Windows 10 was, to many people, the best version of Windows ever and the Anniversary update made it even better. Whether you agree or not, there's always room for change. The change might be an improvement (if it does something you want) or not. So let's take a look at some of the changes you can make to Windows 10.
Note that the focus here is on the Anniversary update, but many of the changes will also work with the original version of Windows 10 and some will work with Windows 7 or 8.1.
I detest Desktop icons for starting programs. Instead, I use the desktop as a place to dump website links when I find something that I want to review later. Yes, I know there are better ways to do this these days, but it's an old habit and -- because I don't use the Desktop to launch applications -- it's available for links.
The Start menu is back, but I use it only for applications that I run only occasionally. I prefer to have the applications that I use frequently on the Task bar. This means that the Task bar fills quickly. Using small icons and expanding the Task bar to include a second line are 2 changes I make whenever I set up a new Windows system.
Right-click the Task bar and choose Properties.
(1) To expand the Task bar to 2 rows, you first need to de-select "Lock the taskbar". When you've modified the height, enable this again so that you don't accidentally change the size later.
If you'd like the Task bar to hide when you're not using it, a feature that's handy on small screens, enable Auto-hide.
I always choose small Task bar buttons because of the number of applications I place there.
(2) The Task bar doesn't have to be at the bottom of the screen. Top, left, and right are all options.
To save space, I always combine icons on the Task bar and hide the labels.
Some modifications of the Notification area (formerly called the Tray) are possible, but this seems to be less robust than in previous versions of Windows because controls aren't available for every icon that's in the Notification area.
(3) The multiple displays section has some new features for those who have more than a single monitor, and that's an ever larger group because once you've had more than one monitor, few people every consider going back to just one.
You can decide whether to display the task bar on all monitors (my preference) and then decide where Task bar buttons are displayed -- All Task bars, the main Task bar and the Task bar where the application is open, or only on the Task bar where the application is open. Each has advantages. Try them and see which you like.
Call it what you will, this single icon gives access to nearly every configuration option Windows has. In fact, it doesn't open access to anything that's not on a menu somewhere, but some of those menus are obscure.
Create a folder on the Desktop. Name the directory something (I call it "Utils") and at the end of the name, add add a period and this (including the braces): {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
When you open the folder, you'll find more than 150 Windows control functions, some of which aren't available even in the Control Panel, at your fingertips. Ah, at your mouse cursor.
God Mode (or whatever you prefer to call it) used to be a hidden trick that developers could use. First available in Windows 7, it continues to be available in Windows 10.
Cortana is finally off the phone and on your desktop, but she won't listen to you unless you tell her to. If you'd like her to listen, first make sure that your desktop computer has a microphone. Then click the Search icon in the Task bar, open Settings, click Notebook (yes, on a desktop), click Settings, and then enable "Let Cortana respond to 'Hey Cortana'."
There are other options here that determine how Cortana tries to help and what she remembers. Keep in mind that anything Cortana knows, Microsoft could find out. If this concerns you, just close out of the menu.
By default, Windows displays icons on the Start menu in groups of 3 across. I've always considered that to be the wrong number. By selecting "Show more tiles", you'll convert the display to 4 icons across. This allows for easier mixing and matching of icons in different sizes.
You'll find several Live Tiles on the menu. If you don't like them, just right-click each and select Uninstall or Unpin if you want to leave the application installed but remove it from the menu. Now you can add any of your applications to the Start menu, create groups, and move icons wherever you want them.
Although you can do a lot with the mouse, you can perform many mouse-related tasks with the keyboard and the keyboard can do some things that the mouse can't. Besides, it's almost always faster to keep your hands on the keys instead of finding the mouse moving it around, clicking (perhaps several times) and then getting your hands back on the keys.
For example, press the Windows key and one of the left or right arrow keys and you'll snap the window to the left or right. Additional clicks place the window in the center of the screen. The Windows key and the up or down arrow will maximize, minimize, or restore the window.
Windows key + Tab opens the Task view that shows each open task and Alt + Tab works just the way it always has to cycle through open tasks. If you have multiple monitors, the Task view appears on each monitor showing only the tasks that are open on that monitor.
Doubtless you're familiar with Control + C and Control + V to copy and paste -- and with holding down the Shift key and using the arrow keys to select text. I sometimes watch people who painstakingly select text with a mouse, right-click it, click Copy from the context menu, open another window, right-click, and select Paste from the context menu. The keyboard is so much faster!
The Command window (also known as the "DOS" shell) has been supplanted by PowerShell. In general, it's probably better to use PowerShell because it is much more capable than the Command window, but it still knows what to do if you type one of the old DOS commands.
If you do decide to use the Command window, make sure that you right click on the Title bar, choose Properties, and confirm that "Enable Ctrl key shortcuts" is selected. This allows you to use Control + C and Control + V in the command window instead of having to use the old, cumbersome method.
PowerShell is well worth an entire program itself, so we'll go no further in this direction today.
Finally it's possible to have more than one default audio device.
If I'm using Skype for a call, I want the call to use my Koss headset and microphone, not the audio in and audio out that I use to record and process the TechByter Worldwide podcast. So "Line Out" (a Saphire 6 USB device) is my default recording and playback device while a USB PnP Sound Device (the Koss headset) is my default communications device.
This functionality may have appeared in the original release of Windows 10. Whenever it appeared, it was both welcome and late.
