Microsoft promised a lot of new features for Windows 10 at the Build conference, and week later it has delivered a new build — number 14316 — to the Fast Ring of its Windows Insiders who get the first crack at new builds for testing.
At the Build show, Microsoft announced an “Anniversary update” slated for June, which was when a big update codenamed Redstone was thought to arrive. It now looks like the two are one in the same.
Gabe Aul, corporate vice president of the Engineering Systems Team, made the announcement on the Windows Blog. The biggest change is the ability to run native Bash from Ubuntu on Windows. You first need to turn on Developer Mode via Settings > Update & security > For Developers, then search for “Windows Features” and choose “Turn Windows features on or off” and enable Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta). To install Bash, open a Command Prompt and type “bash.”
Next is a batch of Cortana cross-device features that keep your personal information, such as your calendar, in sync across all devices using Windows 10 or an Android device that uses Cortana 1.5 or higher. Cortana will also warn you on your PC if your mobile device’s battery is getting low. Finally, there is a find- or ring-my-phone feature that allows users to find their phone or make it ring so they can find it by issuing a command from their PC. Cortana should also be easier to set up and configure.
Another feature is sharing map directions across devices. If you use your PC to tell Cortana to find directions to a location, she will send the directions to your PC and phone. This will all come in very handy when Cortana is finally launched in Ireland, though not date has yet been set for that.
New Microsoft Edge Features
Microsoft Edge, the revamped browser, is getting a big overhaul. A few weeks ago, Microsoft finally introduced extension support so people can use extensions from other browsers within Edge. Now, Microsoft is adding to that with a few new extensions, such as the Pin It Button and OneNote Clipper, along with updates to other extensions previously introduced.
Other new Edge features include:
- Drag and drop folders: Users can now upload folders to sites such as OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive by dragging and dropping into Microsoft Edge.
- Better favourites importing: You can now import favourites from Firefox, in addition to Chrome and Internet Explorer. When you import favourites from any browser, they will now land in a separate clearly labelled folder instead of being mixed in with your existing favourites.
- Favourites tree view: Organising your favourites is now easier using the new “tree” display in the Hub. You can expand and collapse folders to see the contents of as many or few as you like, and you can easily move favourites between folders with drag and drop.
- Download reminders: Edge now reminds you of in-progress downloads whenever you close the browser. This gives you the opportunity to complete downloads prior to closing Edge.
- Default save location: You can now set where downloaded files are saved by default. Just open “Settings,” choose “Advanced settings” and find the new option under “Downloads.”
- Pinned tabs: Pin tabs to keep your most-used sites and web apps available. To pin a tab, right-click on the tab you want to pin and choose “Pin tab.” To unpin a tab, right-click on the pinned tab you want to unpin and choose “Unpin tab.” Pinned tabs always appear at the start of the tab row and only show the site’s icon. Pinned tabs don’t show a close button, so you won’t accidentally close them. Pinned tabs that are in your Edge window when you close the app will come back the next time you open Edge.
- Paste and go: Copy any link into your clipboard, right-click in the address bar and choose “Paste and go” from the context menu. Edge pastes the URL into the address bar and navigates to the site. If you copy something other than a link to your clipboard, you will instead see a “paste and search” option.
IDG News Service
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers