Tag: Microsoft

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: the 10 best new features

Microsoft has been testing its latest Windows 10 Fall Creators Update over the past six months, and it’s now ready to roll out to existing machines today. While Microsoft’s “Creators Update” naming extends to this latest Windows 10 update, a lot of the features are new additions that will be used by all Windows users. Microsoft is officially launching its Windows Mixed Reality (VR) headsets with the Fall Creators Update, and it’s finally bringing its contact integration to the Windows 10 task bar.

Most of the improvements in the Fall Creators Update are minor, and some have even been delayed until a future update. Microsoft is also starting to tweak the overall look and feel of Windows 10 with its new Fluent Design in the Fall Creators Update. You’ll see some of those subtle changes and animations if you update your PC today, and more will be coming next year. I’ve been testing Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update for the past six months, and these are my favorite new features coming to Windows.

ONEDRIVE FILES ON-DEMAND

Microsoft is bringing back placeholder files for OneDrive with the Fall Creators Update. A new on-demand feature lets OneDrive pick out data from the cloud when it’s needed, without having to sync full files and folders to a device. OneDrive Files On-Demand will only download files when you need them, and File Explorer will show what files are available locally, or if they’ll need to be downloaded from the cloud. Apps can even sync files from OneDrive, and you’ll get a notification showing their download progress.

It’s a great improvement over the old method of having to sync entire folders for offline usage, and any files you open will now be automatically synced offline until you run out of disk space.

PEOPLE INTEGRATION

My People is Microsoft’s method of making the static Windows 10 task bar a little more personal. You can now pin friends, co-workers, or family members to the task bar, for quick access to contact details. You can even use Skype to call or message a contact from the task bar, and emoji and messages will pop up during conversations. The most useful part of this people integration is the ability to drag and drop things like pictures directly onto a contact and share them easily.

WINDOWS MIXED REALITY

Microsoft’s answer to virtual reality, Windows Mixed Reality, is now available with the Fall Creators Update. To use Mixed Reality you’ll need to purchase a separate headset from PC makers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or Samsung. The setup process just involves launching the Mixed Reality Portal app, and most modern PCs will be capable of running basic apps in Mixed Reality. You’ll need a more powerful machine to access some of the more demanding games and experiences.

Microsoft has created a Cliff House home area where you can pin apps, games, and even holograms. It’s the main portal for launching everything you’ll need in VR, and you can also watch movies and TV shows from there. Right now there aren’t too many games, but SteamVR support will be available in beta by the end of the year.

FLUENT DESIGN CHANGES

Microsoft is ushering in a new design language with Windows 10, dubbed Fluent Design. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update introduces some parts of Fluent Design, with subtle effects and animations. Microsoft’s Fluent Design System is designed to be the true successor to Microsoft’s Metro design, and will appear across apps and services on Windows, iOS, and Android. Microsoft is focusing on light, depth, motion, material, and scale for its Fluent Design, with animations that make the design feel like it’s moving during interactions in Windows.

Most of the new changes include subtle additions like blur effects, which is a type of design we saw back with Windows Vista. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update also makes it easier to resize apps and windows, thanks to the design changes, and transparency in the Start menu now uses a subtle new acrylic design.

MICROSOFT EDGE IMPROVEMENTS

Microsoft’s Edge browser is getting a lot of improvements in the Fall Creators Update. The software maker is bringing back pinned sites on the task bar, allowing you to pin your favorite site (The Verge) to the task bar for quick access. There’s also a new full-screen mode (F11) that lets you use most of your monitor to fully display a website fully. PDFs and EPUB ebooks are also getting some nice additions: you can now annotate ebooks, and even use ink with a stylus on them; PDFs are getting annotation support and improved viewing and navigation.

PEN AND TOUCH IMPROVEMENTS

If you’re a Microsoft Surface owner, then the Fall Creators Update will improve the touch and inking features. Microsoft has added a new touch keyboard with text prediction, and quicker access to emoji. There’s even a one-handed touch keyboard and shape writing so you can swipe over keys to type (just like Windows Phone). Microsoft has also added a dictation button so you can speak to type, or even use voice commands to navigate around Windows 10.

NEW EMOJI AND A USEFUL SHORTCUT

Everyone loves emoji and Microsoft is making sure it got the latest Unicode updates in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. New additions include dinosaurs, genies, fairies, and even zombies in time for Halloween. They’re all available in a really neat new emoji panel. You can summon the emoji panel by using Win + period or semicolon as a keyboard shortcut. The panel also supports searching for emoji, so it’s the perfect way to quickly send that ideal response during a conversation.

CORTANA IMPROVEMENTS

Cortana will now display call notifications if you’re using an Android phone. The digital assistant will sync notifications if you have Cortana installed on an Android device, and it gives you the ability to text a person if you’re busy on your PC, or decline the call. Microsoft has also moved Cortana’s settings into the main settings part of Windows 10. Cortana can now even lock, sign out, shut down, or restart your PC with voice commands.

HEADPHONE AND SOUND IMPROVEMENTS

If you use headphones a lot with your Windows 10 PC, then they’ll be a lot easier to manage with the Fall Creators Update. You can now right-click on the sound icon in the notification area and enable Windows Sonic, a spatial sound feature that supports surround sound and Dolby Atmos. The new volume mixer also supports the ability to control individual app volume for Universal Windows Apps, which is useful if you want to play music from Groove Music or Microsoft Edge in the background at slightly lower than the system volume for gaming.

TASK MANAGER GPU TRACKING AND DPI IMPROVEMENTS

If you’re a PC gamer, then Microsoft is adding a nice addition for tracking GPU performance. Task Manager now has a new GPU option in the performance tab that shows GPU utilization and memory usage. Processes are also now grouped in the main Task Manager interface, making it easier to control them.

Microsoft is also addressing the issue of blurry apps when you use a monitor with a laptop, or a second screen. If you have a high DPI display like a 4K monitor, you’ll no longer have to log out to fix blurry desktop apps. It’s a good improvement that will fix most desktop apps and the majority of DPI complaints, but you might find some older apps will still run blurry at times.

Microsoft finally admits Windows Phone is dead

In a series of tweets, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore has revealed that the software giant is no longer developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile. While Windows Phone fans had hoped Microsoft would update the platform with new features, it’s now clear the operating system has been placed into servicing mode, with just bug fixes and security updates for existing users.

“Of course we’ll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates,” says Belfiore. “But building new features/hw aren’t the focus.” During the recent Windows 10 Fall Creators Update development phase, it has been obvious Microsoft is no longer working on the mobile experience. The software maker branched its development process into “feature2,” leaving Windows Phone fans disappointed.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform has been dead for more than a year, but the company has never officially admitted it before. Microsoft gutted its phone business last year, resulting in thousands of job cuts. During Microsoft’s recent Build and Inspire conferences, CEO Satya Nadella dropped the company’s mantra of “mobile-first, cloud-first” in favor of a focus on what he describes as the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. This new area of focus means Microsoft is now working on multi-device scenarios and cloud-powered technologies that don’t always involve Windows.

Belfiore also admits he switched to Android, just like Bill Gates, and that Microsoft will support Windows 10 customers who want to use Android and iOS on their phones. One of the big reasons Microsoft is giving up on Windows Phone is because developers never backed the platform. Microsoft had many problems with its Windows Phone app store, and the inability to retain apps once they were developed. “We have tried very hard to incent app devs,” explains Belfiore. “Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest.”

It’s now clear Microsoft has faced the reality that people don’t need Windows on their phones. The software maker has been focused on iOS and Android apps and experiences over the past couple of years. Microsoft’s Edge browser is making its way to iOS and Android, and the company seems to be focused on improving the experience of linking a phone to a PC and resuming apps and documents between the two.

A new Microsoft Launcher for Android even goes a step further in improving the overall Android experience, with clever customizations and PC sharing features. Expect to see a lot more of this in the future. It’s now unlikely we’ll ever see a Surface-branded phone or more Windows 10 Mobile-powered hardware. Microsoft’s investments in iOS and Android will only benefit Windows 10 customers, and it could make up for the company’s messy efforts in mobile over the years.

Windows 10: Microsoft, nearly finalizing the Fall Creators Update, teases a mixed-reality future

Even as Microsoft winds down the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, its Insiders are still receiving new capabilities. Case in point: Insider Build 16273, which adds a new mixed-reality mode, the chance to try out Windows 10 S, and even a rather interesting new font.

windows 10 view 3d mixed reality

Though Microsoft seemingly wound down the new Fall Creators Update with its earlier bug bash, it’s now official. In a blog post, software engineer and Windows Insider spokesperson Dona Sarkar confirmed that the Fall Creators Update is ready to be polished for its expected September debut: “We are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update,” wrote Sarkar, “where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world.”

