to
mention web results via Bing.
The traditional Windows 7 Snap View works
in Windows 10’s desktop mode with classic and universal apps, enhanced
by a new “Snap Assist” interface.
Snap Assist works in tandem with Task
View, a new feature that allows users to create multiple desktop
environments within a single instance of Windows 10.
You can also now grab apps from different
desktops and group them together using the Snap Assist UI, all of which
is mouse or touch controlled.
What is Microsoft’s vision for the complete ecosystem?
Microsoft is looking to see Windows 10
transform the Windows franchise. They are looking to have Windows 10 be
seamless across Desktops, Laptops, 2 in 1 systems, Phones, Tablets and
all devices we use from day to day.
They even want Windows 10 to be in office hardware (See the Surface Hub) and Xbox.
What about Windows 10 and Holographs?
Windows 10 Holographic
During its January 21 event, Microsoft
revealed Windows Holographic and Microsoft HoloLens, a brand new headset
and hologram system designed to blow the concept of augmented reality
wide open.
Every Windows 10 device will support holographic computing APIs.
Windows Holographic is Microsoft
holographic computing platform, while HoloLens is the proof-of-concept
for the firm’s holographic computing initiative. The company built a
brand new holographic processing unit (HPU) to process terabytes of data
from every sensor packed into the HoloLens.
Through the HPU, HoloLens can run
completely independent of any other device. Microsoft demonstrated the
technology on stage, creating a 3D model using holograms and later 3D
printing that exact specification. There was no word on when HoloLens
will launch and how much it will cost, but Microsoft promised that it
will be ready for the public launch of Windows 10.
What is Cortana in Windows 10?
Cortana in Windows 10
Windows 10 will see the spread of
Cortana, Microsoft’s Siri and Google Now competitor, into all versions
of the new OS, including desktops, laptops and tablets. Microsoft’s Joe
Belfiore showed off the new PC-centric features within Cortana during
its January 21 reveal event.
Cortana will be a digital assistant to help you with easier access to files, apps and more.
What are Windows 10 Universal Apps?
Microsoft is developing special versions of its key apps, like Office, for Windows 10 phones and tablets under 8 inches.
Apps like Word, PowerPoint, Excel and
Outlook will look and feel nearly identical to their desktop
counterparts, but be optimized for touch and screen size. And through
Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, all of your files will be accessible
through those devices regardless of where it was created.
Following the January 21 event, Microsoft
went on to confirm that its most important suite of Universal apps,
Office 2016, will launch in the second half of 2015. This potentially
puts Office 2016 ahead of Windows 10 in terms of release.
What is Continuum in Windows 10?
Continuum in Windows 10
During it’s January 21 event, Microsoft demonstrated its “continuum” approach to computing with Windows 10.
Continuum is designed to adapt Windows to the form factor of the hardware it is running on.
As an example with a Surface Pro 3. When
the tablet is connected to its keyboard cover, the Surface Pro 3 acts as
if it is a laptop, which it technically is. Then, as soon as the
keyboard is removed, a small icon appears in the lower right of the
screen, asking whether you would like to activate tablet mode.
Doing so changes all of the apps to full
screen, making icons slightly larger and allowed users to access the
Start screen a la Windows 8, albeit much updated. As soon as you
reconnect the keyboard, the device offers to revert back to its original
mode.
What is Spartan in Windows 10?
Spartan Browser Windows 10
Project Spartan as it is called is the company’s revamp of Internet Explorer.
Some of the features of this new browser are:
- The ability to mark up webpages before sharing them with others
- The ability to comment on those same pages at the software level.
- Built-in offline reading and PDF support
- Built-in Cortana support and Integration
Spartan is not a replacement for Internet
Explorer, but rather a second browser. Microsoft have explained that
while Spartan will work with the rest of the web, IE11 will be kept for
compatibility with legacy and enterprise websites.
What is Xbox integration in Windows 10?
Spartan Browser Windows 10
There will be an Xbox app on Windows 10.
The app collects all games played on any
Xbox or Windows 10 device, a universal friends list and an activity
feed. Every Windows 10 device will have the Xbox app pre-loaded.
