Google Now tends to speak more than Cortana does, audibly giving you related information about what you initially searched for. In addition, the voice assistant spoke to me, saying it takes 4 hours and 9 minutes to get to Washington, D.C., from Manhattan with light traffic. When asked the same question ('How do you get from New York City to D.C.?'), Google Now brought up a similar search page in Google with a map of the route.

On the flip side, Chrome OS has a similar feature you can enable in Settings, called 'OK, Google,' that will let you ask Google Now questions when the Launcher is open or when a blank Chrome tab is open. I asked, 'How do you get from New York City to D.C.?' and Cortana brought up a Bing search-results page with a map of the route between the two cities. If you have 'Hey, Cortana' enabled, you can say that phrase to bring up a window and ask any question you want.

Clicking on the Cortana search bar brings up a window with useful information, including the weather, your next calendar appointment and local restaurants to check out. In many ways, the new Cortana in Windows 10 is a lot like Google Now in Chrome. Winner: Chrome OS. Though it's not as great for multitasking, Chrome OS offers a simpler and more straightforward interface than Windows 10. Downloaded via the Google Play store on specific Chromebooks that support them, Android apps can run in Chrome OS, but they're not optimized for a keyboard and mouse, so you'll need to use a touchscreen to make the most of them. And with the new universal apps in the Windows app store, you'll be able to run most of your favorite programs in both desktop and tablet modes.Ĭhromebook shoppers should definitely look for models with touch screens, though, as the tappable display helps them take advantage of the platform's latest major feature: Android apps. Windows 10 has tablet mode, which removes your taskbar icons and puts all apps in full-screen mode, leaving you with a minimalist workspace that removes a lot of desktop distractions. There are Windows 10 and Chrome OS laptops with touch screens, and both benefit greatly from them, in differing ways. However, Windows lets you snap up to four windows, compared to two for Chrome OS.Īnother thing to consider is touch-friendly devices.

For each OS, all you need to do is drag a window to one side, where it snaps to half-screen mode. Both Windows 10 and Chrome are great for working in side-by-side windows.

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