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Microsoft Goes to 10 With Next Windows

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Microsoft brings its counting skills into question as it announces the next version of the Windows operating system-- Windows 10 (not 9!), a version the company describes as nothing less than "the first step of a whole new generation of Windows."

Windows 10Earlier rumours suggested the new Windows version was to be named "Threshold". Other supposed monickers include "TH", "X" and, as teased at one point by Microsoft operating systems chief Terry Myerson, "One".

Anyway, back to the actual OS. Windows 10 is designed run on just about every device under the sun, from the Internet of Things to enterprise servers, as well as PCs and tablets. As such, Microsoft insists the Windows 10 handle covers a product family (not a single OS), if one offering a single application platform for developers.

The "10" numbering moves Windows further way from "8", and to further hammer the point back Microsoft brings back the Start menu, as combined with the live tile elements from 8. Users can run apps in windows (just as one does in Windows 7), snap up to 4 apps on the same screen in a quadrant layout and switch between multiple desktops. A new task-view button on the taskbar handles app, file and desktop switching duties.

However such inclusions do not mean Microsoft has given up on the tablet dream-- on the contrary, Windows 10 is able to automatically switch between mouse-and-keyboard and touch-based UIs depending on the hardware it is running on.

Enthusiasts and IT pros curious about Windows 10 can download a technical preview via the Windows Insider Program. Microsoft will reveal more enterprise-focused details later this year, before the consumer chapter is introduced early in 2015.

Watch Introducing Windows 10

Go Announcing Windows 10