On Monday, Microsoft confirmed that the new Windows 10 will be available July 29 in 190 countries.

Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade to people using Windows 7 and Windows 8.1,1.

"Windows 10 is a new generation of Windows designed to empower you to do great things," said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Microsoft. "Windows 10 starts to deliver on our vision of more personal computing, defined by trust in how we protect and respect your personal information, mobility of the experience across your devices, and natural interactions with your Windows devices, including speech, touch, ink and holograms."

Here is how Windows 10 distribution will work. Starting today, users can "reserve"Windows 10 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices. The new OS will be downloaded once available and the users will be notified in order to manually install it.

All Pro/Ultimate versions of Windows 7 and 8.1 will get upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, while all other versions of desktop/tablet Windows will get upgraded to Windows 10 Home. Windows Phone 8.1 devices will upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, but the mobile OSwill be released at a later date.

Windows 10 brings back the Start menu people know while enabling them to easily find their files, pinned applications and favorites. Windows 10 starts fast, resumes fast and helps enable batteries to last longer. The new OS includes Windows Hello, Microsoft Passport and Windows Defender for anti-malware protection, and a commitment to deliver free, ongoing security updates for the supported lifetime of the device. Optimized for both keyboard and touch, the Windows 10 upgrade is designed to be compatible with Windows devices and applications.

Cortana, a personal digital assistant, helps people get things done across all their devices. Cortana learns individual preferences to provide relevant recommendations, access to information and important reminders via talking or typing. Windows Hello greets people by name and lets them log in to their PC without a password ? providing instant, more secure access to their Windows 10 devices through biometric authentication. Windows 10 also lets people interact with their device via the traditional mouse and keyboard or through more natural ways such as voice, pen or gesture.

Microsoft Edge, the all-new browser, offers built-in inking, sharing and reading view. With Cortana integrated, Microsoft Edge offers quick results and content based on individual interests and preferences.

In addition to the Office 2016 full-featured desktop suite,4 new Universal Windows applications for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook will offer a consistent, touch experience across a range of devices. Designed from the ground up to run on Windows 10 and people can create and edit Word documents and deliver PowerPoint presentations while annotating on the fly. With new touch-first controls in Excel, people can create or update spreadsheets without a keyboard or mouse.

Continuum enables devices to transform, enabling transitions of a tablet into a PC, and back ? and for a Windows phone to become like a PC. Xbox on Windows 10 brings the Xbox Live gaming network to both Windows 10 PCs and tablets. People can communicate with their friends on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One while playing any PC game and share content using Game DVR. People can also stream games directly from their Xbox One console to a Windows 10 tablet or PC in their homes. Games developed for DirectX 12 in Windows 10 will see improvements in speed, efficiency and graphics capability.

On July 29, people can get Windows 10 for PCs and tablets by taking advantage of the free upgrade offer, or on new Windows 10 devices. New Windows 8.1 devices will also upgrade to Windows 10, and many retail stores will help upgrade new devices.