The Launch of Windows 8 met with a lot of criticism from enterprise and desktop users, due to the lack of a start menu and focus on touchscreens. Since then Microsoft has been trying hard to improve the experience for its core audience with subsequent updates like Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1.1, however it has failed to impress them. With Windows 10, Microsoft aims to design an operating system which scales for all sizes of screens. The basic ideology behind Windows 10 is an OS which works with all devices from massive 4k desktops to your tiniest smartphones, while adapting it’s functionality to each. The choice of 10 in the version number is also to indicate a fresh start. Whether Microsoft can hit the perfect balance between the desktop requirements as well as those of the tablets and smartphones to create an OS which caters to all devices will remain unanswered till launch, but they have released a Technical Preview for us to play with the new OS.
The New Start Menu in Windows 10
The new Windows 10 start menu tries to blend the traditional Windows 7 start menu with the modern Windows 8 start screen. The result is a perfect combination of two different worlds merged in one form. It is the same start menu you have loved for years but now it works and looks much better. The major changes have heappened to the design, which now matches the overall look of the OS. The Start Menu now allows you to pin your apps and traditional desktop programs, which creates a start screen that runs parallel to your start menu, giving you the ability to enjoy the best of both worlds. This sounds like a win-win situation for everybody, however there are some things that are missing auch as the ability to create different sections to organize your apps, which makes it feel like an overcrowded screen with a bunch of apps. There is another element that Microsoft ought to add, namely the ability to create folders and organize your apps similar to that in Windows Phone 8.1 update 1.
Design Changes in Windows 10
The decision to incorporate the modern UI with desktop UI is not an easy task. It’s like tying two opposite poles together but in this situation Microsoft must be lauded. While the OS is still rough around the edges, you get a clear picture of how it is going to work in the future. Desktop users will instantly recognize that the desktop programs look different, as earlier all the programs that we used to run on our PCs had an ugly border, but now that seems to be gone. Microsoft probably took this decision to make its OS feel more consistent across the different applications.
Few changes to the icons of certain default programs hint towards a future with flat icons. They look nice for most part although the quality of colours need to be improved and the change in icons needs to be consistent throughout the OS, since some icons are still having the old fashioned look. Talking about design, we will need to be patient and wait for the final release to see whether the OS is a hit or a miss. Due to the preview status of Windows 10, the OS currently lacks in the animation department and the few working animations are quite nice, but most of the others are not proper, creating a sluggish experience at times.
Multi-Tasking in Windows 10
Windows has been known for its multi-tasking functionality and Windows 10 excels in this department. Adding the ability to create virtual desktops(Yes, we know this has been on the nixes for ages) is a welcome integration as many people have been demanding it for a fairly long time. The basic motive of Windows 10 is to merge the two different worlds of Windows into one, now that we have the ability to resize metro apps (and not just in terms of dividing a part of the screen), we get better multitasking capabilities. This improves productivity for people who manage their work by using apps from both ecosystems. Currently I faced issues with a few of the store apps which were not responsive and failed to work at times. Keyboard shortcuts like Alt+Tab and Win+Tab have new interface and better functionality. One must appreciate Microsoft’s effort in the snapping department as snapping apps now feels much better and smoother.
There will always be a set of people who love to use their store apps the Windows 8 way and Microsoft has planned a solution for them. Every store app has the capability to run fullscreen with no taskbar. Like in Windows 8.1.1, it disappears, but is still there if you want and can be accessed by simply moving your mouse pointer to it’s position. You can quickly switch between different apps running across different desktops, which is a good feature, but currently it lacks any transition effect, which makes it look bad.
Multi-Tasking Capabilities of Windows 10
What we have experienced so far in Windows 10 is only a small part of it, the more exciting features such as how Cortana gets integrated into the OS (Sadly, no word on the halo Franchise coming to the PC though), the new notification center and its ability to scale across devices of different sizes, is yet to be shown to public. Windows 10 Technical Preview is only meant for those who are willing to contribute and provide feedback to Microsoft and for App developers to familiarise themselves with it. You might want to install this in a separate partition or on another machine so as to prevent accidental data loss.
