The Windows 10 Review: The Old & New Face of Windows
by Brett Howse on August 25, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
More Desktop Changes
One of the goals of Windows 10 is to entice Windows 7 users to migrate to the new operating system. The additions we’ve seen already to the traditional mouse and keyboard interface have already been substantial, and should make most Windows 7 users comfortable. But they are not the only changes to the desktop. There is a little bit for everyone, both casual users and enthusiasts alike, so lets check out some more of the new features of Windows 10’s desktop.
Windows 8 changed up Windows Explorer, and brought in the ribbon menu. Office 2007 was the first Microsoft program to move from the file menu to the ribbon menu, and while it was controversial at the time, it is now very familiar. Moving Windows Explorer to a ribbon menu made it both easier to use with touch, as well as exposing settings and features that may have been tucked away in a submenu before. Windows 10 evolves this. Opening up Windows Explorer now greets you with a list of files you have recently accessed in the main pane. The thinking is that when you go to Explorer, you are likely looking for something you’ve used before. I won’t dispute the logic, but I prefer to see the computer view myself. Luckily it’s an easy option to change by clicking File->Change folder and search options. What I do like though is the Quick Access feature in Windows Explorer, which gives you – you guessed it – quick access to folders that are used a lot. The system will automatically add folders you go to frequently which is kind of great for discoverability, and you can add or remove any folder here. I have found it very useful, and since it is also built into the file picker for saving files, it makes it easy to get where I want to go when saving files.
Another nice feature to come to Windows Explorer is the Share contract. Windows 8 introduced contracts, which allow apps to communicate with one another over dedicated protocols, and adding it to Windows Explorer is a great way to expand them from the tablet style apps to the desktop. Share was likely the most useful contract, and I was always disappointed that the Windows 8 Charms did not offer any functionality on the desktop, so this is a great addition.
There are also small changes which improve Windows 10 over Windows 8. Things like having drop shadows back. Windows 8 went for a very flat UI, and it was clean looking but the lack of depth was not very useful with multiple windows open. Adding drop shadows back give the subtle definition around windows to make them stand out a bit more.
One of my favorite features that has come to Windows 10 is the ability to scroll an inactive window. Prior to Windows 10, and assuming you were not running a third party utility which enabled this, in order to scroll a window you had to first select it. Now, you can just move your mouse over any open window and use the scroll wheel to move whatever window you are over. You can do this on windows that are buried three or four deep – as long as you can see some of it you can scroll it. It is great when you are referencing a PDF or site, and writing at the same time, since you can continue to type while scrolling around in your reference document. For those that think this is insane, yes, you can turn it off.
Windows 8 seemed to signal that Microsoft was looking to a future past the desktop. There were some nice changes brought to the Windows 8 desktop but they were overshadowed by the changes brought in by the touch-first UI. With Windows 10, Microsoft is not only trying to bring back the focus on the desktop, they have added a lot of great features as well which should certainly entice users of both Windows 7 and 8.1 to want to switch.
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Rickkins1 - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Well of course they do. The entire business model of windows10 relies on the gathering of data relentlessly to serve up ads.Lerianis - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Well great, because Windows 10 does not keylog either, ddriver. That whole "Windows 10 keylogs!" thing was debunked after someone realized that the 'keylogger' was for Touch Keyboard improvements.Touch Keyboard SHOULD be keylogged so that they can find out if it needs improvements.
Brett Howse - Wednesday, August 26, 2015 - link
If you go through and click express settings during install, this is all going to be turned on. If you do custom, which I assume anyone as concerned as you are would do, you can disable almost all of this during install, and the remainder can be disabled in settings.The one exception to this is diagnostic data which can't be completely disabled.
There seems to be a lot of confusion in the comments where people are overlaying Microsoft's Services EULA with the Windows 10 EULA and maybe I should have spelled that out better in the privacy section. They are not the same thing, and using Windows 10 does not mean Microsoft has access to your local files. If you use OneDrive, of course they do.
The Privacy FAQ that I linked to in the privacy section actually does a very good job of explaining all of this data, what it does, and what it is used for. If you will never move beyond Windows 7 because of this, well then honestly it's your loss because there are a pile of great features in Windows 10 that I already don't want to live without. But my guess is you don't run your own email server with PGP encryption, so your email is already in the cloud.
This is not 1995 anymore when Windows 95 came out. People use cloud services already. Windows 10 ties into them, which is what most people want. If you don't want that, you are not forced to use them.
althaz - Thursday, August 27, 2015 - link
You are going to be blasted for ads regardless, targeted advertising just means you might actually be interested in what's being advertised - it's squarely a win-win.ddriver - Friday, August 28, 2015 - link
So M$ is for people who don't have an idea what they are interested in? And thus need ads to steer their interest? Or in short, M$ is for idiots? Sounds about right.A good product doesn't need advertisement. A moderately intelligent person would do his own research before a purchase, rather than be guided by a "we paid to say our stuff is nice" publications.
Alexvrb - Monday, August 31, 2015 - link
After reading your raving- I mean, your posts, I realized something. You must not use any Google or Apple products either then, right? You know Google is an ad firm, right? And Apple sales are largely predicated on skilled marketing and other perception control?"A good product doesn't need advertisement" You're delusional. A BAD product can outsell a good product purely as a result of advertising.
lordken - Friday, September 4, 2015 - link
@Alexvrb: I guess that's what he (ddriver) meant saying "M$ is for idiots" and "A moderately intelligent person would do his own research before a purchase"So unfortunately today's world reflect this, as you said any shit-like product can be sold much better than really good product based on the fact that sheeps are served adds and making decision on impulses/emotions etc.
So he is not delusional. However it is delusional to think that things like you say are normal.
sheeple - Sunday, September 27, 2015 - link
You are indisputably correct with everything you have stated, there's a good reason M$$$ is offering 10 "freely", and the reason may not be in the best interest of "we the sh-eeple"hupowat - Tuesday, November 7, 2017 - link
Windows 10 is awesome. I installed the OS yesterday and activated it with KMspico software (https://kmspicoinfo.com) The Windows 10 is very fast and beautiful.hupowat - Tuesday, November 7, 2017 - link
Windows 10 is awesome. I installed the OS yesterday and activated it with KMspico software: https://kmspicoinfo.com The Windows 10 is very fast and beautiful.