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As expected, Microsoft launched a new version of Windows on Tuesday two years after the troubled release of its last operating system, Windows 8. But instead of introducing the expected name, "Windows 9," Microsoft announced it will jump to "Windows 10."

Yes, Microsoft can still count.

The reason for the bizarre jump, company executives said, is that there were just so many changes to the system. The name “represents the first step of a whole new generation of Windows,” Terry Myerson, the Microsoft executive vice president in charge of the Windows division, said in a company blog post.

The name change signals Microsoft's desire to make clean break with the poorly received Windows 8, which was launched as a completely redesigned version of the company's most important product. The effort, which was intended to bring Microsoft into the touchscreen era, fell flat, as core users balked at some of the drastic alterations, such as the decision to get rid of the long-standing Start button. Microsoft then had to roll back that and other changes in an update.

"To me, [Windows 10] signifies a new era," said Gartner analyst and research vice president Michael Silver.

With Windows 10, the Start button and the traditional start menu are back -- a move meant to appease customers who demanded the familiar navigation tool. Gone, too, is the jarring switch between apps designed for Windows 8 and legacy software from earlier systems. Now, instead of switching between the traditional Windows layout and the more app-like layout of Windows 8 applications, all Windows programs will again appear in, well, windows.

That doesn't mean that Microsoft is abandoning all the features it picked up from Windows 8, or that it's leaving the world of touchscreens to competitors such as Apple and Google. Some layout settings remain from Windows 8, such as the ability to call up settings menus by swiping in from the sides of the screen. Windows 10 will also be Microsoft's next phone operating system, completely unifying its mobile and desktop products, though there will be layout differences.

Although Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella was not on hand at the preview of the new system, his influence was evident at the San Francisco press event.

The break with the past naming scheme is also meant to indicate that this is Microsoft's last major change to Windows. Instead, the company is moving to a quicker, more incremental release cycle to better react to changes in the consumer electronics world. This sort of cycle has already been adopted by competitors such as Apple, which has been building on "OS X" with smaller updates since 2001. With Windows 10, Microsoft is seeking to minimize these releases even further, Silver said, to make Windows a constantly updating system, similar to the way mobile apps update.

Nadella has also spoken about the need to make "One Windows" across mobile and desktop platforms, to make it easy for developers and users to use as many Microsoft products as possible.

Myerson echoed those ambitions in his announcement. "Some of these devices have 4-inch screens – some have 80-inch screens – and some don’t have screens at all,” Myerson wrote in a blog post. “Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are 10 feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture – and some devices can switch between input types.”


Still, despite all the talk of innovation and a break with the past, Microsoft was mindful to appease its core business users -- who have been the most vocal opponents of the company's attempts to change Windows. Much of what the company announced Tuesday was aimed not at consumers, but at enterprises, with a strong focus on productivity and business features. Microsoft also said that it would give businesses the option to forego the constant stream of updates.

A very early version of Windows 10 designed for developers and others who want a technical preview will be available Wednesday. Microsoft said that a consumer version should make its debut in mid-2015.

Extreme Tech wrote:First of all, it’s important to note that between Windows 3 and Windows 7, versions of Windows were designated by a name rather than a number: 95, 98, NT, Me, 2000, Vista, and so on. When Microsoft announced Windows 7, there was actually a similar amount of disbelief/pushback; after a series of named versions of Windows, it seemed odd to jump back to numbers.

There’s also the odd fact that the name of each Windows release doesn’t actually match the real version number; for example, Windows 8.1 is actually version 6.3 of Windows. Windows 10 is version 6.4. The last time the release name actually matched the version number was Windows NT 4.0, which was released back in 1996. Windows 2000, which was called NT 5.0 during development, was actually version 5.0. Windows XP was version 5.1. Windows Vista was 6.0, Windows 7 was 6.1, Windows 8 was 6.2, and Windows 8.1 is version 6.3

Hotfoot wrote:Shut up, no one likes you.

Man, fuck Bob.

White Haven wrote:Thank you, Lys, for that lengthy dissertation on the history and specifics of something that's in no way news. I know quite well where both CAME from, but that doesn't make it any less weird that Microsoft had two different desktop operating systems side-by-side and decided to release both of them at the same time when one was objectively very, very bad compared to the other in many areas, most dramatically security-related.

White Haven wrote:Thank you, Lys, for that lengthy dissertation on the history and specifics of something that's in no way news. I know quite well where both CAME from, but that doesn't make it any less weird that Microsoft had two different desktop operating systems side-by-side and decided to release both of them at the same time when one was objectively very, very bad compared to the other in many areas, most dramatically security-related.

Hotfoot wrote:I'm hesitant about Microsoft's unending push to have all-in-one solutions to operating systems. Windows CE was a pile of crap back when, and I have reservations about tablet and phone OS being the same as the desktop OS.

We'll see, I suppose, but 8 was such a piece of shit as a result of it I'm in no hurry to check out 10.

Josh wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if their sudden jump to universal OS was driven by all that "tablets are going to kill PCs" nonsense we were being inundated with a while back. If they bought into that view even a little, then they had to do something big to avoid being cut out of the primary OS market.

Josh wrote:Of course here we are humming along still using PCs, which may actually someday die but not yet.