Micro_Mart_-_January_7_2016_

Witha 2016underway, David Crookes

looks atthe plansMicrosoft hasfor

Windows 10 this year

Windows 10

In 2016

I

t wouldappearthat 2016 isgoingtobeWindows10’s golden

year– a 12-monthperiodwhenit finallyfirmsitsgripandputsto

bedthememoriesofMicrosoft’s operatingsystemsofyearsgone

by. Forthefirsttime,theRedmond-basedcomputergiantisgoing

toallbutforceitsnewOSonpeopleina movetoensure thatits

take-upislikenothingelsebefore.Asa result,analystGartnersays

migrationtoWindows 10 willbethefastestyetandthat,in2016,

it willbecomethedefaultOSforconsumersandbusiness.

Windows 10 wasreleasedinJulyand,in2015,userswere

allowedtomakethedecisiontoupgradebythemselves.In

2016,thatissettochange.Userswhohavenotalreadymoved

tothenewoperatingsystemare findingthattheOShasbeen

controversiallyandquietlydownloadedontotheirsystems

inthebackground.Andsuddenly, it willmovefrombeingan

OptionalUpdatewithinWindowsUpdatetoa Recommended

Update– somethingthatwillseeit installedonanysystemsetto

automaticallyprocessit.

Althoughthere willbea 31-dayperiodinwhichpeoplecan

revertbacktothepreviousOS,Microsoftknowsthiswillnot

happeninanygreatnumbers.Onceit’s onpeople’s machines,

mostfolkwilllearn thenewrulesandlayoutsandgetonwith

it,believingthehassleofrevertingbacktobetoomuch.Inthe

process,Windows10’s marketshare willsoarfromthe9%it

currentlyenjoys.It willzoompastWindowsXP, whichiscurrently

on10.59%,obliterateWindows8’s 14.03%andgnawawayat

Windows7’s 56.11%.

Atthatpoint,peoplewilltrulycare whatMicrosoftdoeswith

Windows 10 and,thankfully, thecompanydoesseemtohave

enoughplansin 2016 tomaketheswitchmore thanworthwhile.

“It’s reallya kindofno-brainerupgrade,”analystRobEnderleof

theEnderleGrouptellsus,addingthatit shouldbea shotinthe

armthecorporatesectorinparticularneedstohurrythingsalong.

“Companiesoftenmoveveryslowly, andmuchofthehardware

thatwillbehard tomoveisWindowsXPorolder, andthosefolks

willstillmoveattheirownrate,butthat’s oldhardware andyou’d

thinkit wouldmostlybefundedtobereplacedthisyear.”

ThePlans

SowhathasMicrosoftlikelygotupitssleevesfor2016?Firstofall,

thenextWindows 10 updateis duetobereleasedin2016,following

onfromThreshold2,whichis nowavailable.CodenamedRedstone

anddueoutinthesummer, nothinghasbeensetinstone,butthe

smartmoneyis ongreaterintegrationwithCortana,whichwillfloat

aroundthedesktop,appearingontopofdocumentsandreadyto

offerassistanceatalltimes.Accordingtoreports,it willbeakintoa

powerfulsearchtool,whichintegratesintothevariousfeaturesof

WindowsaswellasOffice,allowingaccesstoa vastknowledgebank

thatwilldishoutlotsofusefulinformation.