Microsoft on the first anniversary of Windows 10 i.e. July 29th  is planning to remove free upgrade option of  Window 10 from Window 7 and Window 8.1 enabled devices.

Upgrade remains free for user for complete 1 year. Upgrade was roll out in market previous year on July 29th free of cost.  Now, Microsoft has reminded everyone that free promotion for Window 10 is finishing soon.

In an announcement, Yusuf Mehdi, head of Microsoft's Windows and devices marketing efforts said, "Time is running out, The free upgrade offer will end on July 29th and we want to make sure you don’t miss out." After July 29th, Microsoft says you'll need to purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119 or get Windows 10 on a new machine. 

Windows 10 is already running on 300 million machines right now and the company is expecting an ambitious target of 1 billion machines running on Windows 10 by next year.

If you still happen to be running on Windows 7 or 8 and have been thinking of making the jump to 10, you should make your decision fast.

It has been known for a long time that Microsoft’s Surface team is planning to build a premium smartphone. Some rumors claimed that device is expected to arrive in the second half of 2016, but that timeframe has been pushed back to early 2017.

This news comes from sources close to Microsoft’s plans. They also claimed that 3 variants of phone will be released. The early plans allegedly point to a consumer model, a business model, and an enthusiast model.

But confirming details are still scarce. How the three models will differ is still unclear i.e. if they will differ in color, price, specification etc is not known.

Sources also said that Surface phone is supposed to be built by the same Microsoft engineering team that built the Surface and Surface Book, led by Panos Panay. This team is responsible for Microsoft’s “premium” devices.

Windows 10 Mobile is only operating system which will be available for the device. There is a lot of excitement surrounding a potential Surface phone.

Let's see, with so much experienced players in Android market, Microsoft's Windows phone will be able to sustain or not. 

Windows 8.1 by Microsoft has disappointed many of its users. The operating system was supposed to start new era for touchscreen devices, but even after its release, the consumers were adamant about still using their mouse and keyboard. Windows 10, on the other hand, shows progress in the digital world and is largely considered better than its predecessor.

Here are a few of the differences between the two versions:

Both the OS takes same booting time, with the only difference being of only fractions of a second, which is not noticeable.  Facial recognition feature of windows 10 makes the difference, which can hurry the boot time by logging in the moment you sit in front of the computer. At the moment though, it requires a special Intel RealSense 3D camera, but in the future, the computers and laptops will hopefully have it integrated.

Windows 8’s interface was specifically made for touchscreen devices, without considering that many users don’t have those types of computers or laptops. Windows 10 corrected the errors, by designing the start menu as a Windows 7 and Windows 8 hybrid, to allow users to use it even on devices without a touchscreen.

It also has a new interface option, inspired by Linux, that lets you create a virtual desktop. Meaning, you can sort your apps on different desktops connected to the same PC, according to their intended use. 

Another addition to Windows 10 is the Cortana search bar, which allows you to enter voice commands or type them to search your apps already installed in your PC.

Even though it wasn’t as loved by users as it was hoped, Windows 8 was considered very stable compared to Windows 10 which was pretty shaky at first. We’re sure that it will improve over time, but for the time being, several bugs can still be found in the newest system.

Windows 8 was the first operating system that came with an incorporated anti-malware protection, which prevented the PCs from being infected with the most harmful types of viruses. In the case of Windows 10, it also comes with an antivirus, but Microsoft is working with PC manufacturers to prevent the users to disable it, which can be an inconvenience for users who want to dual-boot OSes. Aside from that, the new operating system comes with face and iris recognition as an authentication option which is pretty convenient.

Windows 8.1 is considered a good OS for tablets, but the downside is that it doesn’t have as many high quality apps as wanted in the Store. On the other hand, Windows 10 wants to bring users universal apps, which can be downloaded on a tablet, PC and phones. 

Windows 10 is better than Windows 8.1 even though it’s not perfect, keeping in mind nothing is perfect. It shows potential and it’s also a way for Microsoft to demonstrate that they can do what other thought far fetched. If you are windows 8 user and you are planning to upgrade it to windows 10 then be careful, still their are some bugs remaining (problems were faced by me also). 

Microsoft announced the Windows 10 last year, a news that elated scores of Windows 8 users who finally had a better version of Windows to look forward to.

The Redmond-based tech giant incorporated a number of changes to the new version of Windows, including the new task view, Continuum, universal search, etc.

Windows 10 was launched in India on July 29, 2015 for consumers, and the November 10 update for the latest Microsoft desktop OS has added the enterprise features as well. The company has focussed on the security of business organizations amid the increasing number of threats with this update.

Here are a few key features of Windows 10 for Enterprises:

Windows Store for Business: It is a portal via which IT decision makers, purchasers and administrators can find, acquire, manage and distribute apps across their organization's Windows 10 devices. These apps include both Windows Store apps and a custom line of business apps.

Mobile Device Management: This is aimed at helping IT professionals manage company security policies and business applications. With this, concerned executives can use the Enterprise Mobility Management suite to manage the entire family of Windows devices, including PCs, tablets, phones and IOT. Users' privacy on their personal phones also doesn't get compromised.

Azure Active Directory Join: Users can keep one login and securely move their data across all Windows 10 devices because of this feature as it enables IT to maintain one single directory. It also enables any device to become enterprise-ready with a few simple clicks.

Videocon, in partnership with Microsoft, launched Windows 10 powered LED TV, starting at Rs 39,990. The TV, which can also work as a personal computer, will be available in the market next month.

"In these changing times, we realised the needs of our consumers of having easy access to technology at their convenience and therefore designed the world's first hybrid TV cum PC," Videocon Head of Technology and Innovation  Akshay Dhoot said here.

Dhoot said the company expects to have at least 5 percent sales of H2 period coming from the Windows 10 TV and 3 percent from the Android TV sets.

Speaking on the occasion, Microsoft Director (Windows Business Group) Vineet Durani said Windows 10 has received good response from customers globally with over 110 million downloads.

“With this innovative product, we intend to extend the Windows 10 experience to more users,” Durani said.