The next generation of Windows: Windows 10

[Brink]

Today I had the honor of sharing new information about Windows 10, the new generation of Windows.
Our team shared more Windows 10 experiences and how Windows 10 will inspire new scenarios across the broadest range of devices, from big screens to small screens to no screens at all. You can catch the video on-demand presentation here.

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.

Delivering Windows as a Service and a Free Upgrade to Windows 10

Today was a monumental day for us on the Windows team because we shared our desire to redefine the relationship we have with you – our customers. We announced that a free upgrade for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 who upgrade in the first year after launch.*

This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no additional charge. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We’ll deliver new features when they’re ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service – in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet.
And just like any Internet service, the idea of asking “What version are you on?” will cease to make sense – which is great news for our Windows developers. With universal Windows apps that work across the entire device family, developers can build one app that targets the broadest range of devices – including the PC, tablet, phone, Xbox, the Internet of Things, and more.

For our enterprise customers, we’ll continue to support the way many of them work today, with long-term servicing for their mission critical environments. With Windows 10, a best practice we recommend for many enterprise devices is to connect to Windows Update and be kept up-to-date with the latest security and productivity improvements as soon as they are available. You can learn more about our commitment to enterprises here, with much more to come in the following months.

Everything about Windows 10 – the experiences, delivering it as a service and the free upgrade – means ongoing value to all our customers. The new generation of Windows is a commitment—a commitment to liberate people from technology and enable them to do great things.

New Windows 10 Experiences



Together with our Windows Insiders, we’re well way on our way to making Windows 10 the largest-ever open collaborative development effort Microsoft has ever shipped. Since we launched the Windows Insider Program in September, we’ve been joined by 1.7 million Windows Insiders, who have delivered over 800,000 pieces of feedback. We are truly co-creating the future of Windows with you and we’re humbled by your valuable role in this new open development process.

Today, we shared new details on the experience coming to Windows 10, including:

Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant, comes to PC and tablet, for the first time with Windows 10.
Cortana learns your preferences to provide relevant recommendations, fast access to information, and important reminders. Interaction is natural and easy via talking or typing, with advanced features to control Cortana for more trustworthiness and transparency.

Windows 10 for phones and tablets – Windows 10 for phones and small tablets features a fast, fluid and familiar experience that seamlessly interacts with your PC.

A new web experience for Windows 10 – Code-named “Project Spartan,” the next generation browser was built with greater interoperability, reliability and discoverability, with a new look and feel built just for Windows 10. Advanced features include the ability to annotate by keyboard or pen directly on the webpage and easily share with friends, a reading view that is distraction free, displaying the article in a simplified layout for a great reading experience for Web articles online and offline, and the integration of Cortana for finding and doing things online faster.

Office universal apps on Windows 10 offer a consistent, touch-first experience across phone, tablet and PC with new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. Designed from the ground up to run on Windows, you can easily create and edit Word documents, annotate slides in real-time with new inking features or easily present PowerPoint presentations, and with new touch-first controls in Excel you can create or update spreadsheets without a keyboard or mouse. The next version of the Office desktop suite is also currently in development, more on this in the coming months.

New universal applications will ship with Windows 10, offering innovative new experience applications, consistent across the device continuum, for Photos, Videos, Music, Maps, People & Messaging, and Mail & Calendar. These built-in apps have an updated design that look and feel the same from app to app and device to device. Content is stored and synced through OneDrive, enabling you to start something on one device and continue it on another.

Xbox Live and the new Xbox App bring new game experiences to Windows 10. Xbox on Windows 10 lets gamers access the best of the expansive Xbox Live gaming network on both Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One. Players can capture, edit and share their greatest gaming moments with Game DVR, and play new games with friends across devices. Games developed for DirectX 12 in Windows 10 will see improvements in speed, efficiency and graphics capability. Players will also be able to play games on their PC, streamed directly from their Xbox One consoles to their Windows 10 tablets or PCs, within their home. Read more on Xbox Wire.

Continuum Mode: On 2in1 devices, Windows 10 will move easily between keyboard/mouse and touch/tablet as it detects the transition and conveniently switches to the new mode.

