Microsoft skips 9 and announces Windows 10...and, yes, the Start Menu will be back

Microsoft has announced its new updated PC and tablet operating system - Windows 10.

It will be released in "mid-2015" and a full Start Menu, mourned by users of the current Windows 8, will return.

Microsoft's eventual aim is to unify Windows with Windows Phone to give users a similar operating experience across devices of various sizes from smartphones to desktops. (Update: Also confirmed the next update for Windows Phone will be Windows 10 for smartphones)

For an unexplained reason, Redmond is skipping Windows 9.

The software will run on a wide range of devices from smartphones and tablets to PCs and Xbox games consoles, with applications sold from a single store.

It also marks the return of the Start Menu, which had been removed from Windows 8.

In addition to offering a list of the user's favourite applications, the menu also brings up resizable tiles - similar to those featured in Windows 8's touch-centric interface - on PCs and tablets.

These provide a quick view of notifications from relevant applications, such as details of new emails, Facebook messages and weather forecast updates.

The company said the facility was intended to make the software seem familiar to both users of Windows 8 and Windows 7.

The behaviour of the OS will depend on the type of device it is being used on. Unlike its predecessor, users will not need to switch between Desktop Mode and the touch-focused alternative.

However, they can still spread a number of "live tiles" across the screens of two-in-one laptop-tablet hybrids to make them easier to use with both a mouse and finger presses.

Microsoft is making it clear that the next operating system will concentrate on "universal apps" that cross to Windows Phone. But there was no confirmation that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 8 users.

Full details of Windows 10 will be released at Microsoft's next BUILD app developers conference early next year.

As widely predicted, Microsoft will release a public technical preview of Windows 10 on Wednesday, October 1. The initial released will be aimed at enterprise users and developers. Sign-ups will be taken here. A preview of a consumer release of Windows 10 isn't expected until early next year.

Redmond has released a video to demo Windows 10 hosted by Microsoft Windows Vice President, Joe Belfiore, whose hair gets stranger then ever:



(Source: BBC)