A couple of weeks ago I told you that Microsoft had hinted that they were planning to release Windows 9 in mid-2015.
Well, the timing was accurate, but the name was wrong. The new version of Windows will be Windows 10, not the wildly-speculated Windows 9.
Why they decided to skip the name Windows 9 and jump straight from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 is anyone’s guess.
My own guess is they realized the name “Windows 8” left such a bad taste in the mouths of many users that they felt they really needed to distance the new version version of Windows from Windows 8 in name as well as in functionality.
At any rate, based upon the preview video they released this morning it looks like Windows 10 will indeed be a major improvement over Windows 8.
First of all, the Start Menu is back, and in my opinion it’s better than ever. It basically combines the ease of use of the old Windows 7 style Start Menu with all the best advantages of the new Start Screen. I really like it!
Second, Windows 10 will be device-aware. This means the same version of Windows will run on all your devices, but your laptop and desktop PCs will automatically boot to the familiar Desktop while your Windows-based phones and tablets will boot straight to the touch-friendly Start Screen. This is HUGE improvement over the plain vanilla Windows 8.
Microsoft has made a number of other improvements to Windows 10, but the ones listed above are the big ones in my humble opinion. If you’re using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, I recommend watching the short “Windows 10 Preview” video below. If you detest Windows 8 as much as I do, I’m sure you’ll like what you see.
Bottom line: Based upon what Microsoft has said in various blog posts and in the video below, Windows 10 should work a LOT like Windows 7 on your laptop or desktop computer when it’s officially released in a few months.
And now, the “Windows 10 Preview” video: