On Tuesday, Microsoft formally added Timeline and Sets to Windows 10 as part of a massive Windows 10 Insider build that reworks My People and Cortana with under-the-hood improvements such as more detailed display descriptions and Windows Update taskbar icons. Windows Insider builds typically add a grab bag of features that Microsoft's development teams are separately introducing, but Build 17063 for the Fast Ring will have a ripple effect throughout Windows. Not only has Timeline been introduced, but Cortana will now encourage you to pick up where you left off and record your past activities. Some users will also begin to see Sets, the new way of ordering what was previously multiple windows inside a new tabbed interface. Under the hood, Insiders will also begin to see more Fluent Shell additions throughout Windows, the name Microsoft has given for the UI improvements that include its new "acrylic" texturing.

A motherboard change can look like a new PC, so you might well have needed to talk to Microsoft even if you had been using a Microsoft account. Either way, you should recognise that Windows 10 is fundamentally different from Windows 7 in at least two important ways. Some major features – including Cortana, Notifications and apps – originated in the smartphone world. As with other mobile operating systems, everything is maintained from the cloud. Second, Windows 10 is just one part of Microsoft's cross-platform ecosystem, which includes smartphones, tablets, the Xbox One range of games consoles, cloud-based services such as OneDrive and Office 365, and dozens of Microsoft apps on Android and Apple iOS devices.