These are just a few of the great experiences showcased today.
New Windows 10 Devices



But it’s not enough to deliver great software experiences. Windows 10 supports the broadest device family ever – from PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s to phones to Xbox and the Internet of Things. And today, we welcomed two new devices to the Windows 10 family: Microsoft Surface Hub and Microsoft HoloLens.

Windows 10 Showcases Holographic Future with Microsoft HoloLens
It was a special moment this morning when we were able to share that Windows 10 is the world’s first holographic computing platform – complete with a set of APIs that enable developers to create holographic experiences in the real world. With Windows 10, holograms are Windows universal apps and Windows universal apps can work as holograms, making it possible to place three-dimensional holograms in the world around you to communicate, create and explore in a manner that is far more personal and human.



Showcasing the possibilities of holograms in Windows 10, Microsoft HoloLens is the world’s first untethered holographic computer – no wires, phones or connection to a PC needed. Microsoft HoloLens allows you to view holograms in high definition and hear them in surround sound, even if they are behind you. And with advanced sensors, Microsoft HoloLens can see what you are looking at and understand what you are communicating with your hands and voice. By putting you at the center of the Windows 10 computing experience, Microsoft HoloLens allows you to create, access information, enjoy entertainment, and communicate in new and exciting ways.

Microsoft Surface Hub Unlocks the Power of Group Computing
From no screen to 84”, with Microsoft Surface Hub we introduced a new large screen device designed for the way teams in the workplace naturally interact and come together. Custom versions of Skype for Business and OneNote are integrated into the Windows 10 shell to take full advantage of the built in cameras, sensors and mics, as well as the new screen that was built from the ground up for ink and touch. The Surface Hub features state of the art digital white boarding, instant remote conferencing, the ability for multiple people to share and edit content on the screen from any device, and a trusted platform for large-screen apps. Available in two sizes – 55” and 84” – the Surface Hub removes the current limitations of traditional conference room scenarios to empower teams to create their best work together.

In Closing

Windows 10 will forge a new relationship between us and our customers – consumers, developers and enterprises. Today was an important next chapter of our Windows 10 story, but there is much more to come. Thank you for joining us on this journey. We’ll deliver the next chapters over the coming months at Game Developers Conference, WinHEC, Mobile World Congress and Build.

A special thank-you to our Windows Insiders – we couldn’t build Windows 10 without you. In the next week, we will release the latest build for Windows Insiders running the Windows 10 Technical Preview on PCs and expand availability to 25 more languages. And later in February, we’ll release our first technical preview for phones.

To learn more about Windows 10 and these exciting new devices, sign up for more information about the free upgrade, or to join the Windows Insider Program, please click here.
– Terry

Source: Microsoft - The next generation of Windows: Windows 10

See also: Windows 10: The next chapter - 21st Jan Live event Discussion

 

[cabbage]

Do those with Win 8 & 7 will get free update for win10 OS in the first year? If that is correct-What is the version of the win 10 will be provided to those with Win 7 x64 Ultimate? Do you have any idea?

 

[Brink]

Users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for the first year of release date.

 

[michaelst]

Users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for the first year of release date.

I'm guessing the cost will be... you CAN'T go back if you don't like it without already owning a retail copy of Windows 7 or 8.

 

[Brink]

Nope. Just that you can't have both installed at the same time. You can always go back.

 

[TVeblen]

How will licensing work in that case (upgrade from W7 to W10)?
If I were to want to clean install W10 sometime after the upgrade I would need to buy a copy to get a license to activate it?

 

[FerchogtX]

How will licensing work in that case (upgrade from W7 to W10)?
If I were to want to clean install W10 sometime after the upgrade I would need to buy a copy to get a license to activate it?

^
All of this... I would like to do a clean install instead of upgrade, but...

 

[Gornot]

Win10 looks more sleek and fancy than ever. I tried the JTP but experienced too many issues to stick around. Even the feedback app was not responsive most of the time, so no point in even trying it out if I can't submit any feedback lol

But I definitely do plan to upgrade to 10 when it hits RTM since it'll be free.

 

[jimbo45]

Users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for the first year of release date.

I'm guessing the cost will be... you CAN'T go back if you don't like it without already owning a retail copy of Windows 7 or 8.

