Windows 10: 5 Things To Expect

You can freely customize and arrange the tiles of  your Start menu.

The end is in sight: Windows 10 will be released on July 29th, 2015 as a free download for anyone running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1; the free update will be available for a year.

However, It was surprising when Microsoft announced that its new operating system’s name to be Windows 10 instead of Windows 9 as expected. It is however rumored this decision is due to the number of criticisms Windows 8 endured, so calling the new OS (Operating System) windows 10 kind of gives the impression the new OS is a lot better than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Here are five things to expect from the brand new OS.

• It’s Free - If you currently use a genuine version of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, you should switch to a rejoicing mode because for a whole year after the release date, Windows 10 is going to be free for you. Sorry if you use an older version of Windows like Windows XP, you’d have to pick up Windows 10 Home for $199 and Windows 10 Pro for $199.

• One for All - Imagine an OS that powers not just your PC but also your mobile devices. That’s exactly what Microsoft will achieve with Windows 10. To make this a possibility, Microsoft has created software called Continuum. Continuum is a tool that will aid Windows 10 in detecting what type of device a user is on and help the operating system configure itself accordingly. “With Continuum for phones, we believe any phone can be your PC” said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s cooperate vice president of operating systems group.

• Two Browsers - For fans of Internet Explorer, worry not for you’ll still have your Internet Explorer on Windows 10 but expect a better and more efficient brand new browser called Microsoft Edge. Get ready for a brand new browsing experience that will give you an edge cos that’s exactly what Microsoft Edge will give.

• Start Menu Back - If you hated Windows 8’s no Start Menu start screen, good news! Windows 10 comes with Start Menu sitting on the bottom left side of the screen and presenting the usual familiar pop-up column of short cuts.

• What about my machine? If your PC can run Windows 7, it should do just fine with Windows 10. According to Microsoft, minimum requirements for Windows 10 are 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of hard drive space.