Rollup: Microsoft HoloLens, Surface Hub, Windows 10, Xbox One game streaming and more.
Disclaimer: I currently work for Microsoft, but this blog, and the words within are all my opinion. Mistakes and dumb ideas are mine. My impartiality or lack thereof stands on its own.
I just got done watching the Windows 10: The Next Chapter live video stream. There's the Windows 10 news, updated interface, and more. As I get new Windows 10 builds I will go over them on my YouTube Channel. Please do subscribe. But let's talk about the truly magical stuff first.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke.
Microsoft HoloLens
Wow, an augmented virtual reality headset from Microsoft? Is this Oculus? Or Google Glass? It's something else. It's clear so you see the projected images as if they are in front of you. It's not a tiny screen like Glass or a screen that blinds/immerses you like Oculus (I have an Oculus).
This reveal totally puts the Microsoft purchase of Minecraft in context. We'll surely see Minecraft for Windows 10 and HoloLens in the future.
Yeah, my kid can never find out about a holographic 3D Minecraft. Cannot ever happen.
— Copy McPasty, Writer (@KashannKilson) January 21, 2015 My first impression was, oh, Glass? Then, oh, Oculus. But this is more like immersive augmented reality. The real question is going to be, how smooth can they get the interactions? Will it be like Kinect or LeapMotion? Truly amazing. This could be the future of Windows itself.
This is clearly not something for wearing as you walk down the street (yet). Amazing.
The first step is allowing one person to see a hologram. The challenge is then letting everyone in the room seem them. I'm looking at you, Tony Stark.
Microsoft Surface Hub
It looks like the Microsoft acquisition of Perceptive Pixel has culminated in a new brand for Surface - The Microsoft Surface Hub. It's a 80" 4K 100 touch points touchscreen display that runs Windows 10, a special OneNote, and includes cameras, microphones and Skype for Business (Lync/UC), and Office. Will it be priced within a small office's budget, or are we talking Tesla money here?
I gotta say, I'm surprised and impressed. Satya's vision is definitely clear.
Windows 10
We also learned a lot about Windows 10, including this slide that I didn't feel really HIT hard enough. I read this to say that you can upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10...basically everyone gets to go to Windows 10 for free and keep it. You own the license.
It says "Free upgrade for the first year" which I think is confusing because it is implying some kind of subscription or at least yearly license.
But if you read the details here it seems like you have a year to upgrade and if you/we do (from 7/8/8.1) then we get Windows 10 free and it's supported for the lifetime of the device. We all get free upgrades and they will be supported, is how I read it. But we have a year to get the free upgrade, and after that it costs.
We saw lots of Windows 10 features and things including:
- Windows 10 is for PC, Xbox, Phone and Tablets
- All new Web Browser codenamed "Spartan."'
- Office Universal apps - Phone, Tablet, or PC, Office runs on every platform.
- You can stream/play Xbox One games from your Xbox One to your PC.
- "Players will also be able to play games on their PC, streamed directly from their Xbox One consoles to their Windows 10 tablets or PCs, within their home"
- Surface and "2in1" devices will switch between desktop mode and tablet mode depending on the presence of a keyboard.
- The Cortana personal assistant comes to Windows. This includes dictation as well!
- Shameless plug, you can do amazing dictation today on Windows with my app and your iPhone.
So all these devices will run Windows 10.
The Satya quotes that stuck out to me where very declarative and aspirational.
"We want to move from people needing Windows, to choosing Windows and loving Windows. That is our bold goal with Windows." - Satya Nadella
Now it's time to watch it all happen. 2015 could be a big year for Microsoft.
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About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
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Mike
How much of this was announcement a surprise to you, Scott? I assume you must have been aware of Spartan at the very least.
If that happens we will see more modern apps as there won't be a requirement to also develop a desktop equivalent for Windows 7 users. Hopefully this means rolling updates for windows from now on too, so you only pay when you buy new hardware.
For something that important to the company's revenue streams wouldn't you think someone would have nailed the wording on that to make it clear to everyone?
I understand HaloLens was meant for more, but I think it would be Awesome! :-)
Satya's vision is definitely clear.What is that vision and how is it clear?
Holographic Minecraft = "Aha..." moment :)
I'm not sure how Cortana will work in an open plan office but I'm keeping an open mind :)
Microsoft should be split in 2 companies: the Server and tools (.NET core 5, and stuff) is clearly disconnected from Windows division.
How WinRT is related to .NET? Nobody mentioned .net, and 2 months ago at the Connect() conference nobody mentioned WinRT.
Apple is united and its path towards the future is well defined and understood by users&developers.
Microsoft userbase (users & developers) are being completely fooled for years in many ways.
I'm sure it would have come up in discussions...
MS wants this code base in place globally so they can push out updates and so forth. Why would this be important? Well, if I were MS and I wanted to switch everyone to a subscription model (which is clearly their direction on everything else they are doing), I'd give them a free upgrade (can you say "trojan horse"), and after a while, I'd push out an update which enables subscription mode and requires you to send them $$ on an annual basis to keep your machine alive. This is speculation, but certainly seems plausible (not to mention Evil).
Do they have stuff in this new release that benefits THEM if everybody has it installed? Maybe it reports back software installs for licensing purposes, or DRM enforcement, or other big-brother type activities. Call me paranoid, but MS is a business and they are in this to make money, not to make people happy.
So... I'd like to know why they are doing this for free, and what are the future plans.
So this isn't a new concept. You offer the software for free to drive sales of a) other software and b) hardware.
Other software is their Office platform for now. I'm sure other program suites will emerge soon enough.
Hardware is obvious as well: Surface tablets and HoloLens.
You probably won't get the home user to shell out $99 for Win10 (on the back of the, arguably, failed Win8). But you will get them to spend $99-$150 on Office, and another $200 on HoloLens - especially if Office works with HoloLens.
On another note, when Satya said that he wants people to choose and love Windows, that really makes me happy. For years, I felt constrained by Windows because most businesses ran Windows. That meant that .net was my future. I had a functional relationship with Windows in that I used it because I needed to pay my bills.
The latest slew of announcements from free Visual Studio Community to Windows 10 is making me actually like Microsoft again. I do love my Mac, I do love OS X but apart from my iPhone I have no need for an iPad. The Surface, to me, is a far more logical step than the iPad. Now that Windows 10 is going to arrive, I'll most likely transition from my iPad to the Surface Pro 3.
Do you know if Microsoft will be doing an early release for developers for the HoloLens? If so is there a sign up for it?
It would be great to begin trying to develop apps to support it and see how I could build off of my existing projects.
Thanks again for all you bring the community.
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