On last year’s October, Microsoft officially unveiled that the next major update for Microsoft’s flagship PC OS will be called Windows 10 Creators Update and it will be launched in “early 2017”.
Well, as Mspoweruser reports, the update will be launched in April. The update is codenamed Redstone 2 and the update number for the OS will be 1704.
In case you are not familiar with Windows Version numbers, the first two digits denote the release year – 2017 in this case – and last two digits are to denote the month of update release.
The update process will be very similar to last years Anniversary Update in terms of release. The company will gradually push updates to PCs running Windows 10 and if needed a manual upgrade can be done. The update will be free, but it will be larger in size compared to general security updates.
Some more details and new features
The company is currently in the process of finalizing the update and once all the new features are added, the build will be “Feature Locked” once the build is features locked, the company will continue to fix bugs but no aesthetic or feature changes will be done.
The company has already started working on the next update codenamed “Redstone 3” which is planned to be released by the end of December.
An insider preview of the update was leaked recently and we have some information about new features and some changes.
Microsoft is adding a blue-light shifting features similar to F.lux
Cortana can be setup during the PC configuration after the initial install.
Tabs on Microsoft Edge have been improved.
Folders can be made in start screen/start menu to contain live tiles.
A game mode is being added.
Microsoft is also adding VR support to the new OS so that it can work with new VR devices that the company is working on with third party OEMs. There may be some other features on the new update, but we will have to wait to see it ourselves to know more.
In 2017 having fast, safe and stable web browser is more critical that ever, here are the 5 best web browsers for Windows 10.
No matter what computer, operating system or device you are using, the web browser is probably the most used software. Now that we live most of our digital lives under the tabs of a web browser having a fast, feature packed and stable web browser is critical that ever. Windows 10 introduced a new web browser called Microsoft Edge. We have talked about the browser in our review, and we have even discussed some alternatives for Microsoft Edge. In this post, we will cover some of the best web browsers for Windows 10.
What makes a web browser Great?
A good web browser should be as fast as possible to load and render web pages as quickly as it can. Also, good we browser will be as much as crash resistant as possible because nobody wants his 500-word email gone waste because the software died.
The third one and probably the most important factor for many people is the security. You don’t want a browser that keeps a track on you and sells your data to third parties.
And finally, one more factor that may matter to most of you is the ability to customize the browser as much as possible by using the built-in settings or by installing extensions.
Best Web Browser for Windows 10
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is not a new name, in fact, Google’s browser is currently on top of market share charts, and there are good reasons too: It just works.
Google Chrome is the best Web Browser for Windows 10
Chrome is a fast, polished web browser that is very stable and it has probably the best syncing support right now. Google Chrome is a bit heavy on RAM, so if your computer has little RAM and you keep a lot of tabs open you might want to take a look at other options in the list.
Apart from Windows, Chrome is available for MacOS, Android, iOS and even Linux. If you switch between different computers throughout the day, you will Love Chrome’s ability to sync your data across all platforms.
Microsoft Edge might be the best web browser for Windows 10 if you are heavily invested in Microsoft’s hardware and software ecosystem.
Microsoft Edge running on Windows 10
Edge was created specifically for Windows 10 is it is not available for any other platforms. The performance of Microsoft Edge is very comparable to Google Chrome as it outperforms many web browsers in render speeds. The browser is a bit too basic, but there are still some settings that you can tweak to customize the browser to your liking.
When Edge was launched, the browser did not have support for extensions, but after almost one year Microsoft finally added support for them, and you can install them from the Windows Store. The number of available extensions is nowhere near Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, but it will still cover some basics such as ad blockers, etc.
Edge is not available for Android or iOS, and if you want bookmarks and passwords synced to your phone, you will be disappointed (well unless if you have a Windows Phone) Edge can sync data across Windows 10 devices, though.
Who Should Use Microsoft Edge?
If you need annotation support and don’t care about data syncing across your phone and PC. Edge should serve you well.
Opera
Considered by many as an underdog browser, Opera is an excellent choice if you are not invested in Google or Microsoft’s ecosystem. Opera is based on the same browser engine that Chrome uses so; the performance will be pretty much the same. But to justify its existence, Opera packs a bunch of unique features.
Opera on Windows 10
Opera comes with a built-in ad blocker and a free VPN. You can use the provided VPN for unlimited amount of data, and there are a bunch of locations to switch to.
