Many of the Windows Apps are still fairly basic in their functionality, but some can be quite useful. They can be conveniently updated via the Windows Store, instead of individually downloading and installing updates like with traditional apps. You can see notifications from these Windows Apps in a central spot in the Action Center, accessible through the shortcut in the lower-righthand corner of Windows 10.
Here are some free Windows Apps to check out, many of which should already be installed in Windows 10:
• Get Started: Get a tour of Windows 10 and its new features with videos, images and text. I certainly recommend this to everyone after upgrading to Windows 10.
• Alarms & Clock: This can serve as an alarm clock, world clock to track times in other regions, timer to count down and a stop watch to track timing of an event.
• Weather: This is a convenient weather app, allowing you to quickly see weather conditions through the Start Menu and to view weather details in the app for multiple locations.
• Calendar: This can serve as digital calendar, allowing you to add appointments and events to a new calendar or sync with any digital calendar you use already, such as from Google or Apple.
• News: You can browse through the default national and local news stories, and even customize with your own interests.
• Sway: This is a really neat new digital storytelling app, useful in work, school and home projects. You can create and share interactive slide shows, reports, personal stories and other types of presentations. It's sort of a mix between the tools offered in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• 3D Builder: This is another new interesting app that allows you to create a 3D digital drawing of an object and then order a 3D printing of it.
You can find some of these apps quickly on the renovated Start Menu in Windows 10: click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner and then click on the live title of the app you want to open. For those apps you don’t see, you can quickly search for them via the new search field on the bottom or download more from the thousands offered via the Windows Store.
If you don’t have Windows 10 yet, remember that Microsoft is still offering the free upgrade for the first half of this year. However, I strongly suggest a professional do a clean install of Windows 10 rather than doing the upgrade yourself as Microsoft suggests via the annoying pop-ups in Windows 7 and 8. When doing the upgrade yourself, your computer may become slower and unreliable due to errors and junk carried over from the prior Windows.
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