Microsoft’s latest version of Visual Studio, the popular integrated development environment, is available today and comes with a new cross platform support to help developers build regardless of what platform they are coming from.

S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Developer Division, previously described the release saying:

“We are opening up Visual Studio to developers targeting new platforms – from cross-platform mobile development targeting iOS, Android and Windows, to game development targeting Unity, Unreal, Cocos and more.  At the same time, Visual Studio 2015 redefines developer productivity with proactive diagnostics tooling and the new Rolsyn language services for C# and VB.  And together, Visual Studio 2015, Team Foundation Server 2015 and Visual Studio Online help teams to embrace DevOps with great agile backlog management, Azure cloud tooling, hosted continuous integration, and Application Insights across all the components of your application.”

Now that the RTM for Visual Studio 2015 is here, Microsoft is hosting a half day event, which will be broadcast here, to show off the many new tools for developers contained in the latest edition. Microsoft has also released a set of videos on Channel 9 to help explain new features for cross-platform mobile app development, .Net 2015, Azure SDK 2.6, Apache Cordova, Windows 10 in general, and more.

Visual Studio 2015 has been promised as a big move to support developers from multiple platforms in Microsoft’s efforts to encourage more app development in Windows 10. Some of the new features are:

• Tools and services for projects of any size or complexity
• C#, Visual Basic, F#, C++, Python, Node.js and HTML/JavaScript
• Build for iOS, Android, Windows devices, Windows Server or Linux
• Advanced debugging, profiling, automated and manual testing
• DevOps with automated deployments and continuous monitoring

If you are interested in these new features and learning more about the latest version of Visual Studio, you can watch the webcast of today’s release event or head over to Channel 9 if you miss the broadcast for more demonstrations of Visual Studio.

The extent of Nadella’s recent ‘tough choices’ continue to reverberate around the tech sphere; it was nothing less than a Big Bang for the new CEO. And yet, the changes keep coming, with more managers now being shuffled around between different divisions.

In the latest move, as reported by ZD Net, David Treadwell, formerly Corporate Vice President in charge of Windows Engineering program management, is being moved to Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, though the role he will assume has not yet been disclosed. Harv Bhela, an Exchange veteran, will take his place. Jeff Teper is also to be given a new role, heading both OneDrive and SharePoint, which were recently unified.

Given that Treadwell and Bhela are Microsoft veterans of a considerable vintage, it is likely that their appointments are as safe hands, to help lead the company as it continues further towards an uncertain future. Expect more such moves as time goes by, and the waves of the ‘tough choices’ continue to flow.

Do you believe this move will be beneficial? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft is set to release Windows 10 on July 29 and the company is already raising banners all throughout the Redmond campus. As you can see in the image above, the banners are blue in color and feature slogans like “Bleed Blue” and “From Redmond with Love.”

The guys over at Geekwire took a quick trip to the Redmond campus, which is the corporate headquarters located in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft has pasted slogans onto the elevator doors inside the company’s buildings too. Microsoft is clearly looking to spark excitement with its employees as the imminent release of the company’s most important operating system looms over the horizon.

This last week was a super busy one for Windows 10 watchers. Microsoft kicked the week off by announcing a new marketing campaign which is set to begin next week called #UpgradeYourWorld. As part of the new Upgrade Your World initiative, Microsoft will be partnering with 10 global and 100 local non-profits to help spread Windows 10 across the world. Windows 10 is built to empower people to do great things. It has new innovations like Cortana, Microsoft Edge and the new and improved Xbox app.

This week also saw the company release the Windows 10 RTM to Insiders. Microsoft originally stated that they would not be rolling out the Windows 10 RTM to Insiders until July 29th, so it’s very interesting to see them backtrack on that statement. Regardless, Microsoft did not officially announce that build 10240 is the RTM, even though it is. You can also head over here to check out some of the screenshots from build 10240, but you wont notice anything visually different compared to previous builds.

In light of the Windows 10 RTM, Microsoft temporarily suspended the distribution of Windows 10 preview builds too. Windows Insiders on the latest builds have nothing to worry about as far as the stability or feature set of the builds. Instead, Gabe is alerting Insiders that due to the upcoming release of Windows 10, the Windows 10 Insider build well will be drying up for the time being.

Pre-orders for Windows 10 on USB sticks also began showing up on various online retailers too. For users who do not have a valid copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 or prefer to do a fresh install of Windows 10, Microsoft has them covered. The good news is that Microsoft has put flash drives with Windows 10 for pre-order on Amazon. The flash drives come available in Windows 10 Home for $119 as well as the Pro edition for $199 if you prefer.

Along with the release of the Windows 10 RTM also came some new licensing agreements. There doesn’t appear to be any surprises. As Terry Myerson has stated time and time again, the “Windows as a service” only refers to Microsoft’s new update method for Windows 10. Here are some things you should know. 

• The transfer rights are just the same on Windows 10 as was on Windows 7 and 8.1. So if your PC is running a retail version of Windows 10, you can still transfer your Windows 10 operating system to another PC provided Windows 10 has been uninstalled on your other PC. Of course, if you’re running an OEM version of Windows 10, then it’s locked on that device. 
• If you have an OEM edition of Windows 10 Pro, your downgrade rights remain largely the same. In the new agreement, you may only downgrade to a supported version of Windows under the 10-year lifespan. So your downgrade rights for Windows 7 end on 2020, and Windows 8.1 ends 2023. 
• Windows 10 delivers automatic updates without users being able to delay or reject updates on consumers’ and small business PCs. According to the terms “The software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you…. By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.” Luckily for business customers, they have advanced options for Windows Update, and enterprise users can assign mission-critical devices to the Long Term Servicing Branch, including only security fixes, but no feature updates. 
• As per usual, Windows 10 does require activation. The new agreement states that upgrading a PC from a non-genuine copy of Windows does not make your final version genuine, and as such, you are not licensed to use the software. 
• And finally, some editions of Windows 10 come with Microsoft Office programs that are to be used only for personal and non-commercial purposes.

It has been a very busy week, and Windows 10 hasn’t even officially launched yet. What was your favorite story? Let us know below.

Microsoft has postponed a feature in Windows 10 (for desktops only) that would allow a consumer to install their apps onto an SD Card, rather than a hard drive. Windows 10 Mobile, on the other hand, is unaffected and will continue to support this feature.

“We have actually made the decision to postpone the apps on SD functionality to a later release. While I know this feature excited many of us, we didn’t feel like it was ready for prime time. Our goal is to delight users with everything that we build, and we truly feel that that is what will happen once we have fully built our vision for this feature,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated.

Apparently, this feature is not ready for prime time, as stated in the quote above. But have no fear — this delay does not impact Windows 10 Mobile. However, if you plan to run Windows 10 on a smaller tablet, you wont be able to save your apps to an SD card to conserve system disk space. No word on when Microsoft plans to enable this feature on Windows 10 for desktop. It will likely arrive in a future update — perfectly fitting the ideology of “Windows as a Service.”

It’s quarterly results time ladies and gentlemen. Over the next couple of weeks, a plethora of companies will be forced by regulatory bodies and interested investors to crack open their books and explain where money is coming in and where it is going out. For investors, quarterly results are a time to move money in positive and negative directions. There is a delicate dance publicly traded companies engage in when reporting their quarterly financials. A dance between Chief Financial Officers (CFO) and skittish investors is as unpredictable as the weather. For fair weather investors, shortened reports and quick performance sheets help with day to day trades.

Fortunately for Microsoft, a published report from FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives and caught by Benzinga, is making a strong case in favor of the software company. In Ives’ Friday report, he suggests that Microsoft is maintaining an ‘Outperforming’ rating. Ives also sets a stock price target of $53 (US) which is an increase from the company’s current spot at $46.62 (US). This news comes just days before Microsoft is scheduled to report its Fiscal 4Q results for 2015 — on July 21st. The crux of Ives’ report leans on a $7.6 billion dollar Nokia write-down Microsoft is expected to report. While Ives expects Microsoft to report $22 billion dollars in total revenue for the quarter, other estimates have Microsoft’s GAAP EPS estimates dropping from $0.56 to $0.45 respectively, due to the Nokia write-down. 

For the few still scratching their heads at the news, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella dropped the news earlier in the month about ‘tough choices’ and Windows Mobile; Ives’ report sums up Nadella’s intentions beautifully. Ives likens the news about Nokia to ripping off a Band-Aid. As some have argued, Microsoft could have sustained a few more quarters of Nokia’s drain to ride out a possible resurgence in mobile. However, when reporting the numbers, Microsoft’s quick disposal of Nokia as well as focusing on revenue generating software puts Microsoft onto a very healthy financial path.

Not only will Microsoft be affected by the Nokia fiasco, but a Windows 10 revenue recognition policy is bringing Microsoft’s FY16 revenue down from an estimated $96.6 billion to a mere $88.5 billion. Despite the widespread contractions, Ives stands by Microsoft’s recent decisions and points to F4Q15 as being “another important step in the right direction.” Specifically Ive’s believes, “Overall, with Nadella making the tough but smart move, in our opinion, to ‘rip off the Band-Aid’ in terms of the Nokia acquisition/write-down, we believe Microsoft’s laser-focus on software versus hardware with a massive product cycle in its back pocket leaves it well positioned to enter the ‘golden age’ of cloud computing with Windows 10 front and center as a major potential catalyst.”

Similar to most stock analysts who attempt to judge the future earning potential of a company, Ives believes that Microsoft’s focus on the cloud with Azure puts much of Microsoft’s brighter days ahead of it. Microsoft’s commercial cloud businesses in on an annual run-rate trajectory of $6 billion dollars. Ives’ report reflects positive gains from Microsoft in the future as more and more businesses show a solid need for cloud-based options.

Productivity has been Microsoft’s new rallying call and has been a key differentiator when comparing themselves to other big tech companies. One major aspect of being productive and getting things done involves making and keeping to-do lists. Luckily there are a wide variety of different apps which help users track projects and get things done, and one of the more popular ones is Todoist.

In a recent blog post Todoist has announced alpha testing has opened for their new unreleased Windows 10 app. While they don’t explicitly state this will be a Universal Windows App within the questionnaire they do ask if you use Windows 10 Mobile which would imply the app will eventually be universal.

Getting more app support for Windows 10 before it has even launched is great news for Microsoft and for Windows users. Apps like Todoist are popular across ecosystems and are a must have for anyone making an assessment of the app environment on Windows. Task management apps also have an opportunity to make Universal Windows Apps shine as they highlight the ease of cross development and large user base.

This year at the Worldwide Partner Conference this year Microsoft didn’t share a whole lot of details concerning new products, but Surface did get some news concerning its retail channels. Currently the Surface can only be purchased directly from Microsoft or from a couple hundred retail partners like Best Buy, Fry’s, Costco, Walmart, but soon there will be a few thousand resellers of the device. Opening up the retail channels also opens the device to more markets.

Neowin picked up on The Times of India interview with Vineet Durani, Director – Windows Business Group at Microsoft (India) who said Surface would be coming to India, without much further detail. However Durani did say,

“We feel there’s a market in India for all devices including high-end convertibles and the Surface is the perfect device to showcase Windows 10, which adapts to 2-in-1s easily with seamless switching between PC and tablet UIs,”

This statement alludes to Microsoft releasing the Surface after or on the launch of Windows 10 on July 29th. Microsoft has already commented they will be selling Surface devices with Windows 10 preloaded and that may also coincide with when devices will come to their new retail channels and new markets like India. Hopefully this will all become more clear after July 29th when Windows 10 has launched and there is less mystery surrounding the launch devices.

Previously Microsoft didn’t target India because of “the price sensitive nature of the market” and the Surface is a premium device with a big price tag. In these markets the Surface could be hurt by the pricey extras which most users would want such as the keyboard and pen. Instead of releasing a flop Microsoft had previously taken a pass. Now with a couple versions at different price points Microsoft must see the Indian market as more viable.

As Microsoft makes its departure from display advertising, US paid search numbers are rolling in for the quarter. According to a Digital Marketing report published by the firm Merkle RKG and gathered by Search Engine Land, search ad spend growth slowed in the US. CPC (cost-per-click) growth for the quarter was hindered by advertisers wising up and maintaining more efficient search programs rather than exhibiting more traditional spending habits. On average, clicks rose a mere 3% in the quarter, which is a 14% drop from last years Q2 results. On the other hand, CPC’s did show a rise of 11% for the quarter.

As tablet news and sales have begun to slow, predictably so has the click return for those devices. Tablet clicks accounted for a meager 3% increase in Q2 of this year, but ultimately clicks are down 14%  year over year. Once again though, CPC’s managed to show an increase of 11% year over year in Q2. On the plus side, phone revenue shows signs of improvement and the trend points to continued growth. Last year, the RPC (revenue-per-click) for phone revenues were 66% lower than that of desktops. This year however, the gap has shrunken to 58% revenue-per-click.

As far as traffic for the large search engines are concerned, Google’s growth is slowing but its Brand CPC’s are offsetting the decline. According to the Merkle Report, “Google’s share of the paid search market among Merkle RKG clients fell from the previous year but remained steady from Q1. The year-over-year decline is in large part to Yahoo’s deal with Firefox to be the default search engine. The report found that Google lost roughly 2 percent of overall click share as a result of the deal.”

Bing, on the other hand, saw increases in Search ad spend to the tune of a 27%. However, the search engine’s CPC stumbled along the way. Bing CPC’s were only up 2% in year over year reporting. Other areas of note for Bing came from click volume. While Bing’s growth slowed, it managed a 24% increase on the back of the recent Yahoo and Firefox deal. Specifically, 10 points of the click volume growth Bing experienced could be traced back to the Firefox deal. Merkle notes that the recent deal between Yahoo and Firefox may have played a role in the small declines Google experienced in the paid search market. In many ways, Bing continues to benefit from the newly formed Yahoo and Firefox deal.

The Firefox and Yahoo deal presented a new platform for Yahoo to utilize called Gemini. Gemini was originally designed to serve only mobile search ads, but after some negotiations with Microsoft, a new deal was struck. Now Gemini can serve ads to the desktop as well.The new platform months into its launch now accounts for 15% of the total Yahoo and Bing consortium of search as clicks on all devices. 

Microsoft’s decisions that resulted in the company stepping away from display advertising, renegotiated terms with Yahoo, as well as a new deal with AOL, could have Bing reaping rewards from a multitude of avenues. The Merkle report explains, “For Merkle RKG clients, Google search partners generated 8 percent of Google’s overall search ad clicks, and partner AOL generated 1 percent of those clicks in Q2 2015. In a 10-year deal signed last month, Bing will begin serving search results and ads on AOL in the beginning of 2016 .” Microsoft has chosen to stop going head to head with Google in various search aspects and would now rather support other companies doing so.

Microsoft’s new approach is already having some effect on Google’s numbers, but we’ll have to wait and see if this quarter is an indirect anomaly or the start of a direct trend.

July has been a busy month for Microsoft. Amid more restructuring announcements that cost the jobs of over 7,800 employees as well various emails outlining strategic movements by Microsoft, the company is also pushing out, quite possibly, its most vital operating system release. As of July 29th, Microsoft will be releasing its pivotal Windows 10 upgrade. Over the past two years, Windows 10 has been reported as the culmination of an extensive range of philosophical, structural and engineering changes that have been occurring within Microsoft.

Along with those changes, comes a change in how Microsoft plans to release and celebrate Windows 10’s public arrival. Previous iterations of Windows released alongside massive marketing efforts, flashy events and arguably poor video spots for the OS. While the details of how Microsoft plans to celebrate Windows 10 are a bit sparse now, the company has gone on record explaining that this release will be different.

Microsoft is moving away from ‘fancy launch spectacles’ to instead, focus on Windows fans. Specifically, this is what the company has to say:

“From the beginning, Windows 10 has been different – built alongside our fans, delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade. Our approach to launch is also different and in support of a more aspirational goal, inspired by Windows 10. You won’t see fancy launch spectacles from Windows – our broader aspiration is to celebrate and empower those who upgrade the world every day. Our events are designed to celebrate our fans. They will offer hands-on opportunities, experiential demo’s, entertainment and opportunities to meet the Windows team. These events will be invite-only, designed for our fans in each market.”

Recently, Microsoft published on its Microsoft South Africa Facebook page some details and disclaimers about the ‘how’s’ and ‘what’s’ of an invite-only celebration for the Windows 10 launch. As of two days ago, Windows 10 fans in South Africa could sign up to be a part of a contest that will grant them invite status to their local Microsoft Windows 10 launch. The contest runs from July 15th until 12 am (local time) on July 25, 2015.

“To enter the Contest, individuals must participate by submitting a voice recording, text post or image of their favorite Windows moment via Twitter or Facebook with the competition hashtag #Windows10.  Individuals who submit their favorite Windows moment during the stipulated competition period with the stipulated hashtag on Twitter or Facebook will be eligible to win a prize.”

The prizes for the lucky contestant winners include access to the private Windows 10 launch event in Johannesburg on July 29th and or tickets to Rage Expo for later this year.

There are other disclaimers and notations worthy of reading. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the Facebook page for details. As we reported earlier, unlike previous releases, not every Microsoft Store in every country will be participating in the exclusive release celebration. Participating cities include Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Dubai, Nairobi, Berlin, Madrid, London Sao Paulo, New York and Johannesburg. While those are the highlighted cities for the invite-only celebration, it does not exclude the possibility of local Microsoft Store participation. News also surfaced a few days ago of Microsoft Stores supporting the Windows 10 launch with free in-store upgrades. No word yet if any other location will be allowing fans a chance to be a part of the private celebrations — but we’ll be keeping an eye and we will let you know when and where you can sign up.

The release of Windows 10 on July 29 is getting real close, and will be a free upgrade to users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. However, not everyone qualifies for the free upgrade offer. 

For users who do not have a valid copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 or prefer to do a fresh install of Windows 10, Microsoft has them covered. The good news is that Microsoft has put flash drives with Windows 10 for pre-order on Amazon. The flash drives come available in Windows 10 Home for $119 as well as the Pro edition for $199 if you prefer.

The USB sticks won’t be available until August 16, though. Nevertheless, you can still pre-order them by clicking one of the links below. 

• Pre-order the Windows 10 Home USB Stick
• Pre-order the Windows 10 Pro USB Stick

Will you be pre-ordering a Windows 10 flash drive? Let us know what you’ll be doing in the comments below. 