Opera has a very polished interface, unlike Microsoft Edge, you can customize the browser with built-in or even a self-made theme.
Opera is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android. On mobile devices, there are two versions of the browser: Opera and Opera Mini, the latter of which is optimized for data savings. Syncing is great while Opera maintained library of browser extensions feels small, you can install any extension if it supports Google Chrome.
Who Should use Opera?
If you are looking for a browser that comes with a built-in and free VPN or you are not invested in either Google’s/Microsoft’s ecosystem, Opera might be the browser for you.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is an open source web browser that has been here for quite some time. In fact, before Chrome took the crown, Firefox was world’s second most used web browser.
Mozilla Firefox on Windows 10
Firefox has a sleek and heavily customizable user interface. If you wish, you can change the position of most buttons and options on the screen.
The browser is available for Windows, Linux, MacOS and both relevant mobile platforms. You can sync your passwords and bookmarks by singing into the browser with your Mozilla ID. Firefox also has a popular read-it-later service, i.e., Pocket and Instant messaging built into the browser. Apart from this Mozilla’s focus on user privacy is a big selling point for this open source browser.
Who should get Firefox?
If you like supporting open source projecting and you are looking for a secure, fast and flexible web browser, Firefox is worth a look.
Vivaldi
Vivaldi is the best browser for Windows 10 if you are a power user. Made by the ex-CEO of Opera (yes, the opera we discussed above), Vivaldi will be familiar if you used Opera a few years ago.
Vivaldi running in Windows 10
Instead of trying to be the easiest and most consistent browser across all platforms, Vivaldi focuses heavily on user customizability. Once you have installed the browser, you can customize almost all elements of the browser. Starting from the tab colors to the location of the address bar on the screen, you can move anything from anywhere until it suits your browsing style. Heck, Vivaldi even lets you set custom keyboard shortcuts.
But everything is on that good, unfortunately. Vivaldi is only available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS and there is no sync support. The developers are working on a version for Mobile, but it is not ready yet.
If you are someone who likes to tweak every possible setting available in an application and you can live without sync – something which many of you won’t – then Vivaldi is a dream come true for you.
Some other options that you may want to consider
If any of the above are not to your liking, here are a couple of more browsers:
MX5
MX5 on Windows 10
Maxthon’s MX5 is a great web browser; it is not as fast as some other browsers, but it comes with built in note taking features and a password manager that work surprisingly well. The browser comes with an ad blocker is built in with it.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Yes, Microsoft’ good old Internet Explorer is still a thing, and it can even best your expectations in many terms. The default web browser in Windows 10 Is Microsoft Edge, but you can still run Internet Explorer by searching for in coratan or by clicking on Menu > Open in Internet Explorer in Microsoft Edge.
I am sure that the Redmond giant will be mostly focusing on the newer Edge browser and IE will only get bug fixes (if any). But if you have been using Internet Explorer for last few years and you want to keep using it, nobody can stop you from using the good old IE.
Conclusion
In conclusion, following are the best web browsers for Windows 10:
Google Chrome: for Almost Everyone
Microsoft Edge: If you don’t need cross-platform syncing and you want to annotate on web pages.
Opera: If you are looking for a great web browser and you have not invested heavily in Microsoft or Google’s ecosystem
Mozilla Firefox: If you are cautious about privacy and you still want a full featured web browser.
Vivaldi: If you are a power user and you don’t care about syncing
Among the above software, which one do you think is the best web browser for Windows 10? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Nobody likes seeing a loading screen before he can get something done, here are some of the best ways to make Windows 10 Boot faster on your computer.
Nobody likes seeing a loading screen before he can get something done. Time taken by a Computer to boot depends on a lot of factors, the biggest one being the speed of Hard Disk itself, some of these can’t always be changed, but there are many ways to make your Windows 10 Boot faster.
In this guide we will discuss some of the best tricks and ways that can lower the waiting time for you to get work done on your computer.
Enable Fast Boot Option
Fast Boot works a bit similarly to Hibernation, it will save the hassle of setting up and testing every device connected to computer at the time and booting at as a result, this will save some real time in starting your computer from cold boot. To Enable Fast Boot simply follow these steps:
Search for “Power options” in start menu.
On the left side of Window, click on “Choose what the power buttons do”
Click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
In Shutdown settings, make sure that “Turn on fast startup” is enabled.
