Ed Bott - Windows 10 Support Secrets

6 CHAPTER 1 | Getting started with Windows 10 One Windows 10 addition worth pointing out to recent upgraders is the Task View button (to the right of the search box in Figure 1-5), which displays thumbnails of all open apps in the center of the display. (You can achieve the same results by using the keyboard shortcut Windows key+Tab.) Figure 1-5: Task View shows thumbnails of all open windows. Simply click or tap one to switch to a different window. Also new in Windows 10 is the addition of virtual desktops, which you can use to group open windows separately. I discuss this and the various window-snapping options in Chapter 2. New apps and the Windows Store Although this book focuses on Windows 10 on PCs and tablets, the Windows 10 platform extends far beyond those narrow borders to include the Microsoft Xbox One console, phones, and even the Internet of Things (IoT). Thanks to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), developers can write apps that target any or all of those platforms. For anyone who previously used Windows 8, the apps delivered through the Store will be superficially similar. That earlier generation of apps offered many of the same advantages as their Windows 10 successors: For starters, they’re more secure than traditional desktop programs. They can be easily reinstalled on other devices using the same Store account, and any settings are synced across devices, as well. One major difference in Windows 10 is that these more modern apps can run in a window and can thus be arranged alongside legacy desktop apps. The Windows 10 Store offers access not just to apps, but also to music, games, movies, and TV shows. Figure 1-6 shows the Store’s home page, illustrating the built-in search capabilities.