Windows 10: Windows 10 is getting ‘Device Usage’ personalization settings

In October 2020, Microsoft started testing an updated OOBE (out of the box experience) screen with new options to help users set up their new or old device after Windows 10 feature updates.

The company is still ‘exploring’ the idea and it looks like the Settings app is also getting updated with a new ‘Device Usage’ section to help users customize their device after they’ve left the OOBE screen.

At the moment, it’s unclear how new ‘Device Usage’ setting will work because it crashes in the preview builds. The option appears under the ‘Personalization’ page of the Settings app, so it’s safe to assume that Microsoft is not working on Google’s Digital Wellbeing-like feature for the OS.


Image Courtesy: Albacore (Twitter)

Instead, it looks like the new Device Usage screen will allow users to have their system more tailored to their personal needs. The ‘Device Usage’ page is internally codenamed ‘SettingsUserIntentPage’, which also suggests that the Device Usage setting is linked to the new OOBE experience.

If the new settings page is indeed based on the OOBE experience and our theory is correct, users will be able to pick the main usage category for their machine. The following ‘device usage’ categories will be offered initially:

• Gaming
• Family
• Creativity
• Schoolwork
• Entertainment
• Business.

If you select ‘Gaming’, Windows 10 will be optimized for gaming, but it’s unclear how the ‘optimization’ will work and what changes will be made to your system.

It’s also unclear if this feature will be included in the next big feature update ‘Sun Valley’.

As we mentioned at the outset, Microsoft isn’t fully confident about the features they test in the preview builds and they’re only exploring the idea.

This new ‘Device Usage’ change has been introduced with Windows 10 Build 21313, although note that it can be enabled using third-party tools only.

The post Windows 10 is getting ‘Device Usage’ personalization settings appeared first on Windows Latest

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Windows 10 Tweaks

Privacy tweaks...

• Turn Cortana Off. Bring up the Start menu and start typing. Click on the notebook icon in the left sidebar and choose Settings. From there, you can turn off Cortana.
• Search online and include web results. When you turn off Cortana, you’ll see this option appear. You can turn it off if you’d rather not get web search suggestions from the Start menu, which log your typing and send it back to Microsoft so you can get live-updating predictions, just like you do on Google.com or in Chrome and Firefox.
• Getting to Know You. In Settings > Privacy > Speech, Inking, & Typing, you’ll find a feature called “Getting to Know You”. This is probably the most sweeping privacy setting on the system, and even after turning off Cortana, you’ll have to disable this setting. Just click the “Stop Getting to Know Me” button to turn it off.
• Cloud Info. Turning off Getting to Know You removes info from your device, but you’ll have to remove it from the cloud separately. In that same window, click “Go to Bing and manage personal info for all your devices” to clear the Getting to Know You Data from your Microsoft account.

• If you head to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & Diagnostics, you’ll see two settings:

• Feedback frequency: Windows will occasionally ask you for feedback so you can send Microsoft your thoughts on Windows 10. If you’d rather it not bug you with such things, you can change it to Never.
• Diagnostic and usage data: This feature can send a lot of data back to Microsoft, including how often you use certain apps, which apps you use most often, and memory snapshots (which can inadvertently include parts of a document you’re working on if something crashes). You can change this to Full, Enhanced, or Basic. You can read more about what each of these to here.

Microsoft doesn’t let you turn off diagnostics completely, except on Enterprise versions of Windows. The Basic setting, they say, is data that is “vital to the operation of Windows”, including Windows Update and malicious software protection.


some may be duplicated. I found this info on Lifehacker, if anyone wants the full article.

 

Settings/Personalization

Hi,

We suggest that you follow the steps below to put your settings back to default and see if it helps.

• Right-click your mouse on your desktop.
• Click on Personalize.
• Select Colors.
• Click on High contrast settings.
• From the drop-down menu, select None.
• Click Apply.
• Reboot the PC for the changes to take effect.

Let us know the result.

 

Lenovo Ready to Launch Windows 10 Devices

Lenovo today announced it will begin shipping a wide selection of products loaded with Windows 10 starting July 29. Lenovo has an extensive list of products eligible for this upgrade including popular models like the YOGA 3 Pro and YOGA 500. Lenovo customers can check here for their product's eligibility.

Lenovo has worked with Microsoft Corp. to make the process of upgrading simple, for people with qualified Lenovo PC running Windows 7 SP1 or 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10. Starting on July 29, the updates will roll out. If a user has reserved a copy of Windows 10, he/she will be notified once the compatibility process confirms that the user will have a great experience, and Windows 10 has been downloaded on their system.





Lenovo Apps Enhance Windows 10 Experience
To give users consistent experiences across devices and operating systems, the preloads include a suite of Lenovo-written applications. The new Lenovo Companion 3.0 optimization tool keeps devices running at peak performance and can be used at any time to run a full-scale checkup and report back with specific actions to free up space and speed up the device. As a "smart" device control hub, the new Lenovo Settings lets users easily adapt and modify the way their device behaves. For example, when in tablet mode, the product will customize its display and other settings based on its orientation versus in traditional laptop mode. Alternatively, the device's usage will also alter its settings, for example when watching a movie versus reading an e-book. With SHAREit, customers can quickly transfer files between devices. For tablet users WRITEit takes the pen to a new level of functionality allowing users to write in any input field with their pen and the handwriting is converted to text.

As announced at Tech World in May, Lenovo and Microsoft have worked to integrate Cortana and REACHit, Lenovo's groundbreaking app that allows users who opt-in to search for and manage their content across multiple devices and cloud storage platforms. With REACHit, Cortana becomes even smarter and more personal, enabling users to find their content such as emails, photos and videos in ways they never thought possible. Cortana and REACHit gives users a seamless, intuitive way to search through natural language and contextual understanding.

"With Windows 10, computing gets more personal, productive and connected," said Tom Shell, senior vice president, PC Business Group, Lenovo. "Across our entire PC product line, from the office to the home, we've optimized our Lenovo devices to give customers a great computing experience while giving them enhanced search tools like Cortana with REACHit."