Ed Bott - Windows 10 Support Secrets

17 CHAPTER 2 | Personalizing the Windows 10 experience CHAP T E R 2 Personalizing the Windows 10 experience Every Windows 10 PC starts with a default configuration. PC makers add their own touches, typically in the form of add-on software and custom tiles on Start. In organizations, network administrators can install and remove software during the deployment process and can use Group Policy to define capabilities on PCs that are joined to the Windows domain. After all that, it’s up to the user to personalize the experience. Windows 10 includes an impressive array of customization options. Some are purely esthetic: Users can change accent colors, control the transparency of the taskbar and Start menu, and add a personal photo as a desktop background, for example. Other customizations—such as pinning apps to Start and to the taskbar—help make it easier for people to organize the tools they use every day. It’s tempting to think of all these personalization options as mere eye candy, trivial in comparison to more “serious” configurations options. But those seemingly small changes help people become truly comfortable with new technology, and that ultimately translates into productivity. Start In the beginning, more than 20 years ago, there was the Windows 95 Start button, which actually included the word Start , alongside the stylized Windows flag logo.