Introducing Windows 10

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the minimum hardware specification Microsoft have detailed for a pC capable

of running Windows 10 is a processor running at 1ghz or faster, a minimum 1gB raM

(2gB for the 64-bit version of Windows 10), at least 16gB free storage for the os, and

graphics that support directX 9 or later.not all 1ghz+ processors will be compatible

however, you should check your processor specifications to see if it supports the pae,nX

and sse2 standards (all of which are required by Windows 10).

Windows 10 will also be Microsoft’s first truly cross-platform operating system,

running on everything from desktops, laptops, and tablets down to phones, the Xbox

One, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and upwards to their new Surface Hub and

Holographic headset, HoloLens (see Figure 1-1).

For such a major release, and for the final major release of Windows, the number 9 just

didn’t sound major enough, and, frankly, it would have been an odd number to finish

on. The other alternative, just calling the OS “Windows,” might have opened Microsoft to

litigation and copyright claims in some markets in the way that happened with their SkyDrive

cloud backup service in 2014. SkyDrive was eventually renamed OneDrive, but it would

be harder to do this with Windows should litigation arise. And so Windows 10 it had to be.

The final release of Windows 10 will be out later in 2015, but for now we’ve got a beta

Technical Preview release, and a lot of questions. That’s what this book is for—to guide

you through everything that’s new, updated, or removed in Windows 10, answering the

questions you have of how it will affect you, how it can aid productivity, how it will be

more secure and robust, and so on.

Figure 1-1.

One Windows for all your devices

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By the time of the second major Technical Preview release in January 2015, there

were more than 1.7 million people signed up with the Windows Insiders beta program,

and there was a great deal of excitement and goodwill toward Microsoft’s new OS.

This is still a beta product, however, designed by a team of extremely talented

engineers in a building in Redmond, Washington (see Figure 1-2). This means that as you

read this book, things will still be changing, and the final release will differ slightly from

the screenshots and information you read here.

Figure 1-2.

WindowsisdesignedandcodedatMicrosoft’sRedmondCampus

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This isn’t to say that we don’t already know a great deal about what the final release

will bring, and it’s these details that I’ll be sharing with you in this book.

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You can download the Windows 10 technical preview at

https://insider.windows.com

.

please remember that this operating system is not

finished and will be missing features and will be unstable on some hardware.

Microsoft’s Three Areas of Focus

I’ve mentioned already that Microsoft wanted to achieve several things with Windows 10.

In addition to pushing the Windows paradigm forward, they wanted to ensure that

anybody moving to the OS from XP or Windows 7 would have a familiar and comfortable

experience. To achieve these goals, they set themselves three areas of focus.

Mobility of Experience

Windows 8 set the goal of getting the user interface out of the way. The design brief for

that OS was that your PC experience should be all about the content in your apps and

not what’s called the window furniture. This led to some issues of discoverability for UI

features, such as the charms and the app menu bar.

Windows 10 is reversing this, but not completely. Options and menus are much more

easily discovered in the new OS—indeed, they’re exactly where you might expect to find

them—but extra focus has been placed on getting the technology out of the way.

There is a great deal of clever and innovative technology in Windows 10, including

features like OneDrive, Cortana, and Continuum, all of which will be detailed in the

coming chapters. Microsoft doesn’t want users to have to wade through myriad controls

and settings just to be able to configure the OS and their apps to operate the way they want.

This is a good area to focus on when you think about it, as the number of tools,

utilities, and features in the OS number in the hundreds, and the configuration options in

the thousands or perhaps even the hundreds of thousands. Allowing people to focus on

the content of their documents or web pages is an excellent place to begin.

In addition, Microsoft wants people’s experience of Windows 10 to be the same across

whichever device they use. This could be a desktop PC, a tablet, phone, or the Xbox. Each

of these devices will synchronize with each other in new and clever ways, and Microsoft

doesn’t want people to have to learn how to use multiple interfaces and controls.

Trust

One of the biggest issues people have with technology in the twenty-first century is trust.

How do we know that our devices are secure and that our files and data are safe? How

do we know that the OS and our apps aren’t collecting valuable marketing or personal

data about us, and then broadcasting that to companies or even making it available to

governments and security agencies?

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Microsoft is emphasizing with Windows 10 that the user is firmly in control of their

own privacy, and this begins at the installation stage, where you’re asked what you want

to share with Microsoft (see Figure 1-3) by bringing to the fore the privacy settings that

people may otherwise fail to find after Windows is installed.

Figure 1-3.

Privacy choices begin when you install Windows 10

The Cortana personal assistant can collect details about you, including your likes,

location, friends, and more, in order to assist you day to day. All of this can be disabled if

you don’t wish the data to be stored, however. This focus on putting the user clearly and

transparently in control of their data can be seen throughout the Windows 10 Technical

Preview, and it will be welcomed by many around the world.

Additionally, new security features will help protect your files, data, and personal

information from theft by unscrupulous individuals wishing to exploit you, and

end-to-end encryption over company networks and the Internet can minimize the

available surface for malware and hacking attacks.

Natural Interaction

Because Windows 10 will be the last major version of the OS, it needs to be forward-looking.

We’ve used keyboards and mice to interact with our PCs since the advent of the computer,

and they’re still the most common way to interact today.

Windows has supported handwriting recognition for many years, however, and

anybody who regularly uses OneNote on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 will likely attest to how

accurate and helpful it can be.

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Speech recognition is also improving significantly, and anybody who’s used Cortana

on their Windows Phone will know how useful it can be to be able to dictate emails, text

messages, reminders, and more. Then there’s gesture control, both for tablet and hybrid

devices, and also used in a way by Microsoft’s Kinect gaming sensor.

However you want to interact with Windows 10, and whatever device it is done

on, be this a desktop PC, tablet, or HoloLens headset, the OS includes controls that are

natural and intuitive to use, and that have been refined by Microsoft over many years.

Lastly, there’s vision. It’s very common for PCs, especially laptops and tablets, to

come with forward-facing cameras, and so it seems right that Microsoft also allows you to

control your PC with a smile and a wave.

Above and beyond all else, these many input and control methods make Windows

more accessible for a broader range of people. It’s not just those with physical disabilities

who can have trouble interacting with a PC. Those with even minor motor or vision

problems, such as nearsightedness, and the very young can experience difficulty.

Expanding the range of interaction methods helps future-proof the OS as we all get older

and hungrier for technology and a connection to the Internet