

Peter Bright

Peter Bright

Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft

Peter Bright

Peter Bright

Peter Bright

Peter Bright

As announced earlier today, the next version of Windows is Windows 10. Skipping right over Windows 9, Microsoft is trying to blend the best bits of the desktop-centric Windows 7 with the best parts of the tablet-centric Windows 8. Microsoft isn't quite going up to eleven yet, but it's close.

Instead of the full-screen Start screen of Windows 8, there's a Start menu that will look familiar to Windows 7 users while adding the live tiles created for Windows 8. Windows 10 features new options for re-sizing windows, multiple desktops, and a convenient "task view" to switch between them. The Windows command prompt is also being dragged into the 21st century.

Microsoft focused a lot today on how it's improving the desktop, but that doesn't mean Windows isn't for tablets anymore. A touch-screen device that docks with a keyboard, for example, will switch from desktop mode to tablet mode depending on whether it's attached to the keyboard or disconnected.

"Windows 10 will run across an incredibly broad set of devices," from 4-inch screens to 80-inch screens, Microsoft said. "Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are ten feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture—and some devices can switch between input types. We’re not talking about one UI to rule them all—we’re talking about one product family, with a tailored experience for each device."

A Windows 10 preview for desktops will be available tomorrow for people who want to test the early build. Windows 10 is not ready for widespread use—a final release is expected in mid-2015. For now, here's a look at some of the new parts of the interface.