‘The strengths of Windows 8 with Windows 7’ – Windows Insider

As many will have seen through social media and news websites alike, the new Windows 10 release date has been revealed… July 29^th! Circle your calendars, save the date, or simply click the recently installed Windows icon found at the right-hand side of your taskbar (if your PC is new enough that is). The good news is, Microsoft has announced customers with PCs and laptops running Windows 7 and 8 will be able to get Windows 10 as a free upgrade!

The requirements for Windows 10 are as follows:

Processor : 1GHz or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2

RAM : 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space : 16GB

Graphics card : Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Microsoft account

Internet access

After the worldwide success of Windows 7, and the not-so-great Windows 8, let’s see what the new and – hopefully – improved version has to offer:

• The return of the start menu! Back in full force the revived, expanded start menu will feature the addition of Live Tiles
• Favourites and pinned apps remembered from previous Windows (7 and 8)
• Faster start up and resume features
• Unified settings combining the control panel and PC settings, as well as an Action Centre providing notifications
• Redesigned insider hub
• Higher levels of built-in security, further designed to work with your current hardware and software
• Microsoft Edge – the all new built in browser for a better web experience
• Cortana – a strong rival to Siri and Google, Cortana gives instant access to key actions such as making reservations or reading reviews, all without leaving the page you are on. Cortana also delivers reminders at the right time and place, is easily editable to what Cortana knows about you and increases its knowledge over time
• Multi-tasking app interface, enabling you to snap up to four apps in place and see all open tasks in a single view
• Virtual desktop capabilities
• Xbox app – with the ability to control the Xbox One and play multiplayer games cross-platform
• All new Windows Store
• Universal apps – including Photos, Videos, Calendar, Maps, Messaging and Mail in a consistent design across all different devices and screen sizes of phones, tablets, laptops and PCs

For new In Easy Steps titles on Windows 10 keep your eye on the Coming Soon page of our website.