С Windows 10 Microsoft сделала несколько шагов вперед, в то же время вернув любимое меню «Пуск» в толпу по сравнению с версиями до Windows 8. И чтобы конкурировать с Mac OS и Chrome OS, они также представили удобную функцию зеркалирования, которая называется Continuum. Но о чем это на самом деле?

Это, конечно, не научно-фантастический сериал из Канады. Итак, давайте выясним.

Континуум в гибридных устройствах

Подумайте о серии Microsoft Surface Pro или о любом из этих гибридных ноутбуков под управлением Windows, которые могут сгибаться забавными способами. (Разве не поэтому один бренд создал суббренд под названием Йога?). Continuum будет в первую очередь ориентирован на эти устройства, чтобы изменить тип ввода, который необходимо использовать, а также другие связанные вещи.

Для таких устройств Continuum в основном имеет два режима. Режим планшета и режим рабочего стола.

Обратите внимание: вы также можете вручную переключаться между этими режимами из Центра поддержки. Нажмите клавишу Windows + A, чтобы запустить Центр поддержки, и в левом нижнем углу найдите вариант переключения.

Режим планшета

После включения режима планшета функция оптимизирует устройство для сенсорного взаимодействия. Меню в окне Live Tiles будут немного растянуты, поэтому у вас будет достаточно места, чтобы коснуться нужных областей на экране. По умолчанию меню «Пуск» открывается в полноэкранном режиме.

Если вы выберите область, в которую нужно вставить текст, автоматически появится сенсорная клавиатура. Эта клавиатура также была улучшена и имеет предложения слов и предиктивный текст. Есть разные макеты на выбор, и вы можете настроить его соответствующим образом. В этом режиме все ваши современные приложения также будут открываться во весь экран.

Режим рабочего стола

Режим рабочего стола довольно понятен. Это режим по умолчанию для всех компьютеров Windows и того, к чему мы привыкли. Но пара вещей, которые нужно запомнить.

1. Сохраняйте файлы с умом

Файлы, которые вы храните на своем рабочем столе в режиме рабочего стола, будут скрыты в режиме планшета. Если вам нужны файлы в обоих режимах, лучше не сохранять их на рабочем столе.

2. Многозадачность

Все открытые приложения не будут видны в режиме планшета, как вы привыкли в режиме рабочего стола. Это для предотвращения беспорядка.

Континуум на телефонах Windows

На Windows Phone Continuum — это больше, чем просто отображение экрана вашего телефона на большом дисплее компьютера. На самом деле вам нужно подключить отдельную док-станцию ​​к компьютеру и настроить ее для работы этой функции для телефонов Windows с ОС Windows 10.

Как только вы это сделаете, вы можете получить экран вашего телефона Windows на вашем компьютере и взаимодействовать с ним, используя мышь и клавиатуру. Не только открыв несколько приложений, но и открыв документы из почты, а затем отредактируйте их на большом экране вашего компьютера.

Более того, все эти приложения будут размещены на панели задач в нижней части экрана, как и ПК с Windows 10. Но на самом деле это не ПК; это все еще ваш Windows Phone. Круто, верно?

С нетерпением жду Континуума?

Вы взволнованы всеми этими функциями, над которыми работает Microsoft? Будете ли вы из-за этого переходить на Windows 10? Поделитесь своими мыслями на наших форумах, и мы получим хорошее представление о том, сколько людей действительно серьезно относятся к Windows как платформе.

What is Windows Continuum?

8th October 2015

Windows 10 was unleashed upon the world at the tail end of July 2015, but despite already having been installed on over 110 million devices (as of 6/10/15) there’s one key feature nobody has yet been able to enjoy and it’s arguably the operating system’s most powerful ability – Continuum.

Imagine being able to connect a standard computer mouse, keyboard and monitor to your smartphone and interact with it as if it was a full blown PC, that’s the promise of Continuum.

What are the benefits of Continuum?

