It’s well known that I am a bit of an Apple fan boy. For me, mobile computing and creative pursuits just seem to work better on a Mac. In the office however, I’m quite happy on either platform and for some office tasks, I even prefer a PC! (shhhh). That was until the arrival of the dreaded Windows 8. What were Microsoft (MS) on!? Getting rid of the start button, replacing ‘windows’ with ’tiles’ and catering to mobile users rather than their loyal desk based fans. Windows 8 was so badly received that many people just didn’t bother to upgrade. Or if they did, they downloaded plugins to make their devices look and feel like they were running Windows 7.
Sneak peek
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to an event where I got a sneak preview of the soon to be released upgrade to windows 8, you’ve guessed it, Windows 10!? Hold on, what happen to Windows 9? Windows 10 looked new and shiny but if it was going to rid me of my Apple evangelizing ways, it was gonna have to step up it’s game with it’s assisstive offerings.
One size fits all
Now that all Windows devices are running on the same OS the best bits of mobile, tablet, gaming and desktop computing have been combine to give you a similar experience no matter which device your using. One of the areas where this is most evident is with the addition of Cortana (windows answer to Siri) on the desktop.
Hand free computing
Users can now add calendar events, browse the web and dictate emails without ever touching their keyboard. Another addition that helps with keyboard free computing is Windows 10’s new user recognition system, Windows Hello, which can log you into your computer via face recognition or finger print scanning.
A Better Browser
The first thing most people do when they buy a new PC is upgrade the browser to Firefox or Chrome. MS have taken the hint and finally ditched Explorer for their new browser Edge. The new browser has some innovative features which allow web pages to be simplify for easy reading and great study and research tool such as the ability to annotate webpages.
Free and Gratis
One of the boldest move MS have made with this operating system, is that for the first time they are given away a brand new operating system for free. In all fairness almost every one of MS’ competitors provides their OS for free so charging for Windows 10 wouldn’t have been a popular move.
To sour my love of Apples would probably take a massive shift in MS’ approach to computing, but I can’t pretend I’m not itching to get my hands on this latest incarnation of the Windows OS. Windows 10 has huge potential and looks like it will have some useful assisstive options. All will be revealed on the 29th June.
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