Windows 10: You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers

Summary: There’s more to Windows 10 than just the revamped Start menu. I’ve been fielding questions from readers about the new release. Why is it called Windows 10? Does it really contain a keylogger? And what happened to Internet Explorer?

Last week, Microsoft officially unveiled a preview version of the next Windows release, due in mid-2015.

Since then, I’ve been fielding questions from readers about the new release and how to deal with it. Here are some answers to those questions.

Why is it called Windows 10 instead of Windows 9?

Might as well get this question out of the way early.

Microsoft’s official responses to this question have been almost comically vague. It’s reminiscent of the decision to abandon the Metro name, which was also never explained in a satisfactory way.

So we’re left to speculate, and my best guess is that choosing the number 9 would imply that Windows 10 is just around the corner, followed by 11, 12, and so on. That’s a recipe for delay, as customers play a “watch and wait” game.

It’s likely that this really is the last big release of Windows, with future updates coming in incremental form. As a brand name to stick with for the long term, Windows 10 is numerologically satisfying.

Or, alternatively, there’s the “dad humor” explanation: Seven ate nine.

Where’s the Enterprise edition?

The Technical Preview version available to the public via the Windows Insider program contains the same features as Windows 8.1 Professional and can be used as an upgrade for that edition. The Enterprise edition is available to anyone with a current MSDN subscription.

The MSDN Subscriptions download page is also where you’ll find checked and debug versions for use by developers.

Why does the Windows 10 download include a product key?

The Windows 10 Technical Preview shouldn’t require activation, but it is a preview release, so not everything goes as planned. In my testing, upgrading an installation of Windows 8.1 Enterprise resulted in this prompt:

The solution was to look in the MSDN download area, where a product key is included in the product description (not in the product key field), with the text revealing that it’s “for mitigation purposes.” If you’ve installed the Technical Preview from the Windows Insider site, go back to the ISO download page to see the product key.

Enter the new product key on the activation screen and you should be back in business.

Does Windows 10 really include a keylogger?

Here we go again.

With Windows 10, Microsoft has adopted a rapid-update development cycle. Maybe that faster pace is affecting the tech press too, because it took less than a week for the first Windows 10-driven conspiracy theory to burst onto the scene.

It started with a Friday-afternoon article in The Inquirer, a tech tabloid known for its breathless headlines and factually challenged prose. In true Inky fashion, the headline declared that Windows 10 “has permission to watch your every move,” adding, ominously: “Its ‘privacy’ policy includes permission to use a keylogger.”

From a legalistic point of view, this headline is cleverly constructed. It doesn’t actually say that Windows 10 contains surveillance software that monitors your keystrokes and sends a log of those keystrokes to Redmond. In fact, the implication that there is an actual keylogger embedded in the Windows 10 code is contradicted by this key graf, buried near the end of the story:

In other words, in effect, you are giving permission for Microsoft to screen your files, and in effect keylog your keyboard input. [emphasis added]

“In effect.” Not in actuality. And in fact there’s little evidence that the author has enough background in computer science or security to tell a keylogger from a key lime pie.

But the story was picked up by a few other sources and fits neatly into conspiracy theories, so here’s a bucket of cold water to pour on the rumors.

The Windows 10 Technical Preview is an instrumented version. It collects information about your use of the product, including some text and voice input, and returns some of that data to Microsoft for use in tuning performance and improving voice recognition and spell-checking.

That’s a far cry from a keylogger, which is a surveillance tool that indiscriminately collects every keystroke on a PC and transmits it (usually surreptitiously) to a remote location.

The data collected by the Windows 10 telemetry tools is limited, but the process of collecting this information can result in inadvertent information disclosure. This isn’t a new problem: enterprise customers have to be careful to configure Windows Error Reporting properly when setting up released versions of Windows on production machines.

If you’re concerned that files you’re working with contain confidential information, you probably shouldn’t be using Windows 10 to open them.

For the record, Microsoft’s response to these allegations is as follows:

With Windows 10, we’re kicking off the largest ever open collaborative development effort that will change the way we build and deliver Windows. Users who join the Windows Insider Program and opt-in to the Windows 10 Technical Preview are choosing to provide data and feedback that will help shape the best Windows experience for our customers. As always, we remain committed to helping protect our customers’ personal information and ensuring safeguards are in place for the collection and storing of that data. As we get closer to a final product, we will continue to share information through our terms of service and privacy statement about how customer data is collected and used, as well as what choices and controls are available.

