Microsoft officially unveiled its latest operating system — Windows 10 — at an event in San Francisco on Tuesday, where the company made a number of surprising announcements including the return of the “Start” menu and a release date in 2015.
Windows 10 is the company’s long awaited follow-up to Windows 8 (Microsoft skipped ‘9’ for some sequentially incorrect reason), the company’s beleaguered Apple-esque touchscreen and tile-based OS that long-time Windows users (and sales reports) deemed a failure.
Microsoft’s new OS will still feature touchscreen and tile integration, but brings back a customizable form of the “Start” menu — the primary navigational interface staple of Microsoft operating systems for years until Windows 8 (and one of the OS’s many complaints).
Windows 10 will run on “a variety of devices” according to Mashable, including Microsoft’s mobile platform. Users will be able to switch between touchscreen and traditional mouse and keyboard interaction in what the company is calling its “greatest enterprise platform ever.”
Start menu in action in #Windows10 https://t.co/3yMhqv4DA8
— Karissa Bell (@karissabe) September 30, 2014
The new OS also features a multiple desktop task view system and a new feature called “Snap Assist,” which lets users easily access apps across multiple desktops.
Microsoft is offering early access to a Windows 10 tech preview starting Thursday, and the full OS will roll out in late 2015.
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