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Windows 10 Anniversary Update: the Best New Features (theverge.com)
A year after the release of Windows 10, Microsoft is gearing up for Anniversary Update, the first major update to the company's desktop operating system. Ahead of the public release of Anniversary Update on August 2, Microsoft provided media outlets with the Anniversary Update, and their first impressions and reviews are out. The Verge has listed the big changes Windows 10 Anniversary ships with. From the article: Windows Ink: Windows Ink is without a doubt the best part of the Anniversary Update. It's essentially a central location to find built-in or third-party apps that work with your stylus. You can use the new sticky notes to note down reminders, and they'll even transform into true reminders as Cortana understands what you write.
Microsoft Edge extensions: If you're a fan of Chrome extensions, then you'll be glad to hear that they're heading to Microsoft's Edge browser. The Anniversary Update brings support for extensions, and it's now up to third-party developers to fill the Windows Store with their add-ons.
Cortana improvements: Microsoft's digital assistant, Cortana, debuted on Windows 10 last year, and the software maker is bringing it to the lock screen with the Anniversary Update. You'll be able to ask it to make a note, play music, set a reminder, and lots more without ever logging in. Cortana is also getting a little more intelligent, with the ability to schedule appointments in Outlook or options to send friends a document you were working on a week ago.
Dark theme and UI tweaks: You can switch on what I call even darker mode in settings, and it will switch built-in apps that typically use a white background over to black.Other improvements include things like Windows 10's ability to set your time zone automatically, and opening up of Windows Hello, the biometric feature to apps and websites. Additionally, the Xbox One is getting Windows apps. The Verge adds, "It feels like a promise that was made years ago, but it's finally coming true with the Anniversary Update. As Windows 10 now powers the Xbox One, Microsoft will start rolling out an update to its console to provide support for Cortana on Xbox One and the new universal apps." Microsoft is also adding Bash, the Linux command line to Windows with the new update. It's an optional feature and users will need to enable it to use it. Users will also be able to "project to PC," a feature that will allow one to easily find a PC to project to from a phone or another PC. There's also a new Skype app, and syncing of notifications between PC and phone is getting better.
Going by the reviews, it appears Windows 10 Anniversary Update is substantially more stable, and has interesting new features. You can read the first impressions of it on ZDNet, and review on PCWorld.
Microsoft Edge extensions: If you're a fan of Chrome extensions, then you'll be glad to hear that they're heading to Microsoft's Edge browser. The Anniversary Update brings support for extensions, and it's now up to third-party developers to fill the Windows Store with their add-ons.
Cortana improvements: Microsoft's digital assistant, Cortana, debuted on Windows 10 last year, and the software maker is bringing it to the lock screen with the Anniversary Update. You'll be able to ask it to make a note, play music, set a reminder, and lots more without ever logging in. Cortana is also getting a little more intelligent, with the ability to schedule appointments in Outlook or options to send friends a document you were working on a week ago.
Dark theme and UI tweaks: You can switch on what I call even darker mode in settings, and it will switch built-in apps that typically use a white background over to black.Other improvements include things like Windows 10's ability to set your time zone automatically, and opening up of Windows Hello, the biometric feature to apps and websites. Additionally, the Xbox One is getting Windows apps. The Verge adds, "It feels like a promise that was made years ago, but it's finally coming true with the Anniversary Update. As Windows 10 now powers the Xbox One, Microsoft will start rolling out an update to its console to provide support for Cortana on Xbox One and the new universal apps." Microsoft is also adding Bash, the Linux command line to Windows with the new update. It's an optional feature and users will need to enable it to use it. Users will also be able to "project to PC," a feature that will allow one to easily find a PC to project to from a phone or another PC. There's also a new Skype app, and syncing of notifications between PC and phone is getting better.
Going by the reviews, it appears Windows 10 Anniversary Update is substantially more stable, and has interesting new features. You can read the first impressions of it on ZDNet, and review on PCWorld.
Basically, there's still nothing in it for us workstation/desktop users, it's all about mobile and apps. I'm definitely staying on Windows 7.
"Going by the reviews, it appears Windows 10 Anniversary Update is substantially more stable"
How the hell can you judge an OS's stability before it's even out?
Public beta testing has never been more blatant.
Automatic timezone, Dark theme. Whoopy do. Sounds like the bottom of the features barrel being scraped to make items for the story. I'm still sticking with Win7. My laptop doesn't need to be confused with a phone - and I don't want all of the telemetry/spyware.
so it's still a mobile UI forced onto a workstation OS?
No thanks.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Going from what's mentioned in the summary...
Ink - no touch screen
Edge - I don't use either it or Chrome
Cortana - I only use it in my Windows Phone which is stuck at 8.1 (and probably better for it); aggressively disabled in the laptop
Dark Theme - why revert to the b/w TV look of my original Radio Shack Model 1?
Auto Time Zone Setting - requires Location Services, which I have disabled for privacy reasons except on the phone
Windows Hello - don't have a fingerprint sensor, and keep the camera off/covered
Xbox - don't have one
BASH - interesting, but if I want Linux I'll get Linux (it's in a VirtualBox for now)
Project to PC - how is this different from Remote Access, which I normally block for privacy/security reasons?
New Skype - I never used the old one, and since it no longer supports any Windows but 10 why bother (phone is 8.1)?
Phone/PC Sync - works fine now using BT or cable; which lily are they gilding?