Full Story: Windows 10: You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers | ZDNet.

Why Microsoft needs to reveal Windows 9 sooner than later: The end of Windows 7

Several reports from usually reliable Windows watchers say Microsoft is poised to unveil Windows 9 at the end of September. The new OS will mark the return of the Start menu, the ability to run Metro apps inside desktop windows, and other PC-friendly tweaks. The timing makes ton of sense, in spite of Windows 8’s short run. Why? Because Windows 7.

Whether you love or hate Windows 8, you can’t argue that Microsoft’s Live Tile-infused operating system has been… divisive, to say the least. The changes Microsoft instituted to transform its desktop operating system into something more mobile focused were downright shocking to long-time Windows users.

While subsequent updates made Windows 8 play far nicer with traditional PCs, the damage was done. Witness the comments on any article talking about Windows 8, which quickly devolve into folks saying that you’ll pry Windows 7 from their cold, dead hands. And it’s more than just talk: Windows 7’s market share continues to climb regardless of Windows 8’s release, according to NetApplications.

But Windows 7 PCs will say buh-bye at the end of October.

Now Microsoft will continue to provide security updates for Windows 7 until 2020. You just won’t be able to buy new Windows 7 PCs anymore, unless you’re willing to plop down big bucks for a pricey business machine running Windows 7 Professional. The end-of-sales date for PCs running the consumer-focused versions of Windows 7 is October 31. And while you can still find boxed copies of Windows 7 at some online retailers, official software sales of the OS ended last October.

You see the problem: The Windows 8 name alone turns off many enthusiasts. After October 31, you won’t be able to buy a new PC without Windows 8, and there will be no hope on the horizon for desktop diehards with a grudge against the OS unless Microsoft announces a more PC-friendly Windows 9 first.

start menu windows 81

Windows 9 will include both the Start menu as well as the ability to run Metro apps on the desktop—two key features designed to woo Windows 8 haters and make the OS play nice with PCs again.

Likewise, many businesses refuse to upgrade to Windows 8, given the high training costs required to teach everyday workers to navigate the overhauled operating system. It’s in Microsoft’s best interest to introduce a version of Windows that’s more oriented towards change-averse enterprise sensibilities sooner rather than later, so that companies can begin planning their eventual migration away from Windows 7. Those migrations can take a long time.

Most leaks say Windows 9—or whatever the build currently dubbed “Windows Threshold” will eventually be called—won’t appear until spring 2015. It’ll be Windows 8 or nada (or Mac, or Linux, or Chrome OS) from the end of October until then, even if the leaked Windows 9 timelines hold true. But if Microsoft indeed reveals Windows 9 and its reborn Start menu in September, at least there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

Past reports indicate that Microsoft is taking steps in the right direction with Windows 9, and yes, we have some ideas on what we’d like to see included in Windows 9 to make it shine even more brightly. But why wait if you truly dislike Windows 8? While most big box retailers gave up on Windows 7 machines long ago, there are still ways to buy a new Windows 7 PC in the Windows 8 era—if you act quickly.

via Why Microsoft needs to reveal Windows 9 sooner than later: The end of Windows 7 | PCWorld.

Microsoft expected to unveil Windows 9 “Threshold” on September 30

Windows 9 may arrive sooner than most think. According to a new report from The Verge, the successor to Windows 8 is slated to debut at a special media event on September 30 – a date that lines up nicely with previous reports of a late September, early October unveiling.

Microsoft’s next major OS release, codenamed Threshold, will likely be released to developers and enthusiasts on that date as a preview version.

The long-awaited return of the Start Menu is just one of the many features expected in Windows 9. Microsoft is also planning to remove the Charms bar and make several UI changes – essentially dialing back the radical redesign that was Windows 8.

Microsoft is reportedly working on builds of Threshold that include Cortana, Microsoft’s personal virtual assistant. It’s unclear, however, whether or not it will make the initial tech preview build.

Aside from these features, it’s anyone’s guess as to what else Threshold will deliver. Another unknown is whether the preview will be available to everyone or if Microsoft is only planning to release it via TechNet and MSDN.

