Recently Microsoft has unveiled Windows 10 or its very early "Technical Preview" that is available for anyone who wishes to download and try it. Below is a brief guide about everything you would want to known about Windows 10 - its release date, price as well as its new features.

Windows 8 has failed to take the world by storm as it did not successfully stitch together the realm of desktops and the world of mobile platforms. However, it has worked as a stepping stone for the next version of the operating system.

In such circumstances, it became necessary for Microsoft to do two things - introduce a new and improved Windows in the shorted possible time, and though it may seem odd to many, jump 9 and go straight to Windows 10.

According to Microsoft, possibly the biggest news about Windows 10 is that it will be "One product family, one platform, one store", which means no more split between modern apps and the 'old' desktop.

Windows 10 Release Date

Microsoft has announced that it will be launching Windows 10 "later in the year" in 2015. Therefore, contrary to earlier speculation, it will not come in April 2015. Nevertheless, Microsoft has also said that it will share further information regarding "universal apps" at its annual Build conference next April. As the "Technical Preview" license runs until April 15, 2015, we can expect to get a more complete beta after that.

Windows 10 Price

Initially, it was thought that Windows 10 would be free to consumers, but that's not the case.

In fact, Microsoft has refused to respond to direct questions as to how much Windows 10 will cost, especially for people upgrading from Windows 7 or XP saying, "We want to talk about the overall product family (at this stage)".

Meanwhile, Indonesian news site Detik quotes Microsoft Indonesia president Andreas Diantoro saying that he has confirmed that Windows 9 - now 10 - will be a free upgrade for all Windows 8 users.

However, the more important question is whether this will be extended to Windows 7 as well as Vista users or not. For an answer to this, one will probably have to wait until 2015.

Windows 10 Features

Windows 10 will appear as well as work very much like Windows 7 and not Windows 8. It will be a place where traditional as well modern apps properly co-exist. The Start menu will return and it can be customized including being resizable. In addition latest apps will run on the desktop, as they were rumored to be, and they will be resizable much like traditional apps.

The snap function of Windows 7 will work with all apps, whether new or old. Windows 10 will come with a new layout, allowing users to snap four apps on the same screen. A new feature called Snap Assist also allows the user to grab apps from numerous desktops within Task View.

Windows 10 will have a new button on the taskbar called Task View. When you press it, you will be able see a thumbnail of all the apps which are open. It's very similar to Mac OS X's Expose feature. In fact, this is Microsoft's way of helping novice users to get familiar and proficient with multitasking.