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http://www.anandtech.com/show/9471/windows-10-launches-worldwide
Windows 10 gains a personal assistant in Cortana. What originally launched on Windows Phone has been brought to the PC, and it can now work across all of your Windows devices. One of the key benefits of Windows 10 over Windows 8 is that features like Cortana are easily discoverable. Cortana now lives in a search box right beside the start button, and it can keep track of your travel plans, set up reminders, and perform searches for you. Microsoft is also adding a new browser to Windows 10, with Microsoft Edge. Although based on Internet Explorer under the hood, huge chunks of code have been taken out to improve security, and the rendering and scripting engines have been optimized to make Edge one of the fastest browsers around. It adds support for new features like being able to markup web pages and share them, and Cortana is built in to provide contextual search results right in the page. It is a big step up from Internet Explorer in standards compliance, and while it’s not quite finished yet, Microsoft has promised to update it often through the Windows Store.
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The built in Xbox app will support Game DVR, allowing you to record game sessions, edit them, and share them, all within the Xbox app. One of the coolest features coming is game streaming from an Xbox One to any Windows 10 PC, allowing you to use any PC or tablet as the display for the Xbox, as long as it is on the LAN.
Other links:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/windows/11767674/Windows-10-launch-Microsoft-releases-new-operating-system.html
http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2015/07/windows-10-released-heres-how-to-download-it/
Update (JR) - Stories about the bugs are now coming in: here and here.
(Score: 5, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday July 29 2015, @12:17PM
The TL;DR version: "We'll know everything* about you and we'll be snitching (including your BitLocker key) whenever and/or to anyone we think is in our interest to. Starting Aug 15"
A shortened, human-readable, version here [edri.org]. Otherwise, you'll have to read 45 pages of small-print or... switch to Linux.
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*No, seriously, what they won't know about digital life doesn't worth mentioning. A sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MrNemesis on Wednesday July 29 2015, @12:51PM
What I think will be very interesting is if people can find out whether or not it does any of that without a microsoft account - I've certainly got no intention of creating one...
"To paraphrase Nietzsche, I have looked into the abyss and been sick in it."
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday July 29 2015, @02:30PM
Its interesting that they seem to be pivoting into this staggering privacy harvesting mode, I wonder how this works with certain use cases.
For example everyone knows that strange orphan machine at work that still runs windows 95 because its a shared eeprom programmer. Or the W2K machine that runs and monitors the ten year old HVAC system.
Or I have a Win7 install on a removable drive at home that literally does nothing other than act as a steam bootloader (the machine's specs are wrong for steamos which is hyper restrictive)
Sure there's tons of machines out there that'll have all kinds of crazy stuff to steal and hand over to corporations and governments. Its basically a big old "chmod -R a+r /" on the part of the world that still uses legacy windows. But what happens when to their business model when they run into what amounts to appliances? I mean, are people even going to be able to use windows 10,11,12,... in "appliance mode" without making up fake accounts and stuff?
I have a phone in my pocket and "mostly" do email off that phone, not so much on the desktop. I see my wife and kids so this too. Email is for old people and corporations sending bills and shipping notifications, I don't really send emails very much anymore. How does the lack of stuff to sell affect a business model oriented around selling personal data?
"Sign up for twitter and start using it or we won't let you install W11 because we gotta pay for it by selling your tweets"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2015, @03:59PM
THIEF, you should buy a server license for that
(Score: 3, Interesting) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday July 29 2015, @04:07PM
My prediction all along was that Win8 was the start of a split between "consumer" and "enterprise" windows. With the huge rejection of the Win8 UI, MS had to back off. But I think their plan is to have a free consumer Windows which is online only. You have to sign up for their "cloud" stuff to use it. It will only run metro-style apps, not legacy Win32/64 programs. The "enterprise" edition will be what today's pro version is, a full-blown Windows that runs any programs. Individual copies will cost more than a person could afford, but corporations will get deep discounts on bulk purchases, so it won't cost them any more per seat than Win7/Win8 does. The "enterprise" edition will be required to run development tools, produce binaries, publish to the app store, and so on. The "enterprise" edition will be required to run legacy programs.
