Whenever Microsoft implements a "Windows update" it is usually followed by several grumbling complaints and tired faces. However, the last version of Windows 10 update seems to have actually added a useful new feature without annoying anyone too much.
The latest version of Windows already used touchpad gestures to good effect, but the latest beta build adds the option to customize gestures. It may sound mundane and boring and not the kind of thing to get excited over, but there is one thing that will lift some spirits: music controls from the touchpad.
Windows users now have the option to customize three and four-finger gestures in Windows 10. By default, they let users switch between the multitasking view, the desktop, and toggling between apps (as an alternative to Alt+Tab). There's also an option to Search with Cortana, which is optimistic thinking from Microsoft.
In the new Insider build, users can dig into menus and fully customize what the three and four-finger gestures do. Most usefully, there's options for next/previous song and snapping windows to the edges. Those are all things users can already do with keyboard shortcuts, but adding gesture support makes their life a little faster and easier.
More importantly, those who earlier tested the new feature find that the gestures actually work consistently. One of the usual gripes with touchpad gestures on MacBooks is that it works great, 80 percent of the time. The Windows 10 gestures seem to have a far higher success rate, which makes some early users far more likely to actually use them.
The latest version of Windows already used touchpad gestures to good effect, but the latest beta build adds the option to customize gestures. It may sound mundane and boring and not the kind of thing to get excited over, but there is one thing that will lift some spirits: music controls from the touchpad.
Windows users now have the option to customize three and four-finger gestures in Windows 10. By default, they let users switch between the multitasking view, the desktop, and toggling between apps (as an alternative to Alt+Tab). There's also an option to Search with Cortana, which is optimistic thinking from Microsoft.
In the new Insider build, users can dig into menus and fully customize what the three and four-finger gestures do. Most usefully, there's options for next/previous song and snapping windows to the edges. Those are all things users can already do with keyboard shortcuts, but adding gesture support makes their life a little faster and easier.
More importantly, those who earlier tested the new feature find that the gestures actually work consistently. One of the usual gripes with touchpad gestures on MacBooks is that it works great, 80 percent of the time. The Windows 10 gestures seem to have a far higher success rate, which makes some early users far more likely to actually use them.
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