Of all these features, only the graphing calculator is especially interesting to me.
If I really wanted to alt-tab between my browser tabs, I'd open them in a new browser.
I like the look of the Start Menu. Functionality is more or less the same, but it just has a more pleasing appearance to me. The few apps that had useful live tiles (like weather, calendar, etc.) still work, while the others look like and blend in with normal non-UWP apps.
I hope they also fixed the bugs with the start menu. It would be so nice if expanding expandable tiles wouldn't mess with the possition of other tiles, create empty spots and make some of them disappear every now and then until you re-arrange the tiles to fill the mysteriously appeared gaps. That's much more important than giving it a visual overhaul, in my humble opinion.
I am on bit older build, yet I have those. Graphs in Calc use DX11.
And start menu is not anything to look at. It is kind of weird since I use vertical taskbar.
It is still the same, horrific interface. They keep taking large steps backwards as far as I am concerned. I haven't like the Windows GUI since W7 and I liked XP's better than it.
Of all these features, only the graphing calculator is especially interesting to me.
If I really wanted to alt-tab between my browser tabs, I'd open them in a new browser.
Same opinion here.
If Firefox enables this too in the future, I hope they let users the option to disable it. I usually have a lot of permanently open tabs, and this new "feature" would be very problematic for me.
The entire design of the "Start" menu in Windows 10 is painful. Horrible, horrible design.
I honestly have never used it apart from the extra shutdown menu I have to use.
Have never used the "tiles" at all for anything... don't even know what the point of them is (for touch screen?)
And the middle programs menu list with its extra expanding sub-menus.. horrible.
Honestly menu systems from OS's from 25 years ago were better than it.
I am not using Edge, and hopefully they don't force user to show all tabs in the ALT-TAB screen.
I am using the pin feature of Firefox and i have 15 mini pinned tabs at all time, so without counting the additionnal one that i open myself for day to day random search & surf. Would be horrible to see all of them appearing when trying to switch from one app to another.
The START-TAB feature could be improve, it shows 1 months history of opened app/document + current opened windows. But for whatever reason, not every program launched previously shows up in the history.
It can help tracks what we've done in the last month day to day. But missing so much history/program not registered.
The entire design of the "Start" menu in Windows 10 is painful. Horrible, horrible design.
I honestly have never used it apart from the extra shutdown menu I have to use.
Have never used the "tiles" at all for anything... don't even know what the point of them is (for touch screen?)
And the middle programs menu list with its extra expanding sub-menus.. horrible.
Honestly menu systems from OS's from 25 years ago were better than it.
Well... I actually use the tiles A LOT.
They are the quick and easy way to access whatever program. Everything I use is just 2 clicks away (or a windows key + 1 click away).
It's much easier and faster than to use the search bar, and it relieves the desktop of shortcuts, so my desktop is 100% clean, with only 3 icons: PC / user folder / recycle bin.
I've organized the tiles in categories: Office tools, Games, Windows tools, Multimedia tools, Art and Other tools, so everything is shown without scrolling and organized in an easy to find way, with things that I use the most in medium size, and things that I use less in small size.
Heck, I have even created tiles for things like "Power Options" and "Device and Printers" to go directly to their respective places in the old Config Panel, or to "Services", "cmd" and "PowerShell" if I want to check things out.
As for the task bar, I only have two things: File Explorer and Firefox, which are the 2 things I use more on this computer.
Here's a screenshot of my tiles: postimg DOT cc/NLNPj9fr
IMHO, it's perfect for efficiency and for keeping the desktop clean.
Well... I actually use the tiles A LOT.
They are the quick and easy way to access whatever program. Everything I use is just 2 clicks away (or a windows key + 1 click away).
It's much easier and faster than to use the search bar, and it relieves the desktop of shortcuts, so my desktop is 100% clean, with only 3 icons: PC / user folder / recycle bin.
I've organized the tiles in categories: Office tools, Games, Windows tools, Multimedia tools, Art and Other tools, so everything is shown without scrolling and organized in an easy to find way, with things that I use the most in medium size, and things that I use less in small size.
Heck, I have even created tiles for things like "Power Options" and "Device and Printers" to go directly to their respective places in the old Config Panel, or to "Services", "cmd" and "PowerShell" if I want to check things out.
