Windows Technical Preview  

1031 members have voted

  1. 1. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being worst, 5 being best. What do you think of Windows 10 from the leaks so far?

    • 5.Great, best OS ever
      156
    • 4. Pretty Good, needs a lot of minor tweaks
      409
    • 3. OK, Needs a few major improvements, some minor ones
      168
    • 2. Fine, Needs a lot of major improvements
      79
    • 1.Poor, Needs too many improvements, all hope is lost, never going to use it
      41
  2. 2. Based on the recent leaks by Neowin and Winfuture.de, my next OS upgrade will be?

    • Windows 10
      720
    • Windows 8
      20
    • Windows 7
      48
    • Sticking with XP
      3
    • OSX Yosemite
      35
    • Linux
      24
    • Sticking with OSX Mavericks
      3
  3. 3. Should Microsoft give away Windows 10 for free?

    • Yes for Windows 8.1 Users
      305
    • Yes for Windows 7 and above users
      227
    • Yes for Vista and above users
      31
    • Yes for XP and above users
      27
    • Yes for all Windows users
      192
    • No
      71


Recommended Posts

I'm direct booting from a .vhdx file. does anyone know if they still have build upgrading blocked for this method (i haven't tried since the 2nd public build and it was blocked then)

This is area of functionality with the biggest hole (across the Windows Modern piece) for me.  It spots you're launching a URL - well done Windows - but what of the root site/content of that URL?  

 

When will it ever say "You have installed apps for *.youtube.com/..., would you like to use an installed app or a browser to launch it?". (Or search the Store for more apps?).

 

Until then, talk of the MS 'App Gap' is moot because the OS isn't smart enough to leverage the apps that exist. (IMO, of course).

 

 

umm I've had youtube and other video site apps installed and if I watch a video on them, I get asked if I want to use the app... instead. in windows 8.1

Finally got 10041 installed. First impression is that it feels like kind of a mess. Definitely not a polished OS and I can't fathom how this will be ready by summer. The desktop icons along with the titlebard graphics just make the whole thing ugly and unpleasant to use. Opening This PC brings up an ugly assortment of folder icons and drive icons that look like a throwback to BeOS.

 

The search field just feels like a hack when you click the startbutton and a white background covers up the "ask me anything" field with a "search the web or windows" field.

 

The transparency of the start menu is barely noticeable. Probably 90-95%. Would be nice if it was configurable.

 

Looks like they tweaked icon size and spacing in the taskbar. I have larger icons now and quite a bit more space. The icons are still smaller than the standard size when I create a new toolbar.

 

I have no idea why there is still a control panel in addition to the Settings menu. They should just pick one or the other.

 

I don't see the mail app in the start menu anymore.

umm I've had youtube and other video site apps installed and if I watch a video on them, I get asked if I want to use the app... instead. in windows 8.1

 

Can you elaborate?  I've only ever seen Brandon Paddock's Tweetium query the user about which installed Youtube app to use, rather than default to IE.  Brandon is not your typical app developer, having been a dev in the Windows 8 User Experience team (I think).  Ideally Spartan should close the gap by analyzing a URL against the capabilities of apps registered in the store, like Android's Chrome does.   What are the chances tho...?

I did a search for Mail and it prompted me to download it from the store and that gives me an error. So, there is no native email app. Just as well anyways, Mailbird is way better.

LOL @ the MS Bob voice!  I like the new install screen.  New icons and circle avatars are meh, though at least top aligned taskbars can search again.  Even better, SharePoint works again in IE.

