Windows 10 brings with it a number of new features designed to make your computer more user friendly.
But along with features comes frustration at times.
Host: I always feel a little enlightened each time we see you because I learn something new. This is something I know nothing about, Ellen sounds like she’s a little informed, but not me.
So we’re going to learn together today, let’s talk a little bit about Windows and first starting off with Windows Hello. I guess in theory it’s a neat feature but it seems frustrating for a lot of people. Do you have any tips to help people with this?
Kahlal: Of course. Windows Hello is a relatively new feature in the Windows 10 category.
What that introduces is what we’ve been kind of used to on our mobile devices lately.
What it allows for you to do is you can speak to it and it will…so when you setup Windows 10 you give it a password so you can log into it. But, remembering your password each time can be frustrating so with phones now you can do it by isoetrics, which is the fingerprint.
What Windows 10 Hello does it can actually see your face, recognize it’s you> It can use your voice, and then also you can…if you have a laptop that has an actual fingerprint scanner, biometric scanner on there, it will be able to log you in with the touch of your finger.
Host: Wow, I can see how that can become frustrating though.
Kahlal: Well, the setup is frustrating, that’s the thing is that when people sometime buy it and say “Oh I’ve got this cool new feature, but there not, you know they’re no real easy path to, nothing really walking you through setting it up. So, as Windows 10 gets better they’ll probably integrate it more, but right now you have to kind of go out and set it up. What most people end up doing is just using a password after all.
Host: I wonder if it would recognize me from Morning Janet to Evening Janet? (Laughter) Sort of like a Mission Impossible laser like scanning your face. It seems really cool though. I know that Windows also launched a new browser and that’s come up on my computer I know, so what’s that like?
Kahlal: The new browser is called Edge. It’s the Microsoft Edge browser. It’s different. It’s new. It’s very lightweight so the concept of it is that it’s going to be easy to use and mainly used just for simple browsing. The problem is businesses can’t really utilize it too well. It’s not compatible with a lot of websites. Even just going to websites on your own is very difficult sometimes to use the Edge browser. Maybe over the next couple of releases they’ll update it, make it better. But, right now, it’s a new thing. I still recommend Google Chrome. Firefox as well. And Internet Explorer was a mess for Microsoft so this is kind of their “refresh” and their reattempt to make a browser that people are not frustrated with.
Host: I’d hate to go up against Google Chrome. There’s a feature that’s called “Cortana” and actually it sounds like it’s more of a “who” than a “what”. Tell us about it.
Kahlal: Well, if you’re not uncomfortable with your computer talking to you, Cortana is the intelligence behind Windows 10. Well, it’s the voice behind Windows 10. You can speak to it. Certain machines will be designed to be able to call it out. You can say “Cortana” and it will respond to you. Siri is the same on Apple. Amazon has the Echo. Google has Google Now. All these kind of browsers / slash operating systems, are trying to introduce this thing that talks back to you.
Host: Why are they women? Smarter?
Kahlal: There we go, I’m not going to fight you there.
Host: Good answer! Welcome to Girl Talk! (Laughter) Okay so, Windows 10, do they have parental controls real quick.
Kahlal: They do. Yes, Windows 10 definitely has parental controls. It depends what you need it for. If you set it up, it can be, there are a lot of walkthroughs. Give us a call and we can give you a walkthrough and set it up for you. But, mainly, once it’s set up, you can have it block certain types of internet websites that you don’t want your kids to access. You can kind of control the programs that they have access to, violent games, so forth. There are a lot of options to do that with Windows 10.
Host: Seems like that would be a never ending battle. Well, well thank you Kahlal for being here. Like I said, we always learn something new. Stay tuned for more Girl Talk, we’ll be right back after the break.
Kahlal “KC” Cunningham of Madison Geeks appeared on a June 2016 Channel 57 WI57 WIFS Madison Girl Talk segment to talk about Windows 10 new features