Windows 10: NYC Debut, Hands-On Demo
InformationWeek marked the July 29 Windows 10 launch with a visit to New York City's Microsoft specialty store. Here, we take you through our firsthand experiences with Windows 10.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blt28a7b4ac52489f33/64cb4d70fdb0a742184e6cfe/WindwosKiosk.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
The Windows 10 launch and Microsoft's #UpgradeYourWorld campaign are officially underway. Microsoft released the OS across 190 countries on Wednesday.
The company's vision for Windows 10 is to create a world of more personal computing with an integrated operating system that provides a consistent user experience across devices, from tablets to PCs to smartphones.
It won't be long before Microsoft's broader audience can see and interact with this vision firsthand. The system is first being reviewed for compatibility by Windows Insiders, who have tested the OS throughout its development and are checking once more to ensure everything is running smoothly before Microsoft starts a broader rollout.
[What about Google? Read: Could Cortana Help Microsoft Compete with Google?]
In the earlier stages of Windows 10 development, each preview build brought a major new change, including apps for Mail, Calendar, News, and Photos. Because each feature had to undergo development, the builds were released several weeks apart. We enjoyed reviewing each of these builds and testing new capabilities as they were ready.
As the OS became more refined, we saw builds released within days of one another, each containing smaller bug fixes and minor alterations. We continued to download and test them, watching as the final version of Windows 10 took shape.
By the time launch day rolled around, we had a pretty good idea of what we could expect from Windows 10: Start button, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, new Mail and Calendar apps, and more virtual desktops than you could possibly need. Even though we knew what was coming, it's exciting to finally see Windows 10 released in full, and we're eager to hear what you think about it.
InformationWeek rung in the July 29 launch with a visit to New York City's Microsoft specialty store and a lot of time exploring the final release version of Windows 10. Here, we take you into our day with a snapshot of that visit and some of the things we like best about Windows 10.
All images by Dave Harding and Kelly Sheridan.
Microsoft is celebrating its "newest generation of Windows fans" with the Upgrade Your World initiative, a yearlong series of events that will take place in cities around the world. This is a change from its usual tradition of holding a big bash to celebrate the launch of a new Windows OS.
Fan celebrations will take place in New York, London, Beijing, Sydney, Berlin, Nairobi, Madrid, Dubai, Sao Paolo, Tokyo, Johannesburg, New Delhi, and Singapore. Invitees can meet members of the Windows 10 team and test hands-on demos.
Windows 10 festivities will continue in more than 110 Microsoft retail stores throughout the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visitors can learn how to use Windows 10 at in-store workshops, get their questions answered at a help desk, win prizes, and see pop-up demo experiences. In specialty stores, like the one pictured above, there are several Microsoft employees to answer Windows 10 questions.
InformationWeek wanted to see whether the launch was generating consumer excitement, so we stopped by the Microsoft specialty store located in a mall near New York City's Columbus Circle.
Microsoft used to have a pop-up store in New York's Times Square, which closed prior to the February 2013 launch of the Surface Pro. A new flagship store will open later this fall on Fifth Ave., but until then the kiosk in Columbus Circle is the largest Microsoft store in Manhattan.
Despite its size and location on the mall's third floor, there was a decent midafternoon crowd trying out Windows 10 on laptops and Surface devices. According to a Microsoft rep on the scene, the store saw a large wave of traffic during rush hour, and larger launch celebrations at full Microsoft retail stores are seeing big crowds.
I'm not a huge fan of personal digital assistants, so there's a slim chance you'll see me talking into my iPhone to find local restaurants or driving directions. That said, I was pretty impressed with Cortana's verbal functionality in Windows 10.
Even in a crowded mall, the assistant understood my inquiries. A verbal question about the weather resulted in a forecast built within the Cortana interface. Prompting Cortana for lunch recommendations led to an automatic Bing search. Asking for a few jokes prompted a series of groan-worthy puns.
(If you can't read the above image, Cortana's response to "Tell me a joke" was: "Why do sharks live in saltwater? Because pepperwater makes them sneeze.")
Could Cortana turn me into a fan of personal digital assistants? There's a chance. I like that I can customize the type of information it knows about me and tailor search results according to my interests. But I'm still not used to prompting a computer with my voice. For those who prefer written inquiries, Cortana will attempt to guess your question as you type and is quick to produce results.
I ran into a few glitches while using the redesigned Mail app in the Windows 10 preview builds, but I'm happy to report that it's running smoothly in the final product. One of my favorite features is the ability to customize the results of left-swipe or right-swipe on each message -- being able to delete with one swipe has made clearing my inbox a breeze. I also like that I can access all of my accounts in one place and switch among them as needed. The option to personalize my background image is another neat feature.
I had spent plenty of time using Microsoft Edge during the Windows 10 preview period, and was happy to see minimal changes in the release build. While there is always room for improvement, there are a few cool tweaks that set Edge apart from other browsers.
Web Note has been one of my favorite Edge features, and I've started using it to save and share marked-up content with other people. The Mail app is integrated into Web Note, so it's very easy to send pages you've edited with notes or drawings. Click the circle icon next to the disk icon in the Web Note toolbar to send pages via Mail, Fresh Paint, OneNote, or Twitter.
Reading View, which displays Web pages in a readable and ad-free format, is another handy addition to Edge. My only gripe with Reading View is it's tough to find many pages that it supports. Most major news websites are not compatible with Reading View. It seems this feature is better suited to blogs.
I've started keeping my schedule in the redesigned Calendar app, and it has worked well for me so far. You can view events for each individual day, week, work week, and month, and use color-coding to distinguish professional obligations from personal events. Calendar is built right into the Mail app, so when you receive an event invitation you can click a link that takes you directly to your agenda for that day.
I've started keeping my schedule in the redesigned Calendar app, and it has worked well for me so far. You can view events for each individual day, week, work week, and month, and use color-coding to distinguish professional obligations from personal events. Calendar is built right into the Mail app, so when you receive an event invitation you can click a link that takes you directly to your agenda for that day.
-
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like