New Windows 10 upgrade benefits for Windows Cloud Subscriptions in CSP
We’re excited to announce that customers with Windows subscriptions via the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program can now upgrade their Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs and devices to Windows 10 at no additional cost.
This means customers subscribed to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 as well as Secure Productive Enterprise E3 and E5, can now upgrade their Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs and devices to Windows 10 without the need to purchase separate upgrade licenses.
This is an important benefit addition to Windows cloud subscriptions in CSP as it enables customers who have yet to purchase a new Windows 10 device, or who missed out on the free upgrade to Windows 10 campaign, to take advantage of enterprise-grade security, managed by a trusted partner, for the price of coffee and a donut.
In order to take advantage of this new upgrade benefit, tenant admins for customers with Windows cloud subscriptions can log in to the Office 365 Admin center http://portal.office.com with their Azure Active Directory admin credentials and see options to begin the upgrade on the device they are currently using, share the download link with others in their organization, create installation media or troubleshoot installation.
The Windows 10 upgrade licenses issued as part of this process are perpetual and associated with the device. This means the license will not expire or be revoked if the customer chooses to end their Windows cloud subscription in the CSP program.
The new upgrade benefits are rolling out now and tenant admins with Windows subscriptions in CSP should start to see Windows 10 upgrade options and links in their Office 365 Admin center over the next 48 hours.
We hope these new Windows 10 upgrade benefits will better enable businesses of any size – including those with PCs and devices still on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 – to work with a trusted partner to upgrade to enterprise-grade security and management with flexible, small business pricing from just $7 per user, per month.
Microsoft announced back in October that Windows 10 had surpassed 110 million installations worldwide, which for October was an impressive achievement. But that was over 3 months ago, and since 2015 is coming to a close, we thought now was probably a good time to check in on that install count. Last time I checked, 120 million was the number.
According to my contacts, Windows 10 has now been installed on over 200 million devices worldwide.
Windows 10 was released to the public exactly 5 months ago today, meaning the operating system has averaged around 40 million new installs a month. That’s pretty impressive, but when you factor in Microsoft pushing Windows 10 for free straight from the desktops of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, it’s not all too surprising.
So with 2015 at a close, Microsoft has 200 million installations in the bag. 200 million thanks to people upgrading for free, Windows Insiders testing new builds, and holiday buyers purchasing new PCs and tablets for their loved ones. Still, the company is a fair way away from their goal of 1 billion devices in three years, but I’m pretty hopeful that they will reach their goal.
Source: http://www.winbeta.org/news/as-2015-comes-to-a-close-windows-10-surpasses-200-million-installs
Windows 10 Is Faster Out of the Gate Than Windows 7 by Keith Ward
By Keith Ward, Windows Expert as written on Windows.about.com
How well has Windows 10 done since its release on July 29? Well enough that it's been more popular than the much-beloved Windows 7 during the same time frame.
"Windows 10 came out of the traps much faster than Windows 8 and also exceeded the launch of Windows 7," Aodhan Cullen, CEO of web analytics company StatCounter, said in a press release. The release showed that in its first full month of release -- August -- Windows 10 had worldwide usage of 4.9 percent.
By comparison, Windows 7 stood at 4.1 percent after its first full month. To probably no one's surprised, the disliked Windows 8 had just 1 percent of usage after its first month.
U.S., U.K. Strength
In the United States, those stats are a little rosier. A chart in the same press release shows that Windows 10 has 5.64 percent market share for usage, compared to 4.3 percent in the U.S.
for Windows 7 just after its release. And in the U.K., things are even brighter: 8.45 percent of users are on Windows 10, essentially double that for Windows 7 in the same time period, which was in use by 4.34 percent.
Windows 7 was released to the public on Oct. 22, 2009, so the first full month of usage would have been November 2009. Windows 8 was released on Oct. 26, 2012. The comparison with Windows 7 is the most relevant one, since Windows 10 appears to be closer to that operating system's trajectory and acceptance by the public.
Windows 7: Still King of the Hill
According to another web analytics company, Netmarketshare, Windows 7 still dominates in terms of the total market, with more than 57 percent of the world using it.
Windows XP, which refuses to die even though it's no longer supported by Microsoft, is next at just over 12 percent. Windows 8.1 -- the follow-up to Windows 8, which has done better but is still generally frowned upon -- is in third place at slightly more than 11 percent. Windows 10 is fourth at 5.21 percent (as we're now in the third week of September, and the figures at the top of the story stopped in August).
(It's interesting to note that Windows 10, which has been out less than two months, is already more popular than the Mac operating system, OS X, which is many years old. This isn't a commentary on Mac computers, which are very good, but instead a sign of the strength of the Windows brand.)
Free Is Good
What accounts for the strong showing by Windows 10? Well, to start with, it's a free upgrade (for the first year). It's the first time users didn't have to pay to install a new version of Windows, and that is undoubtedly a huge factor -- although how big is impossible to say.
The other critical reason is that Windows 10 has gotten a tremendous amount of positive press. That's important because even though it's free, people would be very cautious to upgrade if it was viewed harshly by the press and the rest of the Internet. Consider the cases of Windows Vista and Windows 8; they were pilloried by the media when they came out, and would have likely tanked even if they were free (in Vista's case, as I've pointed out, it ranked very high on one magazine's list of all-time tech flops.)
