Microsoft announced Windows 10 today and I have to admit the first thing that caught my attention was the name. Apparently Windows 9 isn’t going to happen.
The more interesting part though is that Microsoft seems to be backing away from some of the things that made Windows 8 frustrating on a normal desktop computer.
The Start menu is coming back, although it now includes some of the live tiles from Windows 8, and the newer Windows apps will be able to run in regular desktop windows instead of always taking over the entire screen.
That seems like a much better compromise to me.
I understand what Microsoft was trying to do with Windows 8, especially with touch becoming more important, but using it on a desktop has always felt like switching back and forth between two different environments.
Windows 10 looks like Microsoft is trying to bring those ideas together instead of forcing one interface to work everywhere.
They are also talking about Windows 10 running across PCs, tablets, phones and other devices with a common platform for developers. It is way too early to know how that will actually work, but as a .NET developer I am interested to see where they take it.
The Technical Preview is supposed to be available tomorrow, so I will probably install it on something and take a closer look.
So far, I like the direction.