Uploaded June 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This video will show you changes that have been made to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8. Mostly I just cover things that change the usability. There are plenty of differences in the background, such as better memory management, faster boot times, more security, that can't really be seen but are present in Windows 10.
First of all, yes, the Start button is back in Windows 10! It is different, and takes the better features of Windows 8 and merges them with the menu from earlier Microsoft versions. Now you can add all the live feed options to your start menu, and even make the start menu larger or smaller to customize how you like to use it. You can even remove all of the icons and have it be just like earlier Start menus.
Also, the apps from the Windows store are no longer full screen, they will run Windowed on the Desktop, which is an amazing improvement. It's now much easier to use the Desktop with a keyboard and mouse and to mulitask.
But what about Windows 10 on a tablet? The full screen apps from Windows 8 actually worked very well on tablets, and brought Microsoft closer to merging all of it's operating systems (Mobile, Tablet, Desktop) into one OS. Well now instead of forcing tablet users to deal with the hard to use parts of the Desktop, and Desktop users to deal with annoyances like full screen apps, Windows now has a tablet mode. This makes the start menu act more like the Start menu from Windows 8, and has applications running full screen. That way you get the best of both worlds.
Windows 10 also has a lot more account integration, so now you can sync a lot more data and settings with a Windows Live account. Fortunately for people who prefer not to use those services, then you can still just have a local account.
Another big change is the inclusion of Cortana as the search engine in Windows 10. Right on the Desktop there is a search box, that when used with aWindows Live account has all of the same features as Cortana on a phone.
Windows now also has virtual Desktops, similar to what several Linux distributions have had in the past. Basically, rather than having all of your applications running on the one desktop, you can split them between several, so when you want to multitask you can switch to a Desktop that has your programs running that all have to do with each other.
One more significant change that you may notice, is that Internet Explorer has disappeared. This is likely due to the terrible reputation it had. Microsoft has now replaced it with Microsoft Edge (which in the Developer preview is named Project Spartan, in keeping with the Halo theme that Cortana is also named from). So far there hasn't been enough testing with Edge to know if it will be better regarded than Internet Explorer, but they definitely improved the look of it. It also supports all of the new standards that most browsers do (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc) but still also supports silverlight, which allows for 1080P playback of Netflix.
Check out my facebook at: facebook.com/pages/All-How-2s/198429346974010
or my twitter: twitter.com/AllHow2s
Or my website where I have a lot of other great tutorials (such as how to take a screenshot, or how to get the start button back on Windows 8): allhow2s.com
This video will show you changes that have been made to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8. Mostly I just cover things that change the usability. There are plenty of differences in the background, such as better memory management, faster boot times, more security, that can't really be seen but are present in Windows 10.
First of all, yes, the Start button is back in Windows 10! It is different, and takes the better features of Windows 8 and merges them with the menu from earlier Microsoft versions. Now you can add all the live feed options to your start menu, and even make the start menu larger or smaller to customize how you like to use it. You can even remove all of the icons and have it be just like earlier Start menus.
Also, the apps from the Windows store are no longer full screen, they will run Windowed on the Desktop, which is an amazing improvement. It's now much easier to use the Desktop with a keyboard and mouse and to mulitask.
But what about Windows 10 on a tablet? The full screen apps from Windows 8 actually worked very well on tablets, and brought Microsoft closer to merging all of it's operating systems (Mobile, Tablet, Desktop) into one OS. Well now instead of forcing tablet users to deal with the hard to use parts of the Desktop, and Desktop users to deal with annoyances like full screen apps, Windows now has a tablet mode. This makes the start menu act more like the Start menu from Windows 8, and has applications running full screen. That way you get the best of both worlds.
Windows 10 also has a lot more account integration, so now you can sync a lot more data and settings with a Windows Live account. Fortunately for people who prefer not to use those services, then you can still just have a local account.
Another big change is the inclusion of Cortana as the search engine in Windows 10. Right on the Desktop there is a search box, that when used with aWindows Live account has all of the same features as Cortana on a phone.
Windows now also has virtual Desktops, similar to what several Linux distributions have had in the past. Basically, rather than having all of your applications running on the one desktop, you can split them between several, so when you want to multitask you can switch to a Desktop that has your programs running that all have to do with each other.
One more significant change that you may notice, is that Internet Explorer has disappeared. This is likely due to the terrible reputation it had. Microsoft has now replaced it with Microsoft Edge (which in the Developer preview is named Project Spartan, in keeping with the Halo theme that Cortana is also named from). So far there hasn't been enough testing with Edge to know if it will be better regarded than Internet Explorer, but they definitely improved the look of it. It also supports all of the new standards that most browsers do (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc) but still also supports silverlight, which allows for 1080P playback of Netflix.
Check out my facebook at: facebook.com/pages/All-How-2s/198429346974010
or my twitter: twitter.com/AllHow2s
Or my website where I have a lot of other great tutorials (such as how to take a screenshot, or how to get the start button back on Windows 8): allhow2s.com
