Microsoft has launched its much-anticipated Windows 10, the multiplatform operating system it hopes will put paid to bad memories of the disastrous Windows 8 and spearhead its drive into a “mobile-first, cloud-first” world.
Windows 10, which Microsoft describes as “a significant step towards an era of more personal computing”, comes as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 devices, and is included as standard on new PCs and tablets.
The system works across devices including PCs, tablets, phones, Raspberry Pi and Xbox One. The starker, cleaner design of the OS shares some similarities with the sleekness of Apple’s OS X, while for lots of users, Windows 10’s most welcome feature is the return of the much-missed ‘Start’ button.
In many respects, Windows 10 is make-or-break for Microsoft and embodies chief executive Satya Nadella’s oft-repeated vision of Microsoft thriving in a “the mobile-first, cloud-first world”.
Standout features include Cortana, a Siri-like personal assistant which allows users to set up personal reminders and updates; Microsoft Edge, which lets users mark and share web pages using the “all-new fast” Edge browser; while integration with Microsoft’s Xbox One lets gamers stream games directly from their console to their PC or tablets and share content using a new Xbox app.
The launch is being celebrated globally in a #UpgradeYourWorld marketing campaign, as M&M Global reported earlier this month, which includes events at 13 cities, including London.
Windows 10, which was developed using input and feedback from a panel of 5m consumers, has been generally well received in the technology press and tech pages of the nationals. The UK’s Guardian, for instance, scored it four out of five stars.
On the basis of coverage so far, Windows 10 appears to suffer none of the myriad problems that plagued Windows 8 – which was so bad that Microsoft did not even follow it up with a Windows 9, instead skipping from a single permutation and into double digits.
Speaking to the BBC, Nadella described Windows 10 as a “huge milestone for us as a company, and quite frankly, the industry”.
He was particularly excited about Cortana, which said was “as profound as perhaps the PC operating system”.
Addressing privacy concerns and with an indirect stab at the likes of Google and Facebook, Nadella was adamant that Microsoft was “not trying to sell you advertising, we’re trying to in fact sell you software or devices so you as a user can trust it, that it’s working on your behalf”.
Looking ahead, Microsoft will continue to update Windows 10, adding new features and functionality, such as future compatibility with devices such as Hololens.