In related news, Microsoft may also fill us in as to the fate of Windows RT which is being integrated into Windows Phone as part of the company’s unified Windows vision. No word yet on how far along Microsoft is into this project but we’ll likely find out next month.

via Microsoft expected to unveil Windows 9 “Threshold” on September 30 – TechSpot.

Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped

DailyTech - Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped

Windows 9 will be a major overhaul of the Windows 8 user interface, as change list continues to expand

Even as the public awaits Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) upcoming Windows 8.1 Update 2, an even more anticipated release — the Windows 9 “Threshold” Preview Release — looms on the horizon. With Microsoft reportedly targeting an April 2015 commercial launch, a public Preview Release in the Sept.-Oct. Window seems likely.

I. Virtual Desktops

Meanwhile, new reports from Neowin, ZDNet, The Verge, and WinBeta offer new details about a couple of major changes both to the feature set and UI of Windows 9.

First up, Brad Sams of Neowin is reporting that new builds of Windows 9 currently being tested by Microsoft engineers include a button that allows you to select from multiple workspaces (desktops). These so-called “virtual desktops” are a feature that’s long been found in most modern Unix-like operating systems including popular Linux distributions and OS X.

Microsoft’s implementation is close to that of Canonical, Ltd.’s Ubuntu, according to Neowin. As one would expect, power users will be able to switch between virtual desktops more quickly using keyboard shortcuts. The feature was first hinted at in February by Microsoft UI designer Jacob Miller.

DailyTech - Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped

A third party Windows 7 multi-desktop (virtual desktop) app [Image Source:Informatique-Live]

It’s worth noting that Windows actually has featured the ability to extend into virtual desktop since at least Windows 7. However, this capability was previously not built-in and required the use of third-party apps, most of which were somewhat clunky and unpolished, albeit well intentioned. Most users have been unaware of the existence of these options.

II. A Lack of Charm

The second and slightly less clear rumor involves changes to the “Charms” menu/overlay.

In its current form in Windows 8/8.1, the menu hovers on the right-hand side of your screen. The Charms menu currently provides general functionality — e.g. a Start Button to return you to the beginning of the Metro (Modern UI) Start Menu and some fast shortcuts to common system functions (search settings). When you’re running apps the Charms menu takes on a supporting role.

Apps commit to “Contracts” with the Charms menu, allowing for functionality like “Share” (where data is sent to other compatible registered apps, e.g. a camera app sending data to a Flickr app), “Search” (where content in the app is searched appropriately), and “Settings” (which reveals device specific settings).

DailyTech - Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped

Full Story: DailyTech – Windows 9 Ditches Charms, Adds Virtual Desktops, Fall Public Preview Prepped.

Windows 9 Will Merge Windows, Windows Phone, Windows RT in 2015

Microsoft CEO announced for the first time what has been rumored for a long time

In Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Q4 FY2014 earnings call, new CEO Satya Nadella offered up the most explicit confirmation yet, that Windows Phone, Windows, and Windows RT will be merging into a single cross-platform OS, with unified app support, styles, and core apps/services, with the release of next year’s Windows 9.

In the call he stated:

Our mobile and cloud opportunity views informs our decisions on what to build and where to invest. More specifically, we use the following three principles to guide our investments. First, focus investments on the core, productivity experiences and platform investments will prioritize across engineering, sales, marketing as well as M&A.

Second, consolidate overlapping efforts. This means one operating system that covers all screen sizes and consolidated dual use productivity services that cross life and work.

In the year ahead, we are investing in ways that will ensure our device OS and first party hardware aligned to our core. We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes.

We will unify our stores, commerce and developer platforms to drive a more coherent user experience and a broader developer opportunity. We look forward to sharing more about our next major wave of Windows enhancements in the coming months.

DailyTech - Windows 9 Will Merge Windows, Windows Phone, Windows RT in 2015

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Leaked ‘Windows 9’ screenshots reveal more detail about reborn Start Menu

It’s no secret that an upcoming Windows update codenamed ‘Threshold’ will herald the return of the Start menu and allow Metro apps to operate in windowed mode. Heck, the image above came straight from Microsoft itself. But whenever fresh screenshots of the interface show up it’s always worth taking a look.