Earlier today, we posted on a report from Windows Central that Microsoft had released a new unified “Apps on Windows” experience on the web, to replace the separate Windows and Windows Phone web experiences. In that post, we referred to Microsoft launching a “universal apps store”, in this case meaning both Windows and Windows Phone apps. This however, is not the same as the upcoming Windows Store, which has not been released yet and will feature “universal Windows apps”, meaning apps that run on both Windows and Windows Phone (and Xbox and HoloLens and etc.)

A Microsoft spokesperson reached out to us and offered this clarification:

“The Apps on Windows site lets you browse both Windows and Windows Phone apps, but is not the new unified Windows Store. We’ll share more on the Windows Store soon.”

You can still now (or soon) get both Windows and Windows Phone apps from a single place, at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/, but the “Windows Store” is still yet to come.

Hope that clears up any confusion.

Today, Microsoft announced the acquisition of FieldOne Systems LCC, makers of the cloud based field services management software FieldOne.

In an announcement by Bob Stutz, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, today’s acquisition is described as a “great fit” for Dynamics CRM to help expand its customer service capabilities. The strengths of FieldOne that Microsoft hopes will bolster Dynamics, their Customer Relations Management software platform which competes with other platforms such as Salesforce.com, are described as:

“Their industry-leading solution specializes in delivering a full set of capabilities that include work order management, automated scheduling, asset contract, inventory and procurement management, workflow capabilities and mobile collaboration – providing enterprises with a comprehensive modern field service solution. This gives companies the ability to do things such as adjusting routing on the fly and delivering service arrival estimate times within a smaller window, which is essential for more personal customer engagement.”

In today’s announcement, Stutz also says that the purchase of FieldOne is part of Microsoft’s investment in delivering true systems of intelligence. Stutz goes on to say that Microsoft will help companies leverage predictive field services through a combination of FieldOne, Azure IoT, and Cortana Analytics; offering a solution that moves away from a reactive field service model of just fixing things when it breaks, to a predictive model.

If more predictive intelligence is brought to Dynamics in addition to this acquisition, Dynamics CRM would gain abilities greater than the sum of its parts, potentially differentiating the CRM solution from its competitors.

Office 365’s cloud connected nature has seen Microsoft’s productivity suite expand to various usage scenarios beyond previous iterations of Office. Schools are utilizing tools such as OneNote and OneDrive in much broader communicative use-cases between teachers and students. Enterprise customers are using the cloud sync options to foster better collaborations while keeping the flow of information up to the minute. Office 365’s cloud first approach enables much-needed scalability for uses that range from a single person licenses to government contract deployments.

Over the past year, we’ve been reporting on the broad swath of success stories piling up at Office 365’s adoption doorstep. A recent agreement between the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will add yet another story of Office 365 adoption and deployment to a quickly growing list. The U.S. Air Force has entered into a partnership with the DLA to award more than 100,000 seats of the Department of Defense dedicated version of Microsoft Office 365 to Microsoft, Dell and General Dynamics.

According to Microsoft senior director Leigh Madden, this agreement signals one of the largest commercial cloud contracts the DoD has issued in its history. Leigh has specialized insights into how the contract will specifically benefit the parties involved, as he heads up Microsoft’s U.S. Air Force business unit. The Department of Defense is looking to Office 365 to help the Air Force and DLA significantly reduce cost over the next three years. According to Leigh, using Office 365 is “helping the agency communicate more easily across active, civilian, and reserve personnel and move toward a consolidated mobile and messaging platform.” The contract will take effect during the next government fiscal year and will enable the Air Force access to secure email, calendaring, Office Web Applications, Skype for Business as well as other collaborative tools.

The use of Office 365 was under careful consideration and ultimately chosen as it aligns with the Air Force’s commitment to building a successful DoD Enterprise Email initiative. In addition to further encouraging the Air Forces initiative, Office 365 will also be supporting the DoD’s unique security requirements and best practices.

The recent DoD contract is yet another example of Microsoft’s cloud-first and secure Office suite meeting the ever-expanding demands of users big and small.

The race is on to have as many PCs with Windows 10 pre-installed available for customers to buy as close to the new operating system’s 29th of July launch date as possible. Last month, Dell announced that customers could pre-order devices from them and they would ship on the 29th and if customers selected same day shipping, they could get their computers delivered on the 30th (which obviously isn’t “same day” but is still pretty fast).

Today, HP has revealed their strategy for the launch of Windows 10 and they will begin shipping pre-orders for their computers on the 28th of July and will offer free next day shipping to allow customers to get their devices on launch day.

Naturally, you don’t need to purchase a new computer to get Windows 10. Microsoft’s new operating system will be a free update on launch day for all current Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 device owners. The majority of the population will simply be updating their current computer on the 29th of July and there really are very few reasons not to buy a new computer before then, enjoy its current operating system until launch and then update to Windows 10.

Due to the availability of Windows 10 as a free upgrade on most current devices, a new computer having Windows 10 pre-installed isn’t a selling point in and of itself. Where things get interesting is in regards to the several devices that have been specifically designed to work with the Windows 10 operating system. Several of Dell’s computers for example incorporate the use of specialized cameras and microphones to work with the new Microsoft Hello and Cortana features in Windows 10 and both Dell and HP have been developing all of their future products with Windows 10 in mind.                                                                     

Will you be buying new hardware for the launch of Windows 10 or will you just update your existing device? Let us know in the comments below.

This week we have a very special poll for the podcast because it is written by one of the co-founders of Straw, Ben Rudolph. Straw is the polling platform that we use to power our polls and helps users get feedback from groups large and small. Ben is also the Worldwide Retail Sales Evangelism Director at Microsoft and is this week’s guest on the WinBeta Podcast.

You can watch this week’s episode live at 3PM EDT on Friday or check it out over the weekend on YouTube, SoundCloud, or your favorite podcast app.

With build 10240 (which is being reported as the RTM build) being released to insiders and the July 29 release to the public just around the corner, there’s plenty to discuss about the Windows 10 rollout. Please vote to share if you’ll be upgrading and discuss your reasoning in the comments below.

