Windows 10 updates will be delivered using P2P technology

Microsoft is planning to revamp their update delivery method in Windows 10 by implementing peer-to-peer (P2P) technology. Traditionally Windows updates have been delivered through Microsoft's servers only, but by switching to P2P, the load on their servers can be decreased while simultaneously increasing download speeds.

The latest leaked build of Windows 10, build 10036, allows users to download updates from "multiple sources to get them more quickly". When this option is selected, updates will be downloaded in part from Microsoft's servers, as well as from PCs on your local network, and even PCs from the internet in general.

It's not clear exactly what type of P2P technology Microsoft has implemented, but it could be a variant of Pando Networks' P2P tech that shares similarities with BitTorrent. Microsoft acquired Pando Networks in 2013, so it makes sense that the company would use their technology.

This P2P update method is expected to be available to Windows 10 testers in the next preview build, which should become available shortly. How fast updates can be delivered through P2P versus a single server remains to be seen.

In the next preview build, we can also expect a range of other features leaked in build 10036, including UI changes that span the Start menu, wireless connectivity, and system-wide icons.

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Windows 10 New Preview is here: 7 key features you need to know

Start-Screen on new Windows 10.

Microsoft showed us the final version of Windows 10 in an event yesterday, and the roll-out will begin later this year. But what’s new in Microsoft’s latest OS? We take a quick look at the biggest and most important features of Windows 10.

Free, free, free: For the first time ever, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 users.

As we noted here, Microsoft has taken a cue out of Apple’s book which has been given OS X and iOS upgrades away for free, to ensure that users don’t have to shell out money for an OS.

If your PC or laptop is running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and your Windows phone has the Windows Phone 8.1 OS, you will get a free upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10 – in the first year.

What is not clear is if users on laptop and desktops will have to pay after the first year. In an age, where free OS and software is the new mantra, Microsoft has taken the right step by making Windows 10 free of cost. Hopefully the free upgrade will continue after year one as well.

Windows 10 Spartan browser.

No more Windows Phone, it’s all the same: Unity across operating systems is something that Apple and Google have been going on about for sometime and Microsoft also clearly believes that this is the way forward.

What this also means, is that the name ‘Windows Phone OS’ is actually defunct. Also tablet users can forget the horror of having to deal with something like a new Windows RT on their devices, which received terrible user feedback.

Windows 10 will ensure that desktops, mobiles, laptops, tablets, 2-in-1 devices will all run the same Windows 10 OS, which will be optimised based on the platform. This is great news for those who are heavily invested in the Windows eco-system and for app developers who won’t have to create a separate app for mobile or tablet.

Bigger Start Menu, Action Centre: There have been some improvements thanks to feedback from testers of the Windows Insider program. The Start Menu is now available in full screen instead of the limited in Windows 8.1. The Action Centre has quick buttons to switch Wi-fi and Bluetooth on or off.

There is a new Notification Centre which is seen above the Action Centre and notifications in these will be synced across devices. The Notification centre brings you updates and alerts from your email, weather, news sources you’ve subscribed to and it also has Cortana built in.

The Control Panel and Settings menu have been merged into a single folder. Also when using a 2-in-1, when you go from a desktop mode to a tablet mode, users will be prompted if they want to switch to tablet mode.

Cortana for Windows: Microsoft has gone a step ahead of Apple by bringing its personal voice-assistant Cortana to all Windows 10 devices, including desktops and laptops, which is a massive plus point.

On the desktop, Cortana will be seen as a search box located beside the Start button. Cortana now supports 7 languages and can speak in impersonations as well. You can also ask Cortana to open apps on your desktop such as PowerPoint or Word. You can also dictate emails in Outlook using Cortana and send them by voice commands.

Reading View in Spartan browser.

As we noted here, Cortana has a new feature called Notebook that keeps a tab on all the saved information. It also keeps a track of the sports scores, travel, weather and such similar information that you may be interested in. You can also add other things that you want Cortana to keep a track of.

Universal apps for PCs: Microsoft is going the Apple way by finally introducing universal apps. These will have a similar design across devices and will work across PCs, laptop, smartphones and tablets.

Outlook will come with an in-built Word engine which provides the Office ribbon, which allows multiple ways of formatting Office documents. The calendar app will also be synced across devices and will sport a consistent design as well. There’s also a new Photo App gallery, which looks inspired by Google+.