Myce.com recently nabbed two screenshots from a purported recent build of Threshold, which is expected to be called Windows 9 when it debuts in 2015. Right now, however, these internal builds are labeled Windows 8.1 Pro—a fact that Neowin noted earlier in July when it also nabbed a screenshot of the Start menu.

A purported leaked screenshot of Threshold from Myce.com.

The Myce and Neowin shots are very similar and aren’t all that different from what we saw in April, when Microsoft officially announced the Start menu was coming back. On the left-hand side of the new Start menu you’ll have a list of recently used apps as well as an option to view a list of “All apps.” (The terminology seems to be a catch-all for both desktop programs and Metro apps.)

Presumably, as with the original versions of the Start menu, you’ll be able to pin apps to this list.

To the right of the apps list is an area with pinned metro apps for easy access and at-a-glance live tiles for apps like weather, mail, news, and calendar. The new Start menu seems to be customizable, with it tile sizes appearing adjustable, just as they are now on the Start screen.

Full Story: Leaked ‘Windows 9’ screenshots reveal more detail about reborn Start Menu | PCWorld.

Start Menu won’t return to Windows 8.1 until 2015

Back at its BUILD conference in April, Microsoft announced that the Start Menu would be returning to Windows 8.1, and even went as far as to show a preview of what it would look like. The promised return of the ‘classic’-style menu was met with wide approval, given that many still dislike the Start screen that Microsoft introduced with Windows 8.

The company did not disclose exactly when the Start menu would be available in Windows 8.1, saying only that it would return in a future update. Speaking with journalist Mary Jo Foley in April, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson explained: “The reason we (showed) that work is we thought it was important to share with developers. When do I deliver it? I really don’t have anything to share there. We’re just not ready yet.”

A report a couple of weeks later suggested that the Start menu was set to arrive later this year with the planned Update 2 for Windows 8.1. But Mary Jo has been tapping her sources for information, and today, she reported that it now seems extremely unlikely that the Start menu will makes its way back to Windows 8.1 any time this year.

She cites a couple of sources that she says have had “good track records on Windows information”, who have indicated that Microsoft has adjusted its plans regarding the menu. Rather than delivering it as part of Update 2, it seems that the company has decided that it would make more sense to include it in the next major Windows release, codename ‘Threshold’.

Threshold, which is widely expected to be called Windows 9 at launch, is still believed to be on track for launch in April 2015. That means that those looking forward to the Start menu’s return will still have to wait another ten months or so. Mary Jo says that she is unsure whether Microsoft chose to delay its plans for the menu due to time constraints with its Update 2 release schedule, or if another factor has come into play.

The company has also previewed the ability to run Modern apps in a windowed mode on the Windows 8.1 Desktop, but this is another feature that is unlikely to arrive until the launch of Windows 9 next year.

via Neowin

DailyTech – Microsoft Moonshot: Windows 9 Will Unify PC, Xbox, Phone, and Tablet OSes

New cross-platform OS project is unprecedented, arguably largest software project in history

A new report in The Seattle Times interviews some of Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT top executives who describe the company’s inspired new design direction.

With Windows 9, Microsoft is plotting quite literally the largest software project in history; combining operating systems from at least five platforms, cloud services, and dozens of software projects into one tightly integrated cross-platform bundle of software.

It’s an incredible vision. And it’s one that could change the entire industry. I.

The Path to Unification A major part of why Windows 8 had so many rough edges was because it was an exercise in porting. But much as Windows Vista was — in some ways — a necessary stepping-stone to the more polished and beloved Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 was necessary as a stepping-stone on the path towards unification.

There was always a fair amount of code exchange between the mobile and PC OS trees of Windows. But in the era of Windows Mobile 2000-2010 that process was more infrequent and sporadic, with development of the two branches largely independent. With the launch of Windows Phone in 2010, Microsoft found its design direction — the Modern Metro UI.

DailyTech - Microsoft Moonshot: Windows 9 Will Unify PC, Xbox, Phone, and Tablet OSes

With Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft looked to have greater code sharing between its various products. But internally the situation had not substantially improved. While Microsoft had a unified design and a number of share core features across its platforms, it now had four separate code trees — Xbox, Windows RT, Windows, and Windows Phone. Each platform’s OS group had a separate design and software team. When a change was made to core APIs or Modern UI in one of these platforms, it was a time consuming process to port them to the others.

