The Windows 10 release date has finally come to pass and now, after years of
teasing preamble, you can finally get your hands on the latest cross-platform
operating system from the software giant.
The update was rolled out to new and existing customers, on July 29, and it
won't cost you a penny to make the jump - assuming you've already got a legit
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 powered device that is.
Far more than a simple patch, Windows 10 brings a whole new direction to the
leading PC platform, adding a host of new features including Cortana voice
assistance, improved cross-device communications and, of course, the welcome
return of the 'Start' menu. Here's our rundown of all you need to know about
the Windows 9-leaping OS for desktop, mobile and, of course, Xbox One.
There are quite a few new names to get used to for Microsoft's universal
operating system - seven, in fact. Not all are available on day one, however,
with Mobile support being pushed back until later in the year. The exact titles
are:
Windows 10 Home: The consumer-focused desktop edition.
Windows 10 Mobile: The re-branded Windows Phone for smartphones and tablets.
Windows 10 Pro: A desktop edition for PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s aimed at small
businesses.
Windows 10 Enterprise: Builds on Windows 10 Pro with added advanced features
designed to meet the demands of medium and large sized organisations.
Windows 10 Education: Designed to meet the needs of schools with academic
Volume Licensing.
Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise: Designed to deliver the best customer experience
to business customers on smartphones and small tablets.
Windows 10 IoT Core: Windows 10 for other devices and machines such as ATMs and
handheld terminals.
The company has also revealed that Windows 10 will be the "last version" of
Windows, meaning Windows 10 will receive regular updates rather than an
entirely new version of Windows launching after a few years.
How much will it cost to upgrade?
For the first year, Windows 10 is available to upgrade for free if you're
currently running Windows 7 on desktop or Windows 8.1 on a desktop or mobile.
Prices outside that vary depending on the edition your after, but start from
£99 for the standard Home Edition.
Bye bye Internet Explorer - Edge is your new web browser
Microsoft has parked an old faithful with Windows 10, with its new web browser,
Edge, previously codenamed Project Spartan, landing aboard the update with a
newly streamlined UI.
Edge is designed to work on both touchscreen and non-touch devices, featuring a
minimalist layout and letting users take notes on top of web pages, using a
stylus or finger and the whole thing can be saved - or just a small section -
as well as shared with friends. Those without a touch device can also get
involved with comment boxes.
Reading mode is coming to the browser, too - this has already been seen on
Windows Phone and makes web pages look like pared-back magazine pages. Users
can compile an offline reading list to read later, and it supports PDF files.
As rumoured, Cortana, the Siri/Google Now-alike digital assistant, has made the
move to desktop on Windows 10, built into Edge and providing information in the
address bar. Microsoft has made her smarter, though, learning more facts using
Bing. She's also a little more conversational and will display pop-up
notifications and reminders you have set in the bottom left on your desktop.
If you type weather, she will automatically display it without having to
navigate to a page. If you've already told Cortana about a flight and you type
the company's name in the address bar, it will display the flight information.
Cortana also knows about restaurants and will direct from where you are right
now, alongside reviews and the menu.
Microsoft also claims Cortana is more secure and respects user privacy. Cortana
only knows what you tell her and it is possible to see exactly what you have
told her in the Notebook. Asking Cortana to display the Notebook, you will see
everything she has learnt about you from previous voice commands, and she
allows users to add or remove anything.
Working on desktop means that Cortana will work with a greater scope of files,
so she can find anything you search for within documents, find photos from a
certain date or play music you request.
Windows Hello is bringing biometric security
Windows Hello allows users to unlock their device via facial, iris or
fingerprint recognition, in place of a traditional pin or password. Microsoft
claims that the feature brings heightened security, system-wide, using advanced
biometric sensors to offer greater protection than a standard password - we
think they just really like Minority Report.
Any device with a fingerprint scanner can take advantage of Windows Hello, but
specific hardware and software is required for iris and facial recognition. The
service works in conjunction with a platform called Microsoft Passport, which
authenticates the user's apps and services.
Windows Hello does not need to store an image of your face either as it
authenticates them locally, then triggers Passport; so biometric data is not at
risk of being stolen. Microsoft Passport includes a broad range of tools that
allow developers to add Windows Hello support to their apps and websites.
Microsoft claims that users who upgrade to Windows 10 will save significant
storage space. The operating system is said to demand less hard drive space
than its predecessors and uses a compression algorithm to free up between 1.5GB
and 2.6GB - thanks, guys.
Furthermore, Windows 10 no longer requires a separate recovery image to reset a
PC to factory settings, and these can occupy as much as 12GB. This particular
saving only applies to computers and tablets, however, as smartphones do not
require a recovery image to restore factory settings.
"Through the capacity savings of system compression and recovery enhancements,
Windows devices can be lightweight and highly mobile, yet, when you need it,
have the full capabilities of the Windows OS," said Microsoft in a blog post
prior to launch.
Universal apps for everybody
It's all about harmony and playing nice with your fellow device, man. As such,
Microsoft has made a family of apps that will run on mobile and PC seamlessly
using the same code, making it easier for developers to create apps for
multiple platforms.
But Windows 10 also includes a unified storefront that brings together apps,
movies and music, so customers will no longer have to jump between Xbox Music
and Xbox Video to download media, as all entertainment content is placed under
a single umbrella.
Elsewhere, Photos is a new app that will store your photos automatically on
OneDrive and sync them directly from your smartphone to your PC, while storing
them locally, too. It also has auto-enhance features (red eye removal,
brightness adjustment etc) but you can do it manually as well if you choose.
To make things easier, Windows 10 will create albums automatically by detecting
the place, time and people that are in a series of photos (sounds very much
like Google Photos).
Settings and the Control Panel are being simplified and combined into one on
all devices.
Windows 10 also runs reworked iOS and Android apps.
Windows 10 Xbox app has been overhauled
The Windows 10 Xbox app added lots of new features in the preview, doing way
more than showing leaderboards and progress between friends. Those who signed
up were given a preview of what's now available to all - the ability to
download and launch the Avatars app from within the Xbox app, and add, report
and favourite friends.
Game hubs, which let users view curated activity feeds for individual games,
have made the transition from Xbox One to the Xbox for Windows 10 app, too,
while game DVR has added new keyboard shortcuts. You can even turn your Xbox
One on and off using your Windows 10 device.
Specific Xbox One updates are more minor. The Xbox One Digital TV Tuner is
being tested in 11 new European countries, while improvements have been made to
Miracast functionality in the wireless display app. Those with an Xbox One will
be able to stream games to Windows 10 desktops around the home, while Xbox One
will also receive more Windows 10 features.
Windows 10's revamped Music app was teased prior to launch and now, the
software has been handed an overhauled interface and a darker colour scheme
that is reminiscent of Spotify's latest apps.
Indeed, the Music app is evolving to allow music to be stored on OneDrive and
accessed on other Windows 10 devices. This is a different application to the
default Music player included in Windows 10 Technical Preview, which can be
downloaded now and has a similar design to its Windows 8 counterpart,
displaying songs ripped from the user's CD collection, hosted in OneDrive or
purchased from digital music stores, as well as playlists and tracks from the
Xbox Music catalogue.
Windows 10 Mobile is a big reboot - but you'll have to wait
Windows Phone devices say hello to Windows 10 Mobile - and some big changes.
Smartphones can now act almost exactly like a full PC when connected to an
external screen. Microsoft's Joe Belfiore demonstrated the 'Continuum'
functionality recently, but warned that it will only work on future smartphones
using Windows 10 and not on current Windows Phone devices.
When hooked up to a larger display, the Windows Phone main screen will appear
as the Start Menu and when apps are opened they look just as they would on an
ordinary PC. The feature is being made possible by Microsoft's efforts to make
apps universal, so that the same app will run on smartphones, tablets,
computers and Xbox, and adjust screen size automatically.
Similarly, Microsoft is pushing the idea that you can work seamlessly from
desktop to tablet, too, using a Surface device. With the Type Cover attached,
Windows 10 will work in desktop mode as you would usually expect, but as soon
as you remove it, it will convert to tablet mode by removing the Taskbar and
expanding apps into full screen. A prompt appears asking whether you want to
enter tablet mode and vice versa.
On a smaller scale, Windows 10 Mobile will now feature the same settings menu
that exists on desktop, while recently installed apps will now appear at the
top of the full app list menu, and Quick Actions shows more options.
Messages are being integrated with Skype, so that all communications between
contacts are displayed in one place, while Office apps for Word, Excel and
PowerPoint are being improved with the same Ribbon menu across all of them, as
well as Outlook mail.
However, Windows chief Joe Belfiore has admitted that Windows 10 Mobile is
coming out a bit later in the year than Windows 10 for PCs.
"Our phone builds have not been as far along as our PC builds," he told the
Build developer conference back in April. "We're adapting the phone experiences
later than we're adding the PC experiences.
"From the device view, our main focus is to kick off the Windows 10 launch wave
with a great launch on the PC. You should expect that the other devices -
phone, HoloLens, Xbox, Surface Hub - will be staggered, probably not on the
same date as the PC."
Windows 10 also has middle-finger emojis
Emojipedia discovered the collection of new emoji making an appearance in
Windows 10, with the middle finger clearly the most anticipated.
Microsoft is the first big company to include the sweary symbol, with no
support in Apple's iOS or Google's Android at this time.
There's not just one middle finger either; following Apple's emoji
diversification drive, users will be able to flip the bird in six different
skin tones. Frustration is universal.
Oh, and don't forget Hololens' AR future either
Not a pressing concern, as it's still in development, but Microsoft's
augmented-reality version of Windows 10, Windows Holographic, is being used
with the development of its intriguing AR headset-cum-helmet, Hololens.
The device uses see-through holographic lenses and is powered by a high-end CPU
and GPU, but Microsoft also had to create a holographic processing unit to
produce the desire effects. Users equipped with a Hololens will see holograms
beamed all around them, allowing developers to create immersive games or
project a Skype conversation on to a wall.
Holograms essentially function like real objects, with users able to move them
around, poke them, and adjust them as they please. However, we'd hazard a
pretty good guess that you won't be diving into this any time soon.