No mention of whether they've fixed the massive latency issues that forced me to roll back the desktop used for sound editing to Win7.
I'll get it automagically (if it doesn't just crash things) in the laptops, but based on this list it doesn't look like it'll be an improvement, though maybe not any worse. Will probably have to spend a day ferreting out the new and reset privacy settings, though. Meh?
Let's see, four major features
- "You can use your stylus..." uh, my PC doesn't have a stylus or a touchscreen, so this is a non-feature developed just so you can further push your Surface tablets.
- "WE HAVE BROWSER EXTENSIONS TOO!" - it is now an OS feature when you add missing bits to your bundled browser
- "We're improving Cortana" - which nobody uses. Another non-feature. I don't want to talk to my PC because it is stupid and because it means piping everything from my mic to Microsoft servers
- "Dark UI theme" - see, we can do PALETTE SWAPS! Major OS feature right there.
XBox One software - all tied to Windows Store which means all your purchases go byebye the moment Microsoft decides to drop this feature (they very quick to drop everything they do, so no, I'm not going to buy anything that is tied to MS-controlled service that can be killed without warning as soon as MS beancounter or two decides that it is not making enough money this quarter). Yes, Windows is also tied to MS servers these days, but at least with their OS I don't think they're going to scrap it quite so easily. Their store I'm far less sure about (see: Games for Windows live store, for an example)
This is days before a huge LAN party I'm going to, I finally got everything set up the way I want it in Windows 10
IT BURNS
Isn't life grand, when you rent your computer from Microsoft rather than owning and controlling it?
"You'll be able to ask it to make a note, play music, set a reminder, and lots more without ever logging in. "
All I can think when reading that is "attack vector." No matter how much they claim it's limited, sand-boxed, walled off and segregated from the rest of the system, someone will figure out a way to gain system access through it. Microsoft may as well advertise Windows 10, Now With Built In Password Bypass!
The description is terrible. It's not bash; it's the ability to execute Linux binaries natively (one of which happens to be bash) as an NT subsystem. So you can run basically any Linux binary and it includes a complete Ubuntu (for whatever reason) userland.
I think that by this point, anyone who is aware of and cares about Win10 spyware has already disabled automatic updates on their Win7 machines, and goes through the list manually every week or two to pick up actually-critical updates.
I'm still sticking with Win7.
If you couldn't justifying the technical improvements of Windows 10 over Windows 7 what made you think that a small service pack would change that? Also a gentle reminder that your telemetry is back-ported and you're not playing a game of Windows Update roulette using your old system, babying it as you do. What a horrible way to use an OS.
My laptop doesn't need to be confused with a phone
If this is likely to happen to you then you're holding it wrong.
Let's run through that announced feature list.
So, a hugely marketed mixed bag of fail and irrelevant. I am soooo glad I upgraded to Win 10 on my guinea pig machine.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
The article is some of the most blatant pro-MS advertising I've seen on /. to date. If I want to read MS ads, there are plenty of other sources.
I'm genuinely curious about this - what exactly is it that you want to do with Cortana? I've been running W10 on my home machine (desktop) since the original release and I've always had it configured to deactivate Cortana as much as possible (it's still always running though). I've never once been tempted to turn it on. Is there some use case that I'm not thinking about?
I understand the use case on mobile, but I don't see the value on a desktop machine.
telemetry is back-ported
The backported telemetry is part of CEIP and you just need to keep that disabled. But to be sure you can simply uninstall or not install those telemetry updates in the first place.
It's really not the same as using Windows 10, at all. Once (if) Windows 10 gets an off switch we can talk.
People are still hoping that there will be one killer feature that will make it worthwhile to "upgrade". At work i have a surface so i have to use win10.
Windows 10 features that I like are 1) better multi monitor support 2) better direct access VPN client 3) wireless display sharing is cool
Other than that, I really don't see a need for anyone to upgrade. You have a boatload of crap to deal with over 7 and yes as time goes on, the problems with windows 10 keep adding up. As others have mentioned, windows 10 machines frequently get into a state where you have to blow away a user completely to fix it. Sometimes even the whole machine. Something gets corrupted in the microsoft store, and even if you don't use it, it can create negative effects everywhere.
Patching in the corporate environment is a nightmare now, as each "patch" is actually a brand new operating system. I still haven't got things to go smooth between versions yet and expect another week of fighting before this new edition will image to workstations properly.
i dont care so much about telemetry. The main problems I have are this rapid feature release cycle ( 2 major updates a year is far too fast), and its various ways that it screws up and requires time to be rebuilt. Another huge annoyance is that they got rid of the file settings and transfer wizard, which has been a godsend since XP in terms of giving people the exact same environment that they started out with before i came in and switched the computer, or the hdd or whatever. Now I have to say "unfortunately we cant copy your profile cleanly anymore, so you have to start fresh", then i have to hand copy bookmarks back in chrome, desktop items, etc. Real annoying and like everythign else bad about windows 10, i blame the new features for causing these sorts of problems: the store and cortana. They couldn't get file and transfer settings wizard working reliably with these new features, so they dropped it as opposed to fixing it.
Oh and the number one reason i will never go to windows 10 on my home PC is the way in which it was pushed out. I lost all resepect for microsoft when they used windows update to deliver and trick people into installing windows 10. So I am morally opposed to installing it now because of the abuse of a great patch system that was windows update. Now it can no longer be trusted, and that is the real long term damage that they have done to their reputation. Abuse of their position.
As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy