You have to wonder if Microsoft’s been a little bit Machiavellian with Windows. By giving everyone the much-derided Windows 8 , which managed to be a bit rubbish and annoying on touch-screen and desktops alike, it’s now reinstating a whole bunch of features for Windows 10, making it feel like the company’s saving Windows and listening to what we want.
Whatever the reasons behind Windows 10 (and why there’s inexplicably no Windows 9), the truth is that Microsoft seems to have its mojo back and its new OS looks set to make PCs a force to contend with again.
Now, we’ve had a chance to take a close look at Windows 10 thanks to a live demonstration by Microsoft’s corporate vice president of operating systems, Joe Belfiore. Here’s everything you need to know about the OS, plus when it will be released and how much it will cost.
Windows 10 will launch THIS year
Good news everybody, there’s not long to wait: we’ll have Windows 10 buy the end of the year. Microsoft hasn’t officially said that, but the evidence is clear that we’ll see the OS this year.
Windows 8 wasn’t a success and, with Windows 10 out of the bag, Microsoft simply can’t afford to wait too long until it releases the final version: both it and its partners need a success.
It’s not clear when we’ll get to see the final version, though. Windows 8 launched in October 2012, after a consumer preview appeared in February 2012. We’re not getting a consumer preview of Windows 10 this February, so that could mean that the release date will be a bit later. We’re hedging our bets and saying it will come out in late Autumn/early Winter.
You can get Windows 10 TODAY (if you’re brave)
Microsoft launched the Technical Preview last year, putting out an updated version of the OS after the Windows 10 unveiling. While you can no longer sign up for the programme, you can download the ISO from alternative mirrors and take a look at the operating system yourself. Be careful, as this is very early software and isn’t as stable or as reliable as the Consumer Preview, which we’re bound to see in the next couple of months. If you want to see Windows 10 in action, though, our in-depth guide on how to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview now shows you how to get it running on a fresh PC, with a dual-boot configuration and on a virtual machine.
Windows 10 will be FREE for Windows 7 and 8 owners
For the first year after launch, anybody running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. It’s a classic move from Microsoft, as it helps people sell computers and laptops now, with consumers safe in the knowledge that they’ll get the new OS when it launches for no additional cost.
We don’t have other pricing information, but if Microsoft sticks to current prices, expect to pay around £70 for a home-user licence. There may be some surprises on that front, but we’ll bring you more information when it’s available.
Also FREE for Raspberry Pi 2Â
Microsoft will also give a free copy of Windows 10  to developers using the newly announced Raspberry Pi 2 . The new Model B is six times more powerful than last year's Model B+ , according to the Raspberry Pi foundation, seemingly make it possible to run Microsoft's next-generation Windows.Â
To date, the Pi has been running off various Linux operating systems, but now it seems Microsoft wants a slice of Pi. The company has announced it will be joining the Raspberry Pi foundation and making free copies of Windows 10 available to those who participate in its Windows Developer Program for IoT (Internet of Things). That is a non-commercial developer scheme that encourages members to build connected devices.Â
With Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton aiming to sell three million Raspberry Pi 2 units, Microsoft clearly saw this as a movement it didn't want to miss out on. The Windows Developer Program for IOT currently supports the Intel Galileo boards, but these have proved nowhere near as popular with amateur tinkerers as the Pi, as Microsoft concedes.
It's not clear which version of Windows 10 the developers will get - indeed, Microsoft is yet to announce any version details of the next-generation OS, which is currently in Technical Preview and isn't set to be launched until this autumn.
Microsoft says it will share more details about its plans for Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi in the coming months. In the meantime, it's encouraging developers to enrol in the developer program [1]  to receive updates closer to launch time. Â
No more VERSIONS
Rather than waiting years for a big update, Microsoft is promising more regular updates. Terry Myerson announced the news at Microsoft's press conference in California today. Myerson also said that the question of "what version are you running?" will soon cease to exist, as Microsoft aims to keep developing Windows 10 for the foreseeable future, suggesting it could be "one of the largest internet services on the planet" in the next couple of years.
This is great news for consumers, as it could signal the end of big drastic OS upgrades every couple of years. It's also good news for developers as it means they'll be able to target all device types with just one application, providing greater parity across PC, laptop, mobile and Microsoft's Xbox One games console ("the most fun games console ever", according to Myerson).Â
Windows 10 should be appearing on practically every phone that currently runs Windows 8. Microsoft confirmed that this was the case late last year, and more recently has stated that it's tryingÂ
Windows Phone is no more, long live Windows phones
Windows 10 will be coming to smartphones too. Not as a vaguely-related operating system but using the same code base as the full operating system. It will share apps with it too, using the same universal mail app, and have hugely improved calendar and photo apps, Skype will also be fully integrated for the first time.
Windows 10 should be appearing on practically every phone that currently runs Windows 8. Microsoft confirmed that this was the case late last year, and more recently has stated that it's trying to get the operating system working even on low-end handsets with 512MB of RAM. However, such handsets may not include all of the features in the full version, as Joe Belfiore warned recently:
Windows 10 is also for games consoles and more
Windows 10 has been designed to run on a wide variety of devices, including desktop PCs, laptops, the Xbox One  and tablets. While it may sound like we’ve been there before with Windows 8, Windows 10 is designed to adapt to the device it’s on and adjust the user experience to match.Desktop-wise, which is where Windows 8 really went wrong, it means a far better user experience back to the good days of Windows 7; on a tablet without a keyboard or mouse, the current Windows 8 touch interface will be available. Some modes won’t be available on some devices; there will be no desktop on a phone, for example. It should be good news for developers, as they’ll only, theoretically, have to write an application once to have it available to a wide-range of different platforms.
