
I saw the behavior on my main machine this morning. Apparently Microsoft updates the Search bar without asking for permission. That sparked a discussion that culminated in a revelation that’s news to me. The search bar is still finding my local files, etc., the behavior is the same (as far as I can tell), but the text has changed and it’s bugging me. I’ve compared the search and Cortana settings on both systems for any differences, and I can find none. On the other computer, the search bar now has the text “Start a web search” On one computer, the search bar has the text, “Type here to search,” which I believe has always been the default text in the box. Running two systems side by side, both Win 18363.628 (all patches, including the ones released this week).

Over the weekend, Howard Goldberg reported a startling change in his Win10 Search bar:
