UPDATED 23:18 EDT / JULY 10 2016

NEWS

Microsoft issues pre-release of Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Microsoft rolled out another Windows build last week, ahead of the release of its planned Anniversary Update.

Build 14383 of Windows 10 for both the PC and mobile versions was released to Windows Insiders, who’re essentially Microsoft’s test guinea pigs for new releases of the software. One of the most noticeable aspects of this latest release is that one of the telltale visual signs that it’s a pre-release version of Windows is no longer there.

Until now, most Insider builds of Windows feature a watermark that shows the version and build number, but that’s no longer visible now.

“On PC, you will notice a few things are different with this build. For example, the desktop watermark is now gone,” Dona Sarkar, a Microsoft Windows and Devices Group software engineer and head of the Windows Insider program, wrote in a blog post. “This is because we’re beginning to check in final code in preparation for releasing the Windows 10 Anniversary Update to customers on August 2nd.”

Feature-wise, some of the most anticipated new tools (at least for developers) include support for containers and the built-in Bash Unix Shell, which allows users to run popular Linux command-line tools.

The latest build also comes with a bunch of security fixes, though these are all relatively minor.

“We fixed an issue where the Settings app was showing media controls in the taskbar preview window,” Sarkar said. She was referring to just one of a around a dozen fixes for the PC, and a dozen more for mobile.

Microsoft has already received quite a bit of feedback from users via a built-in application designed to do just that. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of discontent from users who’re unhappy with the decision to kill ‘Messaging Everywhere’, a feature that lets users sync messages between their phones and their PC. Instead, Microsoft has enhanced its Skype app with the same feature.

“Do not tie Messaging Everywhere to Skype,” said one pessimistic user. “If you do, we’ll never see it working again.” The removal of Messaging Everywhere is a topic that dominates the most recent feedback.

There were also complaints about the poor state of OneDrive’s integration with Windows 10. Users said the new service doesn’t compare with the old placeholder feature available in Windows 8, which shows all your OneDrive files in the same place but only downloaded them on demand.

Still, feedback was more positive about some of the upcoming new features, such as Ubuntu on Windows 10, Windows Hello, which allows users to login via facial recognition, and Project Centennial, a tool that lets users run desktop apps wrapped as Windows Store apps, allowing for simpler installation and removal.

Photo Credit: proZesa via Compfight cc

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU