Windows 10 is not just another release. Microsoft is introducing a concept it calls “Windows as a service,” which means that the operating system will be continuously updated, though with options for businesses to move at a slow pace in order to retain stability.

Windows 10 is Microsoft’s second attempt at moving its core operating system into the mobile era. Windows 8, released in late 2012, was a bold re-imagining of Windows that divided the system into two personalities, one that was a new touch-friendly environment originally called Metro, and the other the traditional desktop. Metro is powered by a runtime layer called the Windows Runtime (WinRT), for which apps are written using the .NET languages (C# or Visual Basic), HTML and JavaScript, or C++.