Features new to Windows 10

Windows 10 introduced a number of new elements, including the option to use a touch-optimized interface (known as tablet mode) or a traditional desktop interface similar to that of Windows 7 along with live tiles from Windows 8.

Development platform

Universal Windows Platform

Windows 10 introduced Universal Windows Platform (UWP), an extension of the Windows Runtime platform which was originally introduced with Windows 8. UWP emphasizes a core set of APIs common to all variations of the operating system, enabling the ability to code a single application with adaptations (such as user interface differences) for different device families and states, including desktops and laptops, tablets, smartphones (via Windows 10 Mobile), Xbox One, and other new device classes such as Surface Hub and HoloLens. An application may also react to the available displays and input on a device; when connected to a monitor or a suitable docking station, a UWP app on a smartphone can take on the appearance of the app on a PC. Information can also be synchronized between versions of an app for different devices, such as notifications and licensing.[1][2][3]

Windows Subsystem for Linux

The anniversary update for Windows 10 adds Windows Subsystem for Linux. This allows the Ubuntu user space to run natively on Windows. The subsystem translates Linux system call that Ubuntu uses to those of Windows NT kernel. This allows the Bash and other Ubuntu command line apps to run within the Windows console. There is, however, the interoperability restriction: Bash cannot run Windows apps and Windows cannot run Linux software.[4][5][6][7][8]

Bundled apps

The Mail app adds user-configurable swipe gesture controls and POP3 email support.[9] Google Calendar support is added to the Calendar app.[9] The Settings app is expanded to have similar functionality as the Control Panel, albeit with a Metro-style user interface.[9] The Map app can download maps for offline use.[10]

Cortana

Main article: Cortana (software)

Windows 10 has brought the Cortana assistant from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10. By default, Cortana appears as a search pane on the taskbar, but can be changed into a button, like in tablet mode, and can be activated by voice using the command "Hey Cortana", when a user searches the Start menu, or when a user searches the Cortana search pane. With Cortana, users can ask Cortana questions about the weather, calendar events, and other types of notifications, along with online information.[11] Cortana currently requires a Microsoft Account to function.

Microsoft Edge

Main article: Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is the new browser for Windows 10 and is the successor to Internet Explorer, although Internet Explorer will remain for compatibility and legacy purposes. Cortana has been integrated into Edge, accessible by the option "Ask Cortana" in the right click menu, as well as a Reading View and the ability to write notes directly on web pages and save to OneNote. A Reading List feature has also been added, where users can save articles or other content to be accessed and read later. Microsoft Edge also includes a Share button on its toolbar where tapping or clicking on it will bring up the system Share panel, where users will be able to share a webpage to installed applications such as Reading List or third-party apps such as Facebook and Twitter.[12][13][14] Since its release, Microsoft Edge has scored 402 out of 555 points on HTML5test.[15]

Shell and user interface

Windows 10 also allows web apps and desktop software (using either Win32 or .NET Framework), to be packaged for distribution on Windows Store. Desktop software distributed through Windows Store is packaged using the App-V system to allow sandboxing. Web apps are executed from remote servers, and have access to Windows functions such as notifications and camera access. As with Windows 8, locally packaged web apps can be written using HTML and WinJS.[16][17]

Continuum

Continuum is the blanket title for a group of features on Windows 10 that are designed to enable smoother transitions between a default interface mode designed for use with a keyboard and mouse, and an interface designed for touchscreen environments, especially on hybrid devices such as laplets. Enabling "Tablet mode" switches the primary interface to a full screen version of the Start menu, and opens all applications in a maximized view by default. The taskbar is also modified, adding a Back button next to the Start button, and by default, hiding buttons for opened and pinned applications. Task View is used as the primary means of switching programs. Windows can prompt to switch between these two modes, or automatically do so, if certain events occur, such as plugging in a keyboard or mouse to a tablet, switching a laplet to its laptop state, or vice versa.[18][19][20][21]