As an average Joe Lumia Icon owner, I waited for what seemed like forever just to get the Lumia Cyan update on Verizon. Instead, Verizon chose to bypass Lumia Cyan altogether and release Lumia Denim instead. Once I got Lumia Denim, more and more people online start chatting up about what would soon become known as Windows 10 Mobile previews. Even when Windows 10 Mobile was set to get its first build, I thought, “Maybe they’ll include the Lumia Icon this time.” Nope.

Finally, when I was able to update to the first Windows 10 Mobile build 10080 for the Lumia Icon, I was excited to finally put it on my Icon. Now I know many of you are going to say, “you’re not supposed to use it on your daily phone, moron. Microsoft even says so.” I didn’t get an extra computer to test out Windows 10 Technical Preview, so I wasn’t going to buy another Windows Phone to test out Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview either. So I threw caution to the wind and upgraded my Lumia Icon to Windows 10 Mobile Build 10080.

Needless to say, I found build 10080 extremely buggy and entirely unusable on my Icon. So, I accepted defeat and rolled back my Icon back to Windows Phone 8.1 with the Windows Phone Recovery Tool. I assumed there would be a future Windows 10 Mobile build that would be more stable. So, I waited, and waited. I dealt with the same problems with builds 10136 and 10149 on my Icon, so I found myself trying to upgrade again and again, only to then roll back to Windows Phone 8.1.

On my birthday, July 10, Windows 10 Mobile Build 10166 was released. From the YouTube videos I viewed online (like the one below), it seemed like build 10166 was smoother and faster than previous builds and I was determined to get the Windows 10 Mobile 10166 build on my Lumia. I grew sick and tired of seeing other people online showing off the latest Windows 10 Mobile features on their Lumia while I stood on the sidelines as a spectator. So after hours of tinkering, I came up with my own method of putting a clean install of Windows 10 Mobile on my Lumia:

• 1. Back up all your data, either through Backup Assistant Plus through Verizon (in my case, or your preferred backup service cellular provider) and OneDrive, just to be safe.
• 2. Hard reset your Windows Phone through the Windows Phone Recovery Tool to completely wipe your Windows Phone.
• 3. After the hard reset, DO NOT restore from a previous backup, instead set it up as a new phone (last option).
• 4. Download the Windows Insider app for Windows Phone.
• 5. Open Windows Insider app and select Fast Ring or Slow Ring for Insiders based on your preference (Fast Ring is best).
• 6. When your Windows Phone reboots, go to Settings>Phone Update, then download and install Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 (if it is available for your Windows Phone).
• 7. After your phone reboots, go back to Phone Update to download the latest Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview Build.
• 8. Once the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview Build is installed, go to Settings>System>About and factory reset your Windows Phone again.
• 9. Setup your Windows Phone as normal and restore your apps through the Windows Store.

Please note: Not all of your Windows Phone 8.1 apps will survive the migration, but you’ll get a cleaner Windows 10 Mobile experience with fewer bugs experienced. I tried installing the Windows 8.1 Update 2 first before downloading the Windows Insider app and ran into a myriad of problems getting my Lumia actually to run Windows 10 Mobile consistently and bug–free. Sometimes, my Lumia would constantly reset itself for hours even though I followed all the steps that even Microsoft posts.

Microsoft has always seen the value of Facebook. Even from the inception of the social media giant in 2007, Microsoft invested $240 million in the company. Lately, there have been some bumps in their relationship with Facebook changing their Facebook Connect Graph API, resulting in Facebook contacts not integrating with Microsoft’s People app. However, in early June, they announced a partnership on Oculus Rift. With Windows 10 supporting this popular headset, Microsoft now has a firm foothold in VR; which bodes well for the future of the company’s latest OS.

Today, Microsoft has announced the latest way for Windows app developers to integrate Facebook functionality into their apps. This new open source SDK works with all universal apps on Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. The new SDK will enable developers to utilize Facebook features such as Likes, Facebook Authorization, Graph and Facebook Feeds.

The release of the SDK is a fairly big deal because it allows developers to tap easily into the Facebook community. If an app accepts Facebook Authorization, for example, that app becomes more attractive for a user to download and use it. When developers see a large accessible user base, they make more apps. This should translates into more apps in the Windows Stores.

Amazon.com is trying to create a new tradition by offering “more deals than Black Friday” In an event they’re calling Amazon Prime Day, taking place today, July 15th. A number of other retailers, including Walmart, have jumped on the bandwagon to promote their own 1 day sales, trying to counter Amazon’s marketing coup.  Not to be left out, Microsoft Stores has joined the fray and is offering a set of 1 day only deals of its own, including up to 53% off on laptops, up to 80% off on some headphones and accessories, up to 70% off on Xbox games, and deals on phones, monitors, and more.

In addition, Microsoft Stores are offering free two day shipping, with no minimum order required, so it’s a great time to take advantage of the snowball effect that Amazon has created and get yourself some new tech goodies just in time for Windows 10.

The Verge is reporting that Windows 10 has reached RTM ahead of its July 29th launch, and WinBeta is able to confirm that this has indeed happened. In fact, we heard that Windows 10 had been confirmed as hitting RTM on Sunday. The RTM is what Microsoft considers a ready product to begin distributing to the public, and has already began distributing the RTM build to a number of partners and OEMs. Windows Insiders are set to receive the Windows 10 RTM on July 29th, just as it starts rolling out to the public.

Windows 10 has been in development for over a year now, which makes Windows 10’s development the shortest ever development cycle for a major Windows version. The typical development cycle of a major version of Windows is about 3 years, so for Microsoft to get Windows 10 out to the public after only 1 year of development is impressive. Admittedly, a number of features which were slated for RTM are now coming in future updates, but that’s not so bad.

For those interested, the RTM build is 10240. We have a screenshot gallery already up if you want to take a look. We’ll also have a video soon.

Windows 10 will launch on July 29th for free to anyone running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Those looking to purchase a new device with Windows 10 should start seeing those devices on July 29th too.

Windows 10 is set to launch on July 29th, however the final build is already being distributed to Microsoft OEM’s and Partners in preparation of launch day. Of course, as the build get’s into more and more hands outside of Microsoft, screenshots begin to leak. WinBeta has obtained screenshots of what we believe is the Windows 10 RTM.

Although Microsoft has not yet made an official announcement regarding the RTM, build 10240 has passed all of Microsoft’s QA tests. It’s only a matter of time before the company announces that the RTM has been chosen. Until then however, check out these screenshots of build 10240, and let us know what you think below.

