Introduction

Windows 10, July 2020 release, is the latest generation of Microsoft’s operating system, the master program that makes a computer useful and provides support to other programs, including word processors, photo viewers, and web browsers. Much as an education equips you to read a novel or play a game, Windows 10 equips your computer to perform a wide range of activities. You can use Windows 10 and other software (or apps) to read or write a novel, play games or music, and stay in touch with friends and family around the world.

As Windows has evolved over the past 30 years, so have computers — the hardware. Today, you can buy a computer as small as a paperback book, and even such a little computer is unimaginably more powerful than (and a fraction of the cost of) computers just 10 years ago. The hardware consists of the screen, as well as optional components such as a keyboard and a mouse.

You don't need much time with a computer to conclude that there has to be an easier way to do things. At times, computers seem overly complex and inscrutable. Have you used a cellphone lately? Or a TV remote control? Why are the controls on every microwave oven different? Why does every new tool offer countless options you don’t want that obscure the ones you do want? Well, I don’t have the answers to those questions, but I do have step-by-step instructions for many tasks you want to perform using Windows 10.

After many years of working with computers, I find that they reward patience, ...

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