Windows 10 build 10049 - Spartan Browser and Cortana happily together? Not so fast!
The latest build also features Cortana, the new vocal assistant transposed from the Halo video game series, already present in previous builds.
Installation
The official Windows insider website provides only access to the previous build (10041) but, googling, I found a direct link to the ISO image of the 10049 build.
I used VMware Player to create a virtual machine, based on the latest ISO. The installation has been smooth and reasonably fast, like it was for the previous build (9841) I reviewed in my post Windows 10 Review: A hybrid solution and a half step forward
First impressions
The new Windows 10 GUI is a total disappointment. Microsoft got cold feet and disregarded all the claims previously made in the official presentation on September 2014.
The new interface, though keeping the Start menu, switches back to Windows 8.
In fact, unlike previous builds, for you to access Control Panel and other functionalities, you need to right-click the Start button.
In fact, unlike previous builds, for you to access Control Panel and other functionalities, you need to right-click the Start button.
All the promises to Windows 7 users seem to have been totally disregarded and I don't think it's a smart move, because most companies still use Windows 7 and Windows XP is far from being dead, regardless of Microsoft's strategies.
New features
1. Improvements to Cortana:
The latest Windows 10 build introduces improvements to Cortana, even though Cortana supports only American English for now. In fact, when I tried to enter my name for her to recognize me, she failed miserably and told me to wait for future updates. Cortana can be activated by clicking/tapping the search bar on the system tray, but you need to log in with your Microsoft account.
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Microsoft's vocal assistant is definitely something and is not devoid of sense of humor. One of the funniest moments of my testing was when I asked her what she thought about Siri. Check the video to see what her answer was.
Cortana is still a work in progress and sometimes has returned incorrect search results but maybe an external microphone could ensure a better performance.
Cortana is still a work in progress and sometimes has returned incorrect search results but maybe an external microphone could ensure a better performance.
2. Spartan project browser and integration with Cortana: the latest build introduces the new Microsoft browser, destined to replace Internet Explorer for good. Project Spartan is highly integrated with Cortana in several ways:
- Information on restaurants and local businesses: When browsing to restaurants or local businesses websites, Cortana pops up and allows you to view additional details, such as hours of operation, parking suggestions, Yelp reviews etc
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- Information about a place: for more information about a place, you can right-click and select Ask Cortana.
- Definition of a word: Similarly, you can retrieve the definition of a word by selecting it, right-clicking and choosing Ask Cortana.
- Automatic suggestions in a search: if you enter a string, Cortana completes it for you by displaying the requested information without needing to open up another page.
Wrap-up
Operating system in general
The new Windows 10 marks, in my opinion, a definite step back and risks to be a total fiasco for Microsoft.
In fact, it has totally ditched the familiar GUI, disregarding the complaints by several customers, totally disappointed by Windows 8/8.1.
It looks like Microsoft is trying to force unsatisfied customers to move out from Windows 7, which will be discontinued in the future.
Unluckily for the Redmond company, this seems to be the second strategic myopia error in a row, after Windows 8.
Windows 7 customers represent a large share within Microsoft customers and Windows XP customers, though decreasing, still account for a relevant percentage.
Microsoft keeps reasoning like a monopolist but things could be different in the future.
Forcing customers to deal with a product they dislike will probably ensure Microsoft short-term revenues, related to the licenses and contracts in progress, but could not be such a smart decision in a long-term perspective.
Forcing customers to deal with a product they dislike will probably ensure Microsoft short-term revenues, related to the licenses and contracts in progress, but could not be such a smart decision in a long-term perspective.
Companies and individual customers could start considering other and more secure alternatives such as OS X, Linux and Chrome OS, or even mobile environments such as Android or iOS.
Components
Spartan is a much-needed makeover of Internet Explorer, a modern browser allowing a customized and smooth user experience but, though it looks promising, its accuracy comes at expense of your privacy. In fact, in order to return relevant results, the new browser needs to know your location. This does imply a better search but makes your data more widely available to marketers and third-party partners, including spammers and hackers.
It's, as usual, a trade-off and, though most people would surely appreciate a better search, I'm not personally convinced it's worth the price they ask for it.
Moreover, Microsoft is selling as "revolutionary" a feature that's been already around for years thanks to Google Chrome.
In fact, Chrome allows vocal researches by activating the "OK Google" functionality and all you need is an external or internal microphone.
The two products (Cortana and Spartan) integrate smoothly but there's still much to be done and the vocal search has not always returned correct results.
A downside of Spartan is that there is not any available add-on at the moment (at the best of my knowledge) for it, while other browsers have plenty of useful add-ons readily available.
Last Updated: 4/8/2015
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