Windows 10 is the official name for Microsoft’s next version of Windows
Microsoft is officially unveiling the name for the next release of Windows today: Windows 10. While the software maker had referred to Windows 10 as codename Windows Threshold internally, today’s official naming puts any rumors of Windows, Windows TH, Windows X, Windows One, and even Windows 9 to bed. It’s simply Windows 10, marking a jump from the mixed reception of Windows 8.
Described as Microsoft’s “most comprehensive platform ever,” Windows 10 will offer a tailored experience for all hardware across a single platform family. And developers can build universal apps that will work everywhere. Here’s how Microsoft describes its ambitious goal:
Windows 10 will run across an incredibly broad set of devices – from the Internet of Things, to servers in enterprise datacenters worldwide. Some of these devices have 4 inch screens – some have 80 inch screens – and some don’t have screens at all. Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are ten feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture – and some devices can switch between input types.
When you put all that together, the end result looks a lot like Windows 7. That’s intentional. Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore pointed to the millions of customers still using Windows 7, and said the company wants to make their transition to Windows 10 much more comfortable than the unfamiliar leap to Windows 8 two years ago. “We want all these Windows 7 users to have the sentiment that yesterday they were driving a first-generation Prius, and now with Windows 10 it’s like a Tesla.”
I’m genuinely excited. It actually looks like an operating system again.