As for the task bar, I only have two things: File Explorer and Firefox, which are the 2 things I use more on this computer.
Here's a screenshot of my tiles: postimg DOT cc/NLNPj9fr
IMHO, it's perfect for efficiency and for keeping the desktop clean.
Even with the regular old start menu I kept the desktop clean, but tiles on start are a bit faster than using custom menus.
Here is how I have mine set, not as many tiles as on yours though 🙂
Yeah I know, quite a color mix, but it does help.
https://i.imgur.com/plXP9Ox.png
For those that hate the stupid nonsense windows 10 start menu (its look, its structure, those infantile colored tiles):
https://www.startisback.com/
It's just $3.99, and has a 30-day trial mode for those that want to make sure they want to spend the equivalent of two cups of coffee...
Note: Not my PC, random googled image:
https://tweakers.net/ext/i/2002213685.png
Edit: Ah, or Start10, seems to be very similar... both in usage and price.
I dunno about other browsers, but you can switch tabs in Opera by using Ctrl+Tab.
I only ever use the start menu for the search function, so - meh. As for the calculator - useful for some, but I'll probably just let it draw sin(x) for me and never use the function again 😀.
Well... I actually use the tiles A LOT.
They are the quick and easy way to access whatever program. Everything I use is just 2 clicks away (or a windows key + 1 click away).
It's much easier and faster than to use the search bar, and it relieves the desktop of shortcuts, so my desktop is 100% clean, with only 3 icons: PC / user folder / recycle bin.
I've organized the tiles in categories: Office tools, Games, Windows tools, Multimedia tools, Art and Other tools, so everything is shown without scrolling and organized in an easy to find way, with things that I use the most in medium size, and things that I use less in small size.
Heck, I have even created tiles for things like "Power Options" and "Device and Printers" to go directly to their respective places in the old Config Panel, or to "Services", "cmd" and "PowerShell" if I want to check things out.
As for the task bar, I only have two things: File Explorer and Firefox, which are the 2 things I use more on this computer.
Here's a screenshot of my tiles: postimg DOT cc/NLNPj9fr
IMHO, it's perfect for efficiency and for keeping the desktop clean.
I never knew anything about customizing the tiles. Had to look up how to do it. Anyway I have always been using old school method of having icons all over desktops and just searching for program there... I also have a long list of my most used programs pinned to Taskbar which I find handiest to do. I have plenty of space to do all this... and the desktop icons are all on the secondary side portrait-oriented monitor so not in main monitor in the way.
Anyway I have always been using old school method of having icons all over desktops and just searching for program there...
You do realize that Desktop is just another computer directory, and it can have sub-directories (sub-folders) in it, and themselves can have sub-sub-dirs... and so on.
Those folders can be customized to show any icon you want.
You can have a literal million icons "on the desktop" with only one being actually visible.
Here's an example of my totally clean desktop with one icon in it:
Inside, more folders (as well as shortcuts, quick notes, whatever I need (Media, Tools, Work, World, WTX) are all folders with customized icons.
And this is a basic Explorer window, so it STAYS OPEN when I open it, unlike the Start menu, as well as any other secondary folder windows in it.
You know what's more fun ? It's not even on the desktop itself.
The "Icon" on the desktop is just a shortcut to a folder which is safely and securely placed somewhere else, so if I accidentally delete it, no harm done, my entire structure stays intact.
Just the shortcut icon needs to be rebuilt.
Start menu is SO CLUMSY, especially Windows 10 one, couldn't find anything in that alphabet soup...
p.s. The start button is from Startisback which I linked earlier... this is a totally new Windows 10 v2004
Inside, more folders (as well as shortcuts, quick notes, whatever I need (Media, Tools, Work, World, WTX) are all folders with customized icons. And this is a basic Explorer window, so it STAYS OPEN when I open it, unlike the Start menu, as well as any other secondary folder windows in it. You know what's more fun ? It's not even on the desktop itself. The "Icon" on the desktop is just a shortcut to a folder which is safely and securely placed somewhere else, so if I accidentally delete it, no harm done, my entire structure stays intact. Just the shortcut icon needs to be rebuilt. Start menu is SO CLUMSY, especially Windows 10 one, couldn't find anything in that alphabet soup... p.s. The start button is from Startisback which I linked earlier... this is a totally new Windows 10 v2004