David,
I also love the settings center. Once you get accustomed to moving around in
there it is a very simple to personalize your computer just the way you want
it. My only real issue with the sounds, like you, was they were too similar
and that is why I brought back my Windows 7 sounds and am also creating some
custom sounds for certain events such as new message rules in Outlook and
empty recycle bin. I also have found it to be very stable. And I don't know
if you use a Password but if you do give the pin a try. You will never go
back. I use an 8 digit pin on my machines and it is so much easier than a
password. And very secure.
The start menu is very customizable. I got rid of all those tiles I didn't
need and put apps I wanted over there instead. Let's face it I really didn't
need a bunch of tiles for inaccessible apps in categories I didn't care
about. So I also renamed the categories.
I'm very glad you are enjoying Windows 10. It is coming along nicely. Smile!
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 3:24 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Re: Update on My Computer/Good News
Merv (and anybody else who is interested), Thanks for your thoughts and
experiences regarding Windows 10. After using it for just a few days I'll
provide my own feedback to you to see if it meshes at all with your own
experiences and opinions.
You mentioned your dislike of the new system sounds. For me, I think they
sound quite pleasant except that many of them are so similar that, when I
hear a sound, I can't immediately tell whether it means I have a
notification, new mail or a prompt from the user account control. It's for
that reason that I will soon go into sound settings and will also begin
changing a few of them. I really want the UAC alert to sound more like the
UAC alerts I'm used to with Windows 7.
Next, the startup time is amazingly fast. I knew this was promised but I
didn't expect to see this on this older system. With Windows 7, it took
about 50 to 60 seconds before I heard my screen reader begin talking at the
logon screen. The same system with Windows 10 takes 25 seconds or less.
I find it to be incredibly stable, as much as, perhaps more so than Windows
7 and Win7 was stable for me. I know I haven't even used it for a week but I
don't think I needed to restart the system due to flaky or otherwise erratic
behavior.
I love the new Settings app. To provide a bit of context for JAWS users, it
is similar to the Settings Center found in newer versions of JAWS.
The Settings app has not yet replaced the control panel and I am assuming
that this is a long-term goal for Microsoft for this to happen.
I like the layout.
On an early demo of the Win10 start menu, pressing the Windows key said
something like "search box, edit", almost like Windows 7. On my machine, it
says "cortana window, search box edit."
I have not yet used Cortana but am planning to order a headset mic for this
purpose.
I was honestly flabbergasted that common subfolders in the user folder, such
as documents, music and pictures did not seem to be present, by default, in
the start menu. Yes, File Explorer is there and I was eventually able to get
to the folders I wanted to add via one of the items in the Settings app but
I really don't think this should have been necessary.
Also, it seems to be much harder to take something in the start menu and use
the right-click menu to send that item to the desktop as I so easily did
with earlier versions of Windows. As an example, I'd like to be able to use
the context menu for "documents" and choose "Send To" and copy that folder
to the desktop. There are ways to do this but it seems difficult, even
impossible, from the first screen of the start menu. If I'm missing
something, would someone please fill in the missing pieces for me?
While I don't recommend this for new or casual users, I love the fact that
Microsoft makes it very easy for users to be a part of the insider program
to receive early updates, either slowly or more frequently via the "fast
ring."
Again, I overall am really liking Windows 10. Between the new OS, the 8 GB
of RAM and my larger hard drive I honestly feel like I have a brand new
computer. The whole thing is just so stable and responsive that I am very
pleased with what I see so far.
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
On 11/23/2015 11:23 AM, Merv Keck wrote:
David,various files and folders, Tapin Radio, etc.
If you have not used Windows 10 before you will enjoy it once you
become accustomed to the differences from your last OS. I am currently
tweaking all my system sounds now just because I can. I have pretty
much all my favorite system sounds back the way they were before the
upgrade to Windows 10 and eventually I am going to make a few new wav
files just for fun. The Windows
10 sound scheme is annoying to me, laughs! and they only give you
default or none.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David
Goldfield
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 1:55 AM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Update on My Computer/Good News
I just received a call from one of the folks in the shop regarding the
status of my computer and he informed me that my computer is ready to
come home. It has a new and larger hard drive, along with Windows 10.
I was informed that its speed is quite fast, which really pleases me.
My wife and I will be heading to the shop tomorrow to pick it up.
Consequently, I expect, a bit ironically, to be offline for much of
the day as I slowly build everything back up by reinstalling all of
the software I regularly use. My first tas, after physically setting
it back up, is to install the new 2015.4 of NVDA. Sadly, I tried
installing it on my iPhone but it didn't seem to work. <grin> Next, I
need to replace its preinstalled Windows Defender with Kaspersky for
my malware protection. After that, I'll install Thunderbird and set up
my email accounts, followed by Firefox, which is my preferred Web
browser. If I can do all of that in one day that will be a nice start
although there's still Microsoft Office, Libreoffice, iTunes, WinBT
for my occasional Braille translation tasks, setting up hotkeys for my
I will likely not be posting all that much during the next week butWWW.DavidGoldfield.Info for additional resources and information about
I'll be monitoring this list as time allows.
Take care.
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.infoYou are invited to visit the moderator's Web
site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info for additional resources and
information about assistive technology training services.
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