 

Start Menu still a work in progress.  I like that they embedded some common ones again.  Looks like another beta AMD driver too? (Switchable graphics)

I did a search for Mail and it prompted me to download it from the store and that gives me an error. So, there is no native email app. Just as well anyways, Mailbird is way better.

i got this from the comments on the front page article. it should fix your issue

 

In this build, the Mail, Calendar, and People apps may be broken due to a licensing issue with the Store Beta. To get these apps working again, you need to follow these steps: Open powershell as administrator; Run the command Get-appxprovisionedpackage -online | where-object {$_.packagename -like "*windowscommunicationsapps*"} | remove-appxprovisionedpackage -online; Re-install Mail, People and Calendar from the Store (green tile)
  • Like 2

*** All Nvidia card owners I want to advise you about what looks like an error but in my case wasn't https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1250466-be-aware-of-this-nvidia-driver-issue/

 

simply put: if you get an error about the Nvidia driver in your update that says there was an error, simply check with your Nvidia Experience interface and verify your driver and then in the cortana Box run DXDIAG to verify that you were updated to WDDM 2.0

Windows 10: Everything is a square! Except user pictures, because reasons!

 

The question you should be asking yourself is:

 

How did Neobond know to incorporate the circle avatar design into the new neowin.net layout and match the release of Windows 10 ; )

  • Like 2

i got this from the comments on the front page article. it should fix your issue

This worked, thanks again for posting it. I don't usually use the OS Mail app but I wanted to try it anyways.

 

I know my comments are based on an unfished OS and people are going to be telling me I shouldn't be running it. However, the TP is intended as a preview release for people to evaluate, albeit not on main machines. I'm just troubled by the fact that they are going so out of their way to make this OS as ugly as possible. In this latest TP, the UI is generally the same and they've even added more icons in that UGLY retro style. I highly doubt they would design a whole set of icons only to replace them all on RTM. I recall a great amount of excitement around Vista and 7's terrific looking interface. Just look at how many people are touting the transparent start menu as a major new feature or talk about the icons, recycle bin in particular.

 

Anyways, I think they have a good core product on the way and I'll look forward to just running my own icon packages and UX themes.

 

