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Windows 10’s very best features
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.Windows 10 has been available for some time and it’s likely that many of us will be using it at some point down the line. In this, the second in our Windows 10 blog series, we look at some of the most prominent features in the operating system to give you a head’s up when you do eventually use it, if you’re not doing so already.
There are some big changes to Windows 10 when compared to the previous Windows 8 operating system, not least the reversion to a Windows 7 look and feel which people were clamouring for and which Microsoft listened to.
However, that’s just the surface; there have been some fairly fundamental changes across the operating system such as a strong focus on mobility. And despite ditching the Windows 8 interface, Windows 10 still retains the touch features for those with touch screens.
Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent features
Chat with Cortana
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. was previously a digital assistant used on Windows Phone devices. But now it’s available in Windows 10 as a search pane on the taskbar.
It’s designed to help you find things on your PC, manage your calendar, track packages, find files, chat with you, and even tell jokes, though the quality of the humour may be lacking. It’s also voice activated so you can trigger it by saying ‘Hey Cortana.’ You can even shout at it and it won’t be offended.
You can use Cortana to pull up apps you have installed, access documents you are using, search the web and much more. You can even find apps and services that have been designed to integrate with Cortana.
Out with Explorer and in with Edge
Microsoft’s notoriously ‘leaky’ internet browser Internet Explorer gained infamy status for its bugs and vulnerabilities. If you wanted to use a browser that you couldn’t trust in terms of security then Explorer was the one to choose. It’s hardly surprising that it was eclipsed by the likes of the Chrome and Firefox browsers.
In a sense the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. is seeking to emulate browsers like Chrome and Firefox. Microsoft has ripped out masses of code that didn’t actually fit with many web standards and actually led to vulnerabilities. It’s now a much faster, leaner and meaner browser
While the browser is still a work in progress which means more features will develop over time, it has been designed to dovetail with Cortana. So for instance you can pull useful information from web pages, like the phone number of a shop or the opening hours of a restaurant.
It’s also tightly wired into Microsoft’s Bing search service. These means together with Cortana, your browser actions are tracked to gather more contexts so it can anticipate what you might be searching for and the topics you’re interested in. Of course not everyone is happy with being tracked in their browser so this is an opt-in service.
Edge also offers the ability to make notes directly on a website, which can then be recalled the next time the site is visited. The browser stores the notes on the user’s computer and those with touch devices can also draw on top of the site. Yes, that’s right you can scribble over the web site – kids will love it.
Many virtual desktops
The virtual desktop has arrived for the man and woman on the street with the arrival of Windows 10. It has been making inroads into businesses for a long time and for many different reasons. But with Windows 10 you can create different desktops with a few simple keyboard moves.
It’s very handy if you’re working on different projects say graphic design and a document. You can create a virtual desktop for each project and simply move between the two or even move between apps that you open on each virtual desktop.
Windows Store
Although it lags well behind its more popular rivals such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. is picking up steam in the wake of Windows 10’s release. The store is directly available from within Windows 10.
According to Microsoft’s latest figures, more than 200 million PCs, tablets and phones are running Windows 10, making it the fastest-growing Windows operating system in the company’s history. Apparently over 3 billion visits have been made to the Windows Store since the Windows 10 launch with Windows 10 users the fastest growing download segment, growing both in volume and total percentage of downloads.
So what is Windows 10 Windows Store? Basically it is a one-stop shopping destination across every Windows 10 device be it PC, tablet, or phone and even Xbox One for all sorts of downloads and apps. The app interface changes to suit the different screen sizes. You can download free and ρáíd digital content including games, music, movies, and TV shows as well as desktop programs and modern Windows apps such as Office and Excel.
Touch screen
If you prefer a touch screen display for Windows 10 you just need to activate tablet mode. This replaces the normal taskbar with a Windows button. This opens a full-screen Start menu that shows the tiles and hides the scrolling list of programs. It also reveals a back button, Cortana and the task switcher button. The windows will appear in full screen but that said you can move things around so you can have two windows side by side. Unfortunately you can’t have three windows.
Phone and PC
Windows 10 also includes a new app to help you get your phone to work with your PC and with other Microsoft services such as Cortana, Skype, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.and others. You can also plug in an iPhone and set it up to back up photos to OneDrive or even get your Xbox Music tracks on an Android phone. Very useful.
Graphics heaven
Windows 10 includes the latest version of Microsoft’s graphics API which apparently has major performance improvements and will also work with many existing graphics cards such as You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. This is really good news for gaming aficionados because you get a lot of performance oomph without having to tweak the PC hardware. It also speeds up You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. that are written to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., which includes You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and other demanding graphics tools.
A word of warning
häçkers have unsurprisingly latched on to Windows 10 and phishing attempts have already been detected. A recent scam pretends to be a Windows 10 installer but in fact installs ransomware instead. häçkers have sent out emails claiming to be from Microsoft with an email attachment. The scammers claim the attached zip file is the Windows 10 upgrade – it’s not and actually originates from Thailand. The email colour scheme is very similar to the Windows 10 update app.
As strong as Fort Knox
It’s because of phishing tricks like these that you need protection. You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. guards against ransomware and it features behavioural-based detection so new malware strains are identified and stopped. In fact, it’s so good that the UK’s leading consumer champion Which? awarded it Best Buy status following rigorous testing. Specifically, Which? said BullGuard Internet Security was as impregnable as Fort Knox. That’s quite an accolade.
