Get your Windows 10 launch news by the minute, right here
This is it, chaps: the biggest day(s) of the year for Microsoft and its fans. Windows 10 is now live. We have heard announcements from not only Redmond campus and also from the firm's constellation of partners, as the new operating system rolls out through Microsoft's free upgrade program.
We expect to receive announcements regarding the new desktop, laptop and tablet hardware that will be prepared to run Windows 10 out of the box. Plus, Microsoft is holding Windows 10 fan events all over the world at its flagship retail stores to ring in the new software right, and we'll be there.
Until then, and before the updates start rolling in, we have some key articles that you should give a good read to get yourself both informed and hyped for the future of Windows.
Our blog on all things Windows 10 is a good place to start.
16:25 GMT+1 The cheapest Windows 10-capable desktop PC costs just under £95 which is actually less than the cost of Windows 10 on its own. So you essentially get a free PC when buying the OS (well almost). Our latest survey - which looks at Windows 10 features - can be found here. UK readers can participate and get a chance to win a HP desktop PC.
11:50 GMT+1 Microsoft has pushed more than 40 Windows 10 ISO files on MSDN including IoT Core for MinnowBoard MAX and Raspberry Pi 2. The latter is a relatively tiny 517MB. There's also a Windows 10 Features on Demand which offers additional feature options available through Windows Update. This download allows organisations to pre-configure Windows 10 installation software prior to deployment.
10:20 GMT+1 While everybody's attention is on Windows 10, Microsoft has been ramping up its effort on the first big update that will hit the operating system later this year. Threshold 2 or TH2 is already in 10509 and has been updated yesterday.
9:40 GMT+1: For enterprise and business users looking to move to Windows 10, HP has introduced a set of tools to allow them to evaluate Microsoft's latest OS in a controlled environment (i.e. without causing havoc to the rest of the IT infrastructure). The four component of this suite are Test Drive Services, Transformation Services, Roadmap Service, Web App Acceleration Service for IE11.
9:40PM EST: AMD released new Catalyst drivers that support Windows 10. If your system uses AMD graphics, you can download the new drivers for better compatibility.
9:00PM EST: Windows 10 for IoT has been released to manufacturers. Supported versions include the x86 Minnowboard Max and the ARM Raspberry Pi II. Other versions are still coming. It's still unclear when Internet devices with embedded Windows 10 will start appearing in the marketplace.
8:45PM EST: Are you upgrading from a Media Center Edition of Windows 7, 8 or 8.1? Unfortunately, there isn't a Media Center Edition (MCE) of Windows 10, but Microsoft is offering MCE upgraders a free license to the new DVD player app. The offer is tied to your MCE installation, so you can't use it on all your PCs.
"If you perform a clean install of Windows 10 by formatting your disc rather than upgrade, you will not get the free app," Microsoft said in a statement. "The app will be available for purchase in the Store. There are also many other popular DVD player apps already available that will continue to work after upgrading to Windows 10."
The free DVD app offer is only available for a limited time, and it "will end at or before the free Windows 10 upgrade offer."
8:30PM EST: How has your upgrade experience and day 1 experience been with Windows 10? We shared some of our experiences, both positive and negative, and we hope that you'll also share yours in the comments.
8:15PM EST: With positive media reviews of Windows 10, including our own, and strong interest in the operating system given its free price, Microsoft is on its way to an ambitious goal of getting Windows 10 on a billion devices. Our own Cameron Faulkner suggests ways for Microsoft to reach and keep that lofty goal.
8:00PM EST: Are you a Solitaire player? The classic game is included free in Windows 10, but includes advertisements. If you don't want to see ads, Microsoft offers a subscription cost of $1.50 per month, or $10 (£6, AU$ 13) annually.
7:00PM EST: If you love Windows 10 on your PC and want it on your phone, Microsoft says that its almost ready for your Lumia smartphone. One Microsoft executive even commented saying that Windows 10 Mobile could launch in November. With Windows 10 Mobile and Universal Windows apps, you can buy once and use the same apps on your desktop PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone and even Xbox One.
5:00PM EST: What Windows 10 bugs have you encountered so far? These are a few of the complaints that we're seeing on the internet:
- Windows wants to be heard: A headphone glitch means that your speakers will still play, even if your headphones are connected.