Stop Apps from automatically Launching
On a new installation, Windows 10 has very few apps that run automatically on computer startup. But, as you keep installing apps, some automatically launch after the computer is booted. This can make your computer take more time to boot.
Task Manager
Aside from enabling Fast Boot, you can also make your Windows 10 Computer boot faster if you disable auto starting apps. On Windows 7 or older versions, you have to install a third-party app to do this. But Windows 10’s Task manager has features to turn off Startup applications. To prevent apps from launching at the boot time, do the following:
Press CTRL+SHIFT+Esc to open task manager.
Click on Startup tab.
From the list, click on app that you want to stop from automatically starting and click on Disable Please keep in mind that some things may misbehave if you stop any system process. So, before stopping any app, just google about it, or best, keep system apps and Drivers enabled.
Hard Disks are prone of getting slow if they are fragmented, defragging your Windows partition can really help you if you have never done that. To defrag the Hard Disk on Windows 10, simply do the following:
Search for Defrag in the start menu.
Click on Defrag and Optimize drives.
On the new window, select your Hard Disk partition and then click on Optimizeto defrag the Hard Disk partition. If you are using a computer with an SSD, you can ignore defragging.
Enable and Use Hibernation
This may sound like cheating, but Hibernate is probably the best way to get your Windows 10 Laptop boot up as fast as possible. Hibernation is a process in which the operating system makes a backup of all data on RAM on a file in hard disk and when the next time the PC is started, reads data from hibernation file and continues where you left from. Essentially, it is like normal sleep on steroids. To enable Hibernate, just:
Search for Power options in start menu.
On the left side of Window, click on Choose what the power buttons do.
Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
In Shutdown settings, click on Hibernate to turn it on.
If your computer still takes too much time to start and you want to make Windows 10 boot faster, there are some other things you should try.
Check your PC for Virus and/or malware
An infected PC may take too much time to boot, try running an Antivirus if you don’t have one. In case you already have an antivirus, update it and then run a system wide scan. Once the infect files have been cleaned, your computer should boot quickly.
Check your PC for registry errors
In some cases, problems in registry such as fragmentation or corrupt entries make the computer slow in booting process. Fixing registry issues can be a big help in making your computer boot faster. To check your computer for registry errors, you can use a free app CCleaner. To check your computer for registry errors, do the following:
Open CCleaner
Click on Registry on left side of the window.
Registry cleanup on CCleaner
Select Scan for issues and then wait for the app to scan your registry.
Click on Fix selected issues After that, CCleaner will ask you if you want to make a backup of registry, you can skip this by clicking No, then simply Click on Fix all issues.
Upgrade to an SSD
If you are still using a computer with a Hard Disk Drive, you are seriously missing out. SSDs are now pretty affordable and migrating your Windows installation to an SSD will make Windows 10 boot really faster. If you don’t know what SSDs are and why are they better, read this post that explains difference between Solid State Drives and Hard Disk Drives.
Windows 10 has some good apps, but Groove Music is not one of them. Replace it with these best music players for Windows 10.
Windows 10 has improved its stock apps a lot, but, there are still places where it can improve a bit more. Default Music app Groove Music and the Windows Media Player are the same cases. In this post, we will discuss some of the best music players for Windows 10.
Groove music has its set of limitations. Luckily, Dozens of good music players are available for Windows 10. Granted that some of them lack the polish that Microsoft has in its apps, but some are excellent -so good that you can use them in place of built-in music apps in Windows 10.
Dopamine
Dopamine is probably the sleekest music player ever created for Windows. At first glance, dopamine looks and feels a lot like Microsoft’s ill-fated Zune music player, and that’s not a bad thing. The UI is consistent and the app launch time combined with player’s flexibility make it the best Music player for Windows 10.
You can change app’s background and color scheme; there are a neat equalizer and information viewer too. The library management is mostly excellent, and it can handle large collections of music files easily.
The app is not perfect though, you won’t find some advanced features found on some other music players such as music ripping and automatic music organization, but if you are looking for a sleek, lightweight and free music player that works as it is supposed to, Dopamine is a must look.
Probably the best media management application on Windows, Media Monkey is a full featured Music Playing and management software. The app has almost everything that an Audiophile may need on its feature set.