The idea behind Win8, I think, was to transition to an online-only consumer OS which required consumers to sign up with MS to use the OS, allowing them to monetize their captive audience. I'm surprised no media outlets have picked up on this or covered it, or tried to get MS to admit to it, since it's a much bigger story than the UI flubs in Win8. Imagine the day all personal computer purchasers who get machines at Office Depot or Wal-Mart have to sign up for an MS account and give personal information to MS, and let MS track what they do.
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by WillR on Wednesday July 29 2015, @06:12PM
It will only run metro-style apps, not legacy Win32/64 programs.
Well, that's one way to kill Windows on the (home) desktop.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday July 30 2015, @05:58PM
Looks like someone is doing their best to dull the effects of ReactOS. Assuming ReactOS ever takes off.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday July 29 2015, @04:01PM
It's hard not to create an online account. I installed Win8 from a DVD and had to jump through hoops to set up a local account. Not easy or intuitive, and I knew what I was doing. With Win8, MS has gone all-out to try to get people to sign up for their cloud services, and Win10 seems to be more of the same. They may have misstepped with the user interface, but Win8 was first and foremost an attempt to monetize a captive audience by all but forcing them to sign up for MS's cloud stuff. Win10 is apparently taking it to the next level. Anyone remember when you bought a computer to run programs and work with local data you wanted to keep private?
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 1) by pillo on Wednesday July 29 2015, @12:51PM
you'll have to read 45 pages of small-print or... switch to Linux.
Or... live back in the 80's, dust off your modem and only connect to BBS's!
Seriously, these clauses are unbelievable, given the sheer scale of the (possible) data collection. I sincerely hope they crossed one European data protection law or two.
Honest question: can you actually install Windows 10 without an Internet connection? How long before you can't even use it offline?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2015, @01:03PM
when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to”, for example, “protect their customers” or “enforce the terms governing the use of the services” or “punching up Microsoft's stock price by giving us the ability to cut deals with businesses”
FTFT
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Wednesday July 29 2015, @01:07PM
I assume their lawyers have checked it out - but is that even legal? It is absolutely terrifying. Supreme cosmic power for MS (or near enough, they have the browser history of every politician on the planet).
(Score: 3, Interesting) by TK on Wednesday July 29 2015, @02:03PM
I was wondering what the catch was for it being free. That's a pretty big catch.
I was expecting:
First you get it for free.
Then you have to create an account to use the extra features
Then the account becomes mandatory
Then your account settings and documents go to "the cloud"
Then they become Windows only
Then the online interface becomes ad supported
Then the OS becomes ad supported
Then the OS becomes subscription based
Now that M$ owns your data, once they start charging you for access, there's no real hope to get away unless you start over.
Coming in 2020: Windows 12 Subscriber Edition
"For when advertising isn't enough"
The fleas have smaller fleas, upon their backs to bite them, and those fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum
(Score: 5, Funny) by Tork on Wednesday July 29 2015, @07:14PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2015, @02:48PM
Popup: It appears that you're still using and earlier version of Microsoft Windows. Upgrading to Windows 10, With the New Cutting Edge, EDGE Browser, will make it easier to access what we think are your favorite internet hangouts like "Ashley Madison", and "Gay Porn.com". It will also make it easier to keep in touch with your friends and relatives like "JimsMom@yahoo.com", "JimsDad@yahoo.com". Press "SUBMIT" to upgrade to Windows 10, Now!
(Score: 2) by pogostix on Wednesday July 29 2015, @06:28PM
Thx for this. I used Linux in the 90's and 00s but have gone back to windows recently because life is busy and windows is decent with noscript and adblock.
I have 2 machines eligible for Windows 10 and I am switching my desktop to Linux thanks to this.