Windows 10 Anniversary Update: The Road To Redstone
by Brett Howse on August 2, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Hey Cortana, Remind Me to Explain Windows Ink
Cortana
Microsoft’s digital personal assistant has been updated as well. The most obvious change is that Cortana can now be accessed on the lock screen. If you’re not too worried about others seeing the lock screen, such as on a home PC, you can even have Cortana access your calendar and email on the lock screen. If you enable voice control with “Hey Cortana” you could even ask Cortana to play a song from across the room. It’s a nice feature, but on a PC it may not be that useful. On a tablet or mobile device, it might get a bit more use.
Perhaps the biggest updates with Cortana is just how much Microsoft has expanded the reach. While Cortana began as a feature of Windows Phone, Microsoft now offers it as a downloadable app on Android and iOS as well. That makes a lot of sense considering how the mobile smartphone game has played out, and gives Windows 10 users the ability to have reminders across their devices.
Speaking of across device abilities, Cortana can now send notifications from a smartphone to the PC. You can even reply to SMS messages on the PC using Cortana, which is pretty handy.
One other change has certainly caused some confusion prior to the release. The ability to turn Cortana off completely has been removed from the update, as well as the ability to assign a different browser/search engine via the registry - from now on users will be limited to Edge and Bing. You can opt to sign out of Cortana to remove the personalized features, but Cortana will still be the default search in the taskbar. It’s a change in policy for sure. As always, you can adjust what Cortana knows about you at any time by using the Notebook, and if you sign out of Cortana you’ll get a non-personalized version.
Windows Ink
It’s fair to say that Microsoft has been a proponent of the stylus input on computers for a long time. Over the years, the capabilities of the inking support have grown, and when Windows 10 launched last year, inking was a first class input method, with the ability to use the pen to write on any dialog box, and more. With the Anniversary Update, they are taking it to the next level with Windows Ink.
Windows Ink is a one-stop shop where you can easily access all of your inking apps, like Sketchpad, Sticky Notes, and others. It’s also an easy way to discover more apps built for the pen, and you can configure the pen here as well. It’s a smart idea to help people use the pen to get more out of the experience.
They’ve also added more features to the inking experience, including a digital ruler. It’s one of those “wow that’s so obvious” additions to the pen input, and being digital it can be more than just a straight ruler. Microsoft showed off at Build a version of Adobe CS with a digital French Curve ruler. I’ve actually tried to use an actual ruler with a stylus before, and it’s a pretty frustrating experience. The digital version is much easier to use, and more adaptable.
Some of the inking is even integrated into Cortana, and now Cortana can automatically decipher hand-written sticky notes in the sticky notes app, and create reminders based on them. Sticky notes are still one of the skeuomorphic ideas, but for some people they are indispensable, even as a digital version.
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BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Mint is a good alternative for people willing to roll up their sleeves on occasion. I've been using it full time on everything but my headless desktop which really only exists to stream Windows-only games to my Linux box through Steam.sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Does that work well (streaming of games to Linux)? I've never tried it but it might be a viable option. I'm planning on only using Windows for steam gaming and Photoshop, all my normal computing needs can readily be handled by Mint. Was originally thinking of just dual booting but if I could setup a reasonable workflow on Mint for photo editing I could then use the streaming option for games.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Getting streaming setup was painless. Install the Steam client on both computers and have them running at the same time. They'll see one another on your local network and on each respective machine's library, there's an option to stream the game. You can also stream non-Steam games and even random applications like Internet Explorer or MS Word over it by manually adding them to your game list.It's not perfect though. Your mileage will vary greatly based on the performance of your local network. In my case, my desktop is connected via wired ethernet at 100mbps to my crappy DSL router and my laptop can connect at up to 144 mpbs over wireless. Streaming is doable up to 1366x768, but there's the occasional hiccup in network performance that'll cause the video stream to pixelate or hesitate. Even then, the encoding process reduces image quality slightly so things just don't really look as good. There's also added latency between 10-20ms which might put multiplayer shooters out since you'll be a bit behind in reacting to what's happening in-game. Steam recommends doing the streaming thing purely on wired connections and they're probably right that it'd work better under those conditions, but I think I lose too much flexibility by being wired to the laptop. Oh and some games refuse to stream at all, but I've only seen that happen with MMOs. There's a few that are oddly picky about slinging their video to another computer.
Now on the good side of things, just about any piece of garbage laptop made since 2008 running linux with a decent wifi nic has the compute power necessary to decode the incominng stream. Its nice to keep upgrade pressure off every box but the headless desktop and a little cheaper too. Plus, with summer heat bearing down on the US, I like not having my desktop in the same room, baking my proverbial beans with its heat output. I still keep Tight VNC installed on the desktop so I can remotely access the desktop from outside a Steam session.
In the end though, the best advice I can suggest is to just fire up Steam and play with it a little to see how it works for you.
sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Thanks, I'll have to give it a shot. I've got a gigabit wired home network so that should help some. I'll have to fire up Fallout 4 and see how it plays.:-) Sounds like UT2K4 would be out, I've already got a ping of over 100 talking to the server I play on in Chicago (I'm in California).
doggface - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I have two streaming windows PCs at home (GbE) (one for my wife and I) and i will say categorically that your results == how good your network is.I have two lappys that effortlessly stream over 5ghz and struggle on 2.4ghz.
Otherwise steam streaming is the greatest lock-in that steam has on my gaming purchases. Love playing AAA/indies/etc. on the couch with an xbox controller. A pain when i have to actually sit at my desk to game
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I had an unused 8.1 Pro license lying around that shipped with my machine, so I installed it, and upgraded it on the last free day, so when I do sell my laptop (I change 'em every 2yrs), it would have the latest s/w for the new noob user.Anyway, I couldn't resist trying to run the Time Spy DX12 benchmark. What a mess. DX11 titles did work though without issue (but tried for short period only though). Tried updating Nvidia drivers - Nvidia 'Experience' was unable to sucessfully complete. Manually downloaded & failed also. Deleted existing, ran the install package as admin, failed again.
So no video drivers for Win 10 now at all. Even Windows itself is unable to update the GPUs.
Anyway, volume backed-up with Macrium Reflect for possible new machine owner, and partition deleted.
Still happy on 7 Pro.
PROUD tin-hatter here!
inighthawki - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Sounds more like a driver issue than an OS issue. What video card are you using?Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
"For now, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out in waves today, so check your Windows Update."What version of Win10 is going out with the media creation tool? I need to clean reinstall Win10 on a PC and wanted it to be the Anniversary update version right off the bat.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/w...
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
10586 for now, I believe. I`d like to have a 14939 ISO myself.Hopefully those will soon show up on MSDN.
Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
The Windows Blog posted on how to get build 14393 ISO :)https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/0...