Items tagged with insider preview
Microsoft has announced that it is looking for Xbox Insiders who want to join the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring. That ring is currently using the latest 2004 OS build (2004.190918-1920). Microsoft says that version of the OS is the next major release that is expected to come to the Xbox One game console. Microsoft notes that typically the version of the OS in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring won't come to the masses via general availability for "quite some time." These early looks at the future OS may contain features from other preview rings. Alpha Skip-Ahead serves as a place where Microsoft can build changes for the Xbox that will have a significant impact on the stability and functionality of the system...
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Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it would soon be merging the Fast and Skip Ahead rings together so that they would both receive future Windows 10 20H1 (First Half 2020) builds. One of the latest fruits of these new combined rings is Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18875. One of the major features that is being touted in this release is the ability to see Android app notifications from within Windows 10. As long as you have the Your Phone app installed on your Android phone (and synced with your Microsoft account), you'll be able to see your incoming phone notifications via a pop-up in Windows 10 in real-time. Not only can you customize which app notifications you receive...
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Microsoft has announced that the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build is ready for download for folks who are opted into Skip Ahead. The new Build is 17639 (Redstone 5) and one of the big updates that lands with this build is some major improvements to Sets and Tabs. The dragging and dropping of app tabs within and between Sets windows is now supported. Users can drag an app tab around within the set or combine tabbed app windows into Sets. Microsoft does note that drag and drop for Microsoft Edge web tabs within Sets isn’t supported yet and that users might experience a crash if this is attempted. The update also supports moving between programs tabbed together with Alt + Tab. One caveat...
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Microsoft has announced the launch of the Windows Server 2019 Preview. The preview build is available right now through the Insiders Program, while the full Server 2019 OS will be available in the second half of 2018 according to Erin Chapple, Director of Program Management, Windows Server. Chapple gives some idea of what will be new in Server 2019 noting that it is built on the "strong foundation" of Windows Server 2016. Chapple also points out that Windows Server 2016 was the fastest adopted version of Windows Server ever. Chapple wrote, "We also spent a lot of time with customers to understand the future challenges and where the industry is going. Four themes were consistent –...
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PC users out there who are part of the Skip Ahead program have an updated version of Windows 10 they can grab and try out. The new version is Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17623 and it has some cool bits in it, and one not so cool feature. The major new introduction comes in the form of support for the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) in Windows 10. Support for that format has been rolled into the Windows 10 Photos app. If you are unfamiliar with HEIF, it is an image container that uses modern codecs like HEVC to improve image quality, compression, and capabilities compared to older formats like JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Microsoft wrote, "In addition to traditional single images, HEIF...
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Windows users taking part in the Windows Insider Program have a new version of the OS to check out. Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16273 for PC has been released via the Fast ring and Skip Ahead. This release also features some updates on how new builds will be released over the next few months and has its own branch called RS3_RELEASE. Microsoft explains this change writing, "We are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world." What that means for Insiders is that builds will be released more quickly, but they will feature mostly bug fixes. Only participants who...
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Windows 10 might be the last monolithic release of Windows ever, but that doesn't mean the engineers in Redmond are suddenly out of work. Just the opposite, they're busy building new features in to Windows 10 that will be doled in updates, some big like the recent Anniversary Update and some small. One of the things they're working on is a tweak to its Delivery Optimization feature that allows users to grab updates from other PCs on the same local network. That's now being expanded to include other PCs on the Internet. It's part of the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build (14915), and if you're subscribed to the Fast ring, you can download and install it right away. "Starting today, Windows...
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The development community (and enthusiast) were shocked last week when Microsoft announced that it was bringing the Ubuntu Linux Bash shell to Windows 10, where it will run natively. Microsoft has wasted no time getting the functionality ready for testers, as the company has rolled out Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316 with native Bash support baked right in. To enable Bash, you have first have to enable Developer Mode, which can be accomplished by navigating to Settings --> Update & security --> For developers. From there, you’ll need to enable “Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta).” However, you’re still not done yet — you’ll next need to open up the Command prompt and type “bash”....
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Microsoft is serving up a fresh Windows 10 Insider Preview build and thankfully, this one actually has a bit of extra meat on the bones instead of the skimpy releases we’ve received in the past. Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14279 is a Redstone release and brings with it additional language and regional support for Cortana in addition to new functionality for the digital assistant. For starters, Microsoft Cortana now supports Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil) and French (Canada) languages. And to make Windows 10 users feel right at home when selecting their language, Microsoft has buoyed Cortana by adding local flourishes. “For instance, in Brazil – Cortana is fond of pasteis which is...
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When Microsoft delivered test builds of Windows 10 to Windows Insiders, it did so with a Fast and Slow ring. Users on the Fast ring received more frequent updates, but had to deal with builds that sometimes weren’t quite ready for primetime. Slow ring users received updates at a more languid pace, but the builds they did receive were for the most part very solid. The same holds true for Windows 10 Mobile, which is currently under testing with a Fast/Slow ring. However, it seems lately that Microsoft has forgotten all about the Fast ring, as neither group of Windows Insiders have received a fresh build of the operating system in a month — the last build, Build 10166, was delivered to Fast ring...
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Microsoft is definitely committed to getting Windows 10 out the door on time. On Monday, the company released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10158, which brought a number of updates to the Edge browser and Cortana along with various UI updates. But Microsoft is definitely in a bug killing mood, which explains why just one day later it issued Build 10159 to the Fast ring. While the build number has advanced by just one digit, there’s a lot going on under the hood according to Microsoft’s Gabe Aul. In fact, over 300 bugs have been exterminated with this Windows 10 Insider Preview 10159. “Why two builds so fast back to back?! As you probably know, we validate builds that we produce in internal...
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We’re less than a month away from the retail release of Windows 10 and the tech community is eagerly awaiting its arrival. Windows 10 promises to rid consumers of the bad taste that Windows 8 left in their mouths, introduces a number of new features that make the operating system a more welcome companion for a wide variety of devices, and best of all is available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8.x users. As we enter the home stretch, Microsoft has rolled out Insider Preview Build 10158, which is adding a bit of polish to an already quite stable product. Microsoft Edge branding replaces what was previously known as “Project Spartan.” Edge also bring with it the option of adding a...
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