Windows 10 For Dummies remains the #1 source for readers looking for advice on Windows 10. Expert author Andy Rathbone provides an easy-to-follow guidebook to understanding Windows 10 and getting things done based on his decades of experience as a Windows guru.
Look inside to get a feel for the basics of the Windows interface, the Windows apps that help you get things done, ways to connect to the Internet at home or on the go, and steps for customizing your Windows 10 experience from the desktop wallpaper to how tightly you secure your computer.
•Manage user accounts
•Customize the start menu
•Find and manage your files
•Connect to a printer wirelessly
Revised to cover the latest round of Windows 10 updates, this trusted source for unleashing everything the operating system has to offer is your first and last stop for learning the basics of Windows!
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Windows 10 Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know
IN THIS PART …
Understand the changes in Windows 10.
Navigate and customize the Start menu.
Store files in the cloud with OneDrive.
Chapter 1
What Is Windows 10?
IN THIS CHAPTER
Getting to know Windows 10
Discovering the new features in Windows 10
Figuring out whether your PC is powerful enough to run Windows 10
Knowing which version of Windows 10 you need
Chances are good that you’ve heard about Windows: the boxes and windows that greet you whenever you turn on your computer. In fact, millions of people worldwide are puzzling over Windows as you read this book. Most new computers and laptops sold today come with Windows preinstalled, ready to toss colorful boxes onto the screen.
This chapter helps you understand why Windows lives inside your computer, and I introduce Microsoft’s latest Windows version, Windows 10. I explain how Windows 10 differs from previous Windows versions, and why Windows 10 keeps changing.
What Is Windows, and Why Are You Using It?
Created and sold by a company called Microsoft, Windows isn’t like your usual software that lets you calculate income taxes or send angry emails to politicians. No, Windows is an operating system, meaning it controls the way you work with your computer. It’s been around since 1985, and the latest incarnation is called Windows 10, shown in Figure 1-1.
FIGURE 1-1: Although Windows 10 looks different on different PCs, it usually looks much like this.
The name Windows comes from all the little windows it places on your computer screen. Each window shows information, such as a picture, a program, or a baffling technical reprimand. You can place several windows onscreen simultaneously and jump from window to window, visiting different programs. Or, you can enlarge one window to fill the entire screen.
When you turn on your computer, Windows jumps onto the screen and begins supervising any running programs. When everything goes well, you don’t really notice Windows; you simply see your programs or your work. When things don’t go well, though, Windows often leaves you scratching your head over a perplexing error message.
In addition to controlling your computer and bossing around your programs, Windows comes with a bunch of free programs and apps — mini-programs. These programs and apps let you do different things, such as write and print letters, browse the Internet, play music, and send your friends dimly lit photos of your latest meal.
And why are you using Windows? Well, you probably didn’t have much choice. Nearly every computer, laptop, or Windows tablet sold after July 2015 comes with Windows 10 preinstalled. A few people escaped Windows by buying Apple computers (those nicer-looking computers that cost a lot more). But chances are good that you, your neighbors, your boss, and millions of other people around the world are using Windows.
Microsoft wants Windows 10 and its gang of apps to run on nearly everything: PCs, laptops, tablets, video game consoles, and even yet-to-be-invented gadgets. That’s why Windows 10 includes many large buttons for easier poking with fingers on touchscreens. Windows 10 can also run apps, small programs usually found on smartphones and tablets, in windows on a desktop PC.
To confuse everybody, Microsoft never released a Windows 9. Microsoft skipped a version number when moving from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.
The desktop’s traditional Start menu, missing from Windows 8 and 8.1, returns in Windows 10. Microsoft has tinkered with the Start menu since Windows 10’s initial release, making it a little easier to understand. (I explain how to customize the new Start menu to your liking in Chapter 2.)
SEPARATING THE ADS FROM THE FEATURES
Microsoft touts Windows as a helpful companion that always keeps your best interests in mind, but that description isn’t really true. Windows always keeps Microsoft’s interests in mind.
For example, Microsoft uses Windows to plug its own products and services. Microsoft Edge, the new Windows web browser, opens with links to Microsoft’s own websites. The browser’s Favorites area, a place for you to add your favorite web destinations, comes stocked with Microsoft websites.
Windows 10 places a link to OneDrive, its online storage service, in every folder. But Microsoft isn’t as quick to mention that you must pay an annual fee when you reach your storage limit.
Advertisements appear on the Start menu, as well as the Windows Lock Screen, the screen that appears when you haven’t used your PC for a while.
The Maps app uses the Microsoft Bing mapping service, rather than Google Maps or another competitor.
Microsoft also wants you to start buying apps rather than traditional programs. Apps are sold only through the bundled Microsoft Store app, and Microsoft takes a cut of each sale.
Simply put, Windows not only controls your computer but also serves as a huge Microsoft advertising vehicle. Treat these built-in advertising flyers as a salesperson’s knock on your door.
What’s New in Windows 10?
Microsoft views Windows 10 as a one-size-fits-all computing solution that runs on laptops and desktop PCs (shown earlier in Figure 1-1) as well as tablets, shown in Figure 1-2.
FIGURE 1-2: Windows 10 behaves almost identically on laptops and desktop PCs (shown earlier) and tablets (above).
Windows 10 can even run on your TV through Microsoft’s Xbox One game console. Windows 10 behaves almost identically on each device, and it brings a bonus: Apps known as universal apps will run on a Windows 10 tablet, PC, laptop, and Xbox One.
Besides aiming to run on everything but clock radios, Windows 10 brings these changes to your computer:
Start button and menu: Removed from Windows 8 and half-heartedly tacked back onto Windows 8.1, the Start button and Start menu triumphantly return to the desktop in Windows 10. The revamped Start menu sports a column of icons, as well as fingertip-sized tiles for launching apps. (Tile haters find instructions for removing them in Chapter 2.)
Apps on the desktop:Apps, which are small programs from the world of phones and tablets, consumed the full screen in Windows 8 and 8.1. Windows 10 lets you choose whether to run apps full screen or within deskto...
Table of contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Windows 10 Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know
