Microsoft is at it again today, with a new Windows 10 build. The operating system, due out this summer, has reached something akin to an inflection point: Microsoft appears now more focused on smoothing out the code than adding new features to the software.
The build is for subscribers of the ‘fast ring’ of the Windows Insider program. On the front, I asked Microsoft if it has passed the 4 million tester mark. If my memory serves, the company was last tipped to be sitting at 3.9 million. The number of testers Windows 10 accumulates helps the market understand both enthusiast, and developer interest in the new operating system.
The ever-present Gabe Aul, head of Build Button Pushing on the Windows team, phrased the shift in the following way:
I think you’ll see that this build is a bit more stable and polished than the last one, which is to be expected as we begin to stabilize for the public release this summer. From here on out you’ll see fewer big feature changes from build to build, and more tuning, tweaking, stabilizing, and polishing.
That makes sense, given the impending release timeframe of the desktop version of Windows 10. The mobile version will ship after.
What’s new in build 10122? Aside from bug fixes, Microsoft has rolled out improvements to ‘Continuum,’ its method to allow a device to handle various forms of input without compromising usability. The Start Menu has been tweaked as well, along with improvements to the Edge browser that was previously known as Project Spartan.
Sadly, I failed to bring a Windows 10 machine to the office today, and thus can’t screenshots for you. Happily, Paul Thurrott has the goods.
Summer is on only so long. Final innings!