The launch of Microsoft Windows 10, holds a promise to enthusiast, Microsoft and the Windows fans alike. By the way, I don't belong to any of these categories... because I am a fanatic! An unapologetic Microsoft fanatic at that.
Windows 10, tagged the best Windows ever by Microsoft, launched in 190 countries two days ago. Microsoft seems to eager to correct their Windows 8 mistakes. At some point, the company dreamt of a unified OS i.e. same OS on all your screens and devices – laptops, desktops, tablets, mobile phones and even the Xbox console. Windows 8 was actually their first attempt at realising this big dream, but it didn't turn out well. For many people, Windows 8 will be remembered as a nightmare instead. No, I wasn't one of them. Remember I'm a Microsoft vis-à-vis Windows fanatic.
But I must admit that I have mixed feelings. A bit of ecstasy and a bit of fear. I'm eagerly waiting for when my free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8 will be downloaded and ready for installation. Having a genuine Windows software is paying off, doesn't it?
And the fear? Well, the last time I used Microsoft's free upgrade, upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, it was pretty traumatic for me. The supposedly new OS broke a whole lot of my softwares and system applications. Being a software developer, that was a nasty experience, having to re-install and reconfigure many of my tools. I really don't want to relive that experience.
So what are the new stuffs coming with Windows 10?
Cortana is built into the OS to make life more fun and to improve productivity. Cortana is Microsoft's digital assistant. Have you ever heard of Siri on iOS? Well Cortana is her distant cousin created by Microsoft.
The new Windows Store is open for business. And guess what? Candy Crush is already there waiting to be downloaded. The Store now combines apps, games, movies, music and TV. Yeah, all in one place.
Introducing Microsoft Edge. Rest in peace, Internet Explorer! May be not yet but it's definitely the beginning of the end for the world most infamous web browser. And no, Microsoft Edge is not the Internet Explorer in a different package, as this new browser was built from scratch by Microsoft. And it is twice as fast as Google's Chrome browser.
Goodbye charms bar, welcome action centre. Microsoft has listened to your complain about how the charms bar is a big mess. Action bar is taking over, and I hope it is what they said it is.
Task view and virtual desktop are now in Windows. Perhaps, I can finally smile when all my friends who deserted Windows for Linux and Mac talk about the cool stuffs on those OSes, we've got those cool features too, and more. Task view works just like Mac's Mission Control and it allows you to quickly view and easily switch between opened apps.
Free Microsoft Word and other Office apps. Windows 10 comes with a stripped down version of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Lots of features are missing but it's absolutely free. Most of us don't even use up to half of the features in those apps anyway.
Other cool features of the new OS include the Xbox app which allows you to connect and play games from your Xbox device and online. There is also the super cool Windows Hello which greets you by name, providing a fast, secured, password-free way to log in.
Watch video below for full review of Windows 10 by The Verge.
My fingers are crossed. I am hoping that when I'm done installing Windows 10 on my system, I won't be changing the hashtag Microsoft used in launching the OS from #UpgradeYourWorld to #RuinedMyWorldOnceAgain
Looks like Microsoft really meant it when they said Windows 10 will fix all the flaws of Windows 8, as there are already 14 million devices running on Windows 10, just 2 days after launch.
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