See what's new in Microsoft's revamped OS version

Oct 1, 2014 19:30 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft yesterday presented the new Windows 10 as part of a press conference in San Francisco, while the testing builds received the go-ahead to be released to users only a few hours ago. 

Unsurprisingly, lots of users rushed to download the Windows 10 preview, despite Microsoft's recommendations that only those with a bit more advanced computer knowledge and IT admins should deploy the testing version on their computers.

The reason is as simple as it could be: Microsoft hopes that those who install the OS will actually send back feedback and help the company improve the operating system before the final version comes out, so advanced users are pretty much the ones who could really help the software giant in this regard.

Of course, we've already downloaded and installed Windows 10 Preview and below you can find a photo gallery with the new features that are now part of the operating system. Keep in mind that these are only the initial improvements to the operating system, but more are to come in the next few months through the integrated update system.

First impressions 

At first glance, Windows 10 Preview seems to be a really fast operating system, but performance isn’t quite one of the things to talk about at this point given the fact that it's still in testing stages.

Windows 10 Preview feels a bit more modern and familiar, and the Start menu clearly plays a key role in this. You can now find apps faster and the "Add shortcut to Start menu" option bundled into app installers finally makes sense.

Installed apps are thus added to the Start menu, so it's really easy to launch them, but you can also customize the menu with live tiles and your own programs.

Windows now have a small shadow effect that make the operating system feel a bit more modern, and although it's not quite the same as the Aero glass effects, it's certainly a good addition to a product that was very close to becoming quite boring in terms of looks.

The search option available in the taskbar is really fast and helps you look for information online by simply typing in your keywords. At this point, Bing is the search engine powering the feature, but more options could be implemented soon, as Microsoft might risk more trouble in markets such as Europe.

Multiple desktops sure come in handy, but this also depends on how many apps you use to run. Until now, we've already tried working with 5 desktops and the feature runs really well.

Should I install it? 

If you're really keen to see what's new in Windows 10, this preview build is definitely worth a try. Otherwise, just stick to your current installation until the stable version comes out.

Windows 10 Preview obviously has some bugs and we've heard from some users that it sometimes crashes all of a sudden and a restart is the only way to deal with it.

As far as feedback is concerned, the OS indeed asks you to share your thoughts every once in a while, but you can very well close these notifications every time they show up. And don't be too surprised if someone develops a third-party solution to disable them completely.

Windows 10 Preview expires on April 15, 2015, so it's pretty clear that it shouldn't be installed on your production systems.

And still, if you really want to give it a try, here are the Windows 10 Preview download links.

Windows 10 Preview in action (30 Images)

Windows 10 Preview brings back the Start menu
Windows 10 Preview search featureWindows 10 Preview search option
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