A look at Microsoft's revamped Settings panel
At the risk of being too blunt, we'd say that Microsoft created a mess with Windows 8. The operating system, launched in October 2012, forced customers to use an entirely new UI while making the coveted desktop a secondary platform. Sure, all you had to do was click on the Desktop tile to reach familiar territory, but the whole Modern UI interface was enough to scare many consumers away.
Hearing the pleas of Windows 8 users, Microsoft introduced Windows 8.1 in April 2014. This “update” brought the desktop and Start Screen closer together and made Modern UI apps easier to manage for mouse-and-keyboard customers. But the platform can still be confusing, enough so that the average user can get frustrated when looking for settings that were once easily accessible in Windows 7 and earlier.
So, today we’re going to take a quick peek at how Microsoft has changed the way we can configure settings in Windows 10. Unlike Windows 8.1, the task isn’t painful, and the company has done an excellent job in simplifying where and how settings can be changed. But first we have to make a short comparison with Windows 8.1 to demonstrate how the Settings menu has evolved.
Out with the old, in with the new
First, when you pull up the Charms bar in Windows 8.1 desktop and select the Settings “gear” icon, it replaces the Charms bar with a dedicated Settings panel. This panel provides access to the Control Panel, Personalization, PC info, and Help. There are also six linked icons for the wireless connection, the volume control, brightness of the screen, notifications, power, and keyboard settings. There’s even a link at the bottom that takes the user to the PC Settings panel.
So, when you’re running a Modern UI application—say Hulu Plus, Netflix, or Facebook—you must swipe in from the right edge to retrieve the Charms bar again, which plays host to a different Settings panel. Using Facebook as an example, the Settings panel provides a Help Center, Licenses, Terms and Policies, Permissions, Rate and Review, and Privacy Policy information. The only constant is the Change PC Settings link at the bottom and the six settings (Wireless connection, volume, etc.).
Thankfully, this is not how settings work in Window 10. The Charms bar is nowhere in sight; instead, we have a floating Modern UI app that replaces the PC Settings panel found in Windows 8.1. Even more, the Settings app has nothing to do with other apps; each app has a built-in Settings link in the top-left corner, as well as Search and Share commands. This link opens up a Settings panel within the app, and in the case of Hulu Plus, provides links to the Hulu Plus account, Captions, Help, Terms, Privacy, Licensing, and a Logout link.
In Windows 8.1, the PC settings panel includes PC and devices, Accounts, OneDrive, Search and apps, Privacy, Network, Time and language, Ease of Access, Update and recovery, and a link to the Control Panel at the very bottom. However, in Windows 10, the Settings app includes System, Devices, Network & Internet, Personalization, Accounts, Time & language, Ease of Access, Privacy, and Update & security. The Settings app for Windows 10 can be accessed on the Start Menu whereas the PC Settings panel in Windows 8.1 is located in the Settings portion of the Charms bar.
System
First up to bat in the new Windows 10’s Settings app is the System section. This section is broken down into ten subcategories: Display, Notifications & actions, Apps and features, Multitasking, Tablet Mode, Power & sleep, Storage, Offline maps, Default apps, and About. The latter About section simply provides information regarding the PC, including processor and installed RAM. The Default Apps section allows the user to set the default app for the calendar, email, browser, and so on. The other subcategories in the System group are pretty self-explanatory.
Devices
Next is the Devices window, which plays host to six subcategories: Printers & scanners, Connected devices, Bluetooth, Mouse and touchpad, Typing, and AutoPlay. Some of these are self-explanatory. However, the Typing area is where users turn on/off auto-correction and the option to highlight misspelled words. AutoPlay allows the user to turn on the feature and choose the defaults for a removable drive or memory card.
Network & Internet
The Network & Internet window keeps track of Wi-Fi connections, among other tasks. Other subcategories include Data usage, VPN, Dial-up (yes, people still do that), Ethernet, and Proxy. The Data usage component keeps track of how much the user consumes in a 30-day period, whether it’s through a Wi-Fi or an Ethernet connection. You can also establish a VPN connection or use a proxy server for Ethernet or Wi-Fi connections. This latter aspect can either be automatic or manually set.
Personalization
Personalization providrd settings for the Background, Colors, Lock screen, Themes, and Start. Although we assume that OEMs will sell their Windows 10 desktops and laptops without the Start Screen running, there’s a possibility that the Start Screen will be front and center anyway. To turn off the Start Screen, users simply switch off the “Use full-screen Start when in the desktop.” The Start Screen won’t be gone for good, but it also won’t be in the way. There are other switches in this subcategory such as “Show the recently added apps group” and “Store and display recently opened programs in Start.” Outside the Start subcategory, the other entries like Themes and Colors shouldn’t be hard to figure out.
Accounts
Accounts is the section in Settings where you can change your profile picture and add accounts. In addition to Your Account, the subcategories include Sign-in options, Work access, Family & other users, and Sync your settings. The Work access portion is interesting in that it seems to focus on Windows 10 laptops that access networks with specific policies in place, such as a university’s secured network.
Also of note is the Sign-in options section, where users can set up the typical password, a picture password, or a PIN. According to Microsoft, the Windows Hello portion does not work unless a PIN has been set. This cool feature will allow the user to sign in with just a fingerprint or face, depending on the equipment that’s attached. Windows 10 solutions with Intel’s RealSense 3D camera are expected to debut later this year.
Time & Language
Next up is Time & Language, which provides the user access to settings for Date & time, Region & language, and Speech. The Speech subcategory includes choosing a language, text-to-speech settings, and microphone settings.
Ease of Access
The Ease of Access section provides settings for Narrator, Magnifier, High contrast, Closed captions, Keyboard, Mouse, and Other options. The “Other options” include settings like “Play animation in Windows” and “Show Windows background,” the latter of which sets the background color to black. The High contrast area provides four settings, including High Contrast Black and High Contrast White. The Narrator is a “screen reader that reads all the elements on screen, like text and buttons.”
Privacy
There are 12 subcategories in the Privacy section: General, Location, Camera, Microphone, Speech, Inking & typing, Account info, Contacts, Calendar, Messaging, Radios, Other devices, and Feedback. That's a lot to configure! For example, under Contacts, you can choose an app that can directly access your contacts; the same setting can be applied to the Calendar, Messaging, and so on. The Radios aspect lets the user determine if apps can control a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection.
Update & Security
Finally, we have Update & Security. The subcategories are Windows Update, Activation, Backup, Recovery, Windows Defender, and a section for developers that will likely be gone in the retail version of Windows 10. Here you can manually check for a Windows update, change a product key, backup files to another drive, reset the PC’s settings, and revert the system to an earlier build. You can also adjust Windows Defender, Microsoft’s built-in malware detector and firewall. Settings in this subcategory include real-time protection, cloud-based protection, and a setting for sending a sample to Microsoft.
As you can see, you'll have lots to tweak when you get your hands on the retail version of Windows 10. Judging by the pre-release version, we'd say Microsoft did a great job of cramming all of these options into one app. The app is simple, clean, and to the point; there’s no digging around the desktop trying to get to a specific setting.
Windows 10 is scheduled to launch in a matter of weeks, so there could be a few changes to the app before it goes retail. However, from what we've seen, users should have no problem navigating and customizing their Windows 10 experience.
From maximumpc
from http://bit.ly/1J02mSW
