Evolution of Windows from Windows Vista to Windows 10

Microsoft Principal Application Development Manager (Windows and Security), Oliver Niehus on October 1 via a blog post offered users a glimpse of features set to be introduced in the upcoming version of Windows 10. The post highlights changes that largely went unnoticed by many.

UPDATE: I had drafted this post 3-4 days back and scheduled it for today. Surprisingly, I find that the post has now been taken down. There seems to be no word from Microsoft as to why the post was deleted as it covered some great details of Windows 10 Technical Preview.

Windows 10 under the hood features

Windows 10 Security

Windows 10 is not just about minor interface tweaks but security, manageability and Store changes. In recent years, it has been observed that security threat levels have risen by many folds and so does the improvements to counter it. The latest investment in security comes in the form of SSI enabling (everywhere), Enterprise authentication scenarios, Consumer authentication scenarios like logging onto a website and pre-application VPN (allows only specific apps to be on the VPN). Administrators will be able to restrict remote access to specific applications and/or with specific port/IP addresses.

The Windows Store

Microsoft looks all set to support a unified store for Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox One. The company also intends to create a new volume-purchasing program that would allow companies to buy apps in bulk, deploy those apps and manage the licenses easily. How? For example, when purchased in bulk, an organization will be at the freedom to decide which apps to make available to its members. The apps in turn, would appear only when the person opens the Windows Store with their Azure AAD account (made as a first-class citizen after receiving feedback about challenges with Windows 8 and Microsoft Accounts). Suppose a person is no more a member of an organization. In that case, Microsoft will provide hassle-free license management for those apps by enabling organizations to reclaim and reuse the licenses and deploy apps again via existing management infrastructure.

In addition, any organization will be permitted to create their own organizational store whereby they could put up a list of public and line-of-business app. For acquiring apps and making payments, Microsoft will offer different ways.

Windows Manageability

Microsoft has also revealed its plans of getting MDM capabilities to traditional desktops and laptops with the new windows upgrade. The software –giant also agrees to allow third-party MDM offerings to manage both Windows and Windows Phone VPN-based remote access. Any third-party VPN client apps will be distributable through the Windows 10 Store.

A part of the blog post covered in the tabulated form marks the feature evolution of Windows, beginning from Windows Vista.

 

Windows 10 looks to bring EVERYTHING together with one security model, one management system, one deployment approach and one familiar experience.

Some features outlined above have already come to light while some although abstract are likely to be accommodated in the future based on users’ feedback.