Here's all you want to know about Windows 10

MUMBAI, INDIA: The wait is finally over! Windows 10 will have a worldwide launch on July 29. It is the biggest gamble of Microsoft on Windows. The tech world is very eager to lay its hands on the latest Windows

Versions:

There will be broadly 4 versions Home, Pro , Enterprise and Education targeted at the consumers, small and mid-size organizations, large enterprises who typically have Enterprise Agreements with Microsoft and schools, colleges and university students.

How to download Windows 10?

The good news is that if you are a licensed user of Windows 7 or 8.1, you are eligible to get the Windows 10 free.

For downloading the OS:

You can reserve your free upgrade in the Get Windows 10 app which appears on the right side of your Task Bar.

Once you reserve, Windows 10 will download when available. And it will remain free for the life of your device and not just for One Year !

Note that you will have to upgrade within 12 months else this benefit will not be available.

Key features:

Edge browser: Touted as fastest and safest browser.

Universal app store: Ensures that the app will work on any device , be it phone, tablet, laptop PC or large screen like Surface Hub.

Task View: allows you to use multiple desktops efficiently.

Snap Assist: will allow user to snap upto 4 apps in one screen.

Pin Search Bar to Task Bar for easier search

Virtual desktop support is built in Start Button returns and is now more enhanced.

Windows Hello: is a new way to login without using password.

Cortana: a digital Personal Assistant which can enhance personal productivity.

Continuum: will allow users to switch seamlessly from PC to tablet mode.

Windows 10 and its impact on enterprises:

For the Enterprise , Windows 10 comes bundled with many features for productivity and security. Some of these like Universal app store, Task View, Snap Assist , Pin Search Bar , Virtual Desktop have been discussed above. But what is most exciting from an enterprise perspective is to get specific apps and the assurance that these will work across all platforms be it PC, tablet or phone.

This is potentially a huge benefit. Another key benefit is that enterprises will be able to manage the mobile devices much better due to built-in support for management .

For the mobile workforce , the ability to have a common set of services running on all devices is great productivity booster. His user experience in terms of the app and data will be the same.

Windows-as-a-Service:

There is a great deal of confusion around these 4 words. Many people believe that once they upgrade to Windows 10, they can use the service for 12 months after which they will have to pay subscription charges like in Office 365 . That is incorrect .

Windows- as-a-Service means that Microsoft will be constantly pushing the features and security patches as a software update to the Windows 10 devices. And clearly , once the device has Windows 10 , there will be no cost as long as the life of the device.

Currently we have only Windows Updates. The proposed 3 methods are:

Current Branch: This will automatically apply the updates as soon as they are available.

Current Branch for Business: Some degree of customization is possible as to when the updates can be applied. And

Long Term Service Branch: This can be highly customized . An organization can specify for example that only Security Updates should be applied.

Adoption challenges and expectation:

The biggest challenge is the negative perception among an influential section of technology authors who are fan boys of Apple and Google.

These authors have penned multiple articles which have created a negative image for Windows 8.1. So countering that negative perception is the biggest challenge . And Microsoft needs to work to ensure that there is a perception that it’s cool to use Windows 10 .

On the other hand, I am willing to bet with anyone that Windows 10 will be the most used version of Windows within 3 years. In fact the Microsoft Leadership Team has articulated a vision of one billion devices running Windows 10 in 3 years . I believe that the target will be achieved before that.

Conclusion:

While it is a fact that Windows 10 is very important for Microsoft , it is not a make or break issue. The reason is that the dependency of the New Microsoft on Windows is much lower. So Windows is important . But in my opinion, Office365 and Azure are much more important to Microsoft . Having said that , Windows is the Platform of choice for people who actually get work done . So I am pretty excited about it ! What about you?

The article is authored by Suresh Ramani, CEO, TechGyan, and opinions expressed are his own