Microsoft will launch Windows 10 later this year, replacing both 7 and 8, but what difference will it make? David Crookes finds out
When Microsoft unveiled more details of Windows 10 at a recent special event, one thing really stood out: this is a company that can keep secrets. Although a good many of the details had been second-guessed before the curtain went up on its CEO, Satya Nadella, Microsoft still managed to throw in a fair few surprises while setting out its vision for the immediate future of computing.
The years to come promise much: a pleasing operating system that will put to bed the issues surrounding Windows 8, a major belief in gaming and (most eyebrow-raising of all) the launch of a holographic computing concept that has the potential to be the basis of GUI for decades. It all seems to add up to Microsoft being a force to be reckoned with yet again.
"Windows 10 marks the beginning of the more personal computing era in the mobile-first, cloud-first world," said Nadella, of the operating system that has already been installed more than three million times as a beta version. "Our ambition is for the 1.5 billion people who are using Windows today to fall in love with Windows 10 and for billions more to decide to make Windows home."
Judging from the reaction of Twitter, it may just be on to something this time around.
What, then, can we expect to see from Windows 10? The short answer is adaptability. Microsoft has outlined its hopes for a single platform that will work on anything from the smallest of phones to the largest of televisions. It will be used to power wearables and it will find itself seeping into the living rooms of many with integration into the Xbox One console. In short, Microsoft is hellbent on ensuring that Windows 10 becomes the new standard, and it hopes to achieve this market penetration by ensuring it will not cost you a penny. That's right...
Windows 10 Will Be Free
PC users running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost as long as the upgrade takes place within the first year after launch. Once the operating system is installed on qualified computers, there will be no unexpected fees and Microsoft's executive vice president of operating systems Terry Myerson has vowed that Windows will continue to be supported during the lifetime of the device for no additional charge.
Some have been puzzled by the meaning of the word 'qualified'. Microsoft says that some hardware and software requirements will apply and that the availability of features may vary depending on the device. Details of these will, it promises, be made more clear in the coming months but, for now at least, it's free Windows 10 for all.
Why make it free, though? Given Microsoft has traditionally made most of its money from the sale of its operating systems, a trend which began when Windows was launched by Bill Gates in November 1985, this move has the potential to dent profit margins significantly. It will, however, ensure that the take up of Windows 10 is high and it will unify the Windows ecosystem. "The question, 'what version are you running' will cease to make sense," says Myerson.
This business model takes its cue from Apple, which offered Mavericks for free in 2013 and did the same with Yosemite last year. The take-up of these has been strong, with 70% of the total Mac userbase now running one of the two. Microsoft, meanwhile, has seen Windows 8 and 8.1 take up a market share of just 18.65%, way behind Windows 7 at 56.41%.
While Apple OS X downloads could certainly have been higher - some Mac users have stuck with older operating systems even though their machines are capable of running the upgrades -Microsoft would nevertheless like to eradicate the current market fragmentation of Windows.
There Will Be Universal Apps
Windows 10 will make use of the Continuum interface, which dynamically adjusts the OS's Ul elements depending on how you are using your device, to attempt to make switching from desktop to touchscreen as effortless as it can. Myerson also spoke of plans for "mobility of experience"; that you will be able to work on one device, move to another and immediately pick up where you left off - because "Windows 10 will support the broadest device family ever." This reflects a desire to make the operating system integrated and ubiquitous across PC, tablet, Windows phone and even Xbox, with the experiences on each tailored to suit the different devices.
For that to work, the OS needs a good selection of universal apps, and Windows 10 will provide them. Microsoft says there will be "one product family, one platform, one store" with everything made available in an integrated shop (called The Store). A new version of Office will be just as available for Windows 10 phones and tablets as it will be for the desktop. The same is true of Outlook which Microsoft showed to share a unified look across PCs, tablets and phones. PowerPoint and Excel will also appear near-identical on all devices, albeit with touch-control and screen size optimisation.