Task View

Main article: Task View

Task View is a task switching and virtual desktop system, accessible via the taskbar button, keyboard shortcut Windows+Tab ↹, or swiping from the left of a touchscreen.[22][23] Activating Task View shows a zoomed display of all windows currently opened on a specific monitor; clicking on a window switches to it. Task View can also be displayed when a window is snapped to half the screen or three windows are snapped to fourths of the screen, prompting for a window to occupy the remainder of the screen. Task View also allows the creation of virtual workspaces; windows can be dragged into and out of these workspaces.[24]

Start Menu

Windows 10 reintroduced the start menu as seen in versions of Windows prior to 8. However, unlike these versions, the new start menu includes live tile features from Windows 8. It is possible to resize the Start menu and view recently added and most used applications. It can also be made full screen for tablet users or users that prefer a Windows 8-like experience.[25] The right hand side of the Start menu can be used to pin tiles. The menu can contain a limited amount of columns, depending on the screen resolution. These columns can be divided in groups that can all have their own title. Every group is divided into 6 or 8 other columns, depending on the user's settings, to allow either 6 or 8 small sized tiles next to each other.

Action Center

Main article: Action Center

What was once called "Action Center" in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and their successor is now called Security and Maintenance. The title of "Action Center" in Windows 10 is usurped by a sidebar that provides a list of received notifications and a group of "Quick actions" buttons for different settings areas. It is accessed by clicking the Notifications icon in the system tray, or swiping from the right of the screen on touchscreens.[26][27][28]

Command line

Windows 10 brings improvements to the system's command-line interface. Unlike in previous versions of Windows NT, the Win32 console windows can now be resized without any restrictions. It can be made to cover the full screen by pressing the Alt+↵ Enter combination on keyboard. Microsoft also enabled the use of standard keyboard shortcuts, such as those for cut, copy, and paste, within the console. Word wrapping and keyboard shortcuts to move the caret, select and manipulate text have become available.[29] Other features such as word wrap and transparency were also included. The user has the option to disable the new features and return to the legacy console if they wish.[29]

Maintenance

The Push-button reset function has been changed to utilize files from the current Windows installation to rebuild the system rather than a separate recovery image. System updates carry over into the new installation and do not have to be re-downloaded.[30] The separate "Refresh" option is removed; users are now given explicit choices within the Reset process to remove all personal files and applications, keep personal files but remove applications, or perform a full factory reset.[31]

Gaming

DirectX 12

Windows 10 includes DirectX 12 alongside WDDM 2.0.[32][33] Unveiled March 2014 at GDC, DirectX 12 aims to provide "console-level efficiency" with "closer to the metal" access to hardware resources, and reduced CPU and graphics driver overhead.[34][35] Most of the performance improvements are achieved through low-level programming, which can reduce single-threaded CPU bottlenecking caused by abstraction through higher level APIs. The performance gains achieved by allowing developers direct access to GPU resources is similar to other low-level rendering initiatives such as AMD's Mantle, Apple's Metal API or the OpenGL successor, Vulkan.[36][37] WDDM 2.0 introduces a new virtual memory management and allocation system to reduce workload on the kernel-mode driver.[32][38]

Xbox One integration

Windows 10 brings more updates to the Xbox app introduced in Windows 8. Games from the Xbox One can be streamed to any Windows 10 device excluding smartphones.[39]

Game bar and game DVR

Windows 10 introduces the game bar, which provides screenshot and video capture functionality for Windows games. Users can invoke the game bar, record gameplay, or take a screenshot using the appropriate keyboard shortcuts. Windows 10 can also continuously capture gameplays in the background; this allows the user to request that the last few user defined moments of gameplay be saved to the hard disk. This is useful if a user wants to save and/or share a moment of gameplay but did not think to explicitly recorde it beforehand.[40]

Shortcut keys

Key combination Function
⊞ Win+Ctrl+F4 Close new desktop
⊞ Win+Ctrl+← and ⊞ Win+Ctrl+→ Switch between desktops
⊞ Win+Ctrl+D Create new desktop
⊞ Win+Tab ↹ See all desktops and open apps via the Task View page
⊞ Win+Q Open up Cortana for voice input
⊞ Win+S Open up Cortana for typed input
⊞ Win+A Open up Windows 10 Action Center
⊞ Win+X Open Start button context menu
⊞ Win+I Open the Settings app
⊞ Win+G Open the Game bar

