Top Ten Best Features In Windows 10

One of the biggest complaints about Windows 8 was the unnecessary removal of the "Start" menu button. Well, that mistake has been gloriously undone. The button is right back in the lower-left corner of the screen where it belongs. It's new and improved, blending elements from the old Start Menu we last saw in Windows 7 and the Metro Start Screen from Windows 8. This is how it should have been in the first place, basically.

A few new tiles have been added to keep things fresh and convenient. You are also given the option to remove the tiles from the menu altogether and revert it back to its original format, if you wish. All in all, this change is definitely the best of the bunch.

For years, Internet Explorer has been falling further and further behind web browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox. Well, Microsoft has bounced back with its replacement for the dying browser, and it's a big improvement. Its simplistic design makes it considerably speedier, slicker, and much easier to maneuver through.

Its all-new rendering engine provides us with a lot of new features that range from pop-up help from Cortana (Microsoft's version of Siri) during internet searches, to digital inking tools that allow you to highlight and mark up anything on a page and share it instantly (not to mention a quick-cropping option that saves your cropped portion of the page instantly). There's also a really nifty new "Reading View" option where you can declutter any page and just focus on the text and pictures (the stuff you actually came to see) of that particular page. This feature also can stash away these very pages for you to return to later. Wow. There are guides for all of these things, by the way.

The all-new Windows Store has improved upon its predecessor by reconfiguring itself to better suit the Windows 10 desktop format. Now it actually opens in a desktop window and is more mouse-friendly, unlike the Windows 8 store, which was designed exclusively for touchscreens. It has also been appropriately condensed to a more suitable size.

I wasn't a fan of using the Windows Store in its old format, but I'm considering using it now, thanks to its improved layout.

The old Windows Store was the worst! Now that the new one is here, they need to start caring about it more and invite or advertise for more game companies to make stuff there.

Windows 10 has not forgotten about all you touchscreen users. I'm included in this group - my laptop is a touchscreen one. The new "Continuum" feature allows you to switch between the regular interface and a considerably more touchscreen-friendly one. This is much like Windows 8, which was designed for touchscreen interfaces.

It all depends on how you're using your device, much like Windows 8. So feel free to go crazy with your fingers and use the touchscreen to your heart's content.

Before, with Windows 8, your device's settings were split in half. Half of the settings resided within your desktop's Control Panel, and the other half were on the Metro Start Screen - which was confusing. Now, your device settings are (mostly) all consolidated under the new "Settings" app.

From what I know, there are still a few things that require a visit to the Control Panel. Still, it's a step in the right direction.

The "core" apps I'm referring to are apps like "Calendar," "Photos," and "Mail," which performed key functions in Windows 8. Now, they've been revamped. They respond faster when you poke or click on them and can fit many more useful things on the screen while remaining finger-friendly.

Each app has enhanced features that are specific to their respective functions, so you'll need to look them up individually for more information.

I have a few tech-oriented friends who make frequent use of virtual desktops - more than one desktop operating at once - and now the ability to use them has come to Windows 10. You can go back and forth between multiple desktops of applications in whatever way you choose to organize them. It's somewhat complicated, but from my friends' point of view, it is very useful.

Receiving notifications in Windows 8 was as much a pain in the neck as it was helpful. You'd receive a small square bubble on your screen that would come and go in a flash and remain irretrievable after disappearing. Now, notifications are collectively archived in what is called the "Action Center" (or "Centre" for us Canucks, eh) and are always accessible.

The Action Center also houses a host of very useful quick-action buttons. You can instantly activate Bluetooth, switch to a special tablet-oriented mode, and much more.

I am a PlayStation guy, so I will likely have very little to do with this app, but I do realize how awesome it sounds. You will have to look this one up yourself to get an idea of how it works. If there were a PS4 app, I would have been all over that.