As expected, the cloud will play a major role in Microsoft's future plans, allowing all of these devices to sync content. A new photos app will allow for sharing (it also deans up images, remove duplicates and auto-enhances) and there will be support for the syncing of contacts and music, with everything backed up in Microsoft's One Drive. Of course, a lot of these features may well depend on the mass adoption of Windows tablets and phones - though that's an area where Microsoft really does have a job on its hands.
Cortana Will Say “Hello"
Joe Belfiore, the corporate vice president of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, showed off Windows 10's integration of Cortana, the digital voice assistant, which has up to now been confined to Windows Phones. With an almost-natural voice and an ability to handle some complex instructions, Cortana is able to learn the interests of users, presenting relevant information. This could include the sports results of your favourite team, or updates on flights that you have booked. It will allow you to dictate your emails and turn apps or music on and off.
Cortana will also operate as a search engine, scouring your computer and your OneDrive account as well as Bing, but for those worried that about the Start button - which was dropped in Windows 8, sparking a huge furore - it will be pleasing to read that Cortana will also sit nicely alongside it on a PC's desktop taskbar. It will also form part of other Windows devices, with Cortana taking up an entire screen on smartphones.
With support for seven languages and a Yoda impersonation, Cortana is shaping up to be a very useful feature. It will also respond to text input for those moments where speaking to your computer will make you appear a little silly.
This Is SPARTAN!
Cortana will also be built-in to Spartan, a new web browser that will be taking over from Internet Explorer, effectively putting an end to its solid 20-year run. As it stands, IE has around 60% of the global market share; while that sounds impressive enough, thanks to anti-competition rulings and strong showings from Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox (as well as competition from Apple's Safari), it is far from the monopoly it once enjoyed.
"Project Spartan is a new browsing experience tuned for being mobile and working across this family of devices," said Microsoft's Joe Belfiore. While we can't vouch for that just yet, it certainly does appear to be a step in the right direction.
It will take time for it to roll out to all devices, but when it does appear, it will feature a new rendering engine. It will also allow web pages to be annotated, giving users the ability to ring areas, draw arrows and scribble thoughts before sharing it with other Windows 10 users.
As we said, Cortana is integrated into Spartan, and it will keep a watchful eye on what you are searching for. If it believes it has the answer to a question you are about to ask, it will draw on its own resources - and, as creepy as this feature sounds, by second-guessing what you may want, it could save you time, perhaps by serving up the menu or opening times of a restaurant you have just searched for. Or by delivering reviews that may or may not put you off going.
As well as being optimised for your device, Spartan will also include an updated version of the Reading Mode that made its debut in the Internet Explorer app on Windows 8, allowing users to concentrate purely on the main text of a page. It also takes on the features of popular third-party apps such as Pocket, by letting users save articles for later reading (either online or offline). It even has PDF support.
It Will Work With Xbox
Given that Microsoft owns the popular Xbox brand, it is no surprise that Windows 10 will have a built-in Xbox app. "Over the last 13 years, Xbox has been focused on creating and expanding great gaming and entertainment experiences on console," said head of Xbox Phil Spencer.
"We're incredibly proud of the Xbox One and are fully committed to ensuring it's the best place to play console games in 2015 and beyond. Now, we are also bringing that same focus, passion, and commitment to gaming on Windows 10, enhancing the PC games and gaming devices you already love, including the Xbox One. We've listened and learned from our past efforts in PC gaming and I am excited about what the future holds."
The Xbox app will allow you to manage your Friends, Activity Feed, Achievements, and Messages. It will keep a note of the games you play on Windows 10 and on an Xbox One console. Gamers will be given the ability to record gaming sessions via the Game DVR tool - a feature that already exists within Xbox One - by simply pressing Windows+G. Those editable recordings will then be sharable, and this feature will also work with Steam.
