The Managed Windows 10 desktop offers a secure and reliable experience while bring all the new features of Microsoft's latest operating system.

So, what's good in Windows 10 that will help me in my work?

Performance

Windows 10 include's a whole host of performance upgrades. The most obvious of these is the boot-up time, which is markedly quicker. Better hardware acceleration and a range of other tweaks mean general navigation feels quicker too. Power management has also been improved, so laptop battery life tends to be a little longer. It may seem like ordinary stuff, but if there’s one single thing that's we notice from an upgrade it’s performance. So the fact that Windows 10 offers that base-level improvement on top of all its other features is definitely something to be happy about.

Search and Start

Windows 10 has the same powerful search function as Windows 7 to look up matching programs and documents as you type and it brings significant additional enhancements. As well as quick access to core features and your chosen programs the now separate search box and it can now include a web search, with results shown in a more organised fashion.

It also includes Cortana, the digital personal assistant. Cortana can help to make your life easier. Instead of searching for things you ask Cortana - so if you want to know what the weather forecast is or the latest currency exchange you can ask and Cortana will point you to the answers. If you have a microphone on your computer, you can also speak your commands to Cortana and it does a pretty good job of interpreting natural language to get you the answer you need. Unfortunately, the interface doesn’t return the answer to you in the search bar, but rather opens the web browser, but it’s still quite neat not to have to type anything.

File Access

The tools you use to manage your files are some of the most used and consequently are fundamental to a good operating system. The top menu is now arranged in a ribbon, so all the common tools are right where they’re easy to click and, perhaps more importantly, easy for novices to find. There’s also a new Share ribbon which makes it much easier to move files between different apps such as Outlook or Skype for Business. There’s also an improved file copying interface. Now copying/moving tasks are grouped into one window and transfer speed is also shown in real time. Operations can also be paused, where they could only previously be cancelled.

Workspace Management

Getting and keeping your workspace tidy is of key importance to certain users.

With Windows 10 multi-monitor support features have been enhanced. Different monitors can now have different backgrounds, with different slideshows, too. Pictures can also now be set to span across all your monitors. The taskbar can now also appear on multiple monitors or both your primary monitor and whichever monitor you’re currently active in. Snap has also been improved to support snapping to four corners, not just side to side.

Tablet Mode and Touchscreen

Windows 10 is a vast improvement over previous operating systems (OS) when it comes to touchscreen devices. As well as many features having more touch-friendly icons and gestures there's also the easy tablet mode which at the touch of a button will switch a device between a more conventional multi-windowed interface with a normal Start Menu to a full-screen mode using the Start Screen. You may not ever use the features on the desktop but it is good to know that the OS is designed to work smoothly across a range of devices, making it much easier to switch between your desktop, hybrid laptop and tablet.

Windows 10 has a lot of genuinely useful new features, as well as key improvements to old features, compared to the previous OS. You’ve got better search, window management, file management, and more. Windows 10 is faster in general use, too.

Most people will probably want to run this on one of our standard computers and benefit from peace of mind knowing that everything is taken care of.