After the mess of applications on Windows 8/8.1, which were built for either the Start screen or the desktop, Microsoft has refocused how they should behave in Windows 10, giving rise to what it calls ‘universal apps’.

Universal apps are programs built to work across any device that runs Windows 10, from PCs right down to the smartphone in your pocket.

From a developer’s perspective universal apps are great because they only have to code for one application, safe in the knowledge it’ll work across a whole range of devices. For users it ensures their files will work irrespective of whether they access them on a phone, tablet or PC running Windows 10 and in some cases (think emerging markets) might negate the need to by a separate PC altogether.

With Continuum, provided the smartphone you’re using is powerful enough, you’ll be able to plug familiar peripherals like a keyboard, mouse and monitor into your smartphone and have the mobile experience scale to a full-blown desktop one.

Note: We’ve also reached out to Microsoft to confirm whether Xbox One owners will be able to stream and play with their consoles via their smartphones whilst using Continuum. Streaming games from Xbox One is already possible on conventional Windows 10 PCs. We’ll update this section when we hear back.

What do I need to use Continuum?

As was just touched on, in order to enjoy a desktop computing experience that’s powered by a smartphone, said smartphone has to pack some pretty beefy hardware. Presently there are three Windows 10 smartphones confirmed to support Continuum and all are flagship class-devices hitting the market in late 2015/early 2016.

Microsoft unveiled the Lumia 950 and 950 XL during its September Windows 10 event, both of which feature high-end Qualcomm processors (a Snapdragon 808 and 810 respectively) whilst Acer teased the Jade Primo at IFA in Berlin earlier this year with the promise of a 2016 launch.

Whichever smartphone you end up choosing you’re also going to need a dock of some sort that will let you connect keyboard, mouse, display and any additional peripherals (think USB sticks or hard drives) to your smartphone.

Luckily Microsoft has just pulled the wraps off its new Display Dock too, intended to arrive alongside those Lumia smartphones later this year. The dock has connections for both DisplayPort and HDMI monitors (supports 1920×1080 resolution), two full-sized USB 2.0 ports and a USB-C connection to connect to a compatible smartphone.

When can I get Continuum?

Unless Microsoft says otherwise, Continuum will launch as part of the out-of-box experience from either of its two new smartphones, the aforementioned Lumia 950 and 950 XL. Whilst pricing hasn’t been finalised the 950 is expected to sell for around £450 and the 950 XL for around £550, with both handsets arriving in November.

Continuum: Find out how it looks like a phone, does like a PC

Use your phone like a PC to get incredible productivity that fits in your pocket. Connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse 1 or use your phone screen as your virtual trackpad and keyboard. You’re all set to touch down and get right into email, browsing, and working with apps like Microsoft Office. 2

Phone connected to computer

A PC-like experience, powered by your phone

Use your phone in amazing and astounding ways, including like a PC. Connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse—or wirelessly 3 power a second screen—to become instantly productive and collaborative.

The power of Office in your pocket

Only Windows lets you use your phone to run Office apps on a bigger second screen—expanding your freedom to be productive anywhere. 4

Productive, two places at once

Connected, your way

Windows gives you a second screen with the same easy navigation that you get on your PC. Your phone’s start screen is your start menu and your apps 2 scale smoothly up to the biggest big-screen TVs—for a beautiful experience that’s far superior to mirroring.

How to Use Windows 10 Continuum

Microsoft has been working on an OS that’s right for both PCs and tablets for a while now, and Continuum is a big step in the right direction. Here’s how it works.

One of the most-touted new features in Windows 10 is code-named Continuum. This new ability is really just a way for the operating system to adapt to the way a device is being used at the moment—as a PC with a keyboard or as a tablet with touch input. Since the first version of Windows 8, a key goal of the new Microsoft operating system has been to accommodate both tablets and full-size PCs. As most who read this will realize, that accommodation had a bumpy early history, and Continuum is one of the latest efforts to smooth the OS’s transition from an on OS only for desktops and laptops to one that adds tablet use to its repertoire.