On top of that, it will be possible for gamers to enjoy multiplayer gaming across Xbox Live and Windows 10, letting PC and console owners pit their skills against each other (Microsoft announced that Fable Legends will run on Windows 10 PCs on the same day as it is made available for the Xbox One). Indeed, the two products are going to be so assimilated that it will be entirely possible to stream Xbox One games through a home network to a Windows 10 device. What's more, many Xbox One accessories will be fully supported by Windows 10 too.
In order to boost the power of PC gaming, DirectX 12 will become part of Windows 10. It is designed to make games run faster and benefit from richer visuals. It will be supported by the Unreal Engine 4 and Unity, and Microsoft says it will "squeeze every ounce of performance out of your supported hardware and open up a new wave of innovation for high-end graphics." Spencer says Direct X 12 can improve performance by up to 50%
And There's More
One of the first things Microsoft showed off at the Windows 10 unveiling was a new bar that could be swiped in from the right. This looked to be similar to the Notification Center on OS X, delivering controls such as Airplane Mode as well as app notifications. It will let you see new emails and invites to instant message apps, and it will alert you to Facebook posts.
There will also be decent security. Indeed, Myerson said that the Windows 10 would have headed off most of the cyberattacks the industry has witnessed in recent weeks and months.Microsoft also announced last September that it would be bringing two-factor authentication as standard in Windows 10's enterprise versions.
As we also saw last September, Windows 10 will be taking the best of Windows 7 and the best of Windows 8 (yes, there were some good bits) and bringing them together. That Start menu will merge the interface and live tiles the two relied on and bring a modern look to the new offering. To that end, there will be support for multiple desktops, improvements to Snap and a new feature called Snap Assist that lets you grab apps from multiple desktops within another feature called Task View -which presents thumbnails of open apps.
There are also clever things going on with Skype. It will be built into Windows 10 for Phones via a new Phone and Messaging app. It will be able to detect whether or not two users have registered their phone number with Skype. If they have then Windows 10 will recognise this and switch to the service. It's similar to iMessage in this respect, and it cuts out the need to switch between SMS and Skype.
Get Going With It
With all of these innovations and changes, Microsoft is hoping to be able to consolidate what it offers without confusing the market (a market that may be unaware that Windows 9 just doesn't exist). Throughout the presentation, it appeared that Microsoft was looking to distance the new OS from Windows 8, which was only released back in 2012 - and nothing makes this more clear than the numerical gap between the two.
"Everything about Windows 10 - the experiences, delivering it as a service and the free upgrade - means that Windows 10 isn't just another product, it's an ongoing relationship; one that will give ongoing value to all our customers," said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Operating Systems group at Microsoft. "The new generation of Windows is a commitment -a commitment to liberate people from complex technology and enable them to do great things."
Both the Windows 10 Preview build and the Windows 10 build for phones are out now, and we've been told that we should expect the full launches later in 2015. Myerson is adamant Microsoft has got it right this time: "There's about one and a half billion people using Windows today and devices outnumber people. Windows is at a threshold, and now it's time for a new Windows. Our new Windows must be built from the ground up for a mobile first, cloud first world. It wouldn't be right to call it Windows 9."
Microsoft HoloLens
During its presentation, Microsoft pulled out a piece of kit that astonished everyone who saw it: a wireless holographic computer. Made to be worn over the head, it has a pair of holographic high-definition lenses as well as spatial sound. It works alone, needing no phone or PC connection, and it overlays virtual images on to the real world.
Microsoft showed off a video of this new technology which, in an instant, appeared to put the likes of Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus in the shade (although HoloLens will work with Oculus' VR system). The indications from those who have seen it are that the images are amazingly lifelike and the video certainly seemed to suggest that. It showed people having a Skype conversation while walking around the room and it showed a game of Minecraft - handily owned by Microsoft - being played in a living room as if it was physically there.
