Perfect 10: Windows 10 apps and features that have IT experts excited

Windows 10 has taken the IT world by storm. In September, Microsoft said the operating system was running on more than 400 million devices, many of them in businesses large and small. Since its launch in July 2015, Windows 10 has become a leading IT platform for both enterprise apps and retail consumer-oriented apps.

Looks like the world’s biggest software company has hit another home run, perhaps a grand slam. And they did not need steroids!

Boasting advanced features including enterprise-grade biometric security for the Edge browser and apps and the ability to extend legacy .NET apps into the app store, the Windows 10 platform is now a lot more than one for just retail user applications. There are several Windows 10 apps and built-in features that have got IT experts in leading enterprises excited. Here are 10 of them:

Windows 10 App drawer

Autodesk SketchBook

Autodesk SketchBook for Windows tablets is a professional-grade drawing and painting application. Michelangelo would have loved to have this artistic toy or tool.

SketchBook is specifically optimized for pen and touch-input devices. It delivers sophisticated brushes and fluid pencils in an easy-to-use interface. All you need is one app to capture everything from your most large-scale ideas to tiny doodles in one place. These are some of the most prominent features of SketchBook:

  • Support for large canvas sizes and all new brush engine.
  • Enhanced color selection capability.
  • Over 10 preset brushes including pens, pencils, and markers.
  • Top-class layer control and support for layered TIFF and PSD files.
  • Support for synthetic pressure sensitivity.
  • Pro membership provides advanced features including full layer controls, comprehensive brush library, new ruler guides, and flood fill.

Autodesk SketchBook

Enhanced command prompt

Microsoft has made significant additions to the venerable command prompt capability. These are some of the most noteworthy additions to the command prompt with Windows 10.

  • Complete ability to resize the width and the command prompt window to any size. Traditionally, Windows has only provided the ability to resize the height and not the width.
  • Enhanced snap capability to view and work with multiple applications on the same screen.
  • Quick edit mode, which gives you the ability to select text from inside a command prompt window is now enabled by default.
  • Several new options have been made available, including edit options to enable Ctrl key shortcuts, filter clipboard contents on paste, enable line wrapping selections, and extended text selection keys.

Linux Bash shell

Windows 10 now provides support for the Linux Bash shell. Also, Canonical worked with Microsoft to build native Ubuntu libraries into the OS. This is an actual Ubuntu image built on top of Windows including all the key Linux tools such as sed, awk, vi, and grep. Apt-get is used to download the libraries and tools such as Redis, Ruby and emacs just as it is done on Linux.

Enhanced Snap

Windows 10 greatly improves the functionality of the Snap Assist/Aero Snap on the desktop by adding the ability to snap individual windows into the four quarters that make up the screen. Previous versions limited users to snapping only two windows onscreen.

All it takes to snap a window into a particular quarter is to simply drag a window into a corner of the screen. When this happens, an interface pops up that helps users rapidly assign other open programs to open spaces.

Plex

This Windows 10 app gives you access to a desktop-ready program with Plex apart from normal browser operation. Working in conjunction with the free Plex Media Server software, the Plex app helps you organize all your music, video, and photo collections and provides instant access on a variety of devices.

Plex

The free version gives you the ability to browse media files on the server, play local files, and control other devices. The premium version also gives you the ability to sync music, videos, and photos to your tablets and smartphones for offline play. The premium version includes parental controls, music videos, premium music features, extras, and trailers.

Flipboard

Flipboard

Flipboard is a personal magazine software. It is a popular way to catch up on news stories and browse videos, articles, and photos that friends are sharing. The Discover button is used to customize Flipboard to pull in news sources like Reader’s Digest, Forbes, Fast Company, and more. Flipboard can also connect to social networks like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The platform also provides you the ability to build magazines on any topic, ranging from hiking to gear and gadgets. No, you cannot figure out why Hank Schrader in “Breaking Bad” did not figure out his brother-in-law Walter White was the one selling meth in Albuquerque by the second season of the show using this platform! You just have to accept this show was fictional.

Ctrl+C

Ctrl+C

Ctrl+C is a nifty little clipboard app with extra interactive features that work with Cortana and the Start menu. The app gives you the ability to add clips of text that you would like to have stored on Ctrl+C, by giving each clip a title. From then on, a shortcut can be pinned to the Start menu. Clicking on it will have the text clip copied over to the Windows 10 clipboard.

OneDrive Fetch

OneDrive’s Fetch helps you gain access to the complete file system of any PC that has OneDrive installed, which helps you gain access to files even if they are not stored in the cloud. To enable it, you need to right click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray of your taskbar and select Settings.

Once you choose the suitable option to use OneDrive to fetch the PC files, you will see a list of all the active OneDrive equipped devices in the web interface of the service. Clicking on any one device grants the user access to the file system of the device, which allows you to gain access to any file from there.

Converter Bot

Converter Bot allows you to convert documents from one format to another, including PDFs and MS Office documents. The app can also handle conversions of image file formats. Converter Bot also has the ability to directly convert a file stored on a cloud-based service such as Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. It can also convert files from an email stored in your Gmail or a note on your Evernote account.

Metro Commander

The Metro Commander file-manager app supports dual windows and an optional touchscreen-based user interface featuring large interactive graphical elements.

Apart from all the features available in file explorer, including the ability to handle file archives, Metro Commander also has a built-in video player and image viewer. While the app is free, it comes with banner advertising that can be removed by buying the paid version.

About The Author

2 thoughts on “Perfect 10: Windows 10 apps and features that have IT experts excited”

  1. You say “there are several Windows 10 apps and built-in features that have got IT experts in leading enterprises excited”… and then list “Plex”, “Flipboard” and “Ctrl+C” as examples…?

  2. Benjamin Roussey

    Yes, they sound dated, but personally, I liked a few of the tweaks Windows 10 did to these apps, and how easy it was to work with them. Thanks for your comment though. Have a fine day.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Scroll to Top