What are the big-but-invisible changes in Windows 10? Darren Yates dives under the bonnet to find out what Microsoft has tinkered with
While Windows 10 comes with obvious changes like the new web browser and Start menu (more on these elsewhere), what other technical changes are there inside the OS that may affect you? Not surprisingly, Windows 10 has plenty of new tech, none more critical than the one you’ve probably heard least about — a new shared-component platform called Windows Core (tinyurl.com/q7vdbcq).
WINDOWS CORE
You won’t notice anything from the desktop, but lift the bonnet and Windows Core looks to be as fundamental a shift in the way Windows works as anything since the jump to Windows XP back in 2001. It’s the culmination of a platform change begun with Windows 8 and the unified kernel, the single binary engine now running everything from the desktop to Xbox One. But with Windows Core, that common kernel now expands to a common platform of modular shared components that can be added to or stripped back to suit to the intended device. It means the desktop, phone and Xbox One, even the Raspberry Pi 2 all start with this common Windows Core and build from there.
The keys for software developers into this Windows Core is what Microsoft calls the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), a set of core application programming interfaces (APIs) that are consistent across all Windows 10 devices (tinyurl.com/o3eprfz).
UNIVERSAL APP PLATFORM
Taking this a step further, a key benefit of the Java programming language has always been its ‘write-once-runeverywhere’ mantra enabling coders to write one source code and launch it on any computer that can run the Java run-time engine.
UWP builds this idea into Windows 10 at the lower API level rather than as a run-time layer in the style of Java.
But it’s the universal application platform (UAP) that Microsoft is hoping to score high marks with. The way Microsoft describes it, developers will have to write just one app that has one set of business logic and one user interface to submit to the one Windows app store as one package (tinyurl.com/ohsduqc). And that app will then run on anything from desktop down to phone, Xbox One, even HoloLens, through Adaptive UX, a new tech that adapts the user interface and controls to different devices at run-time. Microsoft’s up-coming Office 2016 suite, for example, consists of all UAP apps (tinyurl.com/owvlynq).
PROJECTS ISLANDWOOD, ASTORIA
A story that’s had a few people overexcited recently is the one about being able to run iOS and Android apps on Windows 10 devices. This is actually true, but not as simple as ‘download and run’. Project Islandwood (tinyurl.com/nax7awc) provides iOS developers with a UWP ‘bridge’ toolkit to create Objective-C (iOS) apps but also crosscompile them into Windows apps using Visual Studio 2015 RC. Project Astoria (tinyurl.com/oxqr4jq) is the codename for Android RunTime (ART) apps on Windows 10 — it can even test how much of your Android APK code can be reused. It’s clever stuff — developers can maximise much of their existing code for Windows 10 apps without reinventing the wheel. The projects will be available after the Windows 10 launch.
DIRECTX 12
Of course, Windows 10 also has plenty for gamers. For starters, it’s the exclusive OS for DirectX 12, the latest version of Microsoft’s multimedia extensions. This iteration of DirectX also marks a significant change, providing game developers with a much lower-level of code access to GPU silicon for higher-performance gaming. And there’s no mucking around here — Nvidia’s DirectX 12 drivers are already WHQL-certified, but you’ll need a Kepler-class GPU (GeForce 600-series ‘GK’) or newer. AMD users need a Radeon HD 7000 series GPU or newer, or a Kaveri-class APU.
Microsoft says it’s aiming for ‘console-grade efficiency’, but early testing by Intel already suggests significantly reduced CPU power consumption, greater than 50% on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (tinyurl.com/nwtcmgk). That’ll no doubt lead to better gaming battery life for Windows 10 notebooks, tablets and phones.
It turns out there’ll also likely be a DX12 subset for older systems called ‘DirectX 11.3’. However, we think it’ll lack the CPU efficiency tech and Microsoft has up-front caveats on what it might finally include (tinyurl.com/p4t3nfr).
DISCRETE + INTEGRATED
But arguably the most impressive addition is the ability to combine discrete and integrated GPUs into live gaming. It’s a new DirectX 12 tech called ‘Multiadapter’, which aims to bring your CPU’s integrated graphics engine back into service alongside your GeForce or Radeon graphics card. Most major game engines, including Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), should support this new feature.
Microsoft explains it with this workload timeline — the discrete (main) GPU will handle the main frame rendering, but instead of throwing the results straight to the screen, the iGPU will first add postprocessing effects (think HDR-lighting when you set ‘very high’ game quality). Once the iGPU finishes postprocessing, the frame is displayed. In a single-GPU setup, that postprocessing slows down the frame rate, but with Multiadapter, the discrete GPU is already rendering the next frame as the iGPU completes post-processing on the previous one. Results so far indicate a 10% boost in game frame rates with postprocessing effects on early UE4 tests (tinyurl.com/l6pqarr) — not bad for no extra cost.
Thinking this sounds ripe for a discrete GeForce/Radeon GPU combo? Microsoft has said nothing official about the idea yet (despite rumours), so we’ll have to wait and see.
ENTERPRISE-GRADE SECURITY
You won’t have had to use a computing device for long to know that no operating system is perfectly secure. The last 12 months alone should be proof enough of that. So, it’s good to see Microsoft has given Windows 10 some enterprise-class security features, including new two-factor authentication (TFA), a fancy way of saying a Windows 10 system will provide its own key in addition to your password, PIN or fingerprint for added security. It should drastically reduce your chances of being successfully hit by a ‘drive-by’ internet attack because the hacker would need access to your physical system plus your password, PIN or fingerprint to get in (tinyurl.com/krse77j).
It’s one of a number of enhancements added to convince enterprise users Windows 10 is a must-have upgrade (alternatively, companies with their own public-key infrastructure (PKI) security will be able to use it in place of Windows-generated TFA.)
Another feature is Device Guard, a trusted-app signing and protection service that can send a device into lockdown against persistent threats. So far, it has the backing of big-name brands including Acer, Fujitsu, Lenovo, HP and Toshiba (tinyurl.com/q3w8wyo).