I’ve mentioned before that I downloaded the Technical Preview of Windows 10 and installed it as a dual boot on a Windows 7 computer. I’ve been test-driving this preview to learn what I can about it. This isn’t necessarily what the final product is going to look like Microsoft is taking feedback on all the features.
But I thought the first thing you’d want to see is the (sound trumpets) RETURN OF THE START MENU! I found the Windows 8 search performed the same functions plus a little more, but many of you missed that familiar button in the lower left hand of your screen.
Well, the Start Menu is back and it’s bringing along some of the best features of the Search Charm and the Windows 8 Metro/Modern Screen. Let’s take a look.
First, I click the Windows symbol in the lower left of the screen.
Meet the new Start Menu:
On the left, you’ll see recently used programs, but click the All Apps arrow at the bottom…
… and you’ll see a list of all the programs on your computer to scroll through.
Up at the top, you’ll see that your power options are now only one click away. A lot of Windows 8 and 8.1 users complained that it took 2 steps to get to the power options.
Documents, Pictures, Settings and File Manager work exactly as you would expect them to.
File Manager looks much the same as it did in previous versions of Windows.
To the right, you’ll see tiles similar to the Metro/Modern screen in Windows 8.1. These tiles are live, which means they update constantly. The E-mail tile shows how many messages are waiting, the People tile updates social media notifications and the News tile features the latest stories.
You can add or remove Live Tiles from the Start Menu by right-clicking. You can also choose to resize the tiles.
By making the E-mail and Calendar tiles larger, you can see recent e-mails and event reminders.
That’s just a quick look around the Start Menu. There’s a lot more to see and learn about this operating system. There’s no word on when Windows 10 will be available to consumers or how much it will cost. Some are speculating that Windows 8 and 8.1 users will receive it as a free upgrade, but nothing has been announced.
I’ll keep exploring and letting you know what I find.
~ Cynthia
Did you install W10 on a new drive? Everything I’ve read says to either install it in a VM, VHD, or on a new drive with the drive with the original OS removed because the Win10 Preview install will overwrite your current OS and data.
I’ve got it installed in a VM, but it’s excruciatingly slow.
Hi Mike,
We partitioned the hard drive of the Windows 7 machine, and then installed the preview on that. This prevents the overwriting of the current OS.
Outstanding article. I currently run Win 7 and know I’ll eventually need to upgrade to the latest OS. And I wanted to use a system that did not require a touchscreen. Seems like 10 will fit the bill.
Thanks again, Jack