How To Enable New Hidden Features In Latest Windows 10 Technical Preview

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windows10microsoftlogo_mediumWith the new Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9926, some of the features that were announced during the Windows 10 Keynote are available but are hidden and disabled by default. If you’re running the technical preview, chances are that you’ll want to test out these new features too. Afterall, why run the latest build if you can’t enjoy all of the features?

Hey Cortana

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The ‘Hey Cortana’ feature lets you talk to your computer and activate Cortana by just saying “hey cortana”, then giving her commands.

To enable ‘Hey Cortana’:
– Open Cortana
– Click the hamburger button in the top left of the window and go to settings
– At the bottom of the window, you will see the ‘Hey Cortana’ setting that you need to enable.

Once you say “Hey Cortana” you need to say your question or statement right after you say “Hey Cortana”, do not wait for the app to open. If you wait too long, Cortana stays open and does not respond to the next words you say unless you say “Hey Cortana” again.

New Hidden Calendar & Clock

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This hidden little gem requires a registry tweak, but it cleans up the calendar and clock and makes it flow with the rest of the UI.

– Open Regedit.exe
– Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionImmersiveShell
– Right click and select New – > DWORD (32-bit) and call it UseWin32TrayClockExperience with no spaces, exactly as written.
– Click on the clock in the system tray

New Hidden Login Screen

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This one doesn’t appear to offer much of a change. It has a new rounded profile picture and lock screen icons. If you want to try it out, here’s the registry tweak…

– Open Regedit.exe
– Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUITestHooks
– Double click on ‘Threshold’ and change the value to 1
– Close Regedit.exe

New Spartan Browser

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If you want to use the much talked about new Spartan browser, it is fairly easy to enable.

– Open Internet Explorer
– Type about:flags in the address bar
– Set the flag to enabled for “Enable Experimental Web Platform Features”


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