Windows 10 will be available July 29

Microsoft Corp. announced Monday that Windows 10 will be availableJuly 29in 190 countries.

Windows 10 will help people be more productive and have more fun, with a personal and natural experience that works across all their devices. Familiar, yet better than ever, Windows 10 will deliver ongoing feature innovations and security updates.

Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade to people using Windows 7 and Windows 8.1,enabling hundreds of millions of people around the world to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

"Windows 10 is a new generation of Windows designed to empower you to do great things," saidTerry Myerson, executive vice president, Microsoft. "Windows 10 starts to deliver on our vision of more personal computing, defined by trust in how we protect and respect your personal information, mobility of the experience across your devices, and natural interactions with your Windows devices, including speech, touch, ink and holograms."

Familiar and better than ever
Windows 10 brings back the Start menu people know and love while enabling them to easily find their files, pinned applications and favorites.

Windows 10 starts fast, resumes fast and helps enable batteries to last longer. More secure than ever, Windows 10 includes Windows Hello, Microsoft Passport and Windows Defender for anti-malware protection, and a commitment to deliver free, ongoing security updates for the supported lifetime of the device.

Optimized for both keyboard and touch, the Windows 10 upgrade is designed to be compatible with Windows devices and applications.

A more personal and natural experience
Windows 10 adapts to people for a more personal experience.

Cortana, the world's first truly personal digital assistant, helps people get things done across all their devices.Cortana learns individual preferences to provide relevant recommendations, fast access to information and important reminders via talking or typing.

Windows Hellogreets people by name and lets them log in to their PC without a password — providing instant, more secure access to their Windows 10 devices through biometric authentication. Windows 10 also lets people interact with their device via the traditional mouse and keyboard or through more natural ways such as voice, pen or gesture.

Be more productive
Windows 10 will help people get more done with less effort than ever before.

Microsoft Edge, the all-new browser designed to get things done online in new ways, offers built-in inking, sharing and reading view. With Cortana integrated, Microsoft Edge offers quick results and content based on individual interests and preferences. Fast, streamlined and personal, Microsoft Edge empowers people to focus on just the content that matters to them and actively engage with the Web.

In addition to the Office 2016 full-featured desktop suite,new Universal Windows applications for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook will offer a consistent, touch-first experience across a range of devices.

Designed from the ground up to run on Windows 10 and perfect for staying productive on the go, people can easily create and edit Word documents and deliver PowerPoint presentations while annotating on the fly. With new touch-first controls in Excel, people can create or update spreadsheets without a keyboard or mouse.

Work and play the way you want across devices
Windows 10 offers a familiar and consistent experience across devices.

Continuum enables devices to transform, enabling elegant transitions of a tablet into a PC, and back — and for a Windows phone to become like a PC.

Xbox on Windows 10 brings the expansive Xbox Live gaming network to both Windows 10 PCs and tablets. People can communicate with their friends on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One while playing any PC game and share content using Game DVR. People can also stream games directly from their Xbox One console to a Windows 10 tablet or PC in their homes.

Games developed for DirectX 12 in Windows 10 will see improvements in speed, efficiency and graphics capability.

Upgrade availability
OnJuly 29, people can get Windows 10 for PCs and tablets by taking advantage of the free upgrade offer, or on new Windows 10 devices.

New Windows 8.1 devices will also easily upgrade to Windows 10, and many retail stores will help upgrade new devices. Starting today, people can reserve their free upgrade if they choose. More information is available atWindows.com.

Windows 10 for other devices will be available later this year.

Some facts about the Windows systems include:

• Free upgrade available for qualified devices. Seehttp://windows.com/windows10upgrade. 
• Cortana available in select markets at launch; experience may vary by device.
• Windows Hello requires specialized illuminated infrared camera for facial recognition or iris detection or a fingerprint reader that supports the Windows Biometric Framework.
• Office sold separately.
• Continuum for phone available on select models at launch.
• Broadband Internet required for some features (ISP fees apply). Xbox Live features only available with supported games in Xbox Live-supported countries, see xbox.com/live/countries. Stream to one device at a time; streaming with multiplayer from Xbox One requires home network connection and Xbox Live Gold Membership (sold separately); Gold also required for multiplayer play on Xbox One. DirectX 12 only available with supported games and graphics chips. Game DVR only available with supported hardware.

About the Author