Windows 10 Technical Preview: reviews about the operating system

Microsoft is preparing to bring to market a new version of the operating system - Windows 10. Its preparation and refinement have a special, socially-oriented nature. The American company gives users from all over the world a unique opportunity - to test the preliminary version of the new operating system Windows 10 Technical Preview completely free to familiarize with its main functions. The developers also expect to receive feedback from users on the new product. This initiative is to some extent unique, as one of the prospective channels for the distribution of the new OS is free download, which is allowed for owners of Windows 7 and 8 distributions. What are the features of the corresponding OS distribution presented by Microsoft? What new opportunities does the brand open for users?

Universal OS

Perhaps the key distinctive feature of Windows 10 Technical Preview (reviews of many IT experts regarding this option are very positive) - this OS will be implemented in fact in a single version on a PC and mobile devices.

Of course, the interfaces will still be different, due to the need to adapt them to the specifics of using the corresponding devices. But the OS kernel, its platform, will be the same. This will predetermine the ability to run applications for Windows on any device. Distribute programs will also be through a single store from Microsoft.

How to download the operating system?

Windows 10 Technical Preview (user reviews rated this feature exceptionally positively) can be downloaded for free. In order to do this you need, first, enter the Microsoft Live account, and secondly, give your consent to the Windows Insider program initiated by the American brand. After that, the user will have access to the distribution of the OS, adapted for 32-bit or 64-bit computers. Installing a new Windows in this modification is very simple - via the setup.exe file, which is present in the installation product. Some time after the announcement of the evaluation version of Windows 10, separate builds of the distribution appeared on the torrent resources. So, among the popular ones are Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9901 Rus X64 Torrent, adapted, in particular, for Russian-speaking users of 64-bit devices.

Different "builds"

What assemblies (also called "builds") are a trial version of Windows? There are a lot of them. So, the popular assembly of Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9888. There are other versions of the distribution. Among the common - Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10009. The differences between the "builds" in general are few. For example, in some versions, you can drag application shortcuts from the start menu to the desktop, others do not. But in general, the interfaces of Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10009, 9901, 9888 are not too different.

Regardless of which version of the OS is at the user's disposal, the basic functions of the new operating system, he will be able to fully explore. Since the distributions under consideration - Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9901, 10009, 9888 - are introductory, it does not matter what exactly is implemented in them. It is possible that, for example, the final corporate version of the OS - Enterprise - will be supplemented with options that are not represented in the corresponding assemblies, or have limited functionality.

It can be noted that the distributions of the new version of Windows are primarily targeted at system administrators. That is, the average user, probably, does not at all see the difference between the options implemented in different "builds" of Windows 10, available for download. Having downloaded, relatively speaking, Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9901 Rus x64 9901, it can estimate it in the same way, if at its disposal there was a distribution kit 10009 or 9888.

Interface

Let's study the specifics of the interface of the new OS from Microsoft. So, in Windows 10, the "Start" menu reappeared, but it is implemented in conjunction with the "tiles" that are present in the Windows 8 interface.

The start menu consists of two areas. In its left part - the list familiar to many users of early OS versions, in the right - those same "tiles". Nearby there is a search line, and, its use involves access not only to computer files, but also to the corresponding servers on the Internet. Moreover, a similar option is called not only with the start menu, but also with the help of the search interface, which can be called from the Taskbar.

Among the fundamentally new interface elements implemented in the new version of Windows is the Task View button. With it, you can display information about running applications. Another notable feature of the new interface is the creation of groups of programs for performing various tasks. You can also switch between them using the Task View button. Another notable option for working with running applications is Aero Snap. With it, the user can switch between programs and windows.

In the new version of Windows appeared "Notification Panel", very similar to the one that is implemented in the interface of Windows 8.1. To call it, you need to press a special button, or, if you use the appropriate device, a gesture on the display. The notification panel also allows you to access some important OS settings.

If necessary, you can expand the windows of the operating system interface to full screen. This option can be especially useful and in demand among owners of mobile devices with small displays.

Familiar users OS previous versions of the tab "Computer" replaced by the option Home. When it is activated, the built-in file manager of the operating system is downloaded, and Favorites sections, recently opened documents and folders that are frequently used by the PC owner are available. Among other notable options for the explorer is the One Drive cloud disk. Externally it looks almost the same as the logical partitions of the hard drive, familiar to users. There is an interesting Share tab, using which, you can send files by e-mail, or, if it's documents - print them. You can also send files to other programs.

