Microsoft’s latest brainchild hit the shelves last week, which means that employees and employers get some new office toys to play with. After the excellent Windows 7, many businesses struggled with the Windows 8 interface, which was hopelessly focussed on the touch screen market. Windows 10 is already being hailed on the web as possibly the best Windows yet, by seamlessly integrating the best of both worlds. Additionally, employees can now use Microsoft’s own personal assistant Cortana, a Siri-like program that can search anything from anywhere at the click of a button or via spoken commands (handy, sure, but we’re just hoping it won’t turn the office into a cacophony of confused staff yelling at their PC screens).
Microsoft announced that Windows 10 has become available as a free upgrade or with new PCs and tablets. Windows 10 includes innovations such as Microsoft Edge (the dreaded Internet Explorer’s successor), Windows Hello and Continuum for a familiar, yet more personal and productive experience.
In Hong Kong, more than 3 million of Windows devices including Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 are eligible for free upgrade to Windows 10 starting today. In the coming weeks and months, more than 20 OEM manufacturers will start to launch devices preinstalled with Windows 10, and Microsoft expects there will be more than 100 models of new Windows 10 devices before end of the year.
On the retail front, as many as 400 retail outlets and computer malls will be selling Windows 10 devices in coming weeks and months, and 48 dedicated Windows Zones are set up to help users buying current Windows device models to upgrade to Windows 10 easily. To ensure users enjoy seamless upgrade, there will also be 40% more manpower to support the Microsoft customer hotline. Currently, about 60% of enterprises in Hong Kong are testing Windows 10.
Here are some of the features included in the new OS:
- Cortana, the personal digital assistant, makes it easy to find the right information at the right time.
- New Microsoft Edge browser lets people quickly browse, read, and mark up and share the Web.
- The integrated Xbox app delivers the Xbox experience to Windows 10, bringing together friends, games and accomplishments across Xbox One and Windows 10 devices.
- Continuum optimizes apps and experiences beautifully across touch and desktop modes.
- Built-in apps including Photos; Maps; Microsoft’s new music app, Groove; and Movies & TV offer entertainment and productivity options. With OneDrive, files can be easily shared and kept up-to-date across all devices.
- A Microsoft Phone Companion app enables iPhones, Android or Windows phones to work seamlessly with Windows 10 devices.
- The all new Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 tablets are available today in the Windows Store. Built for work on-the-go, the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps offer a consistent, touch-first experience for small tablets. For digital note taking needs, the full featured OneNote app comes pre-installed with Windows 10. The upcoming release of the Office desktop apps (Office 2016) will offer the richest feature set for professional content creation. Designed for the precision of a keyboard and mouse, these apps will be optimized for large screen PCs, laptops, and 2-in-1 devices such as the Surface Pro.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