What this means for you: If you’re an Insider, it doesn’t mean an end to new builds—far from it. Instead, you’ll receive those builds more quickly as Microsoft starts smashing bugs. What it does mean (right, Microsoft?) is that we’re seeing the end of new features for the Fall Creators Update, and a general slide into the more formal, stable release. Keep in mind, though, that Microsoft has split or “forked” its builds: While the majority of improvements are slated for the Fall Creators Update, the first of these new features is actually part of the “Skip Ahead” or “Redstone 4” track, one release beyond the FCU.

View 3D comes to mixed reality

While hardware and software makers alike hope that virtual or mixed reality will be the next big thing, consumers will still need a reason to buy additional hardware. Microsoft’s shown off mixed-reality hardware at its Build developer conferences, but Insider Build 16273 adds a new feature: mixed-reality support for View 3D.

Microsoft Paint 3D desert island

Remember that Windows 10 now includes Paint 3D, a rather fun 3D content-creation tool for designing your own 3D dioramas. While you can view and edit those scenes within the Paint 3D app itself, you can also export them to View 3D for viewing. It’s sort of like a bare-bones Photos app, but just for 3D objects. Inside Build 16273, you can now “view” objects in View 3D via mixed reality.

What this doesn’t mean, though, is that you have to buy a mixed-reality camera. Instead, you can use your laptop’s rear-facing camera to take a picture and project the 3D object into the scene. Though we haven’t tried it yet, that seems like a smart way to begin pushing mixed reality without requiring additional hardware.

The one catch? This is the feature that’s part of the “Skip Ahead” track of Insider Builds. If you’re not already within the “track within a track” of the Skip Ahead branch, even “generic” Insiders won’t see this until the Fall Creators Update drops, at which point the two tracks will converge again.

Try out Windows 10 S yourself

If you disagreed with our three-star Windows 10 S review, Insiders have a chance to try out Windows 10 S for yourself. Remember, you’ll be limited to the Windows Store, with all of the restrictions that are attached to Windows 10 S.

Microsoft’s fascinating GigJam service will close in September

Microsoft will close and end the preview of its new GigJam productivity service, which was aimed at helping teams of people collaborate in real time over the Internet, the company said Tuesday.

Microsoft's GigJam is aimed at helping people work together.

“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to retire the GigJam Preview on September 22, 2017,” Microsoft said. As of that day, any remaining “gigs” will automatically expire.

GigJam combines data from a variety of services including Microsoft’s own Office 365, Trello, Dropbox, and Salesforce. Users can then bring that information into a shared workspace, or “gig,” allowing them to quickly work together.

Users can easily redact part of the information they’re sharing with other people, meaning they can selectively share only what needs to be seen in order to get a job done.

There’s no way around it: GigJam was a kind of wacky product Microsoft has built to help people get work done together. But what’s interesting is that it’s emblematic of the company’s current approach to the productivity market—focused on letting people quickly and independently collaborate across different services while maintaining a secure environment.

Here’s how it works: One user starts a “Gig,” and then pulls in information from whatever services they need, like email, Salesforce, Office documents, and Asana tasks. That information shows up as a card inside GigJam, where users can highlight some information inside a card, redact other information, and then send the whole bundle off to another user for review or editing.

It’s a good way to both keep focused on the task at hand (like editing only one slide out of a PowerPoint presentation) and also enables workers to more easily team up with people outside of their organization, like suppliers and contractors who shouldn’t be privy to some information.

The GigJam interface also combines a bunch of interesting input methods. Users can work entirely with the keyboard and mouse, but they can also interact with Gigs using touch and voice input. The service is a crazy bundle of different modern capabilities and looks in demos like something out of the future.

GigJam’s radical differences from other collaboration products like Slack, email, Yammer, and SharePoint are what make it unique and powerful, but may also end up being its undoing. Plenty of companies have bet on innovative productivity services that ended up being less popular than expected. The epic failure of Google Wave comes to mind.

GigJam is available on Windows and Mac, with a beta of the iOS application coming soon. Users can sign up for the private beta here, and Microsoft says everyone who requests an invitation will get one. People who have already requested an invitation to the beta before now should have one waiting in their inboxes.