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Task View lets you switch between multiple virtual desktops, which are described in the following section.
Multiple desktops
In Windows, the term multiple desktops refers to the capability to create more than one virtual desktop, each with one or more apps running on that virtual desktop, and switch between desktops. Windows has supported multiple virtual desktops for several years in multiple versions, although not as a mainstream feature. Windows 10 is the first version to offer multiple displays as a prominent feature of the interface.
If your device has multiple displays, you may be wondering why you would want to create multiple desktops; after all, you can simply move apps from one display to another and group them as needed. Multiple desktops let you group together apps onto a virtual desktop. Although they are most useful on single-display devices, multiple desktops can also be useful on multi-display devices.
For example, you may be multitasking between work and personal activities. In this scenario, you can create a desktop for your work apps and another for your personal apps and switch between the two desktops as needed. Even on a multi-display device, you may find multiple desktops useful for helping you group specific apps together so you can focus on them as a set.
Creating a virtual desktop is easy. Just open the Task View from the Taskbar and click or tap New Desktop. Then open the apps that you want to use on that desktop. When you need to switch between desktops, either use the Task View or press Windows Key+Ctrl+Left Arrow or Windows Key+Ctrl+Right Arrow.
Action Center replaces Charms bar
One of the Windows 8.x interface elements that is gone from Windows 10 is the Charms bar. In Windows 8.x, the Charms bar expands out from the right side of the display to give you access to settings, device functions, search, and other features. Many of these items have been moved into other parts of the Windows 10 interface. For example, Search has been integrated into the Taskbar.
Even though the Charms bar is gone, something similar to it remains in Windows 10. In the Taskbar, next to the date and time, is a Notifications button that, when clicked or tapped, displays the fly-out interface element called the Action Center, shown in Figure 1.8.
FIGURE 1.8 The Action Center replaces some of the functions in the Charms bar.
The Action Center shows notifications, and through a selection of tiles at the bottom, gives you quick access to the Settings app, tablet mode, airplane mode, and other settings and features. When you need to change display brightness, for example, open the Action Center, tap the Display tile, and then use the brightness slider in the Settings app that subsequently opens.
Web Browsing
Internet Explorer (IE) has long been a love/hate app. Some users love it, but other users hate it (and often move to Firefox or Chrome because of IE's drawbacks). In addition, application compatibility for line-of-business apps and in-house apps has long been a consideration with IE for businesses that have sometimes struggled to keep their apps compatible with IE as the browser evolved.
Windows 10 ships with a new browser named Microsoft Edge (Figure 1.9). Some of the key goals of the Edge development team were to streamline the interface, integrate Cortana for faster search and better discoverability, optimize browsing across multiple platforms, provide a great experience on touch devices, and add features such as the capability to annotate web pages. Edge is a single browser designed to work across the entire Windows 10 device family.
FIGURE 1.9 The Edge web browser provides a streamlined browsing experience.
Edge moves from the markup used in IE to the same markup used in other modern browsers. Edge introduces a new proprietary rendering engine, dubbed EdgeHTML, that replaces the Trident rendering engine found in IE. In the initial beta releases of Edge, the new browser incorporated both the legacy Trident rendering engine and the new Edge rendering engine. During the development cycle, however, Microsoft decided to use only the Edge engine in Edge. In order to support legacy sites that require the Trident engine, Windows 10 ships with both the new Edge and legacy IE 11 browsers. Organizations can choose to designate the default browser through group policy, enabling them to ensure that IE 11 is the users' default browser if needed to support intranet sites or line-of- business apps that require IE compatibility.
In addition to a new rendering engine, Edge also integrates Cortana as a built-in search assistant, a new reading list that enables you to gather content to read and even export web pages to PDF, and as mentioned previously in this section, the new inking features that enable you to mark up and annotate web content and share those comments with others.
Cortana
Cortana, named for the fictional artificial intelligence character in the Halo game series, was introduced on the Windows Phone 8.1 platform. It is an intelligent personal assistant that can help you set reminders, perform searches, answer questions, recognize music, and launch apps using voice or text commands. If you speak a question, Cortana typically speaks the answer. If you type a question, Cortana answers with a text response.
Cortana (if you let her) can learn about you, your interests and habits, locations you often visit, and other information to simplify your work or personal life. For example, Cortana can search for and detect flight schedules in your e-mails and add the information to your calendar for you, or identify tracking information in e-mails to keep you up-to-date on whether your online orders are in transit or still sitting in the seller's warehouse.
Office Universal Apps
Windows 10 includes touch-optimized versions of the popular Office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. The apps are preinstalled on Windows phones and small tablets running Windows and are available as a download from the Windows Store for other devices. These apps enable you to view and edit Office documents and send and receive e-mail. Although the Office apps included with Windows 10 don't give you the same range of features as the full versions of the Office suite, they provide the most commonly used features for reading and editing documents and can minimize the number of times you need to switch from your phone or tablet to your PC to work with a document.
The Windows Store
Another change in Windows 10 is a complete revamp of the Windows Store. A key aspect of this change is that the Store is a single point of app delivery supporting phones, tablets, and PCs. In addition, IT organizations can deploy a customized version of the Windows Store that integrates in-house apps and public apps. A web-based management interface enables IT staff to assign apps, manage updates, and accomplish other Windows Store management tasks. So, when you need that line-of-business app installed on your new work PC running Windows 10, you can open the Windows Store and download it.
Another important change in the new Windows Store is the type of apps you can download. Previously, the Windows Store supported only Windows apps. The revamped store enables you to obtain Windows apps, traditional Windows desktop apps, and hosted web apps. The latter enable developers to convert components of their web sites into apps that they then make available through the Windows Store. These web apps are hosted on the vendor's infrastructure rather than being downloaded to the users' devices but have access to the notifications, camera, calendar, Cortana, and other features on the device.
Finally, the new Windows Store integrates content as well as apps. You can purchase and stream TV shows, movies, and music from the Windows Store to your Windows 10 devices.
Windows 10 Anniversary Edition Update
Windows 10 build 1607, known as Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, includes several updates and new features that were developed during the first year after Windows 10's initial release. This section explores many of these features and updates.
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