Downloading the Windows 10 technical preview? You won’t be able to use it past two weeks after April Fool’s day next year. That’s jolly, because the consumer-facing preview that will follow the current build will be out long before then.
But it’s worth keeping in mind: Microsoft is working towards a mid-year release of Windows 10, so the April date is in within that range, but doesn’t mean altogether too much on its own. You could speculate that the operating system likely won’t come out before that date, but at some point you leave the arena of reasonable speculation and start talking to yourself.
You can snag the new code here.
I’ve been ruminating on the Windows 10 name since its announcement yesterday, and have decided to call the operating system Windows Air Gap — the company couldn’t just go to 9 because it needed to go to 11, so it went to 10 so it could shoot to be over 9,000. That, I think, highlights precisely how far from Windows 8 Microsoft is walking, even as it keeps large quantities of the its current Windows platform in place.
What is new is old and the old is new and let’s 10, in other words. But upgrade to the consumer preview before April 15, or you’ll be in trouble.