One of the first things you see when reserving your free copy of Windows 10 is that it’s “designed for speed”, promising you faster boot times, resume times and more. It improves the desktop experience by an order of magnitude and introduces several new features that will delight power users. Here We Discuss what are some new features on windows 10 compare to windows 8.1. Should we upgrade to windows 10 from windows 8.1 or windows 7.
Windows 10 is a free upgrade for existing Windows OS users
Windows 10 will be FREE for existing Genuine Windows 7 and 8/8.1 users for the first year as Microsoft looks to kick-start. For home basic user its free upgrade for lifetime and pro enterprise users 1 year free upgrade.
The disadvantage for windows 7 or 8 : Another key reason for getting the latest edition of Windows is Microsoft will support it for longer than both Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Microsoft has also confirmed that Windows 10 users will receive free updates for the lifetime of their device.
Security and Stability on windows 10
While both Windows 7 and Windows 8 do a pretty good job of keeping users secure, Windows 10 ups its game with several new features. First is ‘Device Guard’ which blocks zero-day attacks by vetting unsigned software programs and apps. Device Guard can also operate virtually so even if it is compromised a remote version can recognize and neutralize malicious software.
Right now Windows 10 is brand new and it has launched with a surprisingly large number of bugs that you won’t find in Windows 7 or Windows 8. Among these are disappearing icons from the taskbar, Start Menu lock-ups, Windows Store download bugs, copy and paste errors, problems with audio and more.
Features For Power Users
Along with the reintroduction of the Start Menu and a general reintegration of desktop friendly-looking features. Windows 10 also brings some outright new features for desktop and power users.
Windows 8.1 Start Screen Vs Windows 10 Start Menu
In Windows 8 & 8.1, we had to face that fancy start screen with big square icons, not to mention the unnecessary charms bar, the confusing ‘PC Setting’ and its counterpart, ‘The Mighty Control Panel’. We still do not get the idea of having different kinds of PC settings, but bad luck – we were desktop users and we had to suffer all these!
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Windows 10’s Start menu really is the Start menu you know and love from Windows 7 – albeit with some slight modifications that only improve its usefulness. The menu is more transparent and sleeker than before. It’s now easier to navigate through when you want to do something quickly. And the hidden Shutdown controls of Windows 8.1 have been brought back out to where you’d expect them to be.
Windows 8.1’s Live Tiles are still there, but they’ve been relegated to the side and are generally best used for news snippets, email updates and weather alerts. Windows 10 now provides an Uninstall link directly on the Start menu, for both desktop and Modern apps. This is a small but welcome step.
Those of you who actually liked the Start menu from Windows 8.1 won’t be disappointed either, as you can set it to launch full-screen by default. It also switches rather seamlessly between the two when taking a convertible device from desktop to tablet mode.
Cortana coming to PCs On Windows 10
Windows 8 offers fairly decent online search baked into its controversial Start Screen and Windows 7 only offers local searches (what is on the computer itself). Windows 10 easily trumps them both. The secret to its success is Cortana.
Windows 10 Cortana is the powerful search and personal assistant that Microsoft first introduced on its phones, and now it’s available on PC. Microsoft’s personal assistant will be pre-loaded into Windows 10. Cortana can be used to search your PC for files and apps and launch web searches. But more importantly it also tracks your interests and monitors things like your calendar and regular places you visit. Combining all this information it can provide useful stuff like weather reports, alerts for meetings and directions for where you need to go.
Cortana is now in full control of Windows’s search functions. Simply hit the Windows key, start typing and your input is sent to Cortana. In practice, it works just as before – apps and desktop applications appear at the top of the list. It also supports natural language input, so you can talk to your device quite casually and it will understand what you mean. This is particularly useful for tablets and other touch devices. Where voice input can be that much quicker than typing on a touchscreen.
Web Browsing on Windows 10 Vs Windows 8.1
Windows 8 features the latest updates to Microsoft’s long standing web browser, Internet Explorer, but Windows 10 brings a whole new browser with it too, called Microsoft Edge.
Internet Explorer might have been so bad that the world jumped ship to Chrome as soon as it could. But with Microsoft Edge the Redmond-based company has built a browser for the future. It’s lightweight, flexible and built almost completely from scratch. Running on EdgeHTML, Edge is blazingly quick, beating SunSpider’s gauntlet at over twice as fast as Google’s beloved Chrome browser. Microsoft has also dropped in some other handy features.
Microsoft Edge have three key features have been demonstrated:
– Users will be able to annotate any web page using finger/stylus or keyboard input.
– Spartan will have a reading mode.
– The Cortana voice assistant will be integrated into the browser.
Virtual Desktop work with Multiple desktops
Have you ever used Mac Os X? Then you have noticed the multiple desktop features there. Even Ubuntu Linux, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux will switch between work-spaces when you hit Ctrl+ Alt + (Any Arrow Key). And Microsoft has finally introduced multiple desktops feature. This allows users to pretend like they have multiple monitors and spread their windows across multiple different work spaces. It’s immensely useful if you work with many applications at once, but have limited screen space.
Multitasking in Windows has always been excellent. Microsoft has made it possible to create many desktops and full-screen programs. And switch between them with ease by just pressing Windows+ Ctrl and the left and right keys. Microsoft has also introduced two extra snappable windows into its window snapping feature. Yes, this means you can now snap up to four apps or windows together in one desktop.
Classic Vs Universal Apps
In Windows 8, the fancy touchscreen-friendly Windows Store apps are all full-screen. And making them awkward for use on a normal desktop. With Windows 10, these can now be run in a windowed mode. And making them easier to incorporate into your regular desktop working life. Windows 10 will still be able to run all the touch-friendly apps created for Windows 8. But they will be better for desktop apps too.
In Windows 10, apps don’t start full-screen like they do in Windows 8.1. You can also load apps directly from the desktop, and they simply behave like any other piece of software exactly as it should have been in Windows 8.1.
Windows 10 App store
Apps in the new Windows Store will run on any device which means a single version of Angry Birds works everywhere. Developers will now be able to create one app that runs across all Windows devices from phones through to 8.5 in touch displays. Microsoft said it’s also going to allow volume app purchases based on existing organisational identity and allow businesses to reclaim or re-use licenses. Larger enterprises will be able to create their own customized app store for employees. With the ability to include selected public apps alongside in-house apps.
Universal apps
One of the main problems with Live Tile apps was the fact they could not be controlled like regular programs. This all changes with Universal apps. They will be framed in the same windows as programs so they can be resized, moved, maximized, minimized and closed.
New Improved command prompt On Windows 10
There’s also an improved Command Prompt. This power tool for typing commands directly into your PC has long lacked basic features like the ability to copy and paste. But now Microsoft has finally added these in. It also supports a host of new options and hot-keys, making it more powerful and easier to use. Power users rejoice as copy and paste will be enabled in Windows 10’s Command Prompt.
The end of the password
Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 will support the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) standard. This means users will be able to sign into commonly used apps like Outlook using a variety of biometric tools from fingerprint readers to retina scanners.
Notifications on Windows 10
Another just downright useful addition to Windows 10 is a central notifications area, called Action Center. This will be where all your alerts for new emails, Windows updates or security flags will appear, just like on most phones these days.
If you are still not upgraded to Windows 10 then you’re seriously missing out on some of the best features Windows has to offer and, simultaneously, delaying the inevitable.
