Windows 10 public reveal set for January 21

Microsoft has confirmed the rumors and has sent out invites to a special event where it promises it will reveal ‘The Next Chapter.’

Big businesses have already had a glimpse of what might be coming that's aimed directly at them, but this showcase, which will be live-streamed over the web from the company's Redmond headquarters, promises to focus just on the features that consumers, rather than enterprise users will care about.

And hopes are high that frustrating elements of Windows 8 and 8.1 will have been reworked or replaced.

As well as hopefully confirming that the Start Button has been reinstated to the operating system and that consumers without a touchscreen device will be able to boot directly to desktop while those using a hybrid device capable of switching between keyboard input and touchscreen mode, one of the standout strands of the demonstration is expected to be how well the new operating system works across everything from PCs to Windows smartphones and the Xbox.

Convergence and continuity between different devices is one of the biggest trends in consumer technology, as demonstrated by efforts of Apple and Google in recent months.