This isn't just another Windows launch.
Later this week, when Microsoft unveils the latest Windows 10 preview release at an all-day event in its Redmond headquarters, it will be following a well-worn playbook. But the expectations for this version are impossibly high, especially after the lukewarm (to put it kindly) reception for Windows 8.
One of the biggest challenges for Windows is that it has to serve two wildly different customer bases. One is the conservative IT community, which wants centralized management capabilities for fleets of PCs running business applications. The other is a consumer market that has become conditioned to rapid change and is increasingly shifting its attention in recent years to mobile devices.
The Windows 10 technical preview released last fall was aimed squarely at enterprise customers, bringing back the Start menu and allowing sandboxed Windows Store apps to run in windows instead of full screen. This week's update should be much more focused on consumer devices and services.
Here's what I'll be looking for in Redmond on Wednesday.