Thus, in the interface of Windows 10 Technical Preview (reviews of experts and users are also accompanied by a completely positive assessment of the corresponding characteristics), on the one hand, classic elements familiar to many users, such as the start menu and desktop, on the other hand Innovative elements. At the same time, the OS owner can create several desktops at the same time if necessary. In previous versions of Windows, there was no such possibility. Except, of course, switching between different user accounts - each had a separate desktop.

Synchronization

Among the notable features of Windows 10 Technical Preview (reviews of many users include very positive evaluations of it) - synchronization of devices using branded applications from Microsoft. It is assumed that they will be available for download in a single store. The user, therefore, should not feel the difference between the level of comfort of access to the corresponding applications, regardless of the device that he is using at a particular moment of time.

Synchronization is one of the aspects of cloud technologies already implemented in solutions from Microsoft. So, for example, users of mobile and "desktop" Windows OS can use the file storage of One Drive files and access it from any device. Thus, the introduction of similar concepts is also expected in other solutions of the brand. This possibility as a whole is completely correlated with the concept of a universal OS, which we mentioned above.

Universal Applications

It is clear that to run on any device you need special, universal versions of applications. Their main feature is that the source code is 90% identical. Otherwise, the programs will adapt to the interface of a specific device, or to the needs of a particular user in the aspect of design. The peculiarity of the new concept is that a person, having paid for an application once, will be able to use it on any device. Already, as experts of the market say, this idea is implemented in new distributions of Microsoft Office. It remains only to wait for the final version of Windows 10 and to see the effectiveness of the corresponding concept in practice.

What will happen in the final version of Windows?

So, we examined the key features of the evaluation version of the operating system from Microsoft, Windows 10 Technical Preview. Difference from Enterprise - corporate version, in the adaptation to the needs of users. However, whether they are so significant in the final version of the OS, it is difficult to say.

There are some important options missing in the evaluation versions. Which for example? In the final version of Windows will be implemented virtual assistant Cortana, familiar to users of mobile devices. This program is designed to facilitate the work with the device on which the OS is installed. However, as noted by some experts who examined the Windows 10 Technical Preview, the Russian language in it will not initially be supported. In addition, it is assumed that Cortana will be integrated with the search engine Bing, which in Russia and other Russian-speaking states - Ukraine, Belarus, is not too popular.

Free update from older versions

Microsoft, with the announcement of Windows 10 Technical Preview (user reviews and analysts on this occasion - absolutely enthusiastic) announced that for owners of Windows 7 and 8 distributions, the new OS will be downloaded free of charge - within a year after the final version of the operating system is released. A similar opportunity for users of the OS, the Microsoft brand did not open earlier. Except, of course, the free upgrade of Windows 8 to version 8.1.

Cortana Features

Let's learn more about the Cortana program. It is a voice assistant, very close to Apple's Siri interface. Traditionally it is used with smartphones, but Microsoft plans, as we noted above - to include it in the final version of the OS. It is not installed in Windows 10 Technical Preview. Enterprise, as well as other versions in the final distribution, are expected to be equipped with an assistant Cortana.

The user can call the program in question by means of a search string. The corresponding option is also not yet implemented in Windows 10 Technical Preview. Enterprise and other final distributions are likely to be characterized by this feature. Turning to Cortana, the user will be able to run files - music, documents, generate reminders. It can be noted that the analog of Apple's Cortana, Siri's assistant, has not yet been implemented on "desktops." In this sense, Microsoft, as experts say, outperformed the competitor. By the way, Google has not yet developed solutions for "desktops", similar in function to the Cortana program - there are only relevant web interfaces.

New browser

Among the innovations implemented in Windows 10 - the Spartan browser. It is not clear yet, whether it will replace the traditional one used in previous Internet Explorer. Which of the noteworthy options of the Spartan browser can be noted? To such it is possible to carry a mode of notes, allowing the user to make comments that are located on top of web pages. Subsequently, a person can share them in social networks or send by mail.

Corresponding notes can be written either from the keyboard or via the touch screen - finger or stylus. It is expected that the Spartan browser will implement a read mode - when the content of the web page will be converted to the appropriate format and stored simultaneously for offline viewing. It can be noted that the browser will be integrated with Cortana.

OS and Xbox integration

It is assumed that the new version of Windows will be integrated with the Xbox - a popular gaming console from Microsoft. In particular, for users of the OS in question, the Xbox application is available. Already now functions are integrated that belong to the category of social - for example, a tape of players' activity, something similar to Twitter. Users of the new OS will be able to broadcast the gameplay on any device that is controlled by Windows 10.