One of the important consequences of Microsoft's new approach to updating Windows is that the company can deliver iterative, incremental improvements. This process has started already with the Windows 10 Technical Preview, and today at TechEd Europe in Barcelona, the company showed a few more small changes that will be coming soon.
Two improvements were demonstrated, and, in keeping with past work on Windows 10, they were designed to make the desktop experience better. The Aero Snap feature introduced in Windows 7 that enables side-by-side docking of desktop windows is being made better on multi-monitor systems.
In Windows 7 and 8, dragging windows with the mouse only supports snapping at the extreme screen edges; the internal edges between monitors don't "catch" the dragged windows (though the keyboard shortcuts can still be used to snap on all monitors). In Windows 10, snapping with the mouse will work on every monitor, making it much easier to snap on multimonitor systems.
Trackpad shortcuts have also been improved, with the addition of a range of 3-finger swipe gestures. Three finger swiping left and right will alt-tab between windows, and swiping up and down will hide and restore windows.
Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore also told TechEd Europe attendees that Windows 10 would support upgrade installations from Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and up, though pricing remains unknown; conjecture that the operating system will be free remains rife.
Belfiore also said that the Continuum feature, which makes Windows 10 change the way it acts on hybrid systems, will ship in a preview update soon; possibly before the end of the year, or failing that, early in 2015.
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