Windows 10 Score Card

Back in April I wrote a blog post outlining what I was hoping for in Windows 9, well Microsoft have started to reveal the feature set of ‘Windows 10’ skipping 9 in the hope that they will convince people that they are really making a huge leap forward from Windows 8.  So far I’m not convinced, Windows 10 seems like a solid improvement over Windows 8.1, but I’ve not seen anything revolutionary yet, except maybe the simplification of information rights management, finally bringing it into the mainstream.  To be honest though Microsoft don’t really need a revolutionary product, they need a solid upgrade from Windows 7 for enterprises, and they need an appealing platform for consumers who are still on the fence and not wholly committed to Android or Apple already.

I’m on holiday this week, with little/no internet access to I’ve not got any hands on experience of Windows 10 yet but I have enough information after a morning’s reading to update my April post to see how much of my wish list has been delivered in this very early build:

So there are a few areas that Microsoft seem to be addressing:

1. I want to be able to send my apps, desktop, audio and video to other PCs and set top boxes quickly and simply, in the same way that I can with my iPad using Airplay.  << Miracast, already in Windows 8.1 provides some of this capability (remote screen display) but it’s not as reliable and capable as Airplay.  Microsoft have their own reference device for this now as well so there’s hope that lots of displays will soon support it.
2. I want updated app experiences for music, video, image and video editing that work well for desktop users as well as touch users << very likely
3. I want a seamless transition between desktop experiences and touch.  What I mean is that if I’m using Microsoft Office on my laptop and I unplug the keyboard and transition to tablet mode I want to use the touch optimised version of Office open with the same document at the same place, same for browsers  << Windows 10 now manages these transitions well, so I’m hoping that applications can hook into the same transition detection events and also handle the change
4. I want desktop management APIs built into Windows 9 natively, so that BYO devices can be just enrolled for management in the same way that Windows RT devices can  << Yes!

Unfortunately there’s a lot still on my wish list that there’s no sign of yet and I’m not hopeful:

1. I want traditional Windows applications in the Windows Store.  Microsoft can deliver that by building App-V into Windows 9 and allowing App-V sequenced apps into the store.  << no sign yet, still possible
2. For these traditional Windows Store apps I want their user state preserved in OneDrive, in the same way that WinRT apps do.  Microsoft can do that by mandating that in addition to App-V apps define their roaming settings using UE-V. << no sign yet, unlikely
3. I want to be able to connect into my home network using Direct Access, just by having a single PC running Windows 9 on my home network. << no sign yet, unlikely
4. I’d like to see a backup to and restore from Onedrive option, now that cloud storage is so cheap and bandwidth so plentiful << no sign yet, but it’s interesting that OneDrive now supports very large files, so it’s technically possible
5. I’d like to see remote desktop everywhere, so I can RDP into my phone, my Tablet.  RDP easily and securely into my home network.  I want this for apps and desktops. << no sign yet, it seems to me that Microsoft really don’t understand the power of RDP for consumers
6. I want an advanced search interface, exposing some of the power that’s currently hidden away in statements like “name=windows, type=pptx” << no sign yet, unlikely
7. I want the transparent tiles effect that’s in Windows Phone 8.1 << no sign yet, I don’t really care that much

I’m going to be interested to keep track of progress over the next few months, currently 4/11 is a good start.

I’m writing this post in Caffe Nero, in Hull, I’m on holiday in Filey, but a lot is happening so I’m spending the morning catching up.  I prefer to work for a few hours every day of the year, rather than for large blocks of time 5 days a week.  The picture illustrating todays post is of @thedoc located next to the old dry doc, opposite The Deep. It’s meant to be the anchor development that stimulates the Fruit Market area to become “the digital, cultural and creative centre of Hull”. It’s in a fantastic location with water on three sides providing great views of the Humber.