Subtle changes are the main focus of the Spring Update
With all the drama surrounding the last major update to Windows 10 it seems strange to be talking about the next release (v1903) when many people still haven't received the upgrade to Windows 10 v1809. After the file deletion problems Microsoft have rolled the update out in a cautious manner, thoroughly checking Computers before updating them. As a result many Windows 10 Home users are still on v1803 and Business users running the Professional version set to 'Semi Annual Channel' are still waiting as it hasn't been declared ready for widespread use in Organisations yet.
Anyway in the last of my articles prior to the scheduled April release I'm going to look at a few more of the changes you can expect. The first involves Cortana and the Search Bar which are now separating. You will see a separate Cortana Icon on the task bar. For many this will be seen as a major benefit as they are annoyed by Cortana providing a list of web results from Bing when searching for something on their local machine. However, the bad news is that the standard Windows Search bar still brings back results from the web. There is some light at the end of the tunnel though with a re-designed Start Menu search that allows you to search everything on your local machine. The start menu will now use the Windows Search Index to search your entire machine which hopefully will end the infuriating scenario where a search decides that a location on the web is a closer match than the actual file which is located on your Computer. In previous versions of Windows 10 it was only the libraries that were searched - Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos. You can now search your entire Computer by making a one time change to the settings. This can be found at Settings / Search / Searching Windows and choose the 'Enhanced Indexing Mode', the Classic Mode will return the same results as in previous versions of Windows 10. For those that want an instant fix I would recommend just using the Advanced Search in File Explorer rather than using the search on the start menu!!
Microsoft are introducing a new Light Theme for Windows 10 v1903. The Dark Theme was long awaited and had been requested by many but I had never considered there might be a demand for a Light theme. Having said that it does actually look good and is not surprisingly nice and bright. The task bar and start menu are light and there is even a new light wallpaper theme that is similar to the dark one only lighter!! Dialog boxes and notification pop-ups are also light. The settings app now has a 'Default Windows Mode' and a 'Default App Mode' so if you want to get creative you can have a dark mode for Windows and a light mode for your Apps but most people will just go for dark or light throughout.
The new start menu is much cleaner and Microsoft have also made it much easier to do some more of your own tidying up. You can unpin groups of tiles on the start menu and also uninstall many more built in Apps than you could previously. In fact apart from the sacred Store App and Edge Browser you can remove pretty much everything.
Finally, if you struggle for space you may want to take a quick look at the Storage Settings page. It has changed a bit and started to look a bit more like your mobile phone. You will see a bar showing your overall used and free space but you will also see a series of categories underneath. You can click each category and then use tools that allow you to free up space used by temporary files or uninstall unused Apps. This gives you a one stop opportunity to have a bit of a tidy up. To begin the process just head to Settings / System Storage.
As always if you are having problems or need a bit of tuition on your existing installation of Windows 10 then call Mark on 07557 483438, e-mail mark@churchdowncomputers.co.uk or fill out the form at the bottom of theContact page.