Windows 10 launch is just around the corner — set to rock PCs across the globe starting July 29th. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it will hold fan-focused events special events in 13 cities around the world, including Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Dubai, Nairobi, Berlin, Johannesburg, Madrid, London, São Paulo, and New York City, to celebrate the launch of the new operating system. 

The folks at Windows Central received a word from the Redmond-based company regarding the events which will take place on July 29th. It may disappoint some people, but these events will be invite-only. There’s no word on how the invites will be sent out, but Windows Insiders residing in areas near the above-mentioned location should keep an eye on their inboxes. The company’s spokesperson said:

“From the beginning, Windows 10 has been different – built alongside our fans, delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade. Our approach to launch is also different and in support of a more aspirational goal, inspired by Windows 10. You won’t see fancy launch spectacles from Windows – our broader aspiration is to celebrate and empower those who upgrade the world every day. Our events are designed to celebrate our fans. They will offer hands-on opportunities, experiential demo’s, entertainment and opportunities to meet the Windows team. These events will be invite-only, designed for our fans in each market.”

Windows 10 is one of the most highly anticipated operating system releases from Microsoft, especially after Windows 8/8.1 which failed to gain as much user traction as Microsoft may have expected. Furthermore, the company initiated the Windows Insiders program to allow users to get the taste of how the new Windows 10 operating system works, and provide their valuable feedback to help the company polish the operating system before it’s official. The company announced lately that there are over five million Windows Insiders.

Stay tuned to WinBeta to get an extensive coverage of the new operating system once it’s available for users across the globe.

Two new security bugs have been squashed by Microsoft as part of Patch Tuesday, making computing safer for everyone.

The first involved a security flaw in the latest version of Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices. One of the three companies credited with reporting this vulnerability was Vectra Networks, which discovered it through monitoring an online conversation between a security researcher and malware developer Hacker Team regarding the sale of information relating to the flaw.

The second security flaw was discovered by Google’s Project Zero and First Look Media’s Morgan Marquis-Boire who found it in a Hacking Team data dump. The flaw provides a, not so serious, escalation of privileges on a user’s computer but when combined with a separate Flash security flaw, allows for the installation of malware.

Both of these Windows security flaws have now been fixed and have been labelled, CVE-2015-2425 and CVE-2015-2387 by Microsoft respectively. Adobe has also fixed the Flash security bug in addition to several others earlier this week.

Is security something that concerns you? What steps do you take to stay safe?

Barnes & Noble terminated their relationship back in December 2014 and the book giant has now informed its customers that as a result of this termination, the use of Microsoft payment information will no longer work as of the 7th of August 2015 and MS Login will cease to function by the 30th of October 2015.

Barnes & Noble and NOOK users are encouraged to update their information ahead of those deadlines and, if needed, create a new BN.com account which can be linked to any existing Microsoft account information so users can maintain ownership of their purchased books and magazines.

Microsoft’s partnership with Barnes & Noble always had a lot of potential but very little became of it. The two companies even came to blows in a lawsuit related to patented technology. There was speculation that Microsoft would use Barnes & Noble to release their own, Windows branded, e-reader and Microsoft even created their own group called, “Xbox Music, Video, and Reading” but the “Reading” aspect was never really explored.

Would you have liked to see more come from the Barnes & Noble and Microsoft partnership? Share your shattered dreams in the comments below.

Windows 10 is perhaps the biggest and most exciting future release of the Windows operating. It feels completely refreshed, and almost feels completely new. With that, Microsoft wants to create new Windows fans with the launch of a new advertising campaign happening on the day of release of Windows 10, which is expected on July 29. 

Microsoft is hosting several celebrations for its 5 million insiders in 13 cities all over the world including New York, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, and others. The events will give some Insiders the opportunity to test devices hands-on, as well as a possible opportunity to meet the the team behind Windows 10. 

The company is also starting some programs that will help new customers to upgrade to the new operating system. Retailers who are participating in this program include Best Buy, Walmart, Dixons, and others. 

Starting July 20 in the United States, and July 29 everywhere else, Microsoft will also launch a few video and television ads that promote Windows 10 and how it gives a “more human way to do” stuff. The advertisements will be promoting other things such as Windows Hello, which makes unlocking your device as quick and easy as a fingerprint or facial scan, and Microsoft Edge, the company’s brand new web browser. 

The theme of the campaign Microsoft is using is to “Upgrade Your World,” which is the company’s initiative to partner with over 100 nonprofits and help them to “upgrade the world”. In addition, the company will also be helping ten non-profits by investing a total of about $10 million to companies such as Code.org, CARE, Keep a Child Alive, Global Poverty Project, The Nature Conservancy, and a few others. 

For our readers who aren’t familiar with the release strategy of Windows 10, it’ll be a staggered release. Insiders will get it first, and it will eventually become available for OEMs and everyone else.

Certainly there has been some confusion on whether there will be new Windows 10 PCs available for purchase when Windows 10 launches on July 29th. There is still a pre-order page on Dell’s website taking orders for their allegedly Windows 10-ready PCs. There are conflicting reports on whether Microsoft will have PC OEMs out there that will have Windows 10 PCs available for purchase. Microsoft is also not confirming any specific date as to when Windows 10 will become available on the Surface 3 or Surface Pro 3 tablets either.

Microsoft responded to an inquiry by Windows Central:

“As with any Windows launch, we are working quickly to stock shelves with Windows 10 devices, including Surface. While you can expect to see Surface devices running Windows 10 on shelves soon, Windows 8.1 devices still provide an exceptional experience and are easily upgraded to Windows 10 for free. Additionally, all Microsoft Stores have the ability to upgrade new devices to Windows 10 on site.”

While you may not be able to purchase a Windows 10-ready PC, you will likely be able to buy a Surface Pro 3 or Surface 3 and get an on-site upgrade at any Microsoft Store in North America when Windows 10 launches on July 29th. Nevertheless, Microsoft still doesn’t have a concrete date for when Windows 10 will be available on a Surface Pro 3 or Surface 3 without the need to upgrade from Windows 8.1. 

Microsoft is expanding the crash reporting function of Dev Center, allowing Windows and Windows Phone app developers to have quicker access to more detailed set of crash data.