The first change came late last year with a leadership shakeup that unified Microsoft’s OS design teams under a single common banner. With Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 and the Xbox One, Microsoft began the Herculean task of unifying pieces of its API. But much work remained.

DailyTech - Microsoft Moonshot: Windows 9 Will Unify PC, Xbox, Phone, and Tablet OSes

Full Story DailyTech – Microsoft Moonshot: Windows 9 Will Unify PC, Xbox, Phone, and Tablet OSes.

Windows 9 rumor mill heating up, heading for an April 2015 arrival

Windows 9 rumor mill heating up, heading for an April 2015 arrival | Ars Technica

Windows watcher Paul Thurrott is reporting that, according to his sources, Microsoft will start talking about a new Windows version, codenamed Threshold, at its BUILD conference in April. Thurrott says that this version will be released, probably with the name Windows 9, a year thereafter.

Details of Threshold are thus far scarce, but a few things are notable. Thurrott says that there won’t be an alpha or beta in time for the BUILD conference, and the product won\’t even begin development until April. Rather, the company will outline its vision and talk about what Threshold will contain.

Microsoft is striving to reach a happy medium between the extreme sharing and openness of the Longhorn project—in which the company talked up a lot of things that were either never delivered at all, or never delivered in the way originally described—and the extreme secrecy of Windows 7 and 8 that was the hallmark of Steven Sinofsky’s reign at the company.

One hopes that this will bring more receptiveness to feedback. Problems with Windows 8—its inconsistent approach, its lack of tutorial, the failure to clearly distinguish between Windows 8 and Windows RT—were all reported, both within Microsoft and from outside, during Windows 8’s development. They were met with assertions that the perceived problems were not real problems and that no changes were necessary. When Windows 8 shipped, it became clear that they were, in fact, real problems. Windows 8.1 did a lot to address them, but perhaps not enough.

With this “vision” announcement, Microsoft will hope to drum up some excitement and interest in Windows. This is something the company has lacked for a long time, and it’s not clear it will ever return. It’s a double-edged sword. There was excitement and interest, back in the day, in the Longhorn vision—new programming model, fancy new filesystem, GPU-accelerated graphics, and more—but Microsoft’s failure to temper that vision was, I think a partial cause for the Windows Vista backlash. Microsoft made grand promises, failed to clearly walk them back, and then delivered on virtually none of them.

In the light of this, we can expect the Threshold announcement to be a little more grounded. For Longhorn, Microsoft was promising things that were hard to solve even in theory. These problems turned out to be impractical to solve in practice, and so it was little surprise that Microsoft didn’t deliver the promised software. The Threshold announcement should be much more realistic while still being enough to interest people.

Between BUILD and next April’s release, Thurrott writes that Microsoft plans to have three milestone builds, though he doesn’t know which, if any, will be made publicly available.

So what’ll be in Threshold? The two things Thurrott says are a way of running Metro apps on the desktop and a reinstatement of the Start menu. Our sources say that\’s only sort of true, and that it won’t be the Start menu as such but rather something new. Start menuesque, perhaps, but not a literal Start menu.

There are already third party apps for reinstating the Start menu and running Metro apps within Windows. Most of them leave something to be desired, for example by squandering good parts of the Start screen such as its live tiles and 2D organization. Sticking Metro apps into windows also isn’t particularly streamlined. Metro apps, particularly in Windows 8, can make various assumptions about their size that windowed apps can\’t. Putting them in arbitrarily sized windows breaks those assumptions.

A proper, first-party solution is certainly feasible. Designer Jay Machalani created a set of neat mockups of how a more coherent Windows might look, and his concepts are striking because rather than being simply a reversion to Windows 7, they do appear to fuse the best of both worlds. This is not to say that Microsoft will do anything quite this adventurous.

Little else is even speculated about Threshold, except for one thing it won’t be: according to Mary Jo Foley, it won\’t be the unified Windows operating system that Microsoft will eventually deliver in one form or another.

via Windows 9 rumor mill heating up, heading for an April 2015 arrival | Ars Technica.