This article was published on May 20, 2015

Newest Windows 10 build refreshes Edge’s UI, stops apps from setting defaults


Newest Windows 10 build refreshes Edge’s UI, stops apps from setting defaults

Another week, another build of Windows 10. This one introduces some of the features Microsoft showed off its Build conference a few weeks ago, as well as a number of smaller cosmetic features.

First up, there’s been some changes to the Start Menu. Most notably, you’ll now need to dive into your Personalization settings to manually switch between the more traditional looking Start menu and the more tablet-friendly full screen option.

Microsoft removed this option to avoid confusion – many users incorrectly thought enabling the full-screen start would activate tablet mode. Windows 10 will still change the start screen type automatically when you do switch to tablet mode, which now also features larger tiles to be more touch-friendly.

Microsoft’s new Edge browser (still called Project Spartan in this build), is also getting some updates. Aside from improvements to the rendering engine, a revamped New Tab page shows your top sites, some featured apps and content from MSN. The browser now brings back the InPrivate mode from Internet Explorer, as well as the ability to pin pages to Start, a history view, and – taking a hint from Chrome – an audio icon to let you know which tabs are playing music.

Finally, Microsoft is making some notable changes to how Windows handles default apps for different file types and protocols. Neither classic nor universal apps will be able to modify your defaults, meaning you won’t accidentally switch your default browser to a secondary app.

Instead, you’ll sometimes see a dialog box informing you to go into your settings to change your defaults. Microsoft says that over time these will no longer appear, as apps are updated to stop requesting to switch your defaults.

gotosettings-500x85

One important note – users with AMD GPUs will want to steer clear of this build if they want to try out Edge; Microsoft says  it will crash frequently. You can avoid install it by switching to the slow ring in Windows Update. Otherwise, this build should be more stable than previous ones as Microsoft nears its summer release window.

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10122 for PCs [Windows Blog]

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