Microsoft is hoping to rock the PC user world with Windows 10, coming soon. However, there are a lot of questions surrounding it like its release date, and whether or not an upgrade will be free, as well as its new features.
A recent article from Tech Radar had a section called "Cut to the Chase" which answers three questions that everyone wants to know about Windows 10 and is not afraid to ask. The first is what is it, and the answer is a complete update for Windows. The second is the release date, and the answer is "definitely summer, but likely late July 2015". As far as the third question, what will it cost, Windows 10 will be free for one year for both Windows 7 and 8.1 users.
As far as being a complete update of Windows, Forbes reports that Microsoft's developer evangelist, Jerry Nixon, has dropped a bombshell about Windows 10, that it will be the last version of the OS. That seems a boast that would be hard to back up, because technology changes so quickly that even smartphones that are three years old are considered out of date. Chances are, if Microsoft is serious about keeping Windows as their only operating system, then they will have to update it regularly in order to keep it new.
Right now, you can download Microsoft's Windows 10 Technical Preview by going over to the Windows Insider Program website. Not only will you get the Windows 10 Technical Preview, but all the builds as soon as they are available, as well as an easy-to-use feedback application. Yes, Microsoft is doing a Technical Preview because they want user input with Windows 10, as their slogan says on their website: "Windows 10 isn't for all of us, but for each of us".
One feature that most agree on is that Cortana AI will be on every Windows 10 device. Yes, the Windows version of Apple's Siri will be ready for your questions. In addition to voice, users will also be able to touch their screens often as Windows 10 will have a heavy focus on improved touch integration, according to Trusted Reviews.
Touch integration will help another new feature known as Task View, which allows Windows 10 users to flick between virtual desktops. Another new feature, or returning feature, is the Windows Start Menu. Windows 8 users did not like how the Start Menu was missing, so Windows 10 is bringing it back.
Microsoft is also adding a Continuum to Windows 10, a place for users to register how they are using their Windows devices, and then the device will adapt to the user's chosen preferences. There is also a new multitasking feature known as Snap Assist, which "makes it easier to choose apps to snap together and suggests apps you may want to have open".
There are many new features with Windows 10, and one of them is that it will be a "one application platform". Trusted Reviews has quoted Microsoft's Windows head Terry Myerson saying that "we're delivering one application platform. One store. One way for applications to be discovered, purchased, and updated across all of these devices." So if you need to download Skype on your PC, don't be surprised if you find it on your Windows phone and tablet. This could be a "game changer" right there.
As Windows 10 comes closer to its release date, we will constantly fill readers in on features. Remember that you can help Microsoft with constructing it if you want, and we're anxious to see how it will change PC user interface.
