Windows 10 unveiled: All the new features and changes from Windows 8
Windows 10 unveiled: All the new features and changes from Windows 8
Microsoft has unveiled Windows 10 — not Windows 9, but Windows 10. The launch event in San Francisco was mostly what we expected: Microsoft wants to make Windows 10 a killer OS for all of those disaffected mouse-and-keyboard users — both normal Desktop users like you and I, and also the big enterprise customers who were rather displeased with Windows 8’s Metro interface.
The Windows 10 Technical Preview will be released tomorrow, October 1. Once it’s released, we’ll be sure to install it on a range of devices here in the ExtremeTech bunker to give you our hands-on impressions and lots of cool screenshots. In the mean time, read on to find out about Windows 10’s new features and changes from Windows 8.
For some smaller details, you may want to see our story covering the Windows 10 unveil. Over time we will update this story so that it’s the definitive source of Windows 10 changes and features.
Windows 10 for desktop and laptop users
After the very poor response to Windows 8, and the bitter taste it left in the mouths of millions of users, Windows 10 is a very important release for Microsoft. On the one hand, it needs to rectify Windows 8’s wrongs and offer normal PC users a reason to upgrade from Windows XP or 7. On the other hand, Microsoft continues to lose ground in the mobile sector as well. Windows 10 will actually have to be the jack of all trades, rather than Windows 8’s rather ignominious status as the master of none. How will Microsoft do this? Well, let’s take a look.
The Start menu returns. After a few years of claiming that the Metro-style Start screen was just as good for mouse-and-keyboard use as touchscreen use, Microsoft has finally backed down. Windows 10 will have a Start menu on the Desktop; the left side will look a lot like the standard Windows 7 Start menu, but the right side will have the option of being populated with Metro-style live tiles. The left side of the menu will adopt a new Metro-like look, too — though you may be able to configure it to look like the good ol’ Windows 7 Start menu.
Virtual desktops. In Windows 10, you will have the option of using virtual desktops. Right now you just have one desktop per monitor — but with virtual desktops, you can switch between as many desktops as you like. This is a popular power user feature that has been present on some Linux window managers and via third-party Windows tools for years — but now it’ll be native in Windows 10.
Metro apps on the Desktop. Rather than forcing you into the full-screen Metro interface, Windows 10 will let you run Metro apps on the Desktop in a window. In theory this will mean that mouse-and-keyboard users might now actually use Metro apps, which in turn might kickstart the arrival of some better apps in the Windows Store. Or not.
Desktop interface overhaul. It’s not entirely clear yet, but it seems the Windows 10 Desktop will receive a graphical overhaul, to make it even flatter. The leaked Windows 10 Technical Preview shows some flatter icons and thinner window borders — and I suspect we’ll see some further UI changes in later preview builds. (If you recall, the first Windows 8 Developer Preview still looked a lot like Windows 7, and became more flat and less opaque as the development process went on.) Curiously, there does appear to be a drop shadow behind the Explorer window in the Windows 10 screenshot above — Windows 8 got rid of a lot of shadows, so it would be interesting if they made a return.
A new Task View button. Windows 10 has a new button (and Alt-Tab menu it seems) that pops up the Task View interface. It’s meant to improve the multitasking experience for novice users. It basically looks like an improved version of the “stacked cards” view from Windows Vista and 7, which you see if you hit Windows-Tab.
Improved snapping. The Snap function is also being improved, so that windows can be easily tiled horizontally and vertically. It seems this also ties into the Task View interface, too.
The Metro interface may be removed. In the last few months, there has been rumblings from Redmond that the Windows 10 experience might be formally split in two: A Metro-only experience for touchscreen/tablet users, and a Desktop-only experience for mouse-and-keyboard users. One of the biggest complaints of Windows 8 is the way it forces you into the Metro interface when you’re using a mouse and keyboard, and the Desktop interface when you’re using a touchscreen. It isn’t clear if the Metro interface will be removed entirely from “Windows 10 for the Desktop” — more realistically, to cater for users of hybrids and touchscreen laptops, there’ll just be a check box somewhere for “never show me the Metro interface.”
Lots of other tweaks to the Windows 10 Desktop. In addition to all of the above, the Charms bar is also being removed (from the Desktop interface at least; it might hang around on touchscreen devices). The Technical Preview has a Notifications panel that pops up from the bottom right corner (video above), though I don’t think this is its final format or placement. There will also likely be tweaks for multi-monitor and high-res (hi-dpi) setups, too.
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