My Top Windows 10 Features

Truth be told: Windows 10 is a big improvement over its predecessors. And as Microsoft moves the Windows OS toward SaaS, you might lose some control over which updates you receive and when you receive them, but there is no doubt that you receive much more frequent updates, which often come with better features. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Virtual desktops: This allows you to have as many desktops as you could possibly need. I like to have a code editor up on one, a web browser on a second, and my email on a third. The WIN + CTRL + LEFT or RIGHT shortcut allows you me to switch easily between them. Combine this with a second monitor and I'm all set to get down to work. Even without the second monitor, these extra desktops make it feel like I almost have a second monitor -- with the added bonus of being able to fully focus on one screen at a time and avoiding distractions.

• Night Light: I loved f.lux for minimizing eye strain at night, so I'm happy to see this baked into the OS now. One less thing to install. Like f.lux, you can set a schedule manually or based on location (if you actually want to broadcast your PC's location);

• Reset this PC: I used to tolerate my computer slowing down after countless installs and uninstalls. The thought of reinstalling the OS was cumbersome and I always had something else I'd rather do on a Saturday. This option allows you to do something very similar to a factor reset on a phone, only it keeps your documents in tact. I always back up my files, but I've never needed the backups after performing this reset several times. Now, I'm a little more willing to mess around with advanced features -- like creating Virtual Switches when setting up a VM for Docker to use. This, btw, hosed some of my wifi connections. After a couple hours resetting my computer and re-installing my core apps and I was up an running again.