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Windows 10 is set to launch this week on Wednesday 29th July, a full nine months following the original announcement of the new operating system. But first let’s clear up why anyone should upgrade to Windows 10.

Why upgrade to Windows 10?

First of, it is free. Now this can have downsides as free stuff isn’t always the best, but Windows 10 is free for all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, but come July 29th 2016 – it won’t be.

Also once upgraded to Windows 10. all of the updates for it will keep coming for a very long time as well as no fees or hidden catches.

This is very different from Windows 8 and that can be a good and bad thing, depends on your preferences. Windows 8 was very good for tablets and phones but next to useless on a computer with a keyboard and mouse – Windows 10 (thankfully) fixes this, rather than one UI to use on all mediums, the operating system adapts and modifies it self depending on the screen size and connected devices. For example, with the Microsoft Surface; with the keyboard attached it acts like a desktop computer, with the start menu and moveable windows, but once the keyboard is detached, the UI gets a bit bigger to aid the touch points and the start menu goes full screen, like Windows 8, although this can be turned off in settings.

When is Windows 10 launching?

So, Windows 10 is launching this Wednesday for PC and this is a huge change for Microsoft as it is the first time the company has given away an operating system away for free and now it has become a service rather than a product.

What are the main highlights?

Windows 10 offers many new features for both Windows 7 and Windows 10 users, including; Cortana which is the voice assistant, similar to Siri on Windows Phone. Also the start menu makes a come back as well as new apps, Xbox integration and more.

The Windows 10 desktop and new wallpaper
The Windows 10 desktop and new wallpaper

Ten things you need to know

1. Free – Yes Windows 10 is free, sort of. The new operating system will be free for users who are running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, after that year the free offer won’t be there. Users who are running Windows Vista, XP or earlier aren’t eligible for the upgrade.

2. Release Time – Windows 10 is launching at midnight EST/5am BST/2pm AEST.

3. It is a big improvement – Windows 10 is a massive improvement over Windows 7 and Windows 8. Users will be glad of the start menu being returned and it works like Windows 7, but it looks modern.

4. Universal apps – To make the app development less time consuming for developers, Windows 10 supports universal apps across desktops, phones, tablets and the Xbox One, all of which will run Windows 10.

5. If you’re running legacy apps, just wait a bit – With the launch of OS X Yosemite on Mac, Apple had an issue which made a lot of older programs and applications not run properly due to a large number of under the hood changes. Apps that ran on Windows 7 may not run as well on Windows 10, but Windows 8 apps will, due to the similar architecture. Legacy apps may not work at all.

6. Minecraft is included, for free – Microsoft’s purchase of Mojang last year finally sees a use. Windows 10 will include a copy of the game pre-installed called “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta.”

7. System Requirements – Windows 10 requires your PC to have a processor which is 1GHz or fast, 1GB RAM for 32-bit or 2GB RAM for 64-bit, 16GB free space for 32-bit or 20GB for 64-bit, a graphics card with DirectX 9 or later and a display which is recommended to be 1024×600.

8. Windows Insiders – Windows Insiders will get the final build first on the 29 July and Windows 7 and Windows 8 users who have reserved it will then be prioritised after that.

9. How much will it be for XP and Vista users? – The Home edition will be $119 and $199 for the Pro edition.

10. Is it any good? – We have a review for Windows 10 in the works, stay tuned.

Updating

You can update to Windows 10 if you have Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and by clicking on the small Windows logo in the taskbar. From there reserve Windows 10 and then wait for tomorow.

Update system
Update system