Microsoft Reveals Plans for Windows 10 Launch Events
As the July 29 Windows 10 release draws near, Microsoft today revealed its plans to debut the new operating system. The company will kick off a TV ad blitz next week (July 20) and planned events at its retail and third-party stores.
Microsoft is also planning "special events" at 13 of its stores throughout the world on the launch day including Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, New Delhi, Dubai, Nairobi, Berlin, Johannesburg, Madrid, London, Sao Paolo and New York City. Among the major retail chains participating include Best Buy, Bic Camera, Croma, Currys/PC World, Elkjøp, Jarrir, Incredible Connection, Media Markt, Staples, Wal-Mart, Yamada, Yodobashi and others, Microsoft said.
As part of its promotional campaign called "Upgrade Your World," Microsoft will showcase those who use Windows 10. The company is also contributing $10 million to 10 global and 100 local nonprofit organizations to promote awareness of their causes, Microsoft said. They include 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.
The launch event and ad campaign is largely targeted at consumers but the announcement was conveniently timed with Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference, which CEO Satya Nadella, Windows and Devices Chief Terry Myerson and other key executives kicked off with the opening keynote session. In talking about Windows 10, Nadella emphasized major new security features that enable IT to encrypt and manage access to all business data and separate it from personal information. Nadella took the stage reminding its vast partner base of the principal on which Microsoft was founded: bringing personal computers to mainstream business and home users.
It'll become more personal thanks to Continuum, which will bring a common Windows platform to all types of devices from sensors and phones to tablets, PCs and large conferencing rooms. "We are going to have this one unified platform, and that to me is a key differentiator of what Windows stands for," Nadella said in his WPC keynote.
Also critical extensions to Windows 10 will include the Cortana digital assistant and HoloLens, which will bring 3D user experiences to consumer and business environments.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 07/13/2015 at 2:37 PM