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Conversational Published by Conversational Geek Inc. www.conversationalgeek.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Trademarks Conversational Geek, the Conversational Geek logo and J. the Geek are trademarks of Conversational Geek. All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. We cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or programs accompanying it.

Additional Information For general information on our other products and services, or how to create a custom Conversational Geek book for your business or organization, please visit our website at ConversationalGeek.com

Publisher Acknowledgments All of the folks responsible for the creation of this guide: Author: Alan L. Wright / Paul Thurrott Project Editor: J. Peter Bruzzese Copy Editor: John Rugh Content Reviewer(s): Shanna G. Giarrano

Note from the Authors

Windows has certainly evolved and grown over the last 30 years. Sometimes this growth has been painful, but overall it has opened new opportunities and expanded the way we all work, play, and interact. There is no denying the fact that millions of people touch and use Windows several times a day, every day.

We enjoy working with technology and we’re amazed at times to see the continued advancements that have brought many dreams and concepts from the realm of science fiction to reality. The possibilities that wearables, holograms, and even smartphones and tablets have opened up to all of us would be hard to imagine just a few short years ago. We live in exciting times.

Windows 10 is a reflection of the times we live in. Whether you fancy yourself as an artist, teacher, student, professional, or simply a home user, I encourage you to make technology work for you. Explore the possibilities and have fun!

The “Conversational” Method

We have two objectives when we create a “Conversational” book: First, to make sure it’s written in a conversational tone so that it’s fun and easy to read. Second, to make sure you, the reader, can immediately take what you read and include it into your own conversations (personal or business-focused) with confidence.

These books are meant to increase your understanding of the subject. Terminology, conceptual ideas, trends in the market, and even fringe subject matter are brought together to ensure you can engage your customer, team, co-worker, friend and even the know-it-all Best Buy geek on a level playing field. “Geek in the Mirror” Boxes

We infuse humor into our books through both cartoons and light banter from the author. When you see one of these boxes it’s the author stepping outside the dialog to speak directly to you. It might be an anecdote, it might be a personal experience or gut reaction and analysis, it might just be a sarcastic quip, but these “geek in the mirror” boxes are not to be skipped.

Greetings. Within these boxes we can share just about anything on the subject at hand.

Read ’em!

A Brief History of Windows

There are few people living on Earth today who are unfamiliar with .

Microsoft was formed in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Their shared vision was “a computer on every desktop and in every home”. This was ambitious for several reasons: at the time, computers were still huge mainframe devices that typically had the footprint of an automobile and access was fairly limited to academic and military realms. A ‘microcomputer’ was considered nothing more than a passing fad that would be of interest to a few computer enthusiasts at best.

Today, Microsoft is no less ambitious with a stated goal of seeing Microsoft Windows 10 running on over one billion devices within two years. Let’s take a look back at Windows and how it has changed over the years and shaped the way that we work and live.

The Dawn of Windows Microsoft originally purchased and licensed the system that became MS-DOS, a command line-based computer that was far less friendly than the graphical interfaces to which we have since grown accustomed. But it was not until November 20, 1985 that Microsoft released Windows 1.0. This new operating system allowed users to interact with personal computers using a mouse rather than typing in commands. A simple graphical taskbar coupled with the use of scrollbars and a basic menu system allowed you to point and click to navigate through screens - or you could call them ‘windows’.

As compelling, Windows 1.0 allowed users to multitask, where more than one application could be running at a time and you could move from one open application to another. Windows included several programs that brought practical tools to the PC, including Paint, Notepad, and Calculator. Basic versions of productivity application were also included, most notably a word processor, an application for managing contacts, and a calendar. The operating system had a clock and even a simple game.

The Windows 1.0 desktop (source: Microsoft)

Basic requirements for Windows 1.0 included 256 KB of RAM, two double sided floppy disk drives and a hard disk with at least 512KB of space.

Windows 2.0

Microsoft released Windows 2.0 on December 9, 1987, bringing desktop icons and improved graphics so you could do amazing things like overlap windows on the screen.