The Crystal Ball
Do these strong numbers mean that Windows 10 will eventually be as popular (or even more so) than perennial favorites Windows XP and Windows 7? No, they don't. We're in the computing age when Windows is competing with Apple and Android for devices, and Windows will be just another player, rather than the whole game. But it is good for Microsoft to see that the public is reacting favorably to its newest -- and likely last (named) -- operating system.
Source: http://windows.about.com/od/Windows-10/fl/Windows-10-Is-Faster-Out-of-the-Gate-Than-Windows-7.htm
Who doesn’t love the view of the beautiful northern night light?
This theme is a collection of some of the best wallpapers showing the epic scenery of Auroras and it all brings it to your Windows 10 desktop in the form of this theme.
India is a land of diversity and you will find all sorts of beautiful sceneries. The South Indian beaches of India are one of the best beaches you will see around the world. There is a beauty in the chaos at the beaches of South India.
You can have that calmness and scenery on your desktop as well using this theme.
Who doesn’t like a nice green and beautiful footpath. A calm and a brisk walk on one such path will refresh your day and make you totally stressfree!
This theme has images of various green paths, wooden staircases, forest lanes and trails and they are all beautiful.
There are total of 20 different images in the theme that you can use as a wallpaper. Beautiful images from the waterscapes of Cornish seaside, Cumbrian lakes, and Northumbrian coast and more are included in this theme.
Take a look at the beautiful sceneries of Yosemite, California through the lenses of the famous photographer Ingo Scholtes.
How to apply themes in Windows 10?
Windows 10 hasn’t changed much when it comes to the core functionality. Microsoft has just polished it to make it a better OS for both PC as well as mobile devices.
Downloading and install Windows 10 themes is not anything you should worry about. Just make sure you follow the steps I have mentioned in the procedures section below and you will have a new theme applied on your Windows 10 desktop in no time at all and this is a very easy process that you can follow.
Procedure to apply themes on Windows 10
•We have linked to each and every theme we have mentioned above.
•To download the theme, just click on the title of the theme and it will open a link into a new window.
•Now you will see a page that looks like the page we have embedded below. Take a look.
•Click the button that reads Download theme.
•The theme will be downloaded in some time and it might take some time depending on the size of theme that you are downloading.
•After the theme is downloaded, just double click and open the downloaded file and you will see that the Personalization window will open up.
•You can set the theme from here and you can also change the wallpapers.
•You can also change the color scheme of the theme if you wish to.
You will be able to watch Apple’s upcoming event live using Microsoft Edge only in Windows 10
Apple just announced its upcoming event, where the company is expected to release the next iPhone. Now, if you’re a Windows 10 user, you’ll be glad to know that you’ll finally be able to watch Apple’s event without using any media player like VLC. Yep, Apple has added support for Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 – the company’s live event page states:
Requirements: Live streaming uses Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology. HLS requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with Safari on iOS 7.0 or later, a Mac with Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later, or a PC with Edge on Windows 10. Streaming via Apple TV requires a second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.
If you’re planning to watch the company’s upcoming event, you’ll now be able to watch it “officially” using Microsoft Edge on Windows 10. To be honest, this is kind of surprising as the company didn’t allow Windows users (and Android users) to watch their live streams.
For those wondering, the company’s upcoming event is on September 9 at 10 a.m PDT.
Alongside a new security update for Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, Microsoft released a new cumulative update for Windows 10. The company has released KB3081436, KB890830, KB3087916 and KB2267602. All of the latest updates focus on bug fixes, but mainly security patches.
For those wondering, KB890830 introduces a new update for the Windows Malicious Software Removable Tool, while KB3087916 introduces a security update for Internet Explorer Flash Player. To get the latest update, you’ll need to head over to Settings>Update & Security. However, if you’ve automatic updates enabled, Windows should automatically download these soon.
Windows 10 is officially out. It’s the biggest update to Windows in years and represents a number of new directions for Microsoft’s premier software product. Windows 10 replaces Windows 8 and 8.1, and serves to attract those Windows 7 users that never bothered to update to Windows 8. There are a host of new features in Windows 10, ranging from updated interfaces to new apps and services. For all of our in-depth thoughts on the new platform, be sure to check out our full review.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the new platform is that you don’t have to pay for it, so long as you already have Windows 8 or Windows 7. But if you’re looking for a reason or two to update your current Windows 8 machine or aging Windows 7 box, here are the top new features in Windows 10 that might make you want to.
Interested in learning more about Windows 10?
Join Managed Solution at one of our Windows 10 Roadshow events for a demonstration on the new features and mingle with industry experts! Click on a Local Roadshow Location to REGISTER:
Tuesday, August 4, 2015 - Irvine, California
Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - Los Angeles, California
Friday, August 7, 2015 - Scottsdale, Arizona
Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - San Diego, California
Windows 10 was unveiled in September with a plan for a new era of Windows. Windows was created to empower people and organizations to do great things. The vision was one platform, one store, and one experience that extends across the broadest range of devices from the smallest screens to the largest screens to no screens at all.
From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique – built with feedback from five million Windows Insiders, delivered as a service with ongoing innovations and security updates, and offered as a free upgrade* to genuine Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 customers.
Windows 10 is available in 190 countries today. The launch of Windows 10 is being celebrated around the world with global fan celebrations and a new yearlong initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a difference around the world. We’d love to hear how you plan to help #UpgradeYourWorld. Starting today, you can vote for a global nonprofit to receive a cash donation by simply tagging their social handle and using #UpgradeYourWorld and #vote on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. More information on Upgrade Your World can be found at http://www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld.
Windows 10: The Best Windows Ever.