Hi there

You can ALWAYS GO BACK - Just image your currently running system BEFORE doing any updates -- why do people STILL FAIL to understand the importance of regular backups.

Acronis / Free Macrium etc are ALWAYS available for this purpose -- even the good old Linux DD if you haven't got anything else.

If you don't like the update simply RESTORE your previous OS from your image backup --this will even work on OEM pre-installed systems.

Some people might offer plenty of reasons for NOT upgrading but not being able to revert to previous OS is NOT ONE OF THEM. Thats total and utter BOVINE SCATOLOGY.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[RoasterMen]

Xbox running Windows 10, looking forward to seeing this in a video! Consoles really have gone far away and now is relatively same with PCs.

 

[NoN]

Bought the Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim (build date September 2014), back in mid-November...then, received the new coming update (build date Dec 15, 2014) including Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant some days ago.
I'm quite impress by this Phone OS...its even more fluid now. I think i"ll let the phone to receive Windows Phone 10 update free and i'm really looking for to wait the O.S to surface for PC, not to upgrade that last one though!

Edit:
Looks the Windows Phone 10 might at least include a rollback feature SOURCE

 

[carwiz]

This sounds a lot like the printer business model. Give it away (practically) knowing that the user will have buy something to make it work (ink). In the Microsoft case, the OS is free but it looks like all new releases of software will be required to do any real work--AKA; the App Store. And I don't particularly like the idea of it creating folders for me. I do my own photo organizing.

Has anyone tried to run older versions of Office? Or will Office365 be required?

So far, I don't see anything for me. I don't have Xbox, tablet or phone to sync. Everything I need is right here.

 

[ThrashZone]

I loaded office 2007 and it worded very well,
GIMP 2.8.10 as well didn't bother with CorelDraw x6 though but I'm sure it would work

Build 9926 clean install did not create the system reserved partition when all other builds did with a clean install of them,
I rolled back and clean installed 9879 build and used the update system to get the build 9926,
That did not go well at all
Locked the hdd I was testing it with,
Now tonight I get to see if Linux can slavage/ clean the drive,
Clean install has never failed to work but the update system seems flawed in my resent case
Not really solved yet,
Solved 250mg recovery partition ? - Windows 10 Forums

 

[jamis]

As a non-business user, I'm planning to stay with WIN7 until the current tower dies or the OS becomes unusable for some reason. I went from XP to WIN7 with no ill effects on our usage. So, I'm comfortable avoiding the WIN10 experience. I think I'll let MS work out the new revenue model and what ever else comes with it. I'm no longer a techno geek, so have fun folks.

 

[sdowney717]

if i have win7 ultimate and use wmc to watch HDTV on the antenna,

1. will win 10 do that for free?
2. will my ATI HDTV Wonder PCI card work in win10?

 

[carwiz]

Windows 10 is still in tech preview so it's too early to tell. WMC, as I understand, is not in that release but nothing is carved in stone. The same goes for hardware and software compatibility. Most are using Windows 8.1 drivers. I would certainly wait for an official RTM version and a compatibility check before upgrading. I was hoping for a compatibility utility like Microsoft had for XP to Windows 7. There was a lot of hardware that couldn't make the trip and the primary reason I built a new machine. I'm not ready to do that again.

 

[sdowney717]

Windows 10 is still in tech preview so it's too early to tell. WMC, as I understand, is not in that release but nothing is carved in stone. The same goes for hardware and software compatibility. Most are using Windows 8.1 drivers. I would certainly wait for an official RTM version and a compatibility check before upgrading. I was hoping for a compatibility utility like Microsoft had for XP to Windows 7. There was a lot of hardware that couldn't make the trip and the primary reason I built a new machine. I'm not ready to do that again.

Most of the time then free is not free, it comes with penalties.

 

[Berton]

Just for kicks I installed Office 2000 on my Win10TP. Word works nicely and fast but didn't try the other applications in the suite. I had forgotten that Clippy came with it.

 

[ThrashZone]

Most issues I've found is with the intel quick fire technology and win-10tp using it,
My mother board is not compatible with it old intel mobo but 10tp tries to use it anyway
The end result is a fast asleep hdd which will not wakeup mother board can not sent the wake command

Microsoft needs a very good tool for compatibility for this new fast startup stuff for sure.