Welcome Microsoft Windows 10; Ten Highlights from the Announcement

Update: For the Announcements which Microsoft made on 21st January, 2015: Read these highlights.

Few days back, Microsoft had sent out invites to the press to show off its next version of Windows, codenamed Threshold. Microsoft today announced that, the successor to Windows 8 will officially be known as Windows 10.

I still wonder why they had to skip Windows 9? Well, that means, you will not see the Windows Phone 9 as well. The Windows 10 is more likely to be a One Product, all devices. We will see more information on this in coming months.
Personally, I consider Windows 8 to be a disaster move. It was much worse than Windows Vista to me. With Windows 8, Microsoft was looking at having a product with a good touch-first experience for consumers; Either they didn’t care about the Enterprise users or presumed that, users will get used to the new OS no matter how different it would be. One can’t force people into a situation where everything they know has changed. That indeed caused huge frustration among the PC buyers and eventually affected the Windows 8 sales as well.

Anyway, Glad that Microsoft made this announcement of the Windows 10 Platform. Much towards what Satya focused on “One product family. One platform. One store” approach. The new operating system will offer a tailored experience for each device, but a single store will offer apps and updates across all devices. The two-in-ones devices are going to make the best of this OS. In tablet mode, it makes apps fullscreen. There’s a software back button; You have an option to enter and exit tablet mode.

Ten Highlights of the Annoucements made today:

1. The most significant visible change to the Windows 10 will be the return of the start button and menu, which was replaced by a tiled start screen in Windows 8. The new button is a mixture of the classic Windows start menu and the live tiles introduced in Windows 8. The start tiles are going to be resizable too.
2. Other notable features include virtual desktops feature, the Notification Centre and a flatter user interface. Command Prompt gets better as well.
3. More Multi-tasking Support: With power view you can see the running tasks; and it also supports multiple desktops. It tiles the windows and desktops. You can snap into quadrants.
4. The web results are now integrated with the search field for the Start Menu. Not a surprise, considering, OS X Yosemite was announced few months back with the Spotlight search feature.
5. Cortana is integrated to the desktop OS. Its not just going to be a Windows Phone feature only. Its a good way to start with a one OS fits all screen ideology.
6. Windows 10 will run on the boradset devices from IoT (Internet of Things) to Servers. A tailored experience for each device.
7. One store to discover apps and update across all devices. Will deliver the right experience on the right device at the right time.
8. Value for Enterprises: Will be compatible with all the tools and apps they are using today. All devices can be managed by one tool. Customised store for every device you use. Similar to Android L concepts, the OS will have a separates corporate and personal data on devices.
9. Microsoft is definitely not killing Touch; the new OS will also support touch devices and will be familiar to the Windows 8 users. With Windows 10, when you swipe in from the left, you get the task view. With a swipe in from the right, you get the charms bar.
10. Will be widely expected to arrive sometime next year post the Build Conference.

Windows Insider program is going to be live tomorrow for all interested beta testers. It will start off with a Technical Preview build for laptops and desktops, with one for servers to follow. There will be a variety of survey tools, forums interactions with engineering team members to enable better feedback mechanism. Microsoft is very keen to learn from the community and make the best of the platform before it retails next year.

Read here for the official Release.