New Windows, new way of getting them
IN about eight weeks, when Microsoft delivers what is set to be the last big upgrade of its flagship Windows operating system, we will be witnessing the end of an era.
What makes the launch of Windows 10 on July 29 so different from the delivery of the usual packaged operating systems is that consumers will have to download it — rather than buying the DVD from a shop — and that frequent upgrades will be made available online.
Those running legitimate copies of older versions of Windows — 7 and 8.1 — will get the new software for free. However, XP and Vista users are excluded from the free upgrade deal.
Users will now get the new operating system through Windows Update, instead of having to buy a boxed product.
And Windows is set to become a service, where updates and improvements are delivered more frequently, similar to the way smartphones work.
And not to worry about South Africa’s broadband constraints: consumers will be able to take their computers to selected local IT retailers to have their systems upgraded in the shop.
With Microsoft’s new business model, it’s possible that there will never be a Windows 11.
But this doesn’t mean the end of the line for Windows — far from it. Don’t be surprised if at some point Microsoft asks Windows users to pay an annual subscription fee in return for the latest updates, much as it does today with Office 365.
The company has also changed the way it’s building the latest version of Windows. It has made technical previews available to anyone interested in running the pre-release software — and more than four million people have chosen to do so.
As a result, Microsoft has got valuable feedback from businesses and ordinary consumers on what they do and don’t like about the operating system.
According to Anthony Doherty, who heads the Windows Business Group at Microsoft South Africa, Windows 10 developers have received more than 800 000 feature requests and other feedback from users of the technical preview.
Those already running the technical preview won’t have to upgrade to the final version: they can simply elect to continue running the pre-release software. This is risky, because the software is not deemed suf- ficiently bug-free to warrant commercial release. But millions of the more technicallyminded users (read: geeks) are likely to go for this option so they can be the first to tinker with the latest updates.
Windows 10 includes a range of new features. Chief among them is a new Start menu (ditched controversially in Windows 8), which marries the interface design elements of Windows 7 with the much-loathed tile-driven design of Windows 8.
Where Windows 8 felt like a rushed reaction forced on it by tablet competitors — the iPad was in the ascendancy at the time — Windows 10 looks at home both on tablets and on traditional keyboard-and-mousedriven PCs.
Also included in Windows 10 is a new default web browser, called Edge. The much-maligned Internet Explorer is still there, mainly for corporate users with legacy business applications only supported by the old browser.
With Edge, Microsoft is hoping to reclaim some of the market share it has lost in recent years to Google’s Chrome and the open-source Firefox browser.
The new software also includes Cortana, Microsoft’s voice-driven personal assistant and rival to Apple’s Siri and Google’s voice search tools.
Unfortunately, says Doherty, Cortana will not be available in South Africa when Windows 10 is launched. He won’t say if Microsoft has any plans to introduce it here — although he will say it’s not imminent.
Users can, however, change their computer’s region settings to the US or the UK to get a limited set of Cortana’s services, although this issue is unlikely to deter South Africans from upgrading.
Microsoft will try to get as many Windows 7 and 8 users onto 10 as quickly as possible — and the free upgrade will certainly help. Persuading the diehards with the 14-year-old Windows XP could be trickier.
McLeod edits TechCentral.co.za. Find him on Twitter @mcleodd