Thurrott posted an article about the Windows 10 update that's expected next week:
thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/7695/heres-whats-new-in-the-windows-10-fall-update
- He doesn't say which parts [if any] came from official sources -- here I'm mainly referring to his statement:
"If you are in the Windows Insider program, you tested these new features over a series of several builds. But now they will be delivered to all Windows 10 users via a single update, which will work much like a build-over-build upgrade and require a time-consuming reboot with that now-familiar circular progress indicator."
This is the 1st time that I've ever read anyone confirming that the update will reinstall Windows 10 [that doesn't mean that they haven't posted it, but I've not seen it on the sites I watch]. Before this I've only read Microsoft confirming that it would be delivered via Windows Update.
- He mentions the many updates to the Store apps that the Insider builds have seen, & I think that deserves a couple more words here... Even if you've never used the store, don't have win10 associated with an account, have never signed into the store etc., some of the apps that are included in Windows 10 come from & are updated via that store. By default store apps are set to automatically update, but this is a separate process from updating win10 through Settings -> Updates... It also seems to happen at win10's leisure. Long story short & all that, open the store [often using the icon/shortcut on the taskbar by default], click on your user icon up top to get the drop-down menu, and check for updates. If the last Insider build is the updated build as reported, there will almost certainly be app updates available by the time the update is pushed out.
- Another area where I'd like to add a caution is where Thurrott says: "Likewise, when you upgrade, the PC Reset tools in Windows will reset to version 1511, not 1507/10.0." That is correct, & I wouldn't expect him to have added the word: "Hopefully", but in my experience with 10 that's certainly how I'd classify it. Most systems or devices with win7-8 I think use a hidden System Reserved partition on a GPT disk to store the boot files, including Winre.wim etc. That should be updated with a new 10 install/upgrade, but I've read too many reports where win10 setup had problems updating that hidden partition to have 100% confidence that it happens each & every time.
Many devices also had/have a hidden recovery partition(s) before upgrading to 10 -- how win10 setup treats those partitions [& whether it adds its own] *may* also be inconsistent. Windows, particularly 8-10, lets you create bootable USB sticks for recovery -- you might think that since Windows boots, those would work too, and there's a good chance you'll be wrong. [Test.] And figure that when Microsoft otherwise goofed with win10, e.g. when it pushed out the bad Nvidia driver update, I'd think most every win10 user running Nvidia graphics hardware in that example was aware of it -- in contrast win10 is so new, how many people do you imagine have tried its System Reset? My guess is not too many, so real world, we don't really know what the recovery success rate is likely to be.
Again, long story short, when we read a sort of "matter of fact" statement on how something works we can sometimes take it for granted, when perhaps we really should not.
- This build of Windows 10 has some new virtualization stuff -- Thurrott mentions that it can now do nested VMs using its new Hyper-V tech. Most will think or say: "So What?" The way I see it, FWIW, is that Microsoft is bringing more of their server tech to Windows 10 -- nested VMs is more a by-product of that rather than a specific goal as far as win10 is concerned. And it's the other tech that goes along with it that I think might provide real benefits to win10 users, though like much of win10, its not there yet. In the future you might be able to create better VHDs faster, & use VMs more efficiently, with greater security too.
- Microsoft seems to have dual personalities regarding Control Panel. Windows 10 uses it -- setting some options via the Settings app in the Start Menu will lead you straight to Control Panel -- yet everything you read says Microsoft's trying to kill Control Panel off. This new build adds some new Control Panel icons. Perhaps rumors of its pending demise are premature &/or exaggerated? Or maybe it's just till they get the Settings app working properly -- checking activation status, then clicking on Update usually stalls or crashes the app [it happens here on 6 win10 installs]. Or maybe still smarting from the Start Menu debacle, Microsoft's gun shy when it comes to removing anything that we're used to having around?
- And finally there's this: windowscentral.com/intel-speed-shift-windows-10
CPU makers have all been obsessed with lowering power consumption to increase battery life. Intel has improved the way CPUs can down-clock. Intel CPUs could do this already -- my i7 this morning has consumed from 5.69 W up to 56.97 W -- but the latest chips are supposed to do it better. This new win10 build is supposed to better support those new CPUs.
That's not going to effect a lot of people [though it may influence a few device upgrades], but it's also evidence that no one source can tell you everything.
- This new win10 version will, like every other Windows version have its gems as well as its faults. With prior Service Packs you had your choice whether to upgrade or not -- that led some to never update when they should, but it also allowed everyone to give it a bit of time to see what it might break. Delaying a bigger update is not a bad strategy, as much as win10 will let you anyway.
