Six months after unveiling certain key elements, Microsoft has launched the next iteration of its Windows Operating System, Windows 10. A company generally not known for giving away things for free, says it will help all existing owners of legal versions of last two editions — Windows 7 and 8.1 — to upgrade to the new edition for free (check www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld).
However, a day after announcing that the free upgrade had been launched in 190 countries (including India), Microsoft online stores quietly began offering priced versions of Windows 10 for users of Windows Vista or XP, for those wanting to switch over from a Mac, or those who may be assembling their own Windows PCs using any of the unloaded palm sized platforms available. You can buy Win 10 online from the Microsoft Store. The Home version is priced at Rs 7,999 and the Pro version with some tighter security is priced at Rs 14,999. So Win 10 is a combo of free and fee, after all.
The new Windows also differs in being more like software as a service, kept automatically up-to-date with innovations and security updates. Windows 10 promises a single experience across multiple contemporary platforms — including PCs, laptops, tablets, phones, the Raspberry Pi pocket PC, Xbox One even HoloLens — Microsoft’s new Virtual Reality device.
Even if you do opt to buy the new version, you have to download it from the web — i.e. no CD. This is a real cost in itself. Microsoft says you need at least 4 GB of space and it is advisable to save the download on a thumb drive or burn a DVD as a backup. I downloaded the ‘Tech Preview’ version some months ago and that took me almost five hours at the real broadband speeds most of us get in India.
If you have Win 7 or 8.1 on a laptop or tablet, a better idea is to take it to any Microsoft retailer or to a chain store. As long as the version on your device is legal they are obliged to upgrade it to Win 10 for you, for free. Windows 10 is a case of Back to the Future. After hassling millions of users with the unfamiliar touch-optimised tile menu of Windows 7, Microsoft has restored the familiar start menu of Win 7 and reduced the tiled option to a single click option.
If you are buying a new Windows PC, laptop or tablet, my suggestion is this: don’t accept unless Windows10 has been installed. Don’t fall for hype that the Windows 8.1 on the machine can be easily upgraded by you free of charge. If it is so easy, let them do it.
Even if you own a Win 7 or 8.1 device, I would recommend, don’t rush to upgrade. A Microsoft blog says 14 million devices were running Windows 10, a day after its launch. But I also read that Microsoft delivered a 1 GB fix to take care of Win 10 glitches on Day 1 itself. I say, “best of luck” to those 14 million. Their experience is going to inevitably throw up a lot more bugs. I would wait till most of the starting problems are fixed.
Windows 10 highlights
At the launch in Delhi, last week, Vishnu Anand tried out the best features of Windows 10. Here’s a quick look:
FINGERPRINT: You can set your fingerprint as the new Windows password. As long as you are running it on a device that support IR and fingerprint recognition, you no longer need to remember complex passwords. Setting your fingerprint as the password takes hardly a minute with the new Windows 10.
A browsing Edge: The new web browser, Edge, goes a step beyond conventional browsing. It has integrated screens for searches, a scribble pad for writing, editing and a mark-up option where you can copy web pages and paste comments next to them.
Appsolute control: Windows has a widget-inspired menu palette that allows you to arrange and display your favourite apps and software right next to the start menu. This is an interesting feature since you can always modify your important apps just by dropping them on the task view panel. Windows 10 comes with an intelligent seek-and-remind feature that Google Now and Cards users will be very familiar with. Basically, Windows snoops your mailbox for tickets, pending bills etc., for display on the home screen. If you are travelling to Paris tomorrow, it will display the weather in Paris and list of your appointments there.
A STRIKING FEATURE: Depending on the device and place where you, web pages that are optimised for Windows 10 have flexible viewing options. Suppose you are reading a long article on a flight, you can switch over to a tablet reading mode optimised for lengthier reading, and even adjust fonts.
Mobile? Sometime soon: The mobile variant of Windows 10 will take a few months to come, but short of that, every other new feature in the new OS is optimised, keeping the smartphone user’s behaviour in mind. With Mobile Win 10 comes a new Office Mobile app for work on-the-go, with Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps.
Cortanah? Cortana, the voice-enabled personal digital assistant hasn’t learnt to say “namaste” yet. The tool, which snoops and seeks out the answer to any question you ask and finds anything that is sitting on your PC or on the Internet, is now available only for Microsoft developers.
- IndiaTechOnline.com