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kevin, Gallo (March 2, 2015). "A first look at the Windows 10 universal app platform". Windows Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Our first look at Windows 10 on phones, and Universal Apps for touchscreens". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Guide to Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps". MSDN. Microsoft. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Foley, Mary Jo (March 29, 2016). "Microsoft to show Bash on Linux running on Windows 10". ZDNet. CBS Interactive.
  5. ↑ Foley, Mary Jo (March 30, 2016). "Here's how Microsoft will support Bash on Windows 10". ZDNet. CBS Interactive.
  6. ↑ Harsh, Mike (March 30, 2016). "Run Bash on Ubuntu on Windows". Building Apps for Windows. Microsoft.
  7. ↑ Hanselman, Scott (March 30, 2016). "Developers can run Bash Shell and user-mode Ubuntu Linux binaries on Windows 10". Scott Hanselman's Blog.
  8. ↑ Aiello, Joey (April 1, 2016). "Bash for Windows: Why it’s awesome and what it means for PowerShell". Windows PowerShell Blog. Microsoft.
  9. 1 2 3 Chacos, Brad (July 29, 2015). "Windows 10: The 10 best features you should try first". PCWorld. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  10. ↑ Chacos, Brad (October 26, 2015). "Windows 10's best tricks, tips, and tweaks". PCWorld. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ Branscombe, Mary (August 5, 2015). "20 smart new and improved features in Windows 10". Tech Radar. Future US, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Microsoft Edge - Microsoft". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Take your reading with you - Windows Help". Microsoft. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ "11 Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Edge on Windows 10". How-To Geek. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  15. ↑ Buckler, Craig (August 18, 2015). "Microsoft Edge: the Review". SitePoint. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ Peter, Bright (March 3, 2015). "Microsoft's next attempt to fill the Windows 10 app gap: Web app apps". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Here's how Microsoft hopes to get Android and iOS phone apps into its Windows 10 Store". ZDNet. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Watch how Windows 10 works with touch interfaces". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Windows 10 Technical Preview 2: Configure Tablet Mode". Thurrott.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Windows 10 Technical Preview 2: Continuum and Tablet Mode". Thurrott.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ Bowden, Zack. "Windows 10: The tablet experience is better than ever (with video)". WinBeta. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Microsoft Unveils Windows 10 with New Start Menu". Tom's Guide. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  23. ↑ Warren, Tom (September 30, 2014). "Windows 10 is the official name for Microsoft's next version of Windows". The Verge. Vox Media.
  24. ↑ "How to use Windows 10's Task View and virtual desktops". PC World. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Upgrading from Windows 7 or 8? You'll Love Windows 10". CNN Money. February 22, 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  26. ↑ "This is Windows 10 for phones". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Windows 10: a closer look at the future of Microsoft's vision for PCs". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  28. ↑ "How to customize Windows 10's Action Center". PC World. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  29. 1 2 "Console Improvements in the Windows 10 Technical Preview". Building Apps for Windows. Microsoft. 7 October 2014.
  30. ↑ "Windows 10 does away with the reinstallation headaches". PC World. IDG. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  31. ↑ "How to do a clean install of Windows 10". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  32. 1 2 "The DirectX 12 Performance Preview: AMD, NVIDIA, & Star Swarm". Anandtech. Purch Inc. February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  33. ↑ Langley, Bryan. "DirectX 12 and Windows 10". DirectX Developer Blog. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Windows 10 will woo gamers with supercharged DirectX 12 graphics API". PCWorld. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Microsoft details DirectX 12 for better Xbox One, PC performance". Techradar. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  36. ↑ Smith, Ryan (March 24, 2014). "Microsoft Announces DirectX 12: Low Level Graphics Programming Comes To DirectX". AnandTech. Purch Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  37. ↑ Smith, Ryan (March 3, 2015). "Next Generation OpenGL Becomes Vulkan: Additional Details Released". Anandtech. Purch. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  38. ↑ "What's new for Windows 10 Insider Preview display drivers (WDDM 2.0)". MSDN. Microsoft. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  39. ↑ Gilbert, Ben (January 22, 2015). "Windows 10 means big changes for the future of Xbox". Engadget. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Recording Game Clips | Game DVR | Windows 10 Games". support.xbox.com. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
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