It showed how an item on screen could be displayed in virtual 3D via these see through chunky glasses on the desk and then manipulated, and it also highlighted a man plonking himself on the sofa, having brought up a virtual screen on which to catch up on the latest boxsets on Netflix. HoloLens (nicknamed Project Baraboo) will be powered by a new Holographic Processing Unit and have advanced sensors. It was the unveil which got everyone talking.
According to Microsoft this enables a shift from "the traditional machine-centric view of computing to an interaction that is much more personal and humanistic". Windows 10 will include full support for the headset, including a set of APIs that enable developers to create holographic experiences in the real world. Holograms will be universal apps and all Windows universal apps will be able to work as holograms. What is perhaps most astonishing, though, is that Microsoft has worked on this technology for five years whilst managing to keep its existence a secret.
Quite simply: it ups the ante. With Sony and Oculus attempting to bring VR to the masses, perhaps Apple will now look at its own system. HoloLens is set to be released within the next four years.
Surface Hub
While the presentation rolled on, a screen in the background displayed the Windows 10 logo. It seemed a waste until it became part of the unveilings. For this screen was Surface Hub, a large-screen device aimed at offices and groups of people, enabling folk to share ideas and create projects.
Surface hub has multi-touch and digital inking capabilities, along with built-in cameras, sensors and microphones. It uses Windows 10, Skype for Business and Office 365. It also has cutting edge digital white boarding, instant remote conferencing, the ability for multiple people to share and edit content on the screen from a laptop, tablet or phone and a trusted platform for large-screen apps.
Microsoft announced that it would come in two sizes: 55" and 84".
The New Office Suite
The new Office for Windows 10 will give a fresh spin on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. They will have touchscreen-friendly features and Microsoft says they have been entirely redesigned so that they work on all of the Windows 10-supported devices.
PowerPoint will have a new inking feature so that users can annotate slides in real time. New touch-first controls in Excel will make it easy to create and update spreadsheets without a keyboard or mouse."They're going to deliver a consistent, highly rich, and complete Office experience," Microsoft's Joe Belfiore said.
Windows To Date
November 10, 1983: announces Windows 1.0
December 9, 1987: Windows 2.0 released
December 9,1987: Windows/386 (or Windows 386) released
June 1988: Windows/286 (or Windows 286) released
May 22 1990: Windows 3.0 released, with an upgrade version made available
October, 1991: Windows 3.0 (or Windows 3.0a with multimedia) released
April 1991: Windows 3.1 released; within two months, it sells more than a million copies
October 1992: Windows for Workgroups 3.1 released
August 1993: Windows NT 3.1 released
February 1994: Windows for Workgroups 3.11 released
September 1994: Microsoft Windows NT 3.5 is released
June, 1995: Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 is released
August 1995: Microsoft Windows 95 is released; within four days it sells more than a million copies
August 1996: Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 released
November 1996: Microsoft Windows CE 1.0 released
November 1997: Microsoft Windows CE 2.0 is released
June 1998: Microsoft Windows 98 released
July 1998: Microsoft Windows CE 2.1 released
May 5, 1999: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition released
1999: Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 released
February 2000: Microsoft Windows 2000 released
April 19, 2000: Windows Mobile launched
June 19, 2000: Microsoft Windows ME (Millennium Edition) released
October 25, 2001: Microsoft Windows XP released
2001: Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v 2002) for Itanium systems is released
March 28, 2003 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 released
March 28, 2003: Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v 2003) for Itanium 2 systems is released
August 6, 2004: Microsoft releases Service Pack 2 for XP
April 24, 2005: Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition released
January 30, 2007: Microsoft Windows Vista is released
July 22, 2009: Windows 7 is released
November 8, 2010: Windows Phone launches and replaces Windows Mobile
February 22, 2011: Service Pack One released for Windows 7
October 26, 2012: Windows 8 is released
December 20, 2012: Windows Phone 8 launches
October 17, 2013: Windows 8.1 is released
September 20, 2014: Microsoft announces the next Windows will be Windows 10
January 21, 2015: Microsoft firms up Windows 10 details