Categories

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update is now available

Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is here and ready to download. The software giant first started testing its Fall Creators Update back in April, and now all Windows 10 users will be able to experience the improvements today. Just like previous updates, Microsoft is rolling it out in stages, and you can check whether it’s available for your own PC from Windows Update. If your device is eligible then it will start downloading in the background, and a prompt will appear to schedule a time to install.
If your device isn’t on the list, then that doesn’t mean you can’t skip the line. You can manually update to the Fall Creators Update over at Microsoft’s Windows 10 site. Simply click the “update now” button and proceed with the upgrade assistant. You can also download ISO images of the final copy of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update should you want to clean install it on your PC.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 Fall Creators Update includes a number of new features. The top addition is Windows Mixed Reality, making the operating system compatible with new headsets from PC makers that are in stores today. You can read more about Windows Mixed Reality in our guide. Microsoft is also adding contact integration into the task bar, and tweaking the design of Windows 10 to include subtle animation effects. This new Fluent Design will include updates to apps, too. You can read more about the top 10 new Windows 10 features in our Fall Creators Update guide.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Microsoft reveals new Windows 10 features coming in fall update



windows10-binoculars-woman.jpg
Microsoft's next Windows 10 feature update now has a name: the Fall Creators Update.
And as that name telegraphs, it also has an approximate due date. In the new semi-annual release schedule for Windows 10, this will almost certainly be version 1709, finished in September and delivered via Windows Update starting in October.
(Microsoft won't yet commit to those dates, however, saying only that the Fall Creators Update will arrive "later this year.")
In today's keynote address for the second day of the Build 2017 developers conference in Seattle, Microsoft executives also announced some of the features that will be in the Fall Creators Update, which was previously code-named Redstone 3.

The most obvious change will be a new design language called Microsoft Fluent Design System. Previously code-named Project Neon, this is the latest refinement of the ongoing work that started years ago as "Metro style apps." This iteration adds shading, blur effects, and animations to the Windows interface and to apps.

More information about the Fluent Design system is available at http://fluent.microsoft.com/.
The company also showed off a new Universal Windows app, Windows Story Remix, designed to blend photos and videos into stories with a soundtrack, theme, and cinematic transitions.
In other app news, Microsoft dropped a bombshell with the announcement that iTunes will be coming to the Windows Store this summer, as a converted desktop app, making it possible to run iTunes on all Windows 10 editions, including Windows 10 S. Other new entries in the Store include Autodesk Sketchbook and SAP Digital Boardroom.


Other new features announced work not just with Windows but with mobile devices running Microsoft apps on Android and iOS devices:
Timeline - This feature is an extension of Task View. Microsoft touts it as a way to scroll through a time-based representation of what you've been doing and "hop back into files, apps, and sites as if you never left."
Pick Up Where You Left Off - A partial implementation of this feature already exists in current Windows 10 builds. The idea is that Cortana can help you keep track of what you're working on and offer to resume working on a document or working with an app when you switch from a mobile device to a PC or vice-versa. (Expect Mac users to call this a knock-off of Apple's Handoff feature in MacOS.)
Clipboard - This venerable Windows feature will work across devices, Microsoft says, allowing you to copy a map link, a paragraph of text, or an animated GIF and exchange it between a mobile device and a Windows PC.
OneDrive Files On-Demand - Microsoft executives say this is the single most requested new feature in the new update. It brings back the "placeholders" feature that was abruptly dropped in early preview releases of Windows 10. With this update, Windows 10 users will once again be able to open File Explorer and see a full representation of all files stored in OneDrive, regardless of whether they're synced locally.
Other features aimed at enterprise users will be in the Fall Creators Update as well, most notably Windows Defender Application Guard, which uses Hyper-V virtualization to isolate potentially dangerous web content in containers that can't interact with the rest of the PC or network.

Some of these features are already in preview builds for Windows 10, delivered to members of the Windows Insider Program. Based on previous development cycles, it's likely that most of these features will appear in preview builds in June and July, allowing Microsoft to finish testing and development work in time for a fall release.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-reveals-new-windows-10-features-coming-in-fall-update/

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

How to force Windows 10 to download the Creators Update

Microsoft is planning to start pushing out the free Windows 10 Creators Updateon April 11. As is often the case, this will be a gradual rollout, meaning not everyone will get the update on day one. Microsoft will slowly ramp up the update’s release — but starting today, you can get the latest build of Windows 10 without waiting.
You can use the Windows 10 Update Assistant to avoid having to convince Windows Update to serve the Creators Update to you. On the Windows 10 computer you want to update, head to microsoft.com/software-download/windows10 and click the blue “Update now” button. This will download the Windows 10 Update Assistant (about 6MB).
After opening the downloaded file, you should see a screen like the one below. Click on the “Update Now” button at the bottom right.
The assistant will perform basic checks on your hardware and start the download process if everything looks good (it should be if you already have Windows 10 installed). You can keep using your computer while the update downloads, choose when to actually update, and roll it back if you do not like the Creators Update.
After verifying the download, the assistant will start preparing the update process automatically.
The assistant will automatically restart your computer after a 30-minute countdown. The actual installation can take up to 90 minutes. Click the “Restart now” button in the bottom right or the “Restart later” in the bottom left to delay it.
After your computer restarts, the setup will ask you to verify Windows 10’s privacy settings. Then you can sign in and Windows 10 will go through the final steps to finish installing the update. Finally, Edge will open up and greet you with a “Welcome to the Windows 10 Creators Update” message.
Installing large Windows 10 updates is a long process, but Microsoft has made it quite smooth overall. Given that the update is free, there is no reason for you not to get it as soon as possible.