All pictures taken on the devices, as well as photos on One Drive will be merged together and the app will automatically delete the duplicate files to reduce the clutter. The Photo app will automatically enhance your photographs by default, much like Google+. It will also create Photo Albums automatically based on date, location and the people in the photographs.

Other universal apps on the list will be for Videos, Music, Maps, People & Messaging.

Hello Project Spartan: Microsoft unveiled its Project Spartan at the event, which is indeed a new browser which comes with Cortana built in with its contextual searching. For example, if you look up restaurant on Spartan, Cortana will throw in a map, menu and contact details as well.

On Spartan some of the new features will allows users to annotate a webpage using a stylus or touch interface, click on any section of a webpage to type out a comment and then share this page with friends or co-workers. Also while the page shared will be frozen, the links inside them will be active.

Reading mode in Project Spartan, similar to the reading mode in Apple’s Safari, will put articles in a layout that gets rid of all the unnecessary elements on a page. You also get a Reading List feature that syncs across all devices, even offline, which is quite identical to what’s seen on the Pocket app.

By the way Microsoft has clarified that the introduction of Spartan doesn’t mean that Internet Explorer 11 is going anywhere. According to a blog post, the company wrote that “Spartan loads the IE11 engine for legacy enterprise web sites when needed.” Essentially enterprise websites that older technologies designed only for Internet Explorer, such as custom ActiveX controls and Browser Helper Objects will load on Internet Explorer, which will also be available on Windows 10.

Internet Explorer will use the same dual rendering engines as Spartan, ensuring web developers can consistently target the latest web standards, says the blog post.

Gaming on Windows 10:  The Xbox app will come bundled with all Windows 10 devices. A new feature will allows users to record 30 seconds of gameplay which can be sent across to Xbox Live so that Xbox users can watch it as well.Windows 10 also brings cross-play, which lets users play with a friend on an Xbox One while they are using a Windows 10 PC. Microsoft also has plans to launch Windows 10 on the Xbox One platform.

Game DVR, which gives simple access to recording, editing, and sharing a player’s most epic gaming moments on an Xbox will now come to Windows 10, and is accessible by simply pressing Windows+G.

Also games on Xbox One can be streamed through your home network to your Windows 10 PC or tablet, anywhere in your house. Xbox One gamers will also be able to many of their favourite console games on their PC. And many Xbox One accessories will work interchangeably on the console and PC.

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Windows 10: Nine things you need to know

Windows 8 has had a bit of a tumultuous run, something Microsoft is hoping to turn around with Windows 10. We got a brief glimpse at a Microsoft event on Tuesday, and while it did prove to be a tantalizing look at what's in store, there are still plenty of questions floating around, and a lot more to figure out before the final product is sitting on our hard drives.

If you've got questions, we've got some answers on the latest step for Windows.

1. When can I upgrade? And how much will it cost?

Microsoft expects to release the OS sometime in 2015, after the company's Build developer conference in April. If you're feeling adventurous, you can sign up for the Windows Insider Program on October 1 to get your hands on the early (and likely buggy) preview build. The cost for the retail version has yet to be determined.

2. Windows 10? What happened to Windows 9?

Windows 7 ate 9. (I kid.) Microsoft wants us to think of the latest version as a fundamental change to how Windows works, and the company is skipping a version number to show it.

Keyboards and mice take center stage on Windows 10.

3. I've got a desktop, and a tablet. How will that work?

Windows 10 isn't just about PCs. The operating system will run on everything from desktops all the way down to smartphones, and the user interface will adjust accordingly.

4. What about apps?

Apps will be coming along for the ride too, though Microsoft hasn't explained how that's going to work. We do know that you'll be able to buy one app from the Windows Store and expect it to run on all your devices. Developers will presumably need to make universal apps that will adjust their look and feel, depending on your devices size and capabilities.

5. Those full-screen "Modern" apps were a pain. Are they still around?

Those touch-friendly, full-screen apps that debuted with Windows 8 were alternately known as the "Metro" or "Modern" design. For Windows 10, full-screen apps will be optional. Let's say you're using a convertible 2-in-1 device, like the Surface Pro 3, for example. When the keyboard is docked, you'll see the standard desktop with Windows 10's "new" old-school Start menu. Once you take the device off of the keyboard base, the OS will allow you to switch to the finger-friendly full screen mode Windows 8users are likely familiar with.

