Windows 10 May 2020 Update Improves Cortana, Windows Subsystem for Linux, Notepad and More

Article originally published at www.tomshardware.com

Microsoft is rolling out the Windows 10 May 2020 update today. This seasonal major release includes enhancements to Notepad, Your Phone for Arm PCs and Cortana.

Notepad, long a very simple program for PCs, now features  “wrap around find/replace, quick text zooming, and when you see an asterisk in the title bar you’ll know you have unsaved changes.”

Cortana is seeing major changes. The assistant no longer needs to be attached to the taskbar on the bottom of the screen. You can choose to type in it or talk to it, and Microsoft has updated it to use far more conversational language.

This version of Windows 10 also introduces a new version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), though the  GUI features mentioned at Microsoft Build aren’t here yet.

There are a number of other quality of life features: Calculator can be floated on top of other programs; you can eliminate passwords in favor of Windows Hello or PINs on some devices; Microsoft Edge is getting memory improvements; Xbox Game Bar works with third-party widgets; and DirectX12 Ultimate features are showing up.

To install the May 2020 update, go to Settings > Updates and Security > Windows update or get the ISO here.