finally broke down and got a new (refurbished) laptop but it is a windows 10

[Kali]

and I cant figure a number of things out...is there a post in here on the basics to fix things? such as do I want this "edge" browser (if so how do I set a new homepage?!!!), if not, is what I am used to good enough - Firefox - or should I do something else?


I have a free office program on my desktop, should I try to find out what it even is and use that again or should I break down and get some sort of microsoft office product? I really don't use it much but when you need to make a document or fiddle with a spreadsheet you do need SOMETHING.

I moslty just browse the interwebs, do a little email, store a few pictures and maybe keep a few records - personal and business. I don't think I want all my devices synced up, but can sort of see the benefits of it too. what do normal people do?

I am already hating the way the lower task bar (or whatever it is called) looks as it has a big blank white search box distracting my eyes, and I also screwed up the opening screen and cant find how to change my name on that...anybody?

it has back lit keys which are kind of cool, but is there a way to regulate that? can I turn that on and off easily? oooo I just found that button, so never mind! LOL

I know most tweaks are going to be personal preferences, but I appreciate any input and suggestions and maybe others could benefit from the information too. Thanks.

[RKP5637]

1. I'm a Linux user, but I did get a Win 10 laptop. Firefox works extremely well for me.

I find Edge to be horrible. I got a Win 10 laptop purely because of cost considerations. I did activate the free Office program on my laptop. It works well and it's free for now. I use on the desktop a Linux app instead, so I won't be using Office on my laptop. I just did for, well, for just in case as I'm moving and need a laptop. Chrome is a good choice too for a browser. I used Firefox out of my privacy concerns.

[Boxerfan]

2. Just use Chrome or another browser.

Not a expert by any means but I recently did a new to me PC. I ended up using a chrome browser-free download instead of any windows version.

I did have to update my drivers etc...-using the windows interface. So I have both browsers just I use Chrome for most everything online.

[canetoad]

3. Right click on those taskbar things

That you don't want and select 'Unpin from taskbar'.

Win 10, IMO takes quite a bit of tweaking to turn off all the unwanted distractions. You can download Classic Shell from here:

http://classicshell.net/

This can restore a more familiar start menu while leaving access to the new features.

[Lindsay]

4. I mostly use Firefox

with Windows 10, so I say go with what works for you.

For office stuff, I use the free OpenOffice, which may be what you're used to.

https://www.openoffice.org/download/

You'll probably get used to the search box on the task bar; that's been my experience, anyway.

Have fun tweaking!

[hunter]

9. I use LibreOffice.

OpenOffice has been a mess since the Oracle debacle when many developers left and established LibreOffice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_OpenOffice

OpenOffice development is stagnant in comparison to LibreOffice.

https://www.libreoffice.org/

If OpenOffice works I might not change anything, but if I was doing a new install I'd use LibreOffice.

I use LibreOffice on my Linux and Windows machine. It's the default Office Suite in most Linux distributions.

[Zaphod42]

5. My computer use is much like yours...

I am much more comfortable on my desktop, but I recently bought a refurbished Chromebook from TigerDirect for $99....

It has proved to be pretty handy when travelling. I'm a committed "Google" guy, so Chrome is my browser of choice; "Edge" annoys me bigly.... When I boot up my Chromebook, it looks just like the home page on my desktop (though a bit smaller...) It just makes things easier for me to work off of the same platform. Even my (Android) phone is synced up with both my computers, making things even more user friendly.

I hope you enjoy your new laptop! Just as an aside, I decided to buy a wireless mouse for my Chromebook, as I'm not real good with that touchpad thingy....

[LuvLoogie]

6. Use chrome. Open a Google account and use Google Apps...

Which include spreed sheet app, a presentation app, a text editing app, and much more.

I would stay away from classic shell, just learn the interface. Lots of info on YouTube regarding Windows 10. Microsoft forums are good too.

Google's info on all things Chrome and Google apps is awesome.

Stick with Google for cloud computing. Don't tie your Windows computer login to a Microsoft account.

[Ptah]

7. You can set Firefox as your default browser

I use Open Office https://www.openoffice.org/ a free office program

[msongs]

8. join up at this forum - tenforums dot com. helpers, tons of tricks, I just got win 10 and tamed

it. my desktop is like win 7. you can put in registry fixes for many probs, and can get them at tenforums

not having any issues with dreaded win 10 lol. btw its not possible to get rid of edge but you can minimize it.

the white search bar is actually very handy, and there is away to shrink down to an icon like a magnifying glass. dont ask how, I just fumbled around and suddenly there it was