The next big thing

Microsoft promised to release the next big update for Windows 10 this spring, and it looks like we can expect it to start rolling out soon. The update is free for current Windows 10 users.

What’s changed?

This version is called Creators Update and includes enhancements for gamers. 

The rest of us can look forward to potentially useful improvements, too, including the Privacy Dashboard, which puts all (most?) of the privacy settings in one place. This should make it easier to manage your privacy.

See this article for more information on the Privacy Dashboard. Yes, things are simplified, but it appears choices are more limited.

Windows Updates has been overhauled again. Windows 10 Pro, Education, and Enterprise users will be able to defer updates, just like in the good old days of Windows 7. Windows 10 Home users still won’t be able to do that.

However, we’ll all benefit from the new Windows Update platform which makes updates smaller and therefore faster to deliver.

If you like Cortana, you’ll probably like the enhancements in Creators Update. 

Apparently, unfamiliar with The Rule of Holes (“When you get to the bottom, stop digging.”), Microsoft has chosen to monkey around with the Start Menu again. This time, they’ve added the ability to create folders on the Start Menu and put tiles into the folder.

Creators Update also offers better control of Themes, and easier access to the area where you can change how things look. 

Settings has been rearranged again, and apparently, it’s harder to get to the old Control Panel now. 

Microsoft’s Edge browser will be improved to make it more like a real browser.

What’s new?

Microsoft is betting heavily that 3D is a thing. The Creators Update includes apps that allow you to capture and work with images in 3D. At some point, although maybe not right away, Edge is supposed to support 3D viewing. 3D viewing of what, exactly, is not clear to me yet.

There will be e-books in the Microsoft Store. If you didn’t know you had a Microsoft Store on your Windows 10 computer, I can’t say I blame you.

Click on the shopping bag icon to go to the Store and get apps. You can get e-books after your Creators Update. But you’ll be reading the e-books in the Edge browser.

On touch screen devices, you already have a virtual keyboard. Creators Update adds a virtual track pad.

Can I get this right now?

Almost right now. But hold your horses.

If you’re using Windows 10 now, you might have already noticed a link in your Windows Update. Clicking on the link will take you to a Microsoft web page where you can sign up for the Windows Insider program. 

Insiders have early access to Creators Update.

The Windows Insider program is not for average computer users. It is for geeks. You should not run software that is still being tested on a computer you can’t afford to ruin.

If you’re comfortable taking that risk, you can get early access to Creators Update.

Non-Insiders will start seeing this update the last week in March or the first week in April. If you are a typical Windows user and you’re using a typical computer to do typical things,

I suggest installing this update when it shows up for you instead of trying to force it to install early.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.