1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Microsoft just made your Windows 10 Taskbar a lot more useful

By

Your Windows 10 taskbar is about to get a new look and feature that will help benefit your productivity. Coming over the next several weeks to Windows 10 is News and Interests, a feature that is designed to help you stay up to date by taking a glance at all the information that matters most to you.

Just like when it was in beta testing with Windows Insiders over the past few months, News and Interests lives in a new hover-over hub in the Taskbar that contains the weather. Hovering over the hub will reveal a curated mini collection of tiles with things that matter most to you, including the full weather forecast, top news stories, stocks, traffic, and even sports scores.

You don’t even need to click an app or open it — everything you need to know is right at your fingertips. That’s why Microsoft says the feature is the fastest way to stay up to date on your Windows 10 PC.

Recommended Videos

“It should be easy to catch up on the things we care about. Yet we’re often stuck juggling devices, jumping between websites, and looking across sources before getting what we’re looking for. News and interests on the Windows taskbar simplifies this process with a convenient and personalized experience centered around you,” said Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman.

Like the rest of Windows 10, News and Interests is fully customizable and can even be turned off. You can adjust the information cards in your experience, as well as how weather updates are shown. You can even opt to see the weather as an icon, or just as text.

Introducing news and interests on the Windows taskbar

For even more customization, you also can adjust which information cards you see, such as finance, sports, or traffic, to ensure that you only see what you care about. Customization options are available via the Microsoft News interests manager, which you can tweak to indicate which topics interest you, or which sources you want to follow.

Microsoft made some tweaks to News and Interests in the taskbar since it was first revealed and tested with Windows Insiders, including more personalization options, improved design, and expanded markets. Microsoft says it welcomes additional feedback from those who are using it.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Arif Bacchus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
How to use cut, copy, and paste keyboard shortcuts in Windows

Are you tired of all the right-clicking just to access simple commands like cut, copy, and paste? Sure, it's not super labor-intensive, but it can get really annoying after a while when you're constantly summoning one of these actions using a mechanical rodent.

If you’re not utilizing shortcut commands, you’re missing out on an easy way to save time and effort. Read on to learn simple commands that combine Control (Ctrl) and other keys to cut, copy, paste, and even undo actions across Windows apps.
Selecting text and moving your cursor (without a mouse)

Read more
How to remove a Microsoft account from Windows 11

While many people love porting their Microsoft account to their new Windows 11 PC, just as many hate the experience. One of the nicest things about having a new computer is how little tabs it has over you, and letting Microsoft in from the beginning — especially in a way that feels required — is a bit letdown for privacy-minded people.

To make matters worse, getting rid of your account feels tricky. It not only feels like it, Microsoft is your direct antagonist in getting the privacy you want. Luckily, you can make a local account that is disconnected from the rest of your life to gain back the personal feel of your computer. Here's how:
Removing a Microsoft account from Windows 11

Read more
Microsoft Copilot: tips and tricks for using AI in Windows

Microsoft's Copilot might not be breaking ground in quite the same way as ChatGPT seemed to when it first debuted, but there are still some useful abilities for this desktop-ready chatbot AI that is now available to pretty much anyone running the latest version of Windows 11. It doesn't have a huge range of abilities yet, confining itself to changing some Windows settings, opening apps for you, and performing the creative writing and web search functions available through its contemporaries.

But you can make Copilot work for you and work well, and there are some tips and tricks you'll want to employ to make the most of it. Here are some of my favorites.
Go hands-free
While the latest natural language AIs might be primarily text-based, many of them now include voice and audio support, and Windows Copilot is much the same. While this might seem like merely a more clunky way to interact with Copilot -- and it is kind of clunky -- this is an important feature because it means you don't have to use your hands to prompt it. Beyond clicking the little microphone button, you can get back to whatever you're doing while asking it a question or requesting something from it.

Read more