You can create and manage playlists, sort, and sync media files. The UI of the Player is fully skinnable, meaning you can download additional skins form Internet and use them to customize it to your will. One of the best features that Media Monkey offers is auto media management UI, with this, once set-up, the app will automatically rename and store music files in their subfolders.
MediaMonkey – Non Skinned
Although Media Monkey handles music fantastically, Support for Video is not that good.
The free version should be enough to keep you hooked with the app, if you want more features, there is also a paid version.
Claimed to be built for music fans, songbird looks very similar to Apple iTunes.
Songbird has a rich media management features, and it works as a music hub in your home as with Songbird, you can stream music to any room in your home. Apart from playing music, you can follow artists and sync music to your portable devices.
Songbird
Songbird is easy to use and considering the app is completely free, you should give it a chance if you are looking for good music players for Windows 10.
This one is straight for power-users, Foobar is an Open source music player that is very light weight and customization. The core app looks quite old-school. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the makers want users to use extensions to customize the UI upon its wish. As the app has been around for more than a few years, you can find extensions for almost everything.
Foobar is a bit confusing at first, but investing time in understanding its UI will be worth if you are looking for a flexible music player.
Usually, People use VLC to play video files -and it shines at it, VLC Can be a great Music Player if you are a FOSS supporter and want a no-frills music player that Plays any files that you throw on it.
VLC Media Player – Library Mode
VLC has a satisfactory media library; it is not as flexible as on Media Monkey but the player has built-in support for Podcasts and online Radio.
The App will also let you play from other computers connected via a local network.
The best thing about using VLC? The apps is quick, and it can handle a large music library without breaking a sweat.
MusicBee shares a lot of similarities with Media Monkey, but it does it with a slicker and easier interface. MusicBee has built-in features to manage and categories your music library and it has dozens of different color schemes and themes to chose from. You can use it to auto tag your file from the internet and retrieve lyrics and other metadata.
MusicBee in Xbox Theater Mode
The app also has a theater mode that looks a bit similar to Windows Media Player’s Full Screen Mode. At the time of Writing, MusicBee is completely free to use.
AIMP is a simple music player that may remind you of new dead WinAMP music player. Apart from Windows, the app is also available for Android. AIMP looks a lot different than other music player apps listed above, but the UI is easy to navigate and understand. AIMP has good library management and a low system footprint. It comes with two skins by default, but you can install other skins from its official website.
Microsoft removed Windows Photo Viewer in latest version of its operating system. Lets take a look at 4 best Image viewers for Windows 10
Yesterday, I received a mail from a Getting Geek reader Jessie. He wrote that he is searching for an alternative to Photos App and what are the best image viewers for Windows 10.
Hello Saurabh, I like Windows 10, but I don’t like that Microsoft removed the old Windows Photo Viewer and replaced with new Photos App. I know that it is fast and easy to use. But the library management is not okay. I don’t want to spend money on Adobe’s Image Management apps. Can you recommend me some of the best image viewers for Windows 10? Thanks
Back in 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10, the company replaced many default apps. Some of the most notable of these are Groove Music, Microsoft Edge and also the Movies and TV app.
Whereas Photos app is good enough for most basic tasks, it may not be useful if you want to tweak any photo. Granted that there are some basic options for fixing an image, but beyond that, you may be needing a replacement for Photos App.
So, here are some of the best image viewers for Windows 10.
Google Picasa
Picasa is probably one of the most polished image viewers for Windows 10.
Sure, Google Killed off Picasa recently, but the photo viewer app is still polished enough for most people. The Picasa Photo Viewer is fast, stable and its looks downright cool.
Rather than looking like an image viewer in Android’s Gallery app, the Photo Viewer for Windows has a similar feeling to a media player. You can press Enter key on your keyboard to see any image in fullscreen mode, and if you need, with just one click, you can start a slideshow.
Now that Google has shut down Picasa’s web service, the image upload feature will not be supported. Still, the app should run fine.
Even if you don’t want advanced image editing that Picasa offers, you should give Picasa a try. I have been using it on all my computers, and it has never let me down. Download
Faststone Image Viewer
Faststone is a free image viewer that you can use as a replacement for Photos app in Windows 10. Rather than creating albums, Faststone focuses on managing photos in a folder centric approach. Faststone is not as goo looking as Picasa, but it has far better slideshow options. Also, Faststone has much better support for different Image formats. There are a couple of color schemes to choose from, but overall, Faststone is only good if have a habit of dealing with Software with dozens of sidebars and you like to dig around in option to customize the toolbar and other settings. Download FastStone
XnView
XnView is a popular image viewer. The developer claims that XnView has support for almost 500 different formats. In my testing, it did open most types of image formats that I had. As a cherry on top, XnView can also convert images to another format should you need to.
