Today, Microsoft gave the world a good, long look at what’s coming in Windows 10. There are plenty of changes coming — some of which you’ve already seen, and some that were a bit more of a surprise. Let’s dive in!
The return of the Start Menu, for example, you’ve seen on Geek.com before. It’s back in its rightful place, and enhanced (or cluttered, depending on your take) with Live Tiles. In the opposite corner of the task bar, you’ll find a new notification system. It’s similar to what’s become the norm on our mobile devices, collecting things like incoming Skype messages and Xbox updates.
The Start Menu is one way Microsoft is trying to make sense of the Metro and desktop interfaces; another is the introduction of Continuum. In Windows 10, Continuum will allow devices like the Surface Pro and Transformer Book to change UI on the fly depending on how they’re currently configured. Connect a keyboard, and the traditional desktop interface takes center stage. Detach it, and the more touch-friendly Metro takes over. All you have to do is click a button to authorize the change.
Also making her debut in Windows 10 is Cortana, who will be available on your desktop, laptop, or tablet. As she is on Windows Phone devices, Cortana will be ready to listen to your commands (turning them into actions) and queries (providing you with hassle-free answers). Today, she confidently predicted that the Seahawks will win the Super Bowl. It’s a heck of an improvement over the lame search toolbar you’ve been able to toggle on the Windows Taskbar in previous versions.
Cortana has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, too. She can show you the weather forecast. She can play and pause your Xbox Music. Need to send an important email later on? Tell her to draw up a draft and she’ll do it without interrupting you in whatever app you’re currently using and park it in your drafts folder.
Next there’s the new, improved web browser you might have heard about recently. Codenamed Spartan, it’s a very different beast than Internet Explorer. It’s got a brand new rendering engine (so long, Trident!) and a minimalist interface. Like some competing browsers, Spartan has a reading mode and a built-in PDF viewer. Cortana support is integrated, too, and she can serve up information related to your queries without dragging you away from whatever site you’re browsing. You can also mark up pages (say, using the pen that came with your Surface Pro.. or even your finger) and share them using Windows 10’s built-in sharing tool.
Microsoft also showed off a few advancements on the gaming front. DirectX 12 will make its debut in Windows 10 and it’s better/smoother/more powerful than its predecessors. There’s also deep Xbox integration — chief Phil Spencer notes that all base-level apps from the Xbox One will be making their way to Windows 10 PCs. You’ll also be able to stream games from the Xbox One to any Windows 10 PC…pretty cool stuff.
On the flip side of the Xbox coin, Windows 10 apps might also be coming to the Xbone. “They’ll be easily portable,” said Spencer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see Microsoft Office or Photoshop heading to your console any time soon. Still, you’ll probably see plenty of other apps that are offered in the Windows Store make the jump.
As excited as you were to find out more about what features Microsoft has planned for Windows 10, you’re probably just as eager to find out what — if anything — it’s going to cost you to upgrade. Well, we’ve got some good news on that front: Windows 10 will be a free upgrade to anyone who currently holds a valid license for Windows 8, 8.1, or 7. You’ll just need to make sure you grab it within a year of the Windows 10 release date.
But while we may not know what it’ll cost, we do know that you can try Windows 10 out for free some time next week. The downloads aren’t available yet, but we’ll let you know when they are.
