Windows10 tips

Microsoft finally released a replacement for the aged Internet Explorer. It is awesome, apart from being fast and full of future-proof features it also offers customizations (limited for now but will be extended in future updates). In addition to the dark theme in Windows 10, you can make Edge go dark to suit your needs. Launch Edge and then click on the three dots on the toolbar to reveal the overflow menu. Click on Settings. Under choose a theme select Dark and the Dark mode is now enabled.

If you have been a Windows Insider, using preview builds for a while you are no stranger to Cortana. Even if you started using Windows 10 for the first time, you still know what she does and how is she different from Siri and Google Now. Well, this section isn’t about Cortana commands. There is one trick which most users are unaware of and that is the fact that you can key Cortana to your voice so that she responds only to you when you say “Hey Cortana”. To do so, launch Cortana by pressing Win+S / Win + Q. Click on Notebook and go to Settings, you will find an option that says “Respond best”. Click Learn my voice, you will have to go through a series of phrases so that she learns your voice. Once that is done, she will only respond to your voice.

If you are not a fan of the cluttered start menu and would like to keep it minimal and unobtrusive, we’ve got you covered. Open the Settings app and go to Personalization. Now click on Start and uncheck all the options in the list. Once that is done just go ahead and scroll down to the option Choose which folders appear on start and unselect everything. Now head over to the Start menu and unpin all unnecessary apps manually by right clicking on them. On Windows 10 you get a nifty little option of resizing your start menu, just hover over the border to reveal the resize pointer and drag across the screen to make it wider or taller.

Most of the users who migrated to Windows 10 made the move by performing and upgrade which meant they have an option to roll back, just in case you are among the many who are completely enjoying the experience and will not downgrade, you can just delete the old OS installation which Windows saved in case you wish to downgrade. To do so, search for disk cleanup and launch it when the option for drive selection pops up, select C: drive, wait for it to initialize. From the menu, select “Previous Windows Installations” and “Temporary Windows Installation Files” and click Ok. REMEMBER: This process cannot be undone so unless you are ready to make the switch to Windows 10 completely, DO NOT TRY THIS.

Fan of the bittorrent protocol/torrent websites, you will be glad to know that Windows 10 integrates the P2P protocol enabling it to download updates not only from Microsoft servers but also from already updated PCs on the internet or on your local network. To enable the setting, launch the Settings app. Under Updates, Click on Advanced options and then click on Choose how updates are delivered. By default, the option would be enabled, in case if it disabled (unchecked) then click on PCs on my local network and PCs on the internet.