XnView’s features don’t stop there. It has built-in options for applying basic fixes and filters. Also, it can create slideshows for you.
In image management departments, XnView has great support for batch renaming, metadata management, and a duplicate file finder.
XnView makes it a great replacement for built-in Photos app in Windows 10 if you deal with tons of image formats every day or you want some extra control with your pictures. It is free for personal use and does not include any adware or spyware.
Named after it’s creator Irfan Skiljan, IrfanView is an excellent image viewer for Windows if you are a fan of speed and lightweight apps.
IrfanView has almost 2 MB footprint, a simple UI and great support for plugins. The App has great support for most image formats; it has some basic editing features and options to take screenshots of your display.
Just like some options we talked about above, IrfanView is free for private use or educational purposes.
In conclusion, the following are the four best image viewers for Windows 10:
Google Picasa
FastStone Image Viewer
XnView
IrfanView
Which one is your favorite?
Among all the app in this post, which one do you think is the best image viewer for Windows 10 and why? Share with others in the comments below.
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There are tons of media playing software available for all versions of Windows, but Which is the best Video Player for Windows 10 ? Let’s take a look.
Yesterday evening, I received a mail from a Getting Geek reader Chris. He wrote:
Hi Getting Geek team,
I have been using Windows 10 for almost 4 months now,
I like many new features including new start menu and virtual desktop.
But, I don't like the default video player in Windows 10.
It is speedy enough, but, sometimes, It wont play a video file.
It also does not stay on top of my desktop.
I have been looking for Best Video Player for Windows 10 for a while.
Almost all options on Windows Store are useless.
What do you think is the best Video Player for Windows 10 ?
-Chris
Well, Chris, The problems you said about the default video player in Windows 10 are legit. The app is new, so I can understand that it can lack some advanced features, but still it feels lame compared to other video players for Windows.
Movies and TV app is just lame
Microsoft introduced new Music Player called Groove, and a new Video Player called Movies and TV in Windows 10. Groove Music is also a limited option for audiophiles and it is too limited for PowerUsers.
Movies and TV app is also not any different than the Groove Music regarding feature set. The app is somewhat limited to playing a few video formats; there is no always on top functionality, and it will pause playing if you minimize the App.
It is essentially just a new way for Microsoft to make money by selling Videos and Movies.
Anyone coming from Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center (Both of which were made by Microsoft) may feel that Microsoft could do some more with the Movies and TV app. It doesn’t even have support for external subtitle files.
But worry not, there are other options for you.
Microsoft may have made an underpowered Video Player for Windows 10, but don’t worry, you can replace it in just a couple of minutes with a powerful and feature rich alternative. Here are some of the best Video Player for Windows 10.
Probably the best Video Player in The world, VLC can play almost all media formats in the universe. Created by VideoLAN, VLC has been favorite media player of power users for years; the app has great support for Subtitles, equalizer, media controls and media formats.
If you need any feature that is not currently built in the player, you may find a plugin for the task.
VLC is open source too, and it is available in two ways, the first one is the traditional version, it runs as a desktop software, and the another one is the UWP App, which is available in Windows Store.
While both versions have some similarity, I would recommend you to download the traditional version as it has more features.
Often called KMP, The KM Player is very similar to VLC in some ways, it is feature packed media player that supports almost all major media formats.
The Default UI looks a bit better than VLC Media Player; The App also has good support for audio tuning and Subtitles. Other features include a simple video and audio capture system, ability to toggle always on top mode quickly and full skinning support.
KM Player is completely free, and it is also available for Google Android.
Media Player Classic is also called MPC-HC sometimes, it is very similar in look and feel with VideoLAN’s offering.
Media Player Classic
MPC is free to use, and it also has support for almost all media files that you can imagine. The UI looks a bit dated, and that is perhaps the only downside. Media Player Classic is quite lightweight on PC resources and hence, it won’t bog down the performance of your computer too much.
Enough about simple Video Players already, let’s talk about other cool options. Plex is a home media server. After installing and configuring it, Plex can stream movies stored on your PC to any other Plex-enabled devices in your home.