Users will be able to record game
sessions through the Game DVR tool and share them across the Xbox
network. Essentially, Windows 10 will bring the automated recording
featured in Xbox One to games played on Windows 10 – even those launched
through other apps, like Steam.
There will also be the ability to stream any Xbox One game to any Windows 10 device from within the home over Wi-Fi. The
What will Enterprise Licensing look like in Windows 10?
As we detailed here, Microsoft issued its plans for rolling out Windows 10 to enterprise users: through Windows Software Assurance program.
While this program will offer several
methods for enterprise users to upgrade their fleets of systems to the
new OS, that also means it will not come free like it does for consumer
versions of Windows 10.
The SA program is designed to give
enterprise customers more control over when and how updates are pushed
to their range of machines. Of course, the idea here is a focus on
security and flexibility for IT through additional Long Term Servicing
branches that provide security and critical updates only – barring new
feature updates.
What about Windows 10 and the Internet of Things?
Windows 10 and The Internet of Things
“Windows 10 is a very important step for us.” Nadella said on stage. “It’s the first step in a new generation of Windows as opposed to just another release after Windows 8. General purpose computing is going to run on 200 plus billion sensors. We’ve architected Windows where it can run on everything.”
Microsoft is playing the long game with Windows 10 and will be looking to make sure that all devices that can connect to the web have some ability to interact with a Windows 10 device.
What are some of the rumored changes that are rumored to be coming with Windows 10?
This is where the internet goes a little crazy. Here are some of the rumored changes Windows 10 is bringing:The blending of the desktop and the modern UI
Apparently, Microsoft are planning to
further merge the Desktop and Modern UI. Simply put, Microsoft will
allow Modern UI apps to run in the desktop, in windowed mode, and have
Modern UI apps pinned to the Start Menu instead of a Start Screen.
Some of this work has begun with Windows 8.1 and may continue with subsequent updates before Windows 10.
A new/refined start button
The controversy over the disappearance of
the start button was a big part of the furor and uproar over Windows 8.
There is speculation that Microsoft will bring it back in the desktop
versions of Windows 10, more refined and better.
Radically redesigned UI
I doubt that 100%. Windows 10 is the gentle unwinding of Windows 8, emphasis on the word gentle.
Microsoft will be looking to do very little harm with this upgrade. I
believe there will be subtle changes but nothing aggressive.
Deeper integration with Bing
I believe this will be true. Microsoft
continues to go all in with Bing and I think Windows 10 will be no
exception. There will be many opportunities in the next version of
Windows for Microsoft to integrate search into the Operating System.
Deeper integration with Azure for Cloud Storage
I believe that Microsoft will continue
the push to leverage Azure for cloud storage. Microsoft may actually
integrate parts of the Operating System into the cloud for document/file
storage.
Improved Power Management
This is expected. Microsoft has done a
great job with Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 with power management. Expect
Microsoft to make the OS even more efficient in the next version of
Windows.
Deeper Kinect/Gesture integration
It makes sense that Microsoft may try and
push the envelope with gesture recognition in Windows 10. I would
expect that the company would push beyond the initial forays made in
Windows 8.1 (specifically the Cooking application). Gesture based
computing would be huge if they could pull it off.
Better Security
I fully expect better security options in
Windows 10 including fingerprint recognition. Microsoft do a great job
with security and continue to lock down Windows with every major
release.
64 Bit only?
This is the enduring urban legend. For
the past 6 years, we have speculated that Microsoft would move to 64 bit
exclusively. I doubt that will happen in this release. Once again, this
is not going to be a controversial release, this will be as smooth and
drama free as possible. At least that is what Microsoft have to be
hoping.
That’s all I have right now but I will continue to update this page as we know more.How can I stay updated when this page is updated?
That’s simple. use the box below and sign up for our newsletter. Apart from sending out valuable news and information about Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, you’ll get my free eBook inside Windows 8.1.Use the box below.
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Hii guys, My name is Ganeshkumar and I’m a Computer Hardware Engineer and I proudly love to teach about computer software and hardware repairing stuffs. My hobby is blogging about computer problems solutions
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