Microsoft introduced its user preview of Windows 10 on January 23 in Redmond, WA, merging the Windows 8 style with the more familiar Windows 7 navigation.

“Windows 7 is a pretty good operating system… but maybe the organization could be a bit better; maybe some of the icons could be more modernized,” said Ronald Beck, Academic Computer Science teacher.

Microsoft revamped the Start screen to fit into the corner like the classic Start menu of Windows 7. The Live Tiles of the Windows 8 Start screen have also been relocated to the Start menu, making everything accessible from the desktop window.

Perhaps the best thing about Windows 10 is the price: free. For one year after being released, all computers running Windows 7 or Windows 8 will be offered a free update to Windows 10. However, if users wait until the one year is up, you’ll have to pay an unknown upgrade fee.

“Microsoft thinks it’s the last OS that it’s going to put out, which I laugh at,” junior Kutub Gandhi said.

While it doesn’t come out until late 2015, the school district faces a choice: will they upgrade the standard Windows 7 computers to Windows 10?

“I’m sure we will upgrade to Windows 10,” said Ryan Leblanc, Katy ISD field engineer. “I’m just not sure when the district plans on it.”

The main thing Windows 10 offers to students is the newest version of Microsoft Office, Office 2016. While it comes with minimal changes, one big change is the ability to work with other users on the same documents at the same time, a feature also found on Google Drive. Teachers can write on PowerPoint slides while they present, providing unique teaching opportunities that can increase students’ understanding of a topic.

“The students would have access to a more updated operating system, which would give them an advantage when they go onto college and into the real world that a lot of people will not have,” said Ronald Beck, Academic Computer Science teacher.

The new operating system comes with an assortment of new features, such as Cortana, the Windows equivalent of Siri, and an all-new browser, called Spartan. Spartan, while not replacing Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, functions as a revamped version of IE. Users can write on, comment on and share websites with others. Microsoft is also creating a new way to log into your device with your fingerprint, eyes or face.

“It’s just going to be faster,” junior Nicholas Quattrone said.