Windows 2.0 also introduced keyboard shortcuts and the Control Panel. Several updates were released to Windows 2.0 with 2.11 being the final Windows update before more advanced PC processors made another leap possible in computing power.

Windows 3.0

Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990. By now computers were starting to become popular in the workplace. Improved Intel 80386 processors make it possible to improve graphics, allowing for more colors. Like, 16 of them.

Important new applications were introduced too, including Program Manager, File Manager, and Print Manager. Solitaire and Minesweeper made their first appearance as well. And the ability to form a workgroup was introduced and this operating system supported domain networks for the first time.

Windows 3.0 led to version 3.1 in 1992 and several updates brought Windows up to version 3.11 before the next milestone—really a separate product, in many ways—was released in 1993.

Windows NT

Windows NT was released on July 27, 1993. NT was not an update to Windows 3.1, but was rather a new version of Windows created with new code. The focus was on the

business environment and many important changes were introduced behind the scenes that improved network management and the ability for a workstation to work with a server in a domain. More important, Windows NT was a true 32-bit operating system, making it possible to run applications that perform advanced engineering functions.

While there are many rumors about the meaning behind "NT," Microsoft insists it just

means "New Technology."

Windows 95

August 24, 1995 introduced us to a new Windows naming scheme and a very important milestone in Windows history: . With Microsoft selling 7 million copies in just the first 5 weeks, the age of personal computing had arrived.

Television commercials heightened awareness to that new thing called the Internet and how it could be used right from the comfort of your home. Windows 95 brought multimedia and Plug and Play hardware to PCs and introduced us to the Start button. On-screen windows could be minimized for the first time. And shortly after the initial release of Windows 95, the web browser was released as part of an expansion pack.

The Windows 95 desktop (source: Microsoft)

Hardware requirements had also changed, and while some 386 processors could handle Windows 95, an 80486 processor provided a better experience. Windows 95 also required 4MB of RAM, and it was common for PCs to have a fax/modem for the dial-up connection so that users could connect to the Internet.

Microsoft used the Rolling Stones song "Start me up" to help sell Windows 95. That song is still associated with this OS release, which many consider to be the biggest of all time.

Windows 98

Released on June 25, 1998, polished the Internet- capable features that were introduced with Windows 95 and brought new features as well. The OS included the Internet Explorer 4 web browser and Outlook Express for email, contacts and newsgroup management. By now, home computers had become quite common, and support for DVDs

led to a profusion of multimedia-rich games and software that made computing fun and educational.

A year later, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) introduced us to Windows Media Player, and support for USB and improved Plug and Play made it easy to connect devices without the need to configure everything manually.

Windows 2000 Professional

Microsoft had had continued to develop Windows NT separately for businesses. But in 2000, Microsoft decided to drop the NT brand and just use the name Windows. So Professional, released in February 2000, was really a new version of NT. This release included improved networking tools, support for a new Active Directory domain structure, and many new features—like Hibernation, native USB and Plug and Play, more—that debuted in previous MS- DOS- and 9x-based Windows versions.

Microsoft said that Windows 2000 was "based on NT technology," a cute bit of

acronym redundancy.

Windows ME

With its release in September of 2000, Windows ME ("Millennium Edition") was aimed at home users and designed to bring improved media tools for music, and video. Windows Media Player 7 was included and Movie Maker makes its first appearance.

While ME began a roller coaster ride for Microsoft where not every release was the success that was expected, it did include some important improvements such as System Restore, which

allowed a user to roll back updates and bring the system back to an earlier point in time if the system proved unstable following changes.

Windows ME ends the line of operating systems that were built on MS-DOS code that had many of the same characteristics since Windows 95.

Windows releases are a lot like Star Trek movies where every other release is great ... and the intervening releases are terrible. I'll

let you decide which versions were "Khan" good and which were "Search for Spock" bad.

Windows XP

Released on October 25, 2001 Windows XP was a welcome replacement for Windows ME and Windows 2000. Immediately recognized as being more stable and with a greatly improved user experience (XP), XP became the favored operating system in both the home and the workplace for the next decade.