Plex looks good and works surprisingly well
But why am I mentioning it in my Best Video Player for Windows 10 list? Because it does that beautifully. Once you have done scanning of all media files, Plex can automatically pull trailers and actor info along with plot from IMDB. The features list doesn’t end here; Plex can run within a web browser, so you won’t have to install the player on all Windows 10 devices. Just a Chrome (or any other) browser is enough. The Player looks excellent and media sorting is great.
And did I mention that Plex server is free?
Although Microsoft is no longer interested in adding new features to WMP, it still is included in all Windows 10 PCs. It is probably the best video player for Windows 10 because even when of being so feature packed, it doesn’t slow down at any point, it has one of the best library management capabilities available, and it can easily be used to sync music and video from tons of devices.
Windows Media Player
Auto playlists and automated rating are probably the best features in WMP.
TL; DR
In conclusion, the following are the best Video Players for Windows 10:
VLC Media Player
The KM Player
Media Player Classic
Plex
Windows Media Player
Which one do you prefer
among all the other options available, what do you think is the best Video Player for Windows 10 ? share with others in the comments below.
Microsoft is working on a new way to unlock the Windows 10 PC using Bluetooth. Windows 10 phone Sign-in is available on Windows Store.
In recent years, Microsoft has improved Windows sign-in process by adding some more ways to unlock the devices. Some of them are the Picture password that was introduced with Windows 8 and Windows Hello that is relatively new and was introduced in Windows 10.
In above those, the former needs a working Touch Screen to function. The latter (Windows Hello) works by detecting the face using a special camera on the front of the Device, very few computers (such as Microsoft’s Surface Book) have a Windows Hello camera and because of that, it is available to very few users.
Microsoft is working on a new way to unlock the Windows 10 PCs and, this time, it is using Bluetooth. The Redmond Giant has already created an App called Phone Sign-in.
The App is currently in Beta state and it is available to everyone in Windows Store. Windows 10 Phone sign-in beta works using Bluetooth of the Phone and the computer. Whenever both the devices are near to each other, the computer will unlock itself automatically.
Additionally, the app can use NFC or webcam also to do its job.
Google and Apple both have some kind of software feature to co-ordinate their mobile devices with their Desktop Operating systems. Apple’s iOS, for example, supports a feature called Hand-Off to switch between Mac and iPhone. Google also has some software features to unlock Chromebooks with a paired Android Smartphones.
Microsoft is a bit late on this front and it is also interesting that it is currently only available for its mobile OS,
Windows 10 phone Sign-in App is currently only available for Windows Phones. Which, despite having some interesting perks, has no competition to offer to Android or iOS. Also, there is no word about it being made available for Android or iOS.
In Past, Microsoft has not made any of its authenticator apps available for iOS or Android and therefore, chances of it being made for other platforms are pretty low.
If you are a Windows Phone owner, you can try the app from here.
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Following are some tips and tricks for Microsoft Edge that will definitely help you in getting the most out of Browser.
Microsoft Edge is the shiny new web browser for Windows 10. It was made to replace the older and hated Internet Explorer. It is the newest kid in the browser market and being honest, it is way better than Internet Explorer. It is better than Google Chrome in some aspects.
Following are some tips and tricks for Microsoft Edge that will definitely help you in getting the most out of Browser.
Disable Flash
Adobe Flash is now a dead platform that is turning into a zombie. It definitely was useful in mid-2000’s but today it is more harmful than useful. With HTML 5 replacing Flash for Video playback on websites, it is just useless for users to keep Adobe Flash enabled in their computer.
If you are not working under a corporation which requires you to have Flash in order to use their web portals, you can disable it.
How to Do it?
Fire up Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots that open Menu.
Next click on Settings and from the next screen, hit Advanced Settings button located at the end of the list.
From here toggle “Use Adobe Flash Player” to off.
Import bookmarks from Other web browsers.
If you have been using another web browser such as Google Chrome for a long time, it is almost sure that you have a long list of Bookmarks ( or Favorites) You may want to import them to Microsoft Edge as well so that you don’t have to wonder about the sites you visit.
How to Import Bookmarks from other browsers to Edge
Click on the Hub button (highlighted in the screenshot) and click on the Favorites button (symbolized as a star)
From here, Click on Favorite Settings
Next, under the Import Favorite section, Select all browser that you want to import bookmarks from and click on Import.