The Dev Center’s new unified dashboard gives app developers more comprehensive crash information that was previously not available and sends the reports to the developer quicker. Before, only crash data associated with a .cab file (a compressed library of files) was shown. But now the new unified Dev Center shows crash data as soon as it is available regardless of whether there is a .cab file for it. The Dev Center also provides a number of new reports, some of which are:

• Total Crashes and Events
• Crash event breakdown – shows hangs, crashes, JavaScript exceptions and/or memory failures by OS version, device type, memory, storage or CPU speed
• Failure by market – shows the failures by market
• Failure log (shown below) – shows the logs that include a .cab file, and displays the stack trace directly in Dev Center, without the need of a .cab file. The percentage of events sampled, displayed above the failure log, indicates the percentage of events that had a .cab collected. Crashes reported by Windows 8.x and Windows Phone have less information than Windows 10 crashes, so reports show the OS version as ‘unknown.’
• Data Export: Health: crashes and events: counts how many events happened of each type of failure
• Data Export: Health: failure log: provides the details for the distinct types of failure, as well as the stack traces

The new reports can be found by going to ‘App overview’ in the Dev Center, in either the ‘Health’ or ‘Download Reports’ options under the ‘Analytics’ menu.

Today’s announcement also highlights a few steps a developer can take with the new Dev Center to start debugging apps and also asks the developer community to let Microsoft know what kind of additional information would be helpful for debugging apps.

A patent has been granted to Microsoft for 3-D touch. We’ve known about Microsoft’s desire to use this technology for over a year but the panted was not granted until recently.

In the not so distant past, Microsoft had plans for a McLaren smartphone with 3-D touch that would let you hover over your screen to perform certain tasks and enter inputs. According to Windows Central, Microsoft still wants to utilize 3-D touch in a smartphone.

The official patent from the US Patent & Trademark Office is rather lengthy but begins with a brief description “Example apparatus and methods concern detecting an angle at which an object is interacting with a hover-sensitive input/output interface.”

The angle detection is likely a key factor here. Being able to identify which way a hand or finger is pointing would be useful, if not required, to make a 3-D touch phone unique. Of course, this is only a patent being granted that we’ve known about before. It could be for a new phone, it could be a patent leftover for the McLaren, or it could be for something else entirely.

Investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs, has reported that they believe Microsoft will report quarterly revenue of $US 22 billion, which is just under the $US 22.1 billion amount previously speculated.

Reasons for the lower profit estimation include the lack of enterprises using Windows 10 and earning Microsoft money through corporate contracts, the relatively low popularity of Windows Server 2003, and a reduced number of enterprises renewing their Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs).

Another factor mentioned for the low expectation was the PC market which had been a major source of income for the company during the last two decades but has now begun to shrink significantly. It wasn’t all bad though. Goldman Sachs reports that the cloud-based, Microsoft Office 365 shows particular promise and is doing fairly well, though admits its success isn’t great enough to make up for deficits in other areas.

It will be interesting to see how next year’s report reads as the launch of Windows 10 later this month is sure to shake up things up quite a bit in several sections of Microsoft’s business. Do you see Microsoft becoming more successful over the next year or do you expect the company’s profits to decline even more? Share your opinions with us in the comments.

Microsoft has confirmed that it won’t have an official presence at this year’s Tokyo Game Show though hints at the possibility of an alternate format for delivering news and information on the brand to its local consumers via another method or event to be announced at a later date.

While it’s well known that Microsoft’s Xbox One console is often outsold by Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s WiiU, any speculation that Microsoft’s absence from the Tokyo Game Show is a sign of the company’s withdrawal from Japan is premature. Despite being one of the largest gaming events in Japan, the Tokyo Game Show has nowhere near the equivalent popularity of North America’s E3. Also, companies that are remarkably successful in Japan, such as Nintendo, have never had an official presence at the show either, so involvement with the show shouldn’t be overanalysed as a sign of strength or weakness. There’s also the fact that this isn’t the first time Microsoft has refrained from appearing at the Tokyo Game Show in an official capacity and the company could always return for future shows (as they have done numerous times in the past).

It will be a shame to not see Microsoft at the Tokyo Game Show this year. Their 2014 presence was one of the strongest they’ve ever had and their section of the show floor became very popular with both the press and public visitors.

Tokyo Game Show is similar to E3 but is much smaller in scale. While E3’s main attraction is its massive press conferences where companies reveal new hardware, software and services, Tokyo Game Show features more technical presentations for developers and businessmen and women in the video game industry that offer very little in the way of breaking news and are more for making industry connections than advertising. Any news revealed at the show is often shown to press during one-on-one or small group interviews with game developers and is much more low-key than many Western presentations.

It should be noted that while Microsoft will not be having an official company presence at 2015’s Tokyo Game Show, there will still be plenty of Windows and Xbox One games on display due to the numerous game developers attending.

Microsoft recently reaffirmed their commitment to Japan during a small press conference last month which formally introduced Microsoft Japan’s new Vice President, Takuya Hirano. During his talk to the Japanese press, Takuya Hirano expressed his excitement for the upcoming launch of Windows 10 in Japan and also mentioned the Microsoft Band and HoloLens, both of which have yet to be given any specific launch window for the Japanese market.

What do you think about Microsoft’s strategy for the Xbox One in Japan? Do you think Microsoft taking a year off from the Tokyo Game Show was a bad decision or do you think they could find success in an alternate presentation model, much like Nintendo did with their internet presentations after their withdraw from E3 a few years back? Let us know in the comments below.

With much of the massive Windows 10 development in the rear view mirror for Microsoft, now comes the time to sell its vision of computing to the masses. Selling Windows 10 to the public may prove to be a difficult endeavor after the reception Windows 8 received. Hopefully, this time around, Microsoft’s partners will offer the needed push to help Windows 10 wash away the dirt that became associated with Windows 8. PC manufacturers found it increasingly difficult to celebrate the virtues of Windows 8. Aside from touchscreen options, the OS offered little in the way of feature differentiation for hardware makers. Perhaps, Windows 8’s additional input method should have been enough. However, for a market that swelled with stagnation for so long, Windows 8 offered little to curb the trend.