Like Windows 2000, XP was built on the NT code that had proven so successful in the business environment. Released with both Home and a Professional editions, XP provided advanced multimedia and Internet functionality. And over the year, Microsoft released additional XP versions that targeted special markets, such as Windows XP 64-bit edition (engineering and workstations), XP Media Center Edition (living room digital media), and XP Tablet PC Edition (tablet PCs).

The Windows 95 desktop (source: Microsoft)

Security was another big priority with XP, helping to protect users from the dangers that had become increasingly common on the Internet. This was particularly true with the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which was given away for free but might otherwise have been considered a major new Windows release in its own right. SP2 added enhanced Wi-Fi security, a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer, a Security Center, and a built-in firewall.

Windows XP had an amazing run, but support for the OS officially—and finally—ended in April 2014.

Windows Vista

After years of fits and starts, was the next big release in January of 2007. But the poor reception to Vista somewhat surprised Microsoft, with many complaining that the initial release was big, slow, and unwieldy.

Microsoft struggled to get Windows Vista— which was originally codenamed Longhorn—

off the ground for several years.

Many factors conspired to turn people off. The enhanced visual effects did not perform well on older computers, resulting in sluggish performance and negative reviews. New features like UAC () were poorly implemented and generally misunderstood. UAC was intended to safeguard users from increasingly malevolent viruses and malware by forcing a user to respond to prompts before installing, downloading, or opening attachments. But this was viewed as a nuisance and many users tended to disable the feature entirely.

Despite the poor reception, Windows Vista did introduce some important features. BitLocker encryption greatly improved the security options available to end users. DirectX 10 and many of the visual effects like Aero glass led to improved performance, better battery life, and major visual experience improvements ... assuming you had the hardware to enjoy them.

Because of its success marking multiple Office product versions, Windows Vista was likewise released with multiple flavors, including Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. But despite the variety, none seemed to find major success with users.

Windows 7

With the release of in October 2009, Microsoft was back on top with a solid and much improved operating system in terms of performance and appearance.

Windows 7 included the same spectrum of product versions, but this time the Home Premium and Professional versions

were quite popular. The visual elements that debuted in Windows Vista were improved on, as was performance and OS bloat.

Windows 7 included many improvements to wireless networking support, and multitasking improvements such as Snap and Peek. UAC was again included, but was not as rigid or intrusive as was the case in Windows Vista.

The Windows 7 desktop

Windows 8

You may have heard a negative comment or two regarding . Microsoft certainly did, with this radically changed Windows version alienating many users (and, conversely, attracting a few fans as well). Released in October 2012, Windows 8 was targeted firmly at the fast-growing market for touch-based tablet PCs. (Windows 7 had included some features that improved touchscreen interactions, but few would claim Windows 7 was easy-to-use on a tablet.)

The Windows 8 user experience style was originally named Metro, but another company owned that name, so Microsoft had to stop using it.

Controversially, Windows 8 dropped the Start button and Start menu, replacing the latter with a full screen Start screen. This Start screen featured large Live tiles that could display app updates and other contextual information. New Modern apps could be installed from the Windows Store and would run only in a full screen mode, while traditional applications were still downloaded from the Internet or installed from disk and run in windowed form on the Desktop.

With its dueling user experiences, Windows 8 was often compared to Frankenstein's monster, which was also patched together from different sources.

Many users were confused and bewildered by the absence of a Start button, a feature that had existed since Windows 95. And the odd behavior that occurred when switching between desktop applications and Modern apps made it seem like your device had two distinct personalities. Most disturbing to many was the awkward way that a mouse worked with the many hidden controls like the Charms or the app command bars that were common in Modern apps.

The Windows 8 Start Screen

Despite its name, Windows 8.1—released in October 2013— was a huge update that brought much-needed improvements and enhanced mouse and keyboard support. It also included the return of the Start button.

Windows 8.1 was given away for free as an apology of sorts for Windows 8.

But Windows 8.1 was still a "touch-first" release, a touchscreen-oriented operating system. Something more was needed, something that offered the best of both Windows 7 and the best of Windows 8.1.

