Microsoft today offered an early first look at its forthcoming Windows 10 operating system, which will run on PCs, tablets, and phones. Microsoft said it is taking a new, more user-centric approach with Windows 10. It is incorporating the feedback it received about Windows 8/8.1 and is making sure to add user requested features, such as the old Start menu. The company now views Windows more as a service and it will provide continual updates.
Microsoft said Windows 10 will be a free upgrade during its first year of availability, for example, to all devices running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1. Windows 10 for PCs and tablets will gain features from Windows Phone, including the Action Center and Cortana, Microsoft's voice activated personal assistant. Windows devices with screens 8 inches and larger will include the "desktop experience." Smaller devices will have an altered experience more suited for phones. A rough build of the phone centric version of Windows 10 features a revised settings menu that has new graphics.
Windows 10 also allows users to move the keyboard around on the screen if they so wish. The entire Windows 10 platform will include Skype more firmly entrenched across apps. Furthermore, full versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that closely match the desktop variants will be included in Windows Phone 10.
All Windows 10 devices will have a new Outlook client, which has been revised with the Word engine. Other major app rewrites include the calendar, photo gallery, and Internet Explorer, which is based on Project Spartan, a complete overhaul of the browser. Lastly, the entire platform will more broadly support Xbox gaming, including PC to Xbox play. Microsoft said the first preview of Windows 10 for phones will be available to "insiders" beginning in February.
Source: Microsoft News
