Windows 10 is coming

Windows 10 now has a release date of July 29th 2015. So what does this mean for you and your organisation? What can you expect with Windows 10, and what are the implications?

Cultrix have the answers!

A new desktop background

This isn't a huge new feature, or something entirely unexpected but this is likely to be the first and most distinct visual cue that a computer is running Windows 10. With every iteration of Windows, a new desktop wallpaper is shipped with the product. In the past these have become iconic, most notably the wallpaper known as Bliss (rolling green hills) that came with Windows XP. In the future this could be the image that is used to represent Windows 10 in both the marketing and the media stories about the product. (Including this one!) You can see the wallpaper in the opening of this piece, and you can see how it was made in the video embedded below. Unfortunately however, it will not be animated.

Is it free?

Yes, and no. There's been quite a bit of confusion around this, and Microsoft is to blame. There's been a lot of buzz in the media about Windows 10 being free, which is great. Because it is - sort of. It's just not free for everybody. If you're a consumer, with a computer that runs Windows 7/8/8.1 you'll be invited to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. In fact you may have already seen this message on your computer at home. Which is brilliant for consumers, but if you're a business or organisation this does not apply to you unfortunately. Customers of the enterprise edition of Windows, intended for organisations large and small will have to pay to upgrade.

Hey, Cortana

You've probably seen the somewhat awkward advertisements for Cortana on TV. This is Microsoft's new virtual assistant, their answer to Siri and Google Now. Well, with Windows 10, Cortana comes front and centre. A button that gives direct access to Cortana will appear next to the icon Windows start button. From here you can get help, ask questions and use it to find files and folders in your PC. The virtual assistant will be the biggest new edition to Windows 10.

The start menu returns, kind of...

At long last the start menu makes a return. Not in the traditional sense, it has been rebooted. This time with Windows Live Tiles. These are the animated squares that update and change their information. As well as the traditional search and shortcuts to commonly used applications.

Not only has the start menu been rebooted, so have the task views and Windows Snap. Task views now show you more information than ever. It shows you larger previews of the applications you're using. Windows Snap now lets you 'snap' windows to different sections of the screen. Instead of the traditional 50/50 screen split there's more options including being able to divide your screen into four.

Windows 10 is packing a lot more behind the scenes. Including optimisations on devices that switch between tablet and laptop mode. Windows 10 is still in development and some of the features may be tweaked and changed.

But there's a lot to look forward to! Remember that Cultrix are here to help if you have any questions on any of Windows 10 functionality and features.

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