Can't wait to try the Xbox One streaming.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Halo: Campaign Evolved is out next month with new prequel missions by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Microsoft offered a look at the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved remake at the Xbox Games Showcase today. The Halo Studios-developed title is not only getting a fully remade campaign, but also new content in the form of a fresh story arc featuring Sgt. Johnson. Fans don't have to wait long, either, as Halo: Campaign Evolved is releasing next month. The new content joining the original campaign consists of three new missions that have the name "Operation: METEORITE" attached to the full project. Aside from ground-based combat, space missions are also included here. These prequel missions will take players to events set before the original campaign, where the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson duo team up for a clandestine UNSC operation aboard a Covenant research vessel. The studio says that the story for these missions was written in collaboration with award-winning sci-fi author Troy Denning. "Operation: METEORITE gives players a chance to expand their experience with new locations, new enemy variants, more weapons from across the Halo series, and new ways to play within the Halo sandbox, all while getting to spend more time with beloved characters and witness a new event that adds to the legacy of their heroic history," adds Halo Studios. Today's new trailer showed off the game in action, including the new missions. Catch it below. Halo Campaign Evolved is coming out on July 28, 2026. It will be available across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 with a $49.99 price tag. A digital premium edition will also be available for $69.99, offering five days of early access, extra in-game skins, and a digital art collection. A $199.99 physical Collector's Edition is also incoming, bringing a Master Chief statue, a Cortana chip, a Steelbook case, and more.
    • To give context to everybody, I bought about 2 sets of RAM, ddr4, 3200, 64 gb, 2 years ago. It costed me 150 usd for each set. If you buy RAM now you only incentivate companies to sell you expensive stuff, as Nvidia did.
    • KillerPDF 1.4.2 by Razvan Serea KillerPDF is a lightweight, portable PDF editor for Windows built for users who want full control without subscriptions, installers, or telemetry. It runs as a single executable, making it ideal for USB use and field work. You can view PDFs with smooth PDFium rendering, navigate quickly with thumbnails, zoom, and shortcuts, and reorganize pages using drag-and-drop. It supports merging multiple PDFs, splitting documents, and extracting selected pages. KillerPDF also allows inline text editing with font matching to preserve the original layout, plus annotations like text boxes, freehand drawing, highlights, and reusable signatures. You can search full text, copy content easily, and print documents with flattened annotations. Designed as a free and open alternative to bloated PDF tools, it works fully offline on Windows 10/11 x64. No runtimes install. Everything needed is inside the EXE (targets .NET Framework 4.8, which ships with every supported Windows release). KillerPDF key features: High-quality PDF rendering via PDFium Edit PDF text inline (double-click to modify text) Page thumbnails and fast navigation with zoom and shortcuts Merge multiple PDFs into one Split PDFs and extract selected pages Drag-and-drop page reordering Font matching to preserve original document appearance Text boxes for notes Freehand drawing tools Highlight overlays with adjustable color, size, opacity Undo actions and clear per-page annotations Create, draw, and save reusable signatures Click-to-place signatures anywhere Full-text search with highlighted results Drag-select or Ctrl+A to copy text Print with annotations flattened Portable single-file app (~10 MB) No installer, no admin rights required No account, no telemetry KillerPDF 1.4.2 changelog: What's new PDF form filling. Interactive PDF forms now render their fields (text inputs, checkboxes, radio buttons) as live controls. Fill them in directly and save — field values are written back into the PDF. PDF outline (bookmark) navigation. A new OUTLINES tab in the sidebar displays the document's bookmark tree. Click any entry to jump to that page. The sidebar auto-fits its width to the longest entry on open and can be dragged wider; switching back to PAGES snaps to the pages-mode width. Fixed Page rotation no longer reverts after saving. Rotations applied via the sidebar context menu now persist correctly through the save pipeline. Copied text words were out of order on PDFs where glyphs are stored in non-reading order (Issue #66). Text extraction now sorts words by position and uses a dynamic line-grouping threshold so both drag-select and Select All produce correctly ordered output. PDFs with malformed or non-standard XRef tables now open in read-only mode instead of showing "Invalid entry in XRef table" and failing entirely. Download: KillerPDF 1.4.2 | 6.1 MB (Open Source) Link: KillerPDF Home Page | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • "...a low price of just $340..." I don't think it means what you think it means.
    • This Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 32GB RAM with RGB is a great deal for limited time by Sayan Sen Memory prices have been through the roof for a while, though it seems like things might finally be getting better. If you are in the market for one, then grab this Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000 CL36 kit with RGB for a low price of just $340 (purchase link under the specs table down below). The kit is compatible with both AMD and Intel systems as it supports both EXPO and XMP overclocking profiles, respectively. 6000 MT/s is often the sweet spot for many systems as it provides ample data transfer speed while still being on Gear 1 mode. This Vengeance variant has RGB so if you love bright setups with such lighting, this is a win-win for you. The technical specifications of the Corsair Vengeance memory kit are given in the table below: Specification Value Memory Type DDR5 Memory Size (Total) 32GB Kit Configuration 2 × 16GB Form Factor UDIMM (Desktop) Pin Count 288-pin Speed (Data Rate) 6000 MT/s Speed Rating PC5-48000 Tested CAS Latency 38-44-44-96 Voltage (Tested) 1.35V Performance Profile AMD EXPO & Intel XMP Heat Spreader Aluminum heatspreader Cooling Type Passive (Heatsink) Lighting Ten Zone RGB Software Support Corsair iCUE Get it at the link below: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB DDR5 32GB (2 x 16GB) 6000 CL38 – Gray (CMH32GX5M1E6000Z38): $339.99 (Sold and Shipped by Woot US, Fulfilled by Amazon US) This Woot deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. This is a first-party seller link (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you also purchase from a first-party seller link only. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the previous deals that we have covered, OR you can also visit Amazon US deals page. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Windows Guy earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Dedicated
      Mark Spruce earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Collaborator
      conkir earned a badge
      Collaborator
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      479
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      244
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      72
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      66
    5. 5
      Skyfrog
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!