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PLUS | THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER 2014

Windows 10: Start menu is back,

and nine other things to know

TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft has pulled a U-turn
on its reinvention of the PC,
ditching Windows 8 and creating
something that blends the old
Windows with the new.

By Samuel Gibbs

icrosoft has unveiled its next version of

the Windows software which presently
powers about 1.5bn PCs in use on the
planet. Windows 10 will aim to entice
users put off by Windows 8, whose lack of a start
menu (introduced in 1995 with Windows 95) was
more suitable for touch interfaces than a keyboard
and a mouse even though keyboard-reliant users
outnumbered touch users by millions to one.
Windows 8 was a radical departure from the
tried and tested Windows interface introduced in
Windows 95. Users were puzzled at best, and businesses were slower to update than usual. Microsoft
hopes Windows 10 will bring users back and entice
businesses to ditch the four-year-old Windows 7,
seven-year-old Windows Vista and the now-discontinued 13-year-old Windows XP.

3 One Windows for all devices

Microsoft has talked a lot about Windows being
more than simply desktop computer software.
Windows 10 is meant to unify desktop PCs, Windows
tablets and Windows Phone smartphones with one
interface, one way of operating and one account.
Apple has taken a similar route with its iCloud
accounts and the upcoming Continuity feature
between iPads, iPhones and Mac computers
although its iOS software on the iPhone and OS X
on the desktop have been kept separate.

processor.
Processors supporting 64-bit operation have been
on sale from Intel and AMD since 2004, so most PCs
still in operation will support 64-bit software.
The fate of ARM-based Windows tablets (that is,
not running x86 processors) is unclear. Windows RT
powers the Microsoft Surface and Surface 2, Nokia
Lumia 2520 and the Dell XPS 10, among others.
Microsoft has yet to announce whether Windows RT,
which only runs on tablets powered by smartphoneclass ARM processors, will be upgraded to Windows
10. A question about RTs future wasnt answered at
the introduction on Tuesday.

1 Start menu
After complaints from users about its absence, the
start menu is back. Clicking the start button brings

up a menu, which although isnt exactly the same

as Windows 7 or those before it is more familiar
than the full-screen tiled interface of Windows 8.
This should be much more useful for desktop users,
but the tiled interface from Windows 8 is tacked on
to the side.
2 Continuum
Windows 10 attempts to blend the best of Windows
7 with Windows 8. One of the smartest things
Microsoft has added is Continuum, which detects the
state of the computer and presents the right interface depending on whether a keyboard and mouse is
being used or the screen is being touched.
For machines like the Surface Pro (which has
a detachable keyboard), when the keyboard is
attached it behaves like a desktop machine; without it, Windows switches to a more touch-friendly
interface with an on-screen back button and other
touch elements to make things a bit easier with ngers on a screen.

4 Universal apps
Windows Store Microsoft promises that Windows
universal apps will run on any Windows product,
including smartphones, tablets and desktops.
Along with the one Windows for all devices
idea, Microsoft is pushing what it calls universal
Windows apps, which is the new name for apps
downloaded from the Windows Store. The idea is
that one app will be able to run on all Windows
platforms, including Windows Phone. Microsoft has
been talking about this for over a year.
How it will work is not yet clear, but it is likely that
new Windows apps will have a condensed version
for Windows Phone and full-size versions for tablets
and computers. Apples universal apps do something
similar between the iPhone and iPad, but are not the
same as the desktop OS X apps.
5 No more full-screen; universal apps can be
windowed
Bringing back the start menu has given the traditional Windows desktop more prominence again. To
help merge the Windows 8-style modern apps from
the Windows Store with the traditional desktop,
Windows 10 can now run the newly renamed universal apps in windows on the desktop, as though
they were any other desktop app.
6 Snap assist
The snapping feature, which automatically resizes
windows on the desktop to ll part or all of the
screen, has been enhanced, allowing tiling of windows, snapping side-by-side and an array of new
layouts to including virtual multi-desktop modes
to try to help computer and tablet users be more
productive with both universal apps and traditional
desktop Windows apps.
7 What will it run on? Is Windows RT dead?
Windows 10 will run on most things that Windows
8 can run on. That includes almost any new PC
bought in the last couple of years, but will exclude
some older PCs, as Windows 8 requires a 64-bit

8 When will it be available, and what will it

cost?
Microsoft showed off Windows 10 on Tuesday,
but it wont actually be available to users until 2015,
after Microsofts developer conference in April called
Build. Microsoft will be courting businesses before
consumers, but Windows 10 is unlikely to appear in
most businesses until the end of 2015 at the earliest.
Most consumers will buy Windows 10 with a new
PC, but for those feeling adventurous and wanting to
have a poke around Microsofts latest and greatest,
the company is allowing users to sign up for early
previews of the software still in testing.
It is recommended only for those that are happy
to deal with and tech savvy enough to cope with
buggy software and the potential for data loss, but
those interested can check out the Windows Insider
Program.
How much the nal retail edition of Windows 10
will cost Microsoft hasnt said. A Windows 10 introductory discount is likely.
10 Whats in a number?
Yes, Microsoft did skip from Windows 8 (or 8.1 to
be precise) straight to Windows 10.
What happened to Windows 9? Perhaps Microsoft
has been using base 9, so 9 is 10. Or 10 just sounds
better? The Xbox 360 (aka the Xbox 2) and its successor the Xbox One (aka the Xbox 3) are proof
that Microsoft is happy to throw out conventional
The Guardian
numbering when it feels like it.