What Is In Windows 10?

 

1. A new Start menu: This change from Windows 8 is an important concession to Windows XP and Windows 7 users.

1. In the new Start menu, the left half looks much like Windows 7's. But the right half is a composite of scaled-down tiles. Both sides are customizable; you can click-and-drag or pin/unpin both menu items and tiles until the cows come home. 

2. Drag a menu entry from the left side to the right side, and it instantly turns into a tile. Unpin all tiles, and you end up with a Start menu that looks and works much like Window 7's — at least to a first approximation.

3. Another innovation for Windows is the concept of “One Windows For All”. Windows recognizes whether it is on a touchscreen device, tablet or regular computer and responds accordingly. See more on this in “Platform smarts” below.

 

 

2. Universal apps: An approach where Windows 8 apps, Windows Store apps, Modern apps (think Metro), and so forth, are will now be called "Universal" apps. 

1. Universal apps will now run on the standard desktop in their own floating, resizable windows much like Stardock’s ModernMix. 

2. Microsoft envisions that developers can write a single app that run inside Windows on the Windows 10 desktop and on Windows phones and tablets — or on watches, refrigerators, servers, drones, etc. 

3. In reality, a Universal app will need slight modifications for different platforms, but the API calls should be consistent (if not identical), no matter where the app finds itself.

 

3. Platform smarts: Windows 10 determines whether you have a keyboard and a mouse. If Windows 10 finds a keyboard, it takes you directly to the desktop.

1. If Windows 10 detects that a device has no attached keyboard — or if the keyboard is detached (like a convertible tablet PC) — Windows 10 asks permission to take you to the Metro Start menu.

2. Microsoft calls this "Continuum.“ Windows 8.1 has some of this capability, but Microsoft still has some ways to go.

 

 

4. Multiple desktops: With Windows 10, you can run whatever you like on one desktop, then flip over to another desktop and run something different.

1. You could add virtual desktops to Windows as far back as XP with third-party apps.

2. That's a great feature for users who multi-task or fill multiple roles or multiple projects.

 

5. On-screen Application Snapping

1. Up to four programs can be snapped into the corners of the screen. A similar capability has been available in Windows Vista and 7, but only allowed splitting a single screen in half vertically.

2. Universal defined apps can be snapped just like standard programs. There's also a new Task View icon that makes it easy to see and switch among running programs — or different desktops.

3. Windows 10 will help you see why we began encouraging the use of large (30”) monitors, though the OS still supports multiple monitors.

 

6. Other Items of Interest

1. Cortana, the Windows phone assistant, is available in the new Edge browser as well as from the Windows task bar.

2. Internet Explorer was replaced with a new, minimalist browser, Edge.

3. The new Notification Center includes settings, security, email messages and more integrated into a single interface.

 

What to Expect in 2016

 

Vendors who have to make their products compatible with Windows and Office have some technical work to do. They currently have access to released code for Windows 10 and beta code for Office 2016. Many vendors don’t work quickly to make themselves compatible since supporting a new product increases the amount of support calls they get on their own product. In other words, leaving things alone results in lower costs to the publishers. Because of this, some publishers only recently announced support for Office 2013 and Windows 8, two plus years after the release of Office and over a year after the release of Windows 8/8.1.

 

We expect a number of vendors to drag their feet on adopting the new technology of Windows 10, Office 2016 and the Edge browser. While this allows continued focus on their own product instead of spending resources on making their product work on the latest Windows platform, we expect the modifications needed for Windows 10 and Office 2016 to be minimal. What won’t be minimal is creating a Universal App. This will require following a new set of APIs. While making an app “Universal” is a much better long term strategy, many vendor’s application code base is not disciplined, documented and structured enough to comply with a new set of APIs. That struggle will be occurring in the software publishers while we wait for them to deliver new applications in the format we want.

 

Based on Microsoft’s currently announced strategies and the quality of the release, we recommend adoption as soon as your software is compatible. Microsoft expects to have one billion copies of Windows 10 in use within one year after release. Further, Microsoft Office is being revised, and is likely to be released under the name Microsoft Office 2016. While Office 2016 is not a “must have” upgrade like Office 2013 was, there are enough improvements, including Mac support, that strategically it makes sense to get your organization on both of these Microsoft offerings as soon as it is reasonable for you.
Again, make sure you test your applications for compatibility. We expect some applications to not work properly, but a good working rule is: if the application works on Windows 7 or 8, it will work with Windows 10. If the applications work with Office 2010 or 2013, they will likely work with Office 2016.

 

Why Move to Windows 10?

 

Microsoft has made this decision pretty easy. Plus the technology seems to be working well.

 

• FREE upgrade for Windows 7, or 8 users, but you must register to receive the upgrade.

• Indications are that Windows 10 will continue to be supported for free for 3-4 years

• The user interface works for either touch screen or non-touch users

• Application snapping makes using larger monitors much better by providing a simple way to open four windows simultaneously using the Windows key

• Navigating to files on your local machine is enhanced by having 20 recently used files accessibly along with other pinned folders

• If you are using Microsoft Cloud technologies, like OneDrive, there is support throughout the system

• The product seems fast, stable and productive

• The biggest risk is Microsoft’s replacement web browser for Internet Explorer, called Edge. The new minimalist browser is too minimal and buggy as of this writing.

• And did I mention it is FREE?!?

•  

Windows 10 runs perfectly well with Office 2013, and there are subtle and useful changes in Office 2016 if you regularly use a touch screen. Those of you that know me well, have noted that I won’t buy another computer without touch screen support. It is part of the reason I have stopped using all Mac computers…too much loss of productivity.

 

Conclusions

 

Although we usually discuss technology in the context of what should be considered in future purchases, this release of both Windows 10 and Office 2016 should be adopted sooner rather than later. Your costs should be minimal, and your learning curve should not be too steep. Further, I’m forecasting your productivity will go up from these products that run faster, with stability and more usability than any release we have seen to date.

 

Mr. Johnston is a member in K2 Enterprises, where he develops and presents continuing professional education programs to accounting, financial, and other business professionals across North America.