Screenshots: A preview of Microsoft Windows 10

New smaller Start Menu screen

When you click the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner (or press the [Windows] key), you'll see the new smaller Start Menu screen. There are still active tiles, but the Start Menu no longer completely covers the desktop as it does in Windows 8.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Full screen

Unless of course you want it to, then you just click the expansion arrow to get the full screen.

Image: Mark Kaelin

General applications

The general applications that come with Windows, like the photo app shown here, have been, for the lack of better word, "tabletized." This is where you'll see the blending of desktop and tablet interfaces.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Photo app

The settings page for the Photo app is an even better example of a tablet friendly interface on the desktop.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Cortana

This is what you see when you first talk to Cortana. The suggestion of the Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey is a bit disconcerting.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Cortana settings

I changed the settings to have Cortana call me Mark, but I suppose you could choose something more appropriate, like Dr. Evil, if so inclined.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Basic productivity features

As part of the Cortana system, Microsoft is trying to provide some of the basic productivity features people tend to use on a regular basis. There's a notebook app, basic email, calendar, and a task list.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Familiar Windows 8 menu

If you right-click on the Windows icon in the corner, you get the familiar Windows 8 menu of system control, setting, and configuration applications.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Windows Update dialog screen

Of course, there's the familiar Windows Update dialog screen. It looks a little different, but it still performs the same function.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Windows Defender

And Windows Defender is still around to protect us from malware and other security problems.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Systems Settings screen

The Systems Settings screen has changed a bit to accommodate the tablet interface, but all of the functions are still available.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Notifications menu

One significant change in Windows 10 is the increased functionality of the Action Center, which is now called the Notifications menu. You can see at a glance what updates have been recently applied and get access to useful areas, like system settings, through this feature.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Edge browser

This is a look at the new browser from Microsoft that will come with Windows 10. The code name is Project Spartan, but it has already been announced that the shipping name will be Edge.

Notice the clean, minimalistic look. If you're not paying attention, you may not even notice that you're in a browser.

Image: Mark Kaelin

​The Edge Favorites Bar

The Edge Favorites Bar is more of a Favorites Sidebar. Once again, to accommodate fat fingers on a tablet or a smartphone, the bar needs to have some girth that's not necessary on a desktop--a compromise I can live with, I think.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Edge annotation features

As part of its commitment to the theme of collaboration, Microsoft is pushing the annotation features of the Edge browser. Using the built-in tools, you can mark up a web page to your heart's content.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Edge collaboration

You can make notes for yourself or for your collaborative partners.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Edge tools

You can also cut out sections of a web page you want to highlight and share just that section with friends and colleagues.

Personally, I don't think I will make much use of these tools, but I think it's nice to have them available on the rare occasion where it would prove useful.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Task View

There is one new Windows 10 feature that really appeals to me. It's called Task View, and it's accessed by clicking the icon just right of Cortana on the Task Bar. This feature is the old [Alt]+[Tab] task switcher on steroids.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Multiple desktops

One new feature in Task View is the ability to create more than one desktop. Now, not only can you switch between running applications, but you can also switch between desktops.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Store app

There are also some standard apps that are held over from Windows 8, like the Store app. Microsoft would like to have us use the Store much more than we have, but the adoption by users has been nominal at best.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Money application

There are other apps in the standard set of Windows 10 tile-friendly programs, like the Money application shown here. All of them have the hybrid desktop/tablet interface. The interface may take some getting used to, but it's not the worst interface in the world, so give it some time.

Image: Mark Kaelin

Cortana Bing search frustration

One note about Cortana. I was able to talk to Cortana in some fashion, but all she could do was send my uttered phrases to a Bing search. I think she is just being difficult.

I'm skeptical about the practicality of all voice recognition technologies, at least when it comes to computing devices. Saying "Hey Cortana" and then "Nearby Restaurants," which brings that phrase to a search engine dialog box, is much less efficient than just typing it. I think we have a long way to go before we can converse with an AI like the Hal 9000, which is a good thing. I'm not looking forward to the day when my computer says those ominous words: "I'm sorry Mark. I can't do that."

Image: Mark Kaelin