

In fact, these are the only four out of about 12 that you can customize to your needs. If you still feel overwhelmed by all the options, you can collapse that area into the four most used quick settings that you want. Don't worry, all your other system tray icons are still there.

It might put off some since it gives a more mobile feel even in desktop mode. This new feature actually mirrors that of Windows Phone, meaning it is also home for quick settings, like turning Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on and off. At least for the ones that do matter, like email or messages, they do show up in the new Action Center. Windows now has a place where almost all notifications are stashed away until they are ready for your attention and action. It's necessary for survival.įinally! No more wondering where that ephemeral notification went or what it was trying to say in the first place. Given how messy the Settings situation is, as we'll see later, this is more than just a convenience. In this case, searching for settings in order to immediately jump to the appropriate one. No, not web search, though that works well too. But probably the most important function is actually something not tied to Cortana and works even without her: search. She can do math, web queries, send e-mails by voice, etc. What that "something" is almost limitless. That said, Cortana also shines when you ask her something.
