Ten Facts about Windows 10

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With its scheduled date of release being July 29, 2015, Windows 10 is projected to combine the effective and acclaimed aspects of Windows 8 with Windows 7. Its journey from the 1.0 milestone to the 10th spanned 30 years with largely positively reviews, mammoth business scales, and an “unrivaled” (with the exception of Apple) existence. While Apple’s launches have attracted huge interest across the world, Windows, in its 10th avatar, seems to lend a “routine enthusiasm,” probably because people have been used to its upgrades. But Microsoft is a bit secretive about Windows 10. It has left room for speculation till its launch. What is now known is that Windows 10 will be the last numbered version of the operating system, and the future upgrades will just be known as “Windows.” Speculation is also rife that the 10 version will be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 and 8/8.1 users. The entire strategy will soon become clear, come July. Some of the features are the new browser and the 84-inch Microsoft Surface Hub. Users can also use Windows Holographic to create 3D models. Android and iOS apps will run on the new OS, but watching DVDs will require a separate playback software.

Fact 1: Windows 10 was a result of a mistake made right by Microsoft after their “debacle” with Windows 8. To give a thrust to their admission to the mistake and also to ensure that the new version is most robust, the company skipped going for 9 and opted for a jump to 10.

Fact 2: The new version will have seven options from which to choose. Windows 10 Home will be the desktop edition; Windows 10 Mobile will be for smartphones and tablets; Pro will be a desktop edition for PCs and tablets; Enterprise adds features to meet the demands of medium and large organizations; while Windows 10 Education builds on Windows 10 Enterprise to meet the demands of schools. Then there is Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise, which is designed for a great customer experience to business customers using smartphones, while Windows 10 IoT Core is focused at low cost devices. There are more with the enterprise versions offering implementations for ATMs, hand-held terminals, and industrial robotics, etc.

Fact 3: “Threshold” was the code name given for Windows 10. Microsoft’s Halo game features a planet named Threshold. Also, the idea of “One” was very strongly hanging in the air during ideating and development of Windows 10. Since the version was to unite different OS families into one OS, there was a thought to name it Windows One, which is similar to Xbox One, One Note, etc. But the idea was shelved because Windows 1.0 already existed, and the identifiers during the development API would have gone awry.

Fact 4: Its new browser, Microsoft Edge (initially developed under the code name Project Spartan), is currently the only one with which you can interact, which means that you can write or even highlight the text required directly on the webpage. It provides the feature for developers to create 3D apps and comes along with a head-mountable wireless HoloLens for viewing and hearing holograms in high definition.

Fact 5: Popular traditional games in Windows 7 (Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hearts) will vanish on an upgrade. They will be replaced by “Microsoft Solitaire Collection” and “Microsoft Minesweeper.”

Fact 6: Initially, Microsoft had thought of bringing just one app to Windows—either iOS or Android. But when Microsoft realized that there are many parts in the world where only one of them was available, they decided to go for both—essentially echoing the sentiment that “when we think of Windows, we really think of everyone on the planet.” Windows 10 allows iOS and Android developers to anchor their apps and other programs to the universal apps of Windows. This is achieved by providing separate software development kits to the developers. For Android, developers can use Java and C++ code on Windows 10; while for iOS, they can take advantage of their existing Objective C code.

Fact 7: Security features have been given an enhancement in Windows 10. Take the example of access control. Unlike in previous versions where the user had to provide only one password, Windows 10 tests the acumen of the hacker by creating another code to be broken, incorporating a two-factor authentication.

Fact 8: While the new version will be available free of cost for a year to Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 users, Windows 10 will cost $119 for users of earlier versions.

Fact 9: Cortana, Microsoft’s virtual assistant for smartphones running Windows 8.1, has been integrated into Windows 10. Cortana is named after the character in Microsoft’s popular Halo video game series.

Fact 10: The version just might have been called “Interface Manager 10.” That was the name doing the rounds in Microsoft in 1983 just prior to the big announcement of its first version. Had it not been for a marketing whiz named Rowland Hanson, who suggested the name Windows, we would have known “windows” for what they do best—help in ventilation.

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