Microsoft has officially unveiled Windows 10, the Windows 8 successor. No, you did no miss Windows 9, Microsoft feels the new Operating System has so many new things that it was apt to call it Windows 10 instead. Even though it looks and feels ready, there is no launch date yet. By early 2015, Microsoft will talk about the consumer version and more consumer features which are still in works. But the technical preview is available now.
New Changes Coming to Windows in Windows 10
New Start Menu
Everything you liked about the Windows 7 Start menu and the best of Windows 8 Start Screen has been combined to give you the new Start Menu. It not only brings back the old Start Menu but also gets you the Modern Apps pinned to the Start Menu. The new Start menu is the best of both Worlds.
Task View
This new button resides on your taskbar and gives quick access to all the open files & apps. Not only it gives you sneak peek of all the open applications and files but also gives you the option to view or create new Virtual desktops.
Multiple Desktops
For years Linux and Mac users have had multiple desktop to keep multiple workspaces. Virtual desktop helps you organise and departmentalise various projects and help create a completely different department for it and still have another environment for personal use.
New Multi-tasking Features
Right now you can snap apps and softwares but they are limited to being snapped vertically side-by-side only. The new Windows will let you snap Apps on the same screen with a new grid. So you can snap up to four apps at a time. Also when you snap an app it will immediately show you the other running apps on that desktop to let you decide which one you want to snap next to it. As soon as you click on that app it will take all the remaining space to fit in the remaining screen real estate, of course you can adjust the width and customise its position.
New UI for Modern Apps
One thing everybody hated about the Modern Apps in Windows 8 was the compulsion to have all the apps full screen. The new Windows will run all the Windows Store apps in the same format as desktop apps. The Modern Apps will now have a title bar and can be minimised, maximised, closed with a click and resized similarly to any desktop app.
Many more new features and enhancements are promised by Microsoft. Windows is being reworked and every tiny detail is looked into. Even the Command Prompt has some changes, one of the major change is that you can now paste anything in the Command prompt with Ctrl + V. This also opens up all the possible Ctrl + functions which are available system wide but never used to work in the command prompt.
So if you are excited and interested in Windows 10 you can register to get the technical preview for Windows 10 by signing up for the Windows Insider Program from October 1st 2014.
Do note, this being a technical preview I will get a lot of updates almost every alternate data and could be very unstable and buggy.
Do not think of technical preview as a free upgrade and make it your primary system. It is highly recommended you install the technical preview on your spare machine for testing purposes only.
The Preview version is only valid for the next 196 days i.e. April 2015. After that you would need to go back to your original Windows Installation. So it do not make this your primary Operating System yet.
Lifehacker has done a series of Windows 10 Preview posts, one is a Step-by-Step Windows 10 Installation Guide and other is the first look at Windows 10 Preview.
The video below is a 40mins Windows 10 event in where Microsoft shared details of its new direction and roadmap with Windows 10 for enterprise, along with a demo of an early preview of the new operating system
Source : Blogging Windows