While Windows 10 is being viewed as a return to more ‘traditional’ computing on PCs, the retooled OS will come with some bells and whistle, hardware manufacturers will be able to champion with new devices. Among the new features accessible to partners is the integrated digital assistant Cortana in Windows 10. There are reports of PC manufacturers designing brand specific implementations and interactions to help users engage with the service more.

At IFA 2015, OEMs will be able to showcase their integration of Windows 10 on their devices. OEMs will now be able to choose how they showcase Cortana, Windows Hello, a retooled tablet interface, fingerprint authentication support, virtual desktops, and other applications and service bundled into Windows 10. Nick Parker, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President responsible for device partnerships will take the stage at IFA in Berlin on September 4th to talk about ‘new devices’ for Windows 10. Parker’s keynote is titled ‘Windows 10 Lights up New Devices,” and should discuss Windows 10 on 2-in-1s, premium notebooks, gaming devices and all-in-ones. 

While Microsoft has been withdrawn from the IFA conference the past couple of years, its Windows presence has remained. However, this year, Microsoft is making a personal appearance at the conference to help celebrate Windows 10 alongside the OEMs that will help shape the adoption of the new OS. It should also be noted, while Microsoft is “committed” to bringing flagship Windows 10 mobile devices to market, IFA will probably not be the place they announce them. Perhaps, other phone OEMs will finally step up and make an appearance for the Windows 10 mobile effort. However, phones with Windows 10 Mobile at IFA seem unlikely, as the Windows 10 team is still hard at work at finalizing the code.

Today at the World Partner Conference, Bromium announced a new technical partnership with Microsoft to ensure Bromium’s micro-virtualization security solutions are supported in Windows 10.

A company’s data is only as safe as the threats on the end user’s computer. When an employee clicks that suspicious link or downloads something they shouldn’t, the entire organization can be exposed to unwanted malware. To protect against the inevitable accidental click by an employee, Bromium introduced its unique endpoint security solution called micro-virtualization to isolate threats through virtualization of a device’s hardware so malware can’t infect a system of spread into an entire network.

Now with this new technical partnership, Bromium will be bring its micro-virtualization security solution to Windows 10 to help companies keep their systems and networks safe.

Ian Pratt, CEO and Co-founder of Bromium stated:

“Our strategic partnership with Microsoft is centered on a common technology heritage and a shared goal of hardening the endpoint to prevent enterprise breaches. This partnership validates micro-virtualization as a foundation for future desktop security and assures Bromium’s security products are compatible and complementary to Microsoft’s efforts to enhance security in Windows. Microsoft and Bromium together make Windows endpoints secure, defeating attacks by design and delivering real-time threat insights. We are proud to be working closely with Microsoft to help end the era of enterprise breaches.”

With Windows 10 set to introduce a number of new security features, notably Windows Hello, which hopes to kill off the dreaded password in favor of biometric logins, the newly announced support for Bromium will give companies more control and choice of how they keep their data secure.

Businesses and customers purchasing the new Surface Hub will have to wait longer than initially expected. The original shipping date was September 1, 2015 but that has been pushed back. No new date was specific but more details are on the way. The Surface Hub is a highly anticipated device within business circles and according to a blog post by Microsoft its popularity has required Microsoft to adjust their manufacturing process.

“Based on the early interest we see, we’re tuning our manufacturing process to prepare for production at broader scale. To do this, we are adjusting our product roll-out schedule to ensure we deliver a great customer experience and set our partners up for success. We will not start shipping on September 1 now.”

Surface GM Brian Hall added that they will “continue to take pre-orders” while they alter the manufacturing process.

The aim of the device is to help users collaborate. It has multi pen support, 55” and 84” models, works well with other devices, and is designed to facilitate collaboration in meetings. Some features of the Surface Hub were shown off at today’s Worldwide Partner Conference.

In addition to the announcement of the shipping delay, the blog post also states that Microsoft is increasing the number of partners that sell and service Surface devices from “a few hundred” to “a few thousand” around the world. It directs potential partners to the Microsoft Partner Network Device Partner Portal.

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft talks about the Surface line as a single brand in this post. They mention the Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, and the Surface Hub. This makes sense based on the naming convention that Microsoft chose to go with regarding the Surface Hub but also indicates that Microsoft is committed to selling the brand across multiple device lines.

On July 29, Windows 10 is set to debut worldwide in 190 countries as a free upgrade. Windows 10, in my honest opinion, will be the best Windows ever, and is made possible through the user feedback of millions of users. As part of the new Upgrade Your World initiative, Microsoft will be partnering with 10 global and 100 local non-profits to help spread Windows 10 across the world. Windows 10 is built to empower people to do great things. It has new innovations like Cortana, Microsoft Edge and the new and improved Xbox app.

When Windows 10 is available on July 29, Microsoft will look to deliver a smooth upgrade for the 5 million Windows Insiders that helped shape Windows 10. Microsoft will host global fan celebrations, join thousands of retailers to help customers upgrade to Windows 10, and push a new global advertising campaign through online content. The new year-long initiative, called Upgrade Your World, will work with global charities and companies that help and try to make a positive influence by helping others throughout the globe.

As part of the Upgrade Your World initiative, Microsoft announced nine of the global nonprofits: CARE, Code.org, Keep a Child Alive, Malala Fund, Pencils of Promise, Save the Children, Special Olympics, The Global Poverty Project, and The Nature Conservancy. Starting on July 29th, Microsoft will invite people across the globe to vote for the 10th global nonprofit to participate. 

Special Windows 10 events will take place in 13 cities around the world, including Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Dubai, Nairobi, Berlin, Johannesburg, Madrid, London, Sao Paolo, and New York City. These celebrations will offer a hands-on look at Windows 10 exclusive features, experimental demos, entertainment, and a chance to meet with members of the Windows 10 team. Microsoft Stores will celebrate the launch of Windows 10 in more than 110 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. 

Microsoft is looking to hear about the big and small things that people are doing to make a positive impact in their community and how they spread their inspiration in helping people in need throughout the world. On July 29th, Microsoft invites everyone to share their stories through #UpgradeYourWorld on Twitter.

The Windows 10 celebration is sure to be epic; whether it be at a whether at a fan celebration event, at a retail store, or through sharing stories online through #UpgradeYourWorld. Don’t forget to register for your copy of WIndows 10 on Windows.com!