Maybe you like this feature, but I don't. When you open Windows Explorer (Microsoft would prefer that I call it File Explorer) in Windows 10, it defaults to a new Quick Access view that shows your most frequently accessed folders and recently viewed files.
Here's a confession: I use Q-Dir instead of Windows/File Explorer most of the time, but occasionally need the Windows/File Explorer. When that happens, I'm not looking for my recently viewed files. I want Explorer to show My Computer when it opens. Then I can select the disk drive I want to examine.
This is easy to fix. Open File Explorer, then select View > Options from the Ribbon. A Folder Options window opens. Select "This PC" from "Open File Explorer to".
If you have Windows change the background image using images you've specified, the Task bar color may occasionally clash with the background.
Oh, no! The shame!
This is also an easy fix. Open the Start menu and select Settings > Personalization > Colors and then turn on the "Automatically pick a color from my background" option. Then enable "Show color on Start, taskbar, action center, and title bar."
Well, that was easy.
Windows 10 occasionally pops up ads and promotional offers for Office, even if you have Office installed. Hello, Microsoft, I'm already paying you an annual fee for Office. Could you please stop telling me that I need to buy Office?
You can't? Well, let's see about that.
The Get Office app is installed by default. If you already have Office (or you don't) and you want to get rid of the idiotic messages, find Get Office in the Start menu, right-click it, and choose Uninstall. Poof. Done. You might want to do the same for Get Skype.
Linux systems have had virtual desktops for years. Windows 10 has them. I'm still trying to figure out why I'd need them. Maybe I'm not sufficiently well organized. Those who use virtual desktops tend to keep work applications on one virtual desktop, development tools on another, and personal/fun stuff on yet another.
I have just updated a desktop computer to a notebook system that's used as a desktop. The computer has a built-in 4K display and it's attached via the docking station to 2 1920x1080 screens. Previous versions of Windows would not have been happy about this.
Previous versions of Windows locked all connected displays into scaling at the same percentage, but now the user can set the scaling of individual monitors.
Right-click on an empty space on the Desktop and select "Display settings".
You'll see a graphical layout of your monitor set-up. Click one of the monitors and you'll be able to change settings for that specific monitor.
When you think you've selected the right scaling percentage, click Apply and that single monitor's scaling will change. Windows will also advise you that you should sign out and then sign in again to ensure apps appear properly. Don't skip this step!
When you install Windows 10, it's a good idea to select "Custom install" so you can modify the privacy settings. If you're already installed Windows 10, just open Settings and choose Privacy.
I recommend turning off the option to allow apps to use your advertising ID, but leaving the other three functions on.
Smart Screen is a protective measure that should not be disabled.
Many pundits suggest turning off the option that sends information to Microsoft about how you type. I leave this enabled because it allows Microsoft to improve its spelling and grammar functions.
I also leave enabled the option to allow websites to provide locally relevant information based on language preferences.
Training for dangerous jobs is itself dangerous and virtual reality's close cousin, mixed reality, is providing new and safer options.
Canon USA and Design Interactive are promoting what they call the MREAL system. Mixed Reality is a visualization tool that combines the real and virtual worlds to create a realistic immersive experience. Design Interactive will use the MREAL system to provide training for some dangerous occupations.
High risk training refers to specialized training for tasks involving a high degree of risk in terms of safety or cost, or relating to environments that are normally dangerous or inaccessible. The MREAL system's ability to immerse users in virtual scenarios while allowing them to still see the real world -- including their hands, tools, colleagues, and instructor -- is uniquely suited to these requirements.
Eileen Smith, the director of E2i Creative Studio at the University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training explains that these high-risk environments are multi-layered and that those who develop the systems must understand how events will resolve themselves. "Context is key in training," Smith says, "and the MREAL system allows the context to be altered easily and frequently to challenge a trainee."
Training involves 3 key components: The latest version of the MREAL system that was released in July and features an expanded field of view and higher resolution so that trainees will have in increased sense of realism; an updated version of the MREAL Training Management System that collects and measures performance metrics so that instructors can review the trainee's performance; and a Plug-In for Unity 3D that enables instructors to leverage existing 3D content for the training scenarios.
For more information, see Canon's website.
YouMail has released what it calls "the world's simplest free service for hosting and participating in conference calls."
Users are assigned their own dedicated conference room and can host a call by tapping smart-phone app button. Participants join calls by dialing the host's cell phone number and responding to a prompt. How is this monetized? Well, you'll be providing full access to your phone number by signing up and the company also offers a premium paid version with more features.
YouMail CEO Alex Quilici says that the service eliminates the need to dial in to a special number and enter a PIN. "It's high time to have truly effortless conference calls."
The service includes "Smart Announce", which eliminates the need for users to repeatedly record their ID information if the call is dropped and they have to dial in again.
"Smart Summary" is also included. This feature delivers an automatic summary of each call to hosts and mobile participants. The list includes information about who participated and for how long. Premium users can also listen to a recording of the conference.
YouMail's conferencing service replaces mobile voice-mail with YouMail's call manager. As an added benefit, it stops robocallers by playing a "number out of service" message and includes an automated virtual receptionist that greets callers by name and responds to important callers with an automated text message linked to a digital business card. It can also can automatically collect caller contact info.
YouMail is a California company founded in 2007 and is financed by VantagePoint Capital Partners, Wavemaker Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels ACE Fund, the CrunchFund, the Tech Coast Angels, private investors, and family offices.
For more information about the Essential plan, see the YouMail website.
