14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft released a new Technical Preview build of Windows 10 a few hours ago, providing users enrolled in the Windows Insider Program with a bunch of improvements and tweaks, some of which were already presented during the Windows 10 event on Wednesday.
The release of this new build was initially scheduled to take place next week, but Microsoft is apparently in a hurry and wants people to try out its new OS as soon as possible.
Windows 10 build 9926 is now available for download and those running the Technical Preview on their computers already only need to go to PC settings, click on the update section and check for new builds. The OS takes care of everything and automatically downloads and installs new builds on your computer.
Revamped desktop and Cortana
Build 9926 is the first that comes with Cortana on the desktop, so you can now perform a number of tasks with voice commands, just like you do it with your Windows Phone.
Cortana is integrated into the taskbar and although it does come with a gigantic search bar that eats up a quarter of the taskbar, there's an option to change that and switch to the classic Cortana icon.
Cortana's behavior isn't much different from Windows Phone, but on PCs it can also perform a number of new tasks and can play your music, search files, or display photo albums when asked to.
The desktop also comes with new icons in the System Tray, and both the notification center and the volume control icon have been greatly refined. There is a new design for the notification center, but nothing too exciting, and the quick actions to reply to a message are still missing.
Redesigned Start menu
The Start menu has also been improved, so it now comes with the possibility of organizing tiles in categories. You can also scroll up and down in certain areas of the Start menu, so you can add more live tiles and still retain the original look of the menu.
Overall, build 9926 clearly shows the direction that Windows 10 has adopted for the desktop and brings it closer to the convergence concept that Microsoft has talked about on Wednesday.
It does feel a bit slow, but keep in mind that this is still a Technical Preview build and a lot could change until the final version of the operating system comes out in the fall of 2015.
