What can we expect from Windows 10?
Microsoft’s Windows 10 event happened on the 21stJanuary so we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Fortunately, Windows 10 looks to be more innovative and delivers far more than we had hoped. It’s also going to be free, for a year at least.
Windows 10 is the first step to an era of more personal computing. This vision framed our work on Windows 10, where we are moving Windows from its heritage of enabling a single device – the PC – to a world that is more mobile, natural and grounded in trust. We believe your experiences should be mobile – not just your devices. Technology should be out of the way and your apps, services and content should move with you across devices, seamlessly and easily. In our connected and transparent world, we know that people care deeply about privacy – and so do we. That’s why everything we do puts you in control – because you are our customer, not our product. We also believe that interacting with technology should be as natural as interacting with people – using voice, pen, gestures and even gaze for the right interaction, in the right way, at the right time. These concepts led our development and you saw them come to life today.”
Microsoft Executive Vice President, Terry Myreson
What’s new?
The main new element of Windows 10 in the convergence between phone and desktop. Windows 10 will power all Microsoft devices regardless of type with Continuum being the bridge between them. Continuum allows users to switch seamlessly between touch and input device to deliver a much smoother experience.
The Start Button is definitely back, which is good news for non-touch or old-school Windows users. Cortana will also make her desktop debut. Cortana will be able to integrate into Outlook and Office to allow voice control of many elements of each. How practical that will be in a busy, noisy office we have yet to see.
Of real benefit to business users is the beefed up security. While nobody could accuse Microsoft of not trying to stay secure, many could accuse them of failing all too often. Windows 10 Enterprise will include two-factor authentication to increase security. It will also include secure containers within which all user data will be stored for an extra layer of privacy.
These containers will also be able to separate a user’s corporate and personal IDs, allowing a distinction between the two without having to log out and back in again.
Project Spartan
Project Spartan was the other big news at the event. The demo version had Cortana integration and the ability to save and mark up web pages.
This last point could have real productivity benefits. Spartan allows you to mark up and add notes to webpages and save them as a separate copy. This copy can be shared amongst Spartan users for collaboration. It’s a neat idea that builds on other productivity tools in the Microsoft suite.
The best price is free
In a real departure, Microsoft also announced that existing Windows 8 and 8.1 users will have one year to get a free upgrade to Windows 10. After that it will become a paid upgrade. Furthermore, all service packs and upgrades will also be completely free.
Anyone who has supported Microsoft products will be pleased to know, that all upgrades to Windows 10 will be seamless and automatic. This will make managing a Windows environment easier for all.
There are still a good few months until Windows 10 is finished so it won’t be going live just yet. Therefore, if you would like some more information regarding running Windows 10, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to advise or take a look at the fullkeynote here
P.S Take a look at HoloLens – Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, beaming interactive holograms into your real world environments here
