Windows 10 User Interface Targets Windows 7 Users
Windows 10 continues to offer a user interface designed for touch-based devices, but it also includes a desktop-friendly user interface with a Start menu, full desktop, and resizable applications. This could allow organizations to deploy Windows 10 without the friction felt by Windows 8 users with nontouch devices. While the user enhancements are not limited to any specific edition of Windows, full customization of the Start menu remains a feature limited to Enterprise edition, and Enterprise edition is required to disable some of the advertising and telemetry features built into other editions of the OS.
Desktop Functionality Mimics Windows 7
Windows 10 includes two distinct user experiences to optimize the behavior of the OS for the device where it is running. Tablet mode, discussed below, is optimized for touch-based devices. When tablet mode is not enabled, the OS delivers a desktop mode of sorts, similar to that available in Windows 7.
When deferring to the desktop, Windows 10 offers a modified Start menu that should be familiar to Windows 7 users. The left side of this menu offers similar functionality to the Windows 7 Start menu, while the right side offers a configurable area to pin applications and view information from Live Tiles for applications that support such tiles. (See the illustration “Return of the Start Menu“.)
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