6. I actually liked those Modern apps, and bought a few. Are they still around?

It's too soon to say how Windows 8 developers will react to the changes, but Microsoft did show some of its own full-screen Modern apps operating in a windowed mode.

Old is new again with the Windows 10 Start menu.

7. And the Start menu?

If you hated Windows 8's full-screen Start screen, you're in luck: the new Start menu harkens back to the good old days, sitting on the left side of the screen and presenting that familiar pop-up column of shortcuts. And if you liked Windows 8's approach, there's something here for you too: the new menu will incorporate Live Tiles and can be customized.

8. Never mind the apps -- I need to get things done. Any improvements on that front?

Windows 10 beefs up Snap, the function that lets you quickly arrange apps side by side, with a new quadrant layout that lets you split your display up among up to four apps. There's also support for multiple desktops (finally), so you can keep all your work apps in one place and quickly slide back to the desktop with your blogs and Reddit once your boss walks away. And then there's the task view button that lives on the taskbar. Click it, and you'll get a quick look at all of your open files, windows, and desktops.

We're going to need bigger screens.

9. Will Windows 10 run on my machine?

It's too early to say. Windows 8.1 did introduce 64-bit computing requirements that ruled out some ancient processors, but it otherwise played well with PCs that weren't too old. Suffice to say, if you're picking up a newer device any time between now and Windows 10's release next year, you should be good to go. Once again, if you're willing to take risks, you can check out the Windows Insider Program for an early look.

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Surprise! Microsoft jumps to Windows 10

This morning at an event in San Francisco, Microsoft announced the next version of its Windows operating system: Windows 10.

The name is definitely not in line with expectations, but also comes on the heels of rumor talk that it could pick up another title. Happily, the last 943 people to cover the operating system got the name wrong. I am among them.

Starting tomorrow, Microsoft will launch a Windows Insider Program that will give users who are comfortable with running very early beta software access to Windows 10. This first preview will be available for laptops and desktops. A build for servers will follow later. Microsoft says it is opening up this beta process to get more feedback from more users early on, but also noted that this will be a learning experience for the company and that some experiments users will get in new builds may not make it into the final version.

The company went on to detail that its new operating system will have a tailored user experience between different screen sizes — that’s to say that if you are on a smaller device, you will see a different sort of user interface. The code will run across all device categories: “One product family. One platform. One store.”

Microsoft is currently riffing on the following: Enterprise value, device management, the ability to customize the store to the device you are on, and a way to protect data. Or, to put it more precisely, there will be the ability of the enterprise to manage their devices, and “customize” their application store, and so forth.

Put more bluntly, the company is going for the enterprise crown.

As expected, the company is bringing back a few features of Windows 7, too, including a redesigned start menu that combines the basic Windows 7 menu with the (resizable) tiles of the Windows 8 start screen. Windows 8 Metro apps can now also open in a windowed mode on the desktop, so you aren’t taking into the full-screen mode by default and you can use a “modern” Windows 8 side by side with a standard Windows desktop app.

Windows 10 will also allow users to work with multiple desktops. Thanks to Microsoft’s new “Snap Assist” UI, the company is making it easier for these power users who need these multiple desktops to grab apps from multiple desktops and move them around.

And yes – if you really want love your keyboard, you can always drop back down into the command line, too, which has also been improved quite a bit.

While Microsoft focused mostly on the regular mouse and keyboard combo for interacting with the operating system, the company stressed that it is not giving up on touch. Windows 10 will still have a Windows 8 like Start Screen for users on touch-enabled machines, for example.

Some of the gestures will change a bit in Windows 10 (swiping in from the left now gets you a task view, for example), but the overall feature set seems to be very similar to that in Windows 8 and even the Windows 8 Charms bar is still available.

One thing Microsoft did not show (at least so far), is any other consumer features in Windows 10. What the company did talk about a bit, however, is that Windows 10 for the phone will look and work almost exactly like the slightly pared down modern UI on Windows 10. One thing Microsoft clearly learned from the experience with Windows 8 is that if it wants to build a single operating system and user interface for every device, it can’t just optimize for edge cases. Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore, for example, noted that while it was an obvious choice to combine the interfaces for tablets and phones, “the real rub comes in the middle.” This time around, he said, he feels “pretty positive about the outcome we are going to get.”

More as it comes, Cuspc is updating this post.

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