The Big Takeaways Windows has evolved quite a bit over the years. And it continues to grow and change to ensure end user productivity as a priority. Let’s see how Windows 10 continues the trend.

The Power of Windows 10

Windows 10 has improved versions of many of the features that have made Windows the established go-to operating for the past 25 years. Many core features have endured through multiple releases of Windows over the years while other new features bring fresh innovation and expand the ways we will use our devices powered by Windows 10.

Microsoft often says that the Windows 10 user interface is "familiar but new." For once,

Microsoft marketing makes some sense.

In this chapter we will focus on some of the things that make Windows 10 a solid operating system that will give you the power to tackle any task.

Start Menu

The Start menu makes a triumphant return in Windows 10, combining the most-often-used elements of the Windows 7 Start menu with the Live tiles the debuted in Windows 8. And it is fully customizable: you can pin tiles of your choosing to the Start menu, arrange these tiles into groups, re-arrange the groups, and even change the size and shape of your Start menu.

The new Start Menu in Windows 10

As with Windows 8, Live tiles bring enhanced functionality to the Start menu by letting you keep track of new emails,

appointments, news, weather, social media updates, and many other notifications and updates that appear without even needing to open the app in question.

The Start menu design was so good, Microsoft won an Industrial Designers Society

of America Digital Design Award.

By carefully selecting the apps that you pin to the Start menu and taking some time to organize this space you will find yourself being much more productive in no time.

Action Center

We have grown accustomed to notifications that appear on our televisions, smart phones, tablets, and computers. The Action Center is a new feature in Windows that lets us discover notifications that we missed and take action on those notifications. Selecting the Action Center icon from the system tray area in the taskbar or by swiping in from the right on a touchscreen will show the Action Center as shown below.

The new Action Center in Windows 10

You will also find several Quick Action tiles anchored to the bottom section of the Action Center that allow you to perform other important tasks, such as managing wireless connections for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, adjusting screen brightness, enabling Quiet Hours to prevent notifications and system sounds, toggling Tablet mode, disabling screen rotation, or jumping into the Settings app. You can even determine which of the Quick Actions appear here from within the Settings app.

Introducing Continuum

Continuum is a very important feature in Windows 10 that allows a device running Windows 10 to automatically adapt to changes in connected hardware. For example, if you have a 2- in-1 PC or tablet that has a keyboard, you can work in the normal desktop mode with the screen and layout optimized for keyboard and mouse interaction as show below. But if you remove the keyboard so that you can use the touchscreen, the device will change to a touchscreen optimized layout called Tablet mode all on its own.

This same basic ability will allow a Windows 10 Mobile- powered smartphone to work like a computer if connected to a large screen display and with a keyboard and mouse connected. At any time you can override the automatic controls and engage or disengage Tablet mode. Additionally you can manage the aspects of the touchscreen Tablet mode experience that are enabled by default using the Settings app. Continuum certainly brings a lot of flexibility and power to the Windows 10 family of devices.

Cortana

Cortana is the digital personal assistant that is built into Windows 10. She is great at helping you with searches of your PC and the web, but she can also do much more. Cortana needs to be enabled first, and you should consider enabling the

optional Hey Cortana feature so that she can respond to voice prompts that begin with “Hey Cortana!”

The name Cortana comes from the popular series of "Halo" games, where Cortana was a digital assistant for the main protagonist, Master Chief.

Using voice commands, you can ask Cortana to remind you to do something based on a time or location and she will set up a reminder to do just that. Ask her to open an application and suddenly the application will start up. You can even ask her to perform a task within certain apps which she will then open and execute.

Ask Cortana about the weather or a restaurant and she will give find information for you without the need to type in a search query. She often will answer with her own voice although many times she will provide links to information that may answer a search query. Cortana has a pretty deep set of tasks that she can accomplish, the easiest way to know what she can do is to ask her. Go ahead, try, “Hey Cortana, what can you do?” to see a list like the one shown here. It takes a bit of experimentation to recognize her limits, but once you identify the tasks she can perform for you, you will wonder why it took you so long to get a personal assistant!