Windows 10 means new features and after the absolute shambles of Windows 8, it looks as though we’re going to get new features that we actually want. Some things will change over time and we’re bound to see new features added before the launch, but these are the ones that we’re most interested in.
YES, there’s a Start Menu!
The Windows 8 Start Screen (Metro, Tiled interface and whatever else you wanted to call it) was the most horrible thing about the OS. In effect, it took away what people wanted on a desktop and created a bizarre two-tiered operating system. Windows 10 redresses the balance.
In the original Technical Preview, there was a Windows 7-style Start menu and a Windows 8-style Start screen, which you could switch between depending on whether you were on a PC, laptop or tablet. For the latest version, the Start menu still has a combination of live tiles on the right and a more traditional list of apps and programs on the left, but the Start menu can now expand to fill most of the desktop. The expanded mode is better suited to touchscreen devices, and it's good to see a unified Start menu design instead of it being split into a Start menu and Start screen.
Charms are DEAD and the Action Center is MUCH better
Charms were the bizarre set of icons that you got to by swiping in from the right-hand side of the screen, or precariously balancing your mouse cursor in a corner. Even when you got the Charms to appear, they proved confusing and useless.
With Windows 10 there’s now the Action Center, which works a lot like the Notification bar in OS X 10.10 Yosemite , showing notifications from your apps, including Skype calls, social media updates and more. Notifications are expandable, so that you can see more information and even interact with them. Action Center also adds shortcuts for common features, including airplane mode, Wi-Fi, display brightness, tablet mode and the screen rotation lock.
FINALLY, a unified settings app
Windows 8 split its settings into a Control Panel desktop app and a separate Start Screen app. It was frustrating and stupid that you couldn’t do everything from just one of these apps. With Windows 10 all is forgiven, as Microsoft has promised that all settings will be combined into a single app with a single user interface.
Tablet Mode (Continuum) makes it EASY to switch between touch and desktop modes
Windows 10's Continuum feature (presented in the OS as Tablet Mode) is designed to make the OS work seamlessly on hybrid laptop/tablet devices, such as the Surface Pro 3 , so the hybrid will switch from desktop to tablet mode when you undock it from its keyboard. When a tablet is removed from a keyboard or dock, a small pop-up will appear in the bottom-right corner asking whether Windows should switch to tablet mode.
Once tablet mode is enabled, all the windows present on the desktop immediately go full screen. To switch windows, you can swipe in from the left and select the window you want to look at. Likewise, tapping the Start button will automatically bring up the full screen Start menu interface, giving you greater access to all your live tiles.
It works the same in reverse, too. Once you've finished using your hybrid in tablet mode, reattaching the keyboard will prompt another pop-up asking to transform back to desktop mode, and all your windows will reappear as they were before you switched to tablet mode.
Standalone tablets will also use this tablet interface, and you'll also be able to run two apps simultaneously in split-screen mode. Tablets will also have access to the traditional desktop mode, so you can plug in a keyboard and mouse and use it like a normal PC.Â
Talk to me: Cortana comes to PC
Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant, will also be present in Windows 10 PCs. Previously confined to Windows Phones, where it took the form of a Siri-style voice-activated helper, Cortana works in a very similar way on your desktop. You'll find Cortana in the Search box located in the taskbar, and you'll be able to speak to it directly to ask questions and search the web via Bing, as well as type in commands manually.
Cortana also has a few PC-exclusive functions, such as being able to play music or search through storage locations including your local hard disk, OneDrive and OneDrive for Business for documents, images and files. You'll also be able to search for specific groups of files, too, such as 'photos from December'. Your search results will be separated into apps, settings, photos, videos, music and email tabs, as well as a general files tab that shows everything.
THIS. IS. SPARTAN!
As predicted by a slew of leaks ahead of schedule, Microsoft is working on a brand new web browser for Windows 10, codenamed Project Spartan (the company is clearly keen to hammer home the Halo-themed product names). The brand new browser replaces Internet Explorer and includes an entirely new interface that appears to borrow several design cues from Google's Chrome, including tabs in the title bar and the address bar inside those tabs.
Spartan also includes support for Cortana, a Reading List for saving web pages for offline reading and syncing between devices, annotation and clipping web content. Behind the scenes, Spartan will run on a new rendering engine (possibly webkit, although not yet confirmed by Microsoft). Project Spartan won't be available in the first preview builds, and will take even longer to arrive on smartphones, but Microsoft assured us that it is on the way.
We FINALLY get virtual desktops
Microsoft hasn’t really updated the Windows task switcher before, with only the rather-pointless Windows Vista Flip 3D added into the mix, which let you scan through open apps in a strange 3D view. With Windows 10, Microsoft is adding a genuinely useful task switcher called Task-View. As with Apple's OS X Mission Control (previously Expose), the new mode displays all of your open windows, apps and documents, so you can quickly switch between them.
As any user of Linux or OS X will know, having multiple virtual desktops is a great way to increase productivity. It lets you quickly move between different groups of apps, keeping your computer well organised. For the first time natively, Windows 10 will have multiple desktops built in. Opening up Task View will put a large 'Add a Desktop' button on the bottom of the screen, for quickly adding new desktops on the fly rather than jumping through a series of menus. You'll be able to launch separate instances of programs and Explorer windows and toggle between virtual desktops for streamlining multitasking.
Snap enhancements give the BEST windows control EVER
It’s fair to say that Windows has always had an excellent window management system (the clue is in the name), with the Snap system letting you quickly move an app to go full-screen or take up half the screen. This time around, Microsoft has added a quadrant system to Snap, so you can have up to four windows neatly aligned on your desktop. This should make it a little more useful for multitasking, particularly when working on a 2,560x1,440 or greater resolution displays. With Windows 10, onscreen desktop UI elements like Task View will adapt to fill the quadrant currently being used rather than obscure the whole screen.
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