The new way to log in to Windows 10
Microsoft began insisting on a login password with Windows 8, as an additional safeguard against losing your data. With Windows 10, Microsoft is raising the bar.
During the installation process, you’ll be asked for your Microsoft username and password, the key that unlocks your data within Microsoft’s ecosystem. But instead of using that password to log in every session, Microsoft will encourage you to use a 4-digit PIN—treating your PC, essentially, as a credit card. You’ll still have the option to use a password, but a PIN is a much simpler option.
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You can either use a PIN, a traditional password, or Windows Hello to log in to Windows 10.
A second option, Microsoft Hello, promises to be simpler and more secure. Using biometric security—either a fingerprint or your face—Hello will log you in, automatically. Fingerprint readers are fairly rare outside corporate machines, but the depth cameras needed for face recognition are rarer still, found only in new PCs.
Still, Microsoft’s making Hello one of the features of their first Windows 10 ads, and it’s not hard to see why. Windows Hello asks you to put your face in its camera range for a few seconds to train it, with your glasses on and off if necessary. After that, logging in is as simple as approaching the PC with the camera active. If the camera can see your face (with a Surface docking station, you may need to lean down a bit) you’ll be launched into Windows 10, literally without pushing a button.
Keep in mind that Hello is always looking out for you. To keep your PC from watching constantly, turn Hello off in the Settings menu.
Meet the new-old Start menu
Windows 10 newcomers, Microsoft has a treat for you. Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner, or tap the Windows key on the keyboard. The new Start experience appears, combining elements of both Windows 7 and Windows 8. You’ll find a list of your most frequently used apps to the left, along with the tile-based Windows 8 approach to the right. The live tiles periodically rotate, refreshing themselves with new updates. It’s a motif that was a little overwhelming in Windows 8, but seems more appropriate in this context.
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The new Windows 10 Start screen. For some Windows 8 users it will justify an upgrade all by itself.
Right-clicking and pinning apps to the Start menu will be intuitive for Windows 8 users, but it’s going to feel a little strange for longtime Windows 7 devotees. You can’t manually add apps to the left-hand list; Windows 10 picks those for you, based on your most frequently-used apps. Fortunately, you can also launch apps by typing their names into the Cortana search box at the bottom left, or scrolling all the way down the lefthand list to the tiny “All apps” link.
Oddly, some apps don’t show up in the “All apps” list—like Paint, the venerable, quick-and-dirty image editing app. I know it’s there, but Windows 10 doesn’t show it to me. (As some readers have noted, you can find it in the Windows Accessories folder.)
Still, Microsoft’s early vision for the Windows 10 Start screen honestly looked as good, or better, than the current version. Note the flexibility in adjusting the apps in the left-hand bar.
Microsoft will be judged on first impressions. However, not everyone will find the new Start menu intuitive. The Get Started intro app should probably be front and center to lead new users by the hand. Tips pop up occasionally, offering guidance, and the familiar toolbar sits at the bottom of the screen. There, you should see a row of icons you’ll recognize: the Cortana search bar, followed by the new Task View, an Internet Explorer-like Edge icon, and more. But the Edge icon is the only visual hint that answers the critical question most new users will ask: “So how do I get to the Internet?”
Next: Deep into Windows 10's settings
