Microsoft Windows 10: New Features, Cortana, And Possible Release Date

Windows 10 is Microsoft’s latest plot to bring the PC market out of the gutter, and also to keep its bottom-line from breaking away. The company released the technical preview to willing fans and from all indication; Windows 10 is turning heads for all the right reasons. So far, the Windows 10 Technical Preview is […]

Windows 10 is Microsoft’s latest plot to bring the PC market out of the gutter, and also to keep its bottom-line from breaking away. The company released the technical preview to willing fans and from all indication; Windows 10 is turning heads for all the right reasons.

So far, the Windows 10 Technical Preview is stable enough to be used as a daily driver, but we still wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it since new changes are capable of breaking important features.

The best new feature of Windows 10 Technical Preview build 9926 is the new start menu and Cortana. The new start menu is precisely what Microsoft should have brought to the table with Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, but instead the company went ahead and alienated keyboard and mouse users for the touch experience.

Cortana at the moment is not as advanced when compared the version on Windows Phone 8.1. There are certain things users are not capable of doing. However, at least Microsoft added an exclusive feature.

On mobile, to activate Cortana users must press the search button. This isn’t the case for Windows 10 Technical Preview. Simply saying the words “Hey Cortana” will bring the voice assistant to life, and then quickly follow-up with a command and she will follow through.

Cortana also syncs with some of the settings on mobile, so not much changes are needed. For example, the same additions to the Notebook on mobile will show up on the Windows 10 desktop, but reminders won’t make an appearance.

Another cool feature is the new Control Panel and all the new icons. It has been a long time since Microsoft made such a drastic change to the Control Panel, and we love it.

What about the Windows 10 release date?

For the moment, Microsoft is keeping the release date of Windows 10 close to its chest, but not close enough. We have a pretty good idea when fans should expect the full version of Windows 10, and it is 8 months away. Yes, folks, Windows 10 could launch in October of this year.