Windows 10: India will have to wait for Microsoft’s Siri-rival Cortana

While Microsoft tries to regain its footing in the consumer market with a new Windows operating system, the company’s cloud computing business keeps on rolling.

The first people to get the new software Wednesday included about 5 million “insiders”, or tech enthusiasts who previously enrolled in an early preview program. Microsoft will even let you upgrade for free. Given that you can now buy a decently-specified complete PC for £150 from dabs.com, that’s clearly a non-starter. The launch of Windows 10 is being celebrated around the world with global fan celebrations and a new yearlong initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a difference around the world.

Microsoft is also introducing a new web browser – Edge – to replace Internet Explorer, while the firm’s voice assistant Cortana will also move to desktop computers for the first time. The Windows 8 Charms bar on the right-hand edge of the screen is no more.

What will Windows 10 offer me? Should I? The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no and often it depends on several factors.

While some of these concerns were known about prior, the amount of data Cortana, Microsoft’s Windows 10 equivalent to Apple’s Siri, can accumulate and share about a user is certainly surprising.

Yesterday we reported that Windows 10’s update files had reportedly begun to download in the background for some users. Details on how to upgrade are here: http://bit.ly/1eNCySl. Windows 10 restores the approach of keeping copies of everything, unless you limit that because you’re low on storage.

Well, if you do not have the above mentioned versions, do not worry. The Windows Store offers one-stop shopping for popular free and paid apps, games, movies, TV shows and the latest music, which work across all Windows 10 devices.

Windows 8 had the core apps for email, calendar, maps, etc. But these apps have been improved in Windows 10 so much that you would actually want to start using them.

CEO Satya Nadella says he wants to have 1 billion devices running Windows 10 in three years. Installation can be done from the Microsoft Download Center.

The big question is whether Microsoft can achieve the same stickiness that its rivals have had with their services. And any Windows 10 PC app can be tweaked to run on a phone too. The offline version will be made available in upcoming weeks and Microsoft will also be selling education version for Schools and Colleges through the Volume License.

In addition, Microsoft is counting on Windows 10 to spur more use of other services. With Windows 8, Microsoft completely reconfigured the classic desktop interface and gave users what it called a “Modern UI” instead.

The case is easier for those using Windows 8, including the Home version.

On launch in 2012, Windows 8 was different dramatically from Windows 7. Still, there’s no need to panic about upgrading right away.