Your wish list ideas for features that need to be in Windows 10

The response to my article this past Friday about features on our Top 5 wish list for Windows 10 has resulted in great responses from readers so we wanted to recap some of those suggestions.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

August 31, 2015

2 Min Read
Your wish list ideas for features that need to be in Windows 10

Late last week I wrote up an article that talked about the top 5 items on a wish list of features for Windows 10 and the responses over the weekend have been tremendous.

I wanted to add some of those suggestions to the wish list and continue the discussion about those features users really want to see in Windows 10.

In hindsight the biggest area commented about was OneDrive and the missing place holders and should have been on our list as well.

I have been living with the change since Windows 10 began testing last fall and have become quite tolerant of the missing placeholders.  Windows 8/8.1 users will notice this the most as the placeholder feature was available in OneDrive on the unpopular OS. In Windows 8.1, OneDrive had an option where you could decide down to the file level whether or not that file would be fully synched to your local device or just a marker to the online file. A simple click on the file would download it for temporary local access and any changes would be synched back to the OneDrive cloud storage. There were also entries on context menus for OneDrive folders and files with options to make the files available offline or online.

Users with larger amounts of data on OneDrive are the most impacted with this change in Windows 10 because the options are to either sync a folder or not sync it. In this situation, without place holders, the local OneDrive storage does not show the existence of any folders you choose not to sync. That of course, can be problematic for many users and was a step backwards compared to what was available in Windows 8/8.1. All of that makes for very good reasons why this should be on top of the list of things users want in Windows 10.

There is some hope that this feature will return based on some roadmap information that was shared during Microsoft's Ignite conference earlier this year but until that new combined consumer/business sync engine is released we will not know for sure.

Some other suggestion from readers included:

  • Modifying Login Screen image with custom image

  • Full featured Windows 8.1 style parental controls back into the operating system

  • Tabbed File Manager

  • Media Center

  • Get Cortana to more markets faster

Although that last one is not a feature that is missing from Windows 10, in fact Microsoft has made a point of emphasizing her capabilities in the new OS a part of marketing, it is one that is slowly rolling out worldwide and many users want it sooner rather than later.

What other areas do you want to see improved or added to Windows 10?

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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