Windows 10 Event recap
At 9:00am this morning, Terry Myerson took the stage to introduce the new operating system, whose Windows Insider program will continue until its commercial release later on this year.
In his introduction, Terry Myerson discusses how Windows 10 will abandon its traditional versioning system, for a service-based model that will deliver upgrades and fixes through Windows Update. While there is still no mention on pricing, it is official that Windows updates will be available on a subscription basis. The good news is that anyone running Windows 7 and 8.1, both on desktop and mobile devices, will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for at least the first year.
Special attention was given to Continuum, Microsoft’s competitor to Apple’s Continuity, which brings seamless workflow across all Windows 10 devices. This is especially relevant to enterprise customers. OneDrive and Cortana will also be an integral part of Continuum, as well as every other Windows 10 products and services.
As Joe Belifiore takes the stage, he gives the audience a broader overview of what Windows 10 looks like, pointing out not only the return, but the evolution of the Taskbar, into a crucial element of the interface, able to morph and serve as needed, across touch devices and desktop environments.
A particularly interesting part of the presentation demonstrates how Windows 10 responds when touch controls are enabled, for instance when the keyboard and mouse are removed from a Surface tablet. The interface instantly changes, providing a touch-friendly interface, without special actions needed.
The search box, now finally a ubiquitous element throughout the operating system, will also be a live function through which Cortana and Bing will offer instant results for both local and remote searches.
The charms bar, one of the least cared for elements in Windows 8.1, will be replaced by an Action Center: a far more active environment which interacts directly with apps and notifications.
Cortana takes a fair amount of stage presence, but one of the most interesting features is the “Notebook”, an application that contains all the data that Cortana is allowed to retain about a specific user. The Notebook can be edited by the user to make sure only the most relevant information is available through voice assistance or search.
Cortana will be a prime element in Windows 10, allowing voice dictation, and integration with Skype and Outlook, enabling users to speak commands, dictate text messages and emails, as well as make phone calls directly from any device, may that be a PC, tablet or phone.
Two Windows 10s?
It is unclear on whether Windows 10 will be split into two versions, one for phones and small touchscreens, and one for larger tablets and PCs. Belfiore does mention a Windows 10 for smaller devices, without providing an excessive amount of details.
Universal Apps will be in the spotlight, as developers will be able to target the entire spectrum of hardware supported by Windows 10, including the very interesting HoloLens, which we will cover in a few paragraphs.
Hardware acceleration is supported in all native applications especially Office and Outlook Mail, which will also include full Word engine integration and wireless printing.
On the OneDrive front, the photo app features all new functionality, such as automatic sorting and creation of albums according to location and facial recognition data, as well as Automatic image enhancement.
Spartan Browser
The Spartan Project is finally introduced. The new browser, as mentioned in the past, will be available as a downloadable app, and will work in concert with Cortana and Bing, to deliver predictive search results, among the new features.
The note-taking mode built into Spartan enabled users to annotate and share web pages, using a stylus or touch, and save web articles in the clipboard on on OneDrive.
Apple iPhone users will be familiar with Spartan “Reading Mode”, a special feature that extrapolates the text from a web page and displays it in a separate view optimized for reading. Reading mode also supports PDF documents and offline mode.
One of the most interesting features is Spartan’s ability to extrapolate also other information about a website, for instance a local business website will cause Spartan to display a sidebar containing driving directions, reviews, menu information and other useful, relevant local data.
Gaming
As Joe Belfiore steps off the stage, is Xbox team’s Phil Spencer turn to showcase the future of Xbox One, and Microsoft’s plans to make gaming a “personal experience”. As Spencer gives the audience a tour of the Windows 10 Xbox App, the emphasis is on the social aspect of gaming, and the ability to share clips of game activity with friends through the Activity Feed, available on all devices running the app, seamlessly, and also the ability to voice and text chat during gameplay. Next, DirectX 12 is introduced, highlighting the performance optimization in respect to DirectX 11. DirectX 12 is especially designed to enhance performance on devices running on battery power.
For enterprise customers
As Phil Spencer’s presentation concludes, Terry Myerson introduces to enterprise customers the new Microsoft Surface Hub, an 84 inches Surface tablet device, hiding in plain sight since the beginning of the presentation, at the center of the stage, disguised as simply another presentation display. The business-oriented device is built specifically for meetings and runs on Windows 10, featuring home screen communication, voice commands and OneNote whiteboard functionality, with full support for stylus and touch. The Surface Hub supports side-by-side application windows, and hardware accelerated GPU.
Windows Holographics
Terry Myerson’s brief presentation of the Surface Hub is followed by an exciting look into Microsoft’s current work on holographic technology, as Alex Kipman introduces Microsoft HoloLens, an advanced augmented reality device that features a proprietary holographic processor, or HPU, which allows real-time processing of 3D data, and integrates the resulting visuals into the field of view of users wearing the HoloLens head-mounted device.
HoloLens is able to capture gesture movement, as well as respond to voice commands, which makes interaction with virtual 3D objects very natural and realistic.
HoloLens is completely stand-alone and unthethered, which means it runs independently of any device, and can connect and communicate with other Windows 10 devices, to play games, surf the web and collaborate.
HoloStudio is also introduced as a software application working within HoloLens, which allows the creation of 3D models, with 3D printing support.
For the full video of the presentation, visit: http://news.microsoft.com/windows10story/