Microsoft has finally confirmed the availability of the Windows 10 free upgrade, following months of speculation and leaks about the official release of the much-anticipated new operating system.
Customers currently running the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 operating systems have a full year to take advantage of the free Windows 10 download, which will be available from 29 July.
AMD chief executive Lisa Su already let slip a big hint in a conference call with analysts and investors in April. AMD is one of the world’s largest chip makers, and therefore likely to be well-informed about Microsoft’s plans.
“With the Windows 10 launch at the end of July, we’re watching, sort of the impact of that on the back-to-school season,” Su said in response to a question from an industry analyst.
Microsoft had already said that it intended to launch Windows 10 in the “summer”, but had not given a more specific date.
Windows 10 was first announced in April 2014 and is currently in public beta testing, with Microsoft having now confirmed that this will be the last-ever version of the Windows operating system.
Unlike with previous versions, there will not be a separate Windows Phone 10 operating system. Instead, Windows 10 will be used across all Microsoft devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones – as well as the Xbox games console and HoloLens, Microsoft’s new wireless holographic headset. Windows 10 could also enable users to manage devices and appliances across their home.
However, Microsoft revealed at their recent Build developer conference that release of Windows 10 would be staggered across other devices, following the PC launch.
There will be a single store to buy software from, with developers only needing to write it once for all devices.
A new feature called Continuum means people using Windows 10 with a mouse and keyboard will see the new system in a classic desktop mode, but switching to a tablet or smartphone will see it transform into touchscreen mode.
Microsoft has also brought back the Start Menu, which was ditched in Windows 8 in favour of “tiles”, in the hope that it would encourage wider adoption on touchscreen devices.
However, the resizable tiles still feature in Windows 10, appearing when users open the Start Menu and signalling new emails and social media messages as well as weather information.
Microsoft hopes that the compromise between a Start menu and a tiled display will entice more people to use the operating system on tablets and mobile phones as well as desktop PCs.
The company has not yet revealed what the final operating system will look like on a smartphone, but leaked screen shots of build 10070 suggest that the “Live Tiles” will be closer together with narrow borders between them.
Rather than Internet Explorer, Windows 10 will come with a new web browser called Microsoft Edge, which allows users to annotate webpages or save them to read later.
It will also include Microsoft’s personal assistant tool Cortana – already on Windows Phone – which will pop-up with notifications and act as a search tool.
Windows 10 will be made available simultaneously in 190 countries and 111 languages. It will be free for a year for users of the previous operating systems Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. The price for new users and after the year has yet to be confirmed.
Original Article by Sophie Curtis