- Ctrl+C: The copy function doesn't work sometimes. This could be bad for business, especially for those working inside Excel spreadsheets.
- "Something happened" bug: A blue screen pops up with the words "Something happened" alerting users that they can't download and upgrade.
- Windows Store problems: I've noticed this on a review PC that Microsoft sent. After upgrading, you won't find the Store, the bundled Windows 10 apps or any Modern or Store apps. I found out that the problem was a result of not having an associated Microsoft ID on my review laptop on Windows 8.1 prior to the upgrade. With a Microsoft ID in place, the upgrade went smoothly.
Anything else you're seeing? Be sure to let us know.
4:20PM EST: The puzzle pieces are starting to fit together. Microsoft has announced that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote (a.k.a Microsoft Office) have been completely revamped to adapt to the new Windows 10 touchscreen experience. You can access Office Mobile for Tablets via the Windows Store today.
3:00PM EST: Many of you have reported serious installation issues. This is a known problem with a very simple fix.
2:45PM EST: Once you've downloaded Windows 10, there's a nifty way to reclaim the storage space taken up by the installation of your previous operating system.
2:00PM EST: Uh oh. Turns out Windows 10 has a start menu bug that gets triggered when you compile more than 512 application shortcuts. Microsoft is currently working on a fix for the issue.
1:50PM EST: Windows 10 Enterprise will be available on August 1st. We've added a post with details for those who require more administrative controls.
1:40PM EST: So lets say you upgraded to Windows 10, but you want to run programs from old versions of Windows. There's a way to do it. We've penned a nifty little article that can show you how!
1:00PM EST: Microsoft's counter shows that Windows 10 is being installed at a rate of approximately 16 per second, according to a tweet from Jonathan Sampson. That amounts to 960 installs every minute, or 57,600 installs in an hour. If the momentum sustains, Windows 10 will be on over 1.3 million PCs in a day.
12:51PM EST: If you're about to run to the store to buy a notebook on which to run Windows 10, we suggest you consider one of these 10 laptops ideally suited for the new operating system.
12:18PM EST: Many of you have reported experiencing significant bugs after upgrading to Windows 10. Microsoft has just released its Day One patch to help alleviate these issues. Although more bugs are to be expected, you should receive a temporary reprieve with this fix.
12:02PM EST: For our readers in India: Microsoft has confirmed that Cortana will be coming to you within the next couple of weeks.
11:30AM EST: Alright, so you've tried Windows 10 for a few hours and you've decided it's time to downgrade, we've listed a few steps to help you get back to the comfort of Windows 7 (and even Windows 8).
15:30 GMT+1: With all the brouhaha surrounding the launch of Windows 10, it would be easy to forget that next month will mark the 20th anniversary of Windows 95. Yep, 20 years since Chicago and the birth of the start menu, a tiny piece of screen real estate that can either make or break operating systems as we've seen with Windows 8.
13:15 GMT+1: Oh and if you are waiting for Windows 10 Mobile in order to buy Windows 10, then you might be disappointed. This is what Microsoft had to say, "We will release Windows 10 on mobile to our mobile operators this summer and our customers can expect to see Windows 10 on their mobiles later this year. We will have more to share on various editions of Windows 10 prior to its availability."
11:35 GMT+1: Remember that you will have 30 days to roll back or downgrade once you install Windows 10 and find out that it doesn't suit your taste.
09:40 GMT+1: Chuong Nguyen wrote his impressions having lived with Windows 10 for the last 24 hours. His personal account of installing and using Microsoft's new flagship OS might actually strike a cord with some of you as it is not just all rosy.
08:15 GMT+1: So Windows 10 is now live in 190 countries as a free upgrade and has been tested on more than 2000 devices or configurations. More than 5m people have tested and installed Windows 10 already and Microsoft has trained more than 100,000 retailers with tens of thousands of stores carrying Windows 10 products at launch today.
07:40 GMT+1: Microsoft has also finally released the final ISOs of Windows 10 both in 32-bit and 64-bit format.
06:35 GMT+1: Good Morning UK and welcome to Windows 10 day! The picture below reminded me of another one put up by Microsoft itself. The picture below, that of a ninjacat, brandishing a Windows flag and riding a Tyrannosaurus Rex robot, examplifies the quirkiness of the new Microsoft. One can bet that this sort of behaviour wouldn't have happened under the old guard.
