The latest Windows release, Windows 10, is undoubtedly a critical one for Microsoft. Tasked with replacing the pretty disastrous Windows 8, great things will be expected of Windows 10, a software release which Microsoft is hoping papers over the cracks of previous mistakes and misfortune.
Technical preview attracts users
In order to help achieve the vision that it has for this piece of software, Microsoft has released a Windows 10 Technical Preview, which they are encouraging existing Windows users to download and utilize. Microsoft has declared this preview to be a roaring success, which the software giant proclaiming the software to have attracted roughly 450,000 “highly active” users among the 1.5 million who have signed up.
Additionally, Microsoft also seemingly considers it a massive plus point that this huge user community has enabled the corporation to identify and fix nearly 1,300 bugs. These have been found from user comments and automated reporting which Microsoft has included in this preview of the final software.
Some of the tweaks included in the preview Windows 10 build include the ability to set a folder as the default when opening File Explorer, along with turning off recent files and frequent folders in the Home menu. More changes are apparently afoot in the January 21 update which Microsoft is planning to release.
While record levels of engagement represent a big plus point for Microsoft, this latest technical preview hasn’t been all good news for the software giant. Microsoft has recently patched this preview version of Windows 10…and this hasn’t gone entirely according to plan.
Windows 10 patch bug
The Windows patch KB3025380 has been causing rather a lot of problems for the hundreds of thousands of Windows 10 users which the corporation has been proclaimed to be extremely active. Quite simply, many users are having problems downloading and installing this latest patch, which Microsoft itself has had to acknowledge is a pretty widespread issue.
In an attempt to shore up public perception of this rather unfortunate issue, Microsoft has sent out a face-saving email to customers, as well as posting on its Twitter feed regarding the issue. This is a damage limitation exercise for Microsoft, but given the storm which is brewing on social media, the corporation hasn’t been overly successful at limiting the fallout from this errant patch.
When many users attempt to install KB3025380, their PC systems display a message of “Not needed,” but then continually offer users the opportunity to install it anyway. A rather irritating bug, to say the least.
Windows users who have been bitten to point of shyness by Microsoft patches in the past will probably not consider this to be an earth shattering surprise, but it is certainly bad news for the company. Microsoft is looking to this latest Windows release to restore faith in the company, so an embarrassing issue such as this is certainly far from ideal.
While Microsoft is busying itself with dealing with this unfortunate issue, the corporation has also had to cope with the embarrassment and discomfort of the latest Windows 10 build being leaked online. This isn’t the first time that a major software release has been released before a company wished for it to see the light of day, but it is certainly something Microsoft could do without in the existing climate.
However, those intending to use the Microsoft operating system have certainly been interested to note the features included in this leaked package. Microsoft is still intending to hold its own event on January 21st to show off the “next chapter for Windows”, but consumers interested in purchasing the software already have a preview of their own to give them an insight.
Some of the features that have been noted in this leaked Windows build are as follows:
Cortana
Windows 10 apparently includes improved functionality for Cortana, with the ability to speak directly to Cortana via a connected mic.
Desktop
A search box noticeably replaces the magnifying glass icon that was included in Windows 8. There is also more ability to customize the taskbar.
Settings
The Settings section has a completely different layout, and more strongly resembles a contemporary Control Panel.
Full Screen Windows 10
It has been noted that there is a panoramic feature in Windows 10 that will enable the software to bet optimized for a dual monitor set up.
Background and themes
Microsoft has also worked hard to include a large number of new backgrounds and themes in this software in an attempt to spruce up the appearance of the package.
There are probably numerous other new features which users are currently getting to grips with, and we will doubtless get a much better idea of these in January. By then Microsoft will hope to have the patching issue well and truly sorted out and to have generated some positive momentum for its latest operating system.