Please note that it may take some time for a large number of Bookmarks.
Turn the Sync On/Off
Just like Google Chrome syncs all your data from one device to other after you sign in using a Google Account, You can sync your Data across multiple PCs and Windows 10 Mobile devices.
It requires you to have the Version number 1511 installed in your PC. It should also be noted that you can only sync Browsing data between Windows 10 devices as Edge is not available for other platforms.
To enable or disable sync, Open the Settings from Main menu and under sync your content section, toggle it to on or off.
Keep in mind that you need to sign into PC using a Microsoft Account.
Use Edge as a PDF reader
Similar to Google Chrome and other browsers, Edge has built in support for PDF documents. If you do not need to sign or comment on PDF files, it may come as handy for basic PDF viewing.
To use Edge to open PDF files, right click on PDF files and click on Open With> Microsoft Edge.
Change Default Search Engine
Obviously, Microsoft Edge has Bing set as the default search engine. By setting it to Bing, Microsoft tries to make sure that most users won’t bother changing it and Microsoft will get a continuous Ad revenue from search results.
You can change the default search engine to Google or any other site in a few clicks.
Here is how to do it
Open the website that you want to use as default search engine. ( I know that Microsoft is stupid about this, this could simply be ignored)
Open Settings from Menu and Click on View Advance Settings Button
Under the “Search in the address bar with”section, click on Change.
From next screen, click on your desired search engine and click on Set as default.
Hide Ads from New Tab page
Edge does a good job of showing latest news and articles in new tab pages, however, they are also stuffed with advertisements. If you want to disable them fire up the Settings from the browser menu.
Under “Open new tabs with” drop down menu, select any one from following:
Top sites and suggested content: Loads and shows you your most visited sites followed by news, articles, weather reports (and of course, Ads) in the new tab.
Top Sites: Shows a search box and your most visited sites in new tab page.
A blank page : Shows nothing in new tabs except for a search box.
Do you have any other tip or hack to make Edge better? Do you use it just ignore it? share with us in the comments below.
If you want, you can enable coloured title bars in Windows 10.The core functionality of Coloured title bars is still present in Windows 10.
Title Bars have gone all white with Windows 10, Microsoft removed the glassy title bars in Windows 8 and in the latest installment, the colours are also cut-out to be just white.
If you want, you can enable coloured title bars in Windows 10 (for now – at least) It won’t help you with modern apps as they will still have White Title bars. For modern apps you can (at least ) enable Dark Theme by following this guide.
The core functionality of Coloured title bars is still present in Windows 10. To get that back, we need to create a new theme by coping an old one and than we need to Apply it.
Get Colored Title Bars in Windows 10
Start of By opening the File Explorer and Going to the following path:
C:\Windows\Resources\Themes
Please remember to replace C: with the Windows Installation drive in your computer.
You will see something like this. On this window, copy the Aero folder and a file named “Aero.theme” and paste somewhere in your computer where you can find it easily. When asked, click on Skip in access denied Window.
All the left work is just to rename a bunch of files and we will be good to go.
Now in here rename the “aero” folder to ” newtheme” or something that you can remember. Then open the folder and rename “aero.msstyles” to “newtheme.msstyles”.
The work is halfway done.
Now open the en-US folder, if you have different language enabled you will find it in different language- in this case open that folder. Rename “aero.msstyles.mui” to “newtheme.msstyles.mui”.
Now go and rename the “aero.theme” file which you copied with Aero Folder to “newtheme.theme”
Next, open the newly renamed “newtheme.theme” file in a text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++ and press CTRL+H and paste the following text in a the text box labelled Find What:
Path=%ResourceDir%\Themes\Aero\Aero.msstyles
In the Replace with box paste the following text:
Path=%ResourceDir%\Themes\Aero\newtheme.msstyles
Click on File> Save and then close Notepad.
Now please copy the “newtheme” folder and “newtheme.theme” file and paste it to the following path:
C:\Windows\Resources\Themes
Enjoy the colors
To activate the newly created theme, double click on “newtheme.theme” file. You wont need to restart and you will see the colored title bars immediately.
As a former Windows 7 user, I really miss the glassy Windows Aero. It is kind of a shame that Microsoft removed it and instead of giving user a choice they slapped a too white UX all over, still hope this guide helps you with Windows 10 customization.
VLC Media Player with 