Possibly the number-one objection to Windows 8 by longtime desktop users was the full-screen Start page. Why should we have to look at these big, touch-friendly tiles? Personally, after an initial period of adjustment, I grew comfortable using the informative Start screen tiles, even on desktops equipped with mice and keyboards. It’s just as easy (if not easier) to click a tile with the mouse as it is an icon. But many a Windows desktop and laptop veteran raised a cheer when they found out about Windows 10’s restoration of the Start Menu, even if it is in a form that melds the new tiles with the old icons.

Windows 10 also brings desktop users the ability to display «modern» Windows Store apps (formerly known as «Metro» apps) in non-full-screen windows on top of the old-style desktop. Windows 8.1 already offered ways to display multiple modern apps, but not in completely resizable windows running on the desktop. Instead, in 8.1 you can resize modern app windows horizontally, but not drag them around the screen in floating windows.

What Is Continuum?
Continuum comes into play with both the Start screen and the modern apps, switching the view to the format suited to PC or tablet use. I tested the feature on a Surface Pro 3 ($849.00 at Amazon) running Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049.

Here’s how it works: You detach the keyboard by yanking it off the bottom of the tablet, and you’ll see a message like this:

Then, after you tap the message box, the display will switch to this view.

Note that the Start menu now takes over the whole page, just as it used to in Windows 8, though only the few default app tiles and those you’ve pinned to the Start menu get large tiles. Another difference is that you don’t swipe the tablet Start page from side to side, but up and down instead. Windows 8.1 kept the modern and legacy sides of Windows more separate, while Windows 10 makes the legacy aspect more aware of the modern view.

If you’re running a modern Windows app in a window on the desktop and switch to Tablet mode, it will reclaim the whole screen, just as if you were back in Windows 8 days. Of course, you can still snap another app—even the desktop itself—alongside the «full-screen» app—and add even a third or fourth, depending on your screen size. Here’s an app window in Tablet mode:

And here it is after switching to Desktop mode:

Changing Tablet Mode, Switching Behavior
You can change the mode-switching behavior in Windows’ modern settings panel. Under System, pick Tablet in the Settings app. Here, you see a single toggle setting to turn Tablet mode on or off. Below this, you see three choice for Automatic mode switching: «Never prompt me and always stay in my current mode,» «Always prompt me to confirm,» and «Never prompt me and always switch modes.» I prefer the middle choice, since it shows you what’s going on and gives you control.

More Tablet mode improvements are coming, if a leaked build of Windows 10 is to be believed. A Russian software pirate’s code calling itself Build 10056 has popped up on BitTorrent, and it may well be the real thing. Based on this code, tech sites have reported that the touch interface is getting some optimizations. Reports say that the build will remove most taskbar app buttons in Tablet mode, leaving only the Start button, Cortana, virtual desktops, and the system notification area (formerly called the System Tray).

One thing you won’t see in Windows 10, whether in Tablet mode or not, is the Charms bar that slides in with a swipe from the right edge of the screen. I use this all the time on my Windows tablets, since it gives me always-available access to sharing, settings, and devices like external screens (including TVs with Xboxes). Windows 10 replaces the Charms with a Mac OS X-like Action Center notification panel. Though this does offer access to setting as well as notifications and is more touch-friendly than the Mac version, I’ve found it less convenient than the Charms.

Microsoft could certainly be charged with moving too far in favor of the tablet in Windows 8, and possibly too far back to desktops and laptops with Windows 10, from what we’ve seen up to now. Let’s hope by the time the finished product ships, we get an operating system that’s equally at home in both modes and fluidly switches between them. It’s clear that the software developer is working hard toward that end game.

For more on Microsoft’s latest operating system, read our Hands On With Windows 10 for Phones, and with Windows 10 for PCs.