Cortana in Windows 10

Cortana has a fun sense of humor, you can ask her questions like, “Hey Cortana, who is Siri?”, “What is Halo?’, or, “How old are you?” to get her tongue-in-cheek responses.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has included an all-new web browser in Windows 10 named Microsoft Edge. While this browser can handle all of the normal web browsing tasks just like any other browser you may have used in the past, you will find some nice new features that are sure to enhance your web-browsing experience.

Reading View is a great feature that allows you to strip away advertising and extra screen content that make it a challenge to read a blog or news article online. Simply enable Reading View to get rid of the distractions and select it again to return to normal browsing.

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Windows 10 can be used with a local account, as before, or with a connected Microsoft account. A Microsoft account brings many advantages and empowers you in a few different ways. Your basic account security is improved, and you can manage the account from the Internet and reset your password easily. You can also enable two-factor authentication which adds another layer of security.

The power of a Microsoft account really is seen in Windows 10 when you look at how many Modern apps leverage the account, letting you to make purchases and sync content across devices. Open an app like Groove or MSN News and you will find options to personalize the content and indicate favorites. These personalized choices will also influence content that appears in your searches from the taskbar and when you open new tabs in the Microsoft Edge web browser. And they are synced across all your PCs and devices.

Sign-in Options

Another important way that Windows 10 shows its power is by simplifying the sign-in process. For decades, a username and password have been promoted as the de-facto standard for securing a computer. Windows 10 still allows you to stick with these old tried-and-true methods for authentication, but it also allows you to choose from a few other alternative sign-in methods as well.

Perhaps the easiest and most common method is the use of a four-digit PIN: just type these four numbers instead of your complex password.

A PIN works just like it does on your smart phone, and is equally convenient.

For a touchscreen device like a tablet, you can use a Picture Password: just select a picture and then indicate a series of three gestures on the picture. Perhaps a circle here, a line there and another bigger circle over there. When you sign-in to the device you will be prompted to repeat that series of gestures and you are signed in. No typos or sticky keys to hinder you.

Finally, Windows 10 introduces Windows Hello, a set of biometric sign-in alternatives. The availability of this feature will depend on the hardware that is connected to your device. A compatible fingerprint scanner will allow you to create and manage a fingerprint profile for several fingers. Swipe your finger to sign in. If you need to make a purchase, to prove you are who you say you are, a fingerprint scan will suffice to authorize the purchase.

Another way biometrics can be used relies on a compatible camera, like Intel's RealSense 3D. These will more commonly be featured in portable high end devices, although they can also be purchased as add-ons for existing PCs. Again, a profile is made of your face or iris and the camera will then use your face to sign you into your device with almost no effort on your part – unless you were making a funny face when you created your profile.

So there you have it, just a few of the ways that Windows 10 demonstrates its power by introducing new features and tools that bring added flexibility and productivity to your everyday computing. Take some time to get to know these features and find the ones that help you get the most out of your Windows 10 device.

Windows 10, Not Just for PCs There is so much more we can talk about with Windows 10. Surface, Surface Hub, Windows IoT, Windows Mobile for phones and small tablets…so much is happening based off the Windows 10 OS. We cannot jump into everything but one new technology we wanted to highlight here was Hololens.

Hololens

Microsoft surprised the world when they presented HoloLens as a new product that was in production in the fall of 2014. HoloLens is a wearable computer device that is powered by Windows 10. Fitting snuggly on the head, small cameras and projectors are used to generate holograms in the users line of sight which can be manipulated. Also universal apps that you already know from Windows 10 can be placed, resized, and pinned to a location in your environment, or they can follow you around as you move around. This really opens the door for new methods of collaboration in fields like design and medicine. It will be exciting to see how HoloLens will further shape the way we use computers in the future.

The Big Takeaways Windows 10 is the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft and it lives up to its name, it’s a 10. A great blend of desktop/tablet thanks to “continuum” and new features like Edge, Cortana and such really help add to the value of Windows 10 for end- users

There it is…now you know all you need to know to be able to converse about Windows 10 intelligently.

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