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.Windows 10 has been available for some time and it’s likely that many of us will be using it at some point down the line. In this, the second in our Windows 10 blog series, we look at some of the most prominent features in the operating system to give you a head’s up when you do eventually use it, if you’re not doing so already.
There are some big changes to Windows 10 when compared to the previous Windows 8 operating system, not least the reversion to a Windows 7 look and feel which people were clamouring for and which Microsoft listened to.
However, that’s just the surface; there have been some fairly fundamental changes across the operating system such as a strong focus on mobility. And despite ditching the Windows 8 interface, Windows 10 still retains the touch features for those with touch screens.
Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent features
Chat with Cortana
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. was previously a digital assistant used on Windows Phone devices. But now it’s available in Windows 10 as a search pane on the taskbar.
It’s designed to help you find things on your PC, manage your calendar, track packages, find files, chat with you, and even tell jokes, though the quality of the humour may be lacking. It’s also voice activated so you can trigger it by saying ‘Hey Cortana.’ You can even shout at it and it won’t be offended.
You can use Cortana to pull up apps you have installed, access documents you are using, search the web and much more. You can even find apps and services that have been designed to integrate with Cortana.
Out with Explorer and in with Edge
Microsoft’s notoriously ‘leaky’ internet browser Internet Explorer gained infamy status for its bugs and vulnerabilities. If you wanted to use a browser that you couldn’t trust in terms of security then Explorer was the one to choose. It’s hardly surprising that it was eclipsed by the likes of the Chrome and Firefox browsers.
In a sense the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. is seeking to emulate browsers like Chrome and Firefox. Microsoft has ripped out masses of code that didn’t actually fit with many web standards and actually led to vulnerabilities. It’s now a much faster, leaner and meaner browser
While the browser is still a work in progress which means more features will develop over time, it has been designed to dovetail with Cortana. So for instance you can pull useful information from web pages, like the phone number of a shop or the opening hours of a restaurant.
It’s also tightly wired into Microsoft’s Bing search service. These means together with Cortana, your browser actions are tracked to gather more contexts so it can anticipate what you might be searching for and the topics you’re interested in. Of course not everyone is happy with being tracked in their browser so this is an opt-in service.
Edge also offers the ability to make notes directly on a website, which can then be recalled the next time the site is visited. The browser stores the notes on the user’s computer and those with touch devices can also draw on top of the site. Yes, that’s right you can scribble over the web site – kids will love it.
Many virtual desktops
The virtual desktop has arrived for the man and woman on the street with the arrival of Windows 10. It has been making inroads into businesses for a long time and for many different reasons. But with Windows 10 you can create different desktops with a few simple keyboard moves.
It’s very handy if you’re working on different projects say graphic design and a document. You can create a virtual desktop for each project and simply move between the two or even move between apps that you open on each virtual desktop.
Windows Store
Although it lags well behind its more popular rivals such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. is picking up steam in the wake of Windows 10’s release. The store is directly available from within Windows 10.
According to Microsoft’s latest figures, more than 200 million PCs, tablets and phones are running Windows 10, making it the fastest-growing Windows operating system in the company’s history. Apparently over 3 billion visits have been made to the Windows Store since the Windows 10 launch with Windows 10 users the fastest growing download segment, growing both in volume and total percentage of downloads.
So what is Windows 10 Windows Store? Basically it is a one-stop shopping destination across every Windows 10 device be it PC, tablet, or phone and even Xbox One for all sorts of downloads and apps. The app interface changes to suit the different screen sizes. You can download free and ρáíd digital content including games, music, movies, and TV shows as well as desktop programs and modern Windows apps such as Office and Excel.
Touch screen
If you prefer a touch screen display for Windows 10 you just need to activate tablet mode. This replaces the normal taskbar with a Windows button. This opens a full-screen Start menu that shows the tiles and hides the scrolling list of programs. It also reveals a back button, Cortana and the task switcher button. The windows will appear in full screen but that said you can move things around so you can have two windows side by side. Unfortunately you can’t have three windows.
Phone and PC
Windows 10 also includes a new app to help you get your phone to work with your PC and with other Microsoft services such as Cortana, Skype, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.and others. You can also plug in an iPhone and set it up to back up photos to OneDrive or even get your Xbox Music tracks on an Android phone. Very useful.
Graphics heaven
Windows 10 includes the latest version of Microsoft’s graphics API which apparently has major performance improvements and will also work with many existing graphics cards such as You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. This is really good news for gaming aficionados because you get a lot of performance oomph without having to tweak the PC hardware. It also speeds up You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. that are written to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., which includes You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and other demanding graphics tools.
A word of warning
häçkers have unsurprisingly latched on to Windows 10 and phishing attempts have already been detected. A recent scam pretends to be a Windows 10 installer but in fact installs ransomware instead. häçkers have sent out emails claiming to be from Microsoft with an email attachment. The scammers claim the attached zip file is the Windows 10 upgrade – it’s not and actually originates from Thailand. The email colour scheme is very similar to the Windows 10 update app.
As strong as Fort Knox
It’s because of phishing tricks like these that you need protection. You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. guards against ransomware and it features behavioural-based detection so new malware strains are identified and stopped. In fact, it’s so good that the UK’s leading consumer champion Which? awarded it Best Buy status following rigorous testing. Specifically, Which? said BullGuard Internet Security was as impregnable as Fort Knox. That’s quite an accolade.