San Francisco: The next version of Microsoft's&nbsp;flagship operating system will be called Windows 10, as the&nbsp;company skips version 9 to emphasize advances it is making&nbsp;toward a world centered on mobile devices and Internet&nbsp;services.
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<img title="Windows 10" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/dec/01Windows-10-l.jpg" alt="Windows 10" />
The current version, Windows 8, has been widely derided&nbsp;for forcing radical behavioral changes. Microsoft is restoring some of the more traditional ways of doing things and promises&nbsp;that Windows 10 will be familiar for users regardless of which&nbsp;version of Windows they are now using.
For instance, the start menu in Windows 10 will appear&nbsp;similar to what's found in Windows 7, but tiles opening to the side will resemble what's found in Windows 8.
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NfveyXCsiA8?list=UUVGOyzms_XJNk_DHqrffXCw" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe>
Joe Belfiore, a Microsoft executive who oversees Windows&nbsp;design and evolution, said Windows 10 will offer "the&nbsp;familiarity of Windows 7 with some of the benefits that exist&nbsp;in Windows 8" to help business users make the transition.
Microsoft offered a glimpse of its vision for Windows at a&nbsp;San Francisco event today aimed at business customers. Microsoft is making a technical preview version available&nbsp;to selected users starting Wednesday. It plans to unveil&nbsp;details about consumer features early next year, with a formal&nbsp;release in mid-2015.
Analysts consider the success of the new Windows crucial&nbsp;for Microsoft and new CEO Satya Nadella, who must show that&nbsp;Microsoft can embrace mobile devices without sacrificing the&nbsp;traditional computing experience.&nbsp;
The new software represents an attempt to step back from&nbsp;the radical redesign that alienated many PC users when Windows&nbsp;8 was introduced two years ago. But it's not a complete&nbsp;retreat from Microsoft's goal of bridging the gap between PCs&nbsp;and mobile devices: It still has touch-screen functions and&nbsp;strives to create a familiar experience for Windows users who&nbsp;switch between desktop computers, tablets and smartphones.
Microsoft executive Terry Myerson said Windows 10 will be&nbsp;'a whole new generation' and, as expected, will work across a&nbsp;variety of devices from phones to gaming consoles.
Microsoft currently has three main systems Windows 8 for&nbsp;traditional computers and tablets, Windows Phone 8 for&nbsp;cellphones and Xbox for its gaming console. By unifying the&nbsp;underlying systems, software developers will be able to create&nbsp;apps for the various devices more easily. Consumers will also&nbsp;be able to switch devices more easily and avoid having to buy&nbsp;the same apps multiple times.
That doesn't mean the apps will look the same on the&nbsp;various devices. Developers will still be able to adapt apps for the various screen sizes, but won't have to start from the&nbsp;beginning for each version.&nbsp;
User interfaces on the various devices may also differ,&nbsp;even as they share underlying technologies. For now, Microsoft plans to keep the current Xbox interface on the game console.&nbsp;

The next version of Microsoft's&nbsp;flagship operating system will be called Windows 10, as the&nbsp;company skips version 9 to emphasize advances it is making&nbsp;toward a world centered on mobile devices and Internet&nbsp;services

Microsoft to launch Windows 10 tonight

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The next version of Microsoft's&nbsp;flagship operating system will be called Windows 10, as the&nbsp;company skips version 9 to emphasize advances it is making&nbsp;toward a world centered on mobile devices and Internet&nbsp;services

Microsoft to launch Windows 10 tonight

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Microsoft to launch Windows 10 tonight

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