Windows 10 Anniversary Update Explained
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2017-05-06
·
948 words · ~4 min read
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It might be hard to believe it, but Windows 10 has been with us, whether we
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like it or not, for a little over a year now. And given that Microsoft has moved
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away from monolithic updates every three
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or so years, in favor of the new Windows
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as a service concept with feature updates being pushed out more regularly,
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I guess they decided it's time time for
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the well anniversary update. But wait,
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does this actually add new functionality or does it just make the operating
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system less broken? Allah, the Windows service packs of yester year. Good
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question. And while there are bug fixes, to be sure, Microsoft has stuck with
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their vision of incrementally adding legitimately new features instead of
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just selling us a whole new version of the software a few years later. So,
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what's inside? Well, since you're probably watching this video through
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some form of web browser, we'll start
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off with the updates to Microsoft Edge, the replacement for Internet Explorer,
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which you can learn more about here. The anniversary update finally brings the
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long- aaited browser extension support to Edge, as well as the ability to pin
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your most important tabs. On the subject of keeping things organized, Cortana is
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a heck of a lot more useful. Now, she even works from the lock screen if you
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want to tell her to do something with your computer from across the room. My
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girlfriend could maybe learn a thing or two. You can also add images to your
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reminders, useful for recalling stuff you have to do at a quick glance. And
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speaking of Android, Cortana Desktop can now push to your Android or iOS device
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or your Windows phone if you have one of those. If you spend late nights staring
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into your computer monitor instead of your mobile device, one very welcome
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change is a dark theme for Windows 10, which can be accessed with one click
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from the personalization menu instead of a registry tweak. This should help keep
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you from being blinded by the light colored UI elements during your late
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night browsing sessions. And on the subject of late night tinkering, if
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you're moving to a new setup or upgrading an old one, Microsoft has made
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it a lot easier to deal with activation issues as a result of hardware changes
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by giving users the ability to link their Microsoft accounts to their
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license keys. So, you'll be able to reactivate more easily if you do
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something like swap out a motherboard or a video card. Although this doesn't
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completely remove activation concerns,
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it does give frequent upgraders a fair bit more wiggle room. And experimenting
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on the software side just got a lot easier as well as the anniversary update
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includes a full fat bash shell. Essentially, you can run Linux commands
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from within Windows, similar to how Wine enables you to run Windows applications
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on Linux. An awesome feature for both developers as well as people who just
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want to dabble in Linux without having to dual boot or virtualize. Touch input
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is also more versatile. Windows Inc. supports annotations and gestures on
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more programs including Office and Maps if you've got a smart pen. And
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continuing to develop the do stuff without touching the keyboard paradigm.
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You can also log into Windows with supported wearables and smartphones if
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your computer is NFC capable. Although that being said, thirdparty solutions
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with this functionality aren't brand new, this is the first time Windows has
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supported it natively. Finally, apart from the usual security patches,
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facelifts, and bug fixes, the start menu is different again. Mine is working for
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now. The anniversary update allows Windows Defender, the built-in malware
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protection program, to scan your system from time to time, even if you have a
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different antivirus solution installed, just to make sure that your primary
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solution didn't miss anything. So, while the anniversary update isn't quite like
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getting a whole new operating system, I'd say it's a nicer surprise than the
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traditional first anniversary gift of paper. Unless, of course, you'd rather
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