Microsoft readies up Windows 10 for better compatibility with older software

'Crowd-sourced' nature of OS development spells high hopes, says Microsoft

Microsoft says it expects Windows 10 to pose fewer significant compatibility issues with older Windows applications than previous versions of the operating system, as it readies Windows 10 for release on 29 July.

Microsoft senior product manager Ian Moulster told Computing that Microsoft has worked hard to encourage people to embrace Windows 10 on launch day.

"We definitely want people to upgrade as soon as possible - that's good news for us," he stated.

"And it's been out a while - more so than any other previous version has - with the Insider approach," he added, describing the method of pulling in feedback from both consumer and enterprise communities to report bugs or request new features.

As a result, Moulster said he expects a higher level of compatibility with legacy applications, as Computing asked whether we would see less significant compatibility issues at Windows 10 launch, compared to Windows 8 or anything before it.

"My expectation is there won't be, as because it's been running for so long on so many devices and we've had so much feedback and so on, we should find we've caught things that otherwise would only have been caught on release in the past."

But Moulster was happy to add a disclaimer:

"I don't think anyone would want to claim there'd be no bugs ever," he told Computing.

At the same time, Moulster spoke of a healthy base of UK enterprise organisations who are plugged directly into a feedback scheme with Microsoft and the Windows 10 team.

"We've got enterprises on an enterprise release that we're working with directly - big names, and a reasonable list in both the UK and the wider world," he confirmed.

Have you been working with Windows 10 preview versions on a daily basis to ‘drive' important work? What have you discovered? What are your favourite or least favourite features? Feel free to dive into the conversation in the comments section below.