Windows 10 consumer reveal tipped for January

It looks as if the New Year is going to start with the return of the Start Button.

It looks as if the New Year is going to start with the return of the Start Button.

That's because Microsoft is gearing up for the first official consumer demonstration of Windows 10; an operating system that promises to banish all of the things that people hated about Windows 8.

According to The Verge, Microsoft is set to host a large-scale event scheduled for the end of January and it is set to cover not just PCs and notebooks, but also how Windows 10 will improve the way smartphones, tablets and the Xbox One work.

Developers have already had a taste of Windows 10's capabilities and the most interesting and innovative new feature is something called Continuum.

It's a smart user interface that will automatically change based on what the user is doing. So, if the device is being used like a desktop computer -- keyboard and mouse -- it has the classic Windows feel, but lay a finger on the touch screen or, if it's a 2-in-1 device, remove the display from the keyboard, and everything instantly switches into a touchscreen input mode.

Windows 10 is also going to work across the whole ecosystem of Microsoft devices. The January event will be the clearest indication yet of how easy it will be to share documents or tasks across PCs and mobile devices.