Windows 10: The want list... One reason users hated Windows 8 is because it was thrust upon them. They had to like it or lump it. With the Windows 10 Technical Preview, thats all changed. Microsoft wants to know what you want before the OS ships, and its provided a feedback mechanism: The Windows Feature Suggestion Box. Users can suggest and vote for new features to add. And the votes are pouring in, for everything from a revamped Notepad to a Persian calendar. The following 10 features have the most votes so far. Heres hoping well see them in Windows 10. (1) Add tabs to Windows Explorer/File Explorer.. With over 1,600 votes, adding tabs to Windows Explorer and File Explorer is the most popular feature request at the moment. (Note that this feature is already available for Windows 8, via plugins like Ejie Technology’s Clover2.) “Every other OS has this feature and Windows is severely lagging behind,” according to the submission. I’d have to agree—multiple windows are sort of a drag. (2) Make Windows Update a one-stop shop for ALL drivers.. This is my favorite: With just under 1,400 votes at press time, Id totally agree that Windows should be the hub of all driver updates, without the need to load special utilities or visit the manufacturers website. Some users have suggested that Windows Update be a one-stop shop for stable drivers, while letting users download experimental or beta updates from the manufacturers. The problem, however, may be the hardware makers themselves. What if they want to launch a package that allows users access to games, or bundles in third-party offers? (3) Kill off all Aero-themed objects... Theres a war brewing among the Windows faithful. Some want all remnants of earlier Windows purged, at least the objects, with redesigned icons similar to the flatter icons at the bottom of the screen in Windows 10. With 1,020 votes at press time, this is the third-most popular suggestion. But its a little stark for our tastes. (4) Bring back Aero Glass! Withn 1,016 votes, there’s a nearly equal contingent that feels Microsoft should take a page from its past and bring back the Aero Glass themes from the Windows 8 Developer Preview. Where do you stand? Is Aero dated at this point, or should Microsoft find a way to make Aero a user option for Windows 7 converts? (5) Persian calendar.. With 1,223 votes at press time, this suggestion is doing surprisingly well. (6) Make Windows free! Just 648 people think that this is going to happen, although speculation has mounted that Microsoft might make Windows 10 a free upgrade for Windows 8 and even Windows 7 users. Lowering the price of Windows—or making its free altogether—would be in line with moves from Apple, Google and others to lower the barriers to entry on the operating system itself. (7) Pin ANYTHING to the Start menu About 1,110 Windows 10 Technical Preview users want the ability to pin just about anything to the Start menu, to allow them to quickly launch a particular document or website—not just apps and programs. What do you think? (8) A new Notepad.exe Windows 10 users are clamoring for a new Notepad.exe application—well, 1,332 of them, anyway. Suggestions include something like Notepad++ (seen here, left) or, well, something more like OneNote. It all seems a bit trivial—unless, of course, if you use Notepad routinely. (9) Remixing the Volume Mixer With speakers now appearing in tablets, computers, monitors, and HDTVs—let alone headphones—users have a greater degree of freedom to choose which devices are playing back their audio notifications. We’d agree that it might be nice to be able to set an external laptop speaker to chime when a new email is received, for example, but not to interrupt a song playing through a user’s headphones. (10) Drag-and-drop apps between virtual desktops One up-and-coming suggestion (at 833 votes) is to allow users to drag and drop applications between virtual desktops, a feature that hasn’t been implemented at the moment but is expected to be added. So those are the top ten features, but more are being added, and users are voting their favorites up higher even as we speak. What would you like to see in Windows 10? Don’t forget to tell us—and Microsoft, too!
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:40:16 +0000
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