Microsoft launches Windows 10 Preview build 15014 with eBooks and more

Microsoft is trying to put together a different experience for the Windows users, especially for readers with its latest update. The latest Windows 10 Preview build (15014) for PCs and mobile devices, released yesterday, includes features like e-books which will provide a new collection of 'books' in the Edge browser.

Currently, the feature is limited to users in the US only where they will be able to purchase e-books directly from the Windows Store and read them in Edge, which is already empowered with the EPUB support. Providing a range of different publishers and authors, the purchased e-books are stored within the “Books” collection in the Edge browser. You can widen the text spacing, change the font, make the typeface bigger or smaller, and switch the theme.

Users will also be able to ask Cortana to define specific words and view embedded video and audio content in books. “You can search for words or phrases and ask Cortana to define specific words and view embedded video and audio content,” Dona Sarkar, a software engineer in Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, wrote in a blog post.

Currently, there's only limited ebook collection, however, Microsoft has promised to keep adding more books to the Windows Store.

Moreover, Microsoft is also providing a slider for controlling power consumption in the taskbar's power flyout. “Some of our Windows PC OEM partners have asked for the ability to give people a number of options for how to ‘tune’ their PC for different scenarios. A person playing a game, for example, might be willing to have a few less FPS when on a long flight if it gets them more battery life — whereas the same person playing the same game, when near a power supply, may want top-end CPU performance to eek out every ounce of performance they can get,” Sarkar wrote.

There is also a list of bug fixes accompanying the new build like you can update you system to a Windows 10 build from 8.1 and not expect the apps you purchased from the Windows store to disappear in thin air. Also, remember frustration at making changes to display brightness through Settings > System > Display? The changes disappeared as soon as you quit Settings. Thankfully, that won’t happen anymore.

With the new build, you can safely close the laptop lid and not be hit by the newly minted green screen of death. The “Skip this step” tab that comes while starting Windows 10 for the first time will actually work. Custom icons layouts will also stick around after you reboot your system.

Apparently, these are just few of many other minor tweaks and fixes with this build. You can check all the details as documented in the blog post.