Microsoft Corporation (MSFT, Financial) has the public excited once more –Â and for good reason –as Microsoft’s brain trust of software developers are in the midst of building their latest operating system, Windows 10, while letting everyone try it out via a tech preview released this September. Windows 10 aims to expand the best features from previous operating systems while adding new features.
Although Microsoft’s yet to publically confirm a date for when Windows 10 will be released for manufacturing, it expects to have the operating system available by “early next fall,” according to Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner. This gives them ample time to construct their best operating system to date –Â think of the new OS as Windows 8 2.0 –Â in addition to allowing feedback from those who have downloaded the tech preview. However, the tech preview is buggy.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you’re aware of the ongoing battle between Microsoft and Apple (AAPL, Financial), as these two juggernaut rivals are everywhere these days –odds are that you just read that off one of their devices. Microsoft is preparing to up the ante once more; cause for a skip from Windows 8 to 10 in its name to signify “a leap as it looks to unify the way people work on tablets, phones and traditional computers,” Microsoft reported to Bill Rigby of reuters.com.
Aesthetics
Although the buggy tech preview with rough edges is all that’s available to the public at the moment, the next version of Windows shows a great deal of promise. The desktop logo is slightly different, but the familiarities of the old versions are apparent. The Windows Start menu returns, arguably the biggest deal of the upgrade. It is similar in look and feel, yet vastly different compared with older operating systems. The new Start menu still has the classic column for your programs, but is now accompanied with personalized Live Tiles from Windows 8 that you can use for your favorite apps, people or websites. You can unpin the Live Tiles for only the classic column look or you can go back to the full-screen Windows 8 version on the fly: The best of both worlds. In addition, the Start menu can now be resized vertically and horizontally.
Search is also back with a twist; now available in both the Start menu and task bar, allowing you to get results not only from the web, but from your PC as well.
The Windows app store was a major new feature for Windows 8, but it always ran full-screen. No longer is that necessary as Microsoft is “improving how store apps work for all kinds of PCs, including ones with or without touch, and for big giant screens,” Windows Vice President Joe Belfiore said. The app store can now re-size and moved around. In addition, the title bars accompanying the top of the page allow the user to exit, maximize or minimize the screen at any moment.
Multi tasking
Windows strives to let the user do as much as possible while on the PC –Â simultaneously. That is why they are focusing so much of their feedback on what can be done to help the user multi-task. The “Taskview” button allows the user to switch between all of your open apps by improving the way the apps “snap” (when an app, Live Tile, page etc., sticks adjacently to another) when it’s not full-screen, utilizing free space. You can now have up to four apps snapped up on the same screen at the same time.
You can even try adding a desktop that allows you to keep things organized if you are working on multiple projects at once. Everything that you open in that desktop will remain there so you can create independent, uncluttered spaces for all of your stuff. You can keep all of your work-related things in one desktop and everything else on another, for example. You’re also allowed to transfer things from one desktop to another.
Final thoughts
It’s clear that Windows 10 has great promise; however, Microsoft faces tough questions regarding its pricing strategy and whether or not they will charge for updates as competitors like Android, iOS and Chrome’s operating systems are all free of charge. Turner recently disclosed that Microsoft is looking at various monetization strategies.
Windows 10 is headed in the right direction, focusing on bringing people flexibility and options between older versions in addition to all the great features promised. It’s still only a tech preview that shouldn’t be installed to your primary PC, but it is also merely in the beta phase which means there can be many more improvements. What really stands out is that Microsoft is acknowledging that people are migrating away from "old PCs" and want something more compatible with their other devices. It seems as if Microsoft’s light bulb is now fully on.
