Windows 10 Tech Preview Build 10122 - Still a mixed bag
During the week of May 18 - MS released their latest Windows 10 Tech Preview - build 10122.
As always I installed on both a traditional desktop and an 8" tablet. Once again from an installation perspective the desktop was a breeze and the tablet was a pain in the ass.
The tablet especially. First it took several attempts just to get the build to download with Windows update showing multiple errors. After some due diligence within the Windows Insider Community site - where several Surface Pro users had been complaining about their installations stalling at 18%, - I did perform what seemed to correct the problem which was using the Disk Cleanup utility to remove old windows build, temp windows installations and drivers.
So as I expected - the work around Windows 10 builds now is all about Universal Apps and cleaning up the UI. Build 10122 contained universal versions of the MSN apps - so News, Weather, Finance Sports, etc as well as updated versions of Music, Video and XBox.
For the first time I can say that the Music app is actually starting to look and operate the way it should. It was very fast to find both my local and cloud based content and load the proper cover art, sort, etc.
There is a new look to the MSN apps - kind of a Flipboard meets Google+ look and the navigation and UI is consistent across Finance and Sports as well. I've kind of like the look. The apps also seem to work well in both traditional mouse and touch modes which is nice to see. The live tiles has a little more animation to them - but are inconsistent in their updating - sometimes they work great - other times they don't work at all.
There are still several areas that need to consolidation and improvement. First is Settings and Control Panel. Why both ? Its just confusing. They need to be consolidated in a single UI. In fact you can make this comment about the entire set of management tools. A lot of it is older legacy Windows XP & 7 era stuff - and maybe MS is keeping it that way to support legacy apps, tools and support those users who are used to looking for those items
Second MS has gone to this new toggle method for turning features, capabilities on/off - but they are very inefficient in terms of their real estate. Typically they are a single long column of options that sometimes would need to scroll and scroll to get to what you want. I'd much rather see a multi-column or array based - so I can see everything at a glance
Finally - MS in trying to simplify the Settings has reduced the capabilities - giving you less control. This is an area I have been critical of for sometime. MS does not take into context the role of the user. If I'm an admin - show me everything and don't have me run to 5 different places to find it.
That is my one biggest criticism of Windows 10 in its current state. It ends up being a mashup of Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10. So what you end up with is a very inconsistent UI and approach to managing your device - whether its a PC, Tablet, whatever. In my opinion if your going to go through the effort to create a new UI - then you damn well better make sure that you convert the entire OS experience to that new UI.
The tablet experience is still horrible. Tablet mode sucks. I always end up turning it off on my tablet to be able do real work. An additional concern I have about Windows 10 is this challenge when it comes to non-Surface tablets. Especially those without a keyboard cover or hybrid configuration.
There have been several times where you want an particular app or feature that has an entry field. When you select it - the on-screen keyboard does not come up. Then if you go to the task bar and select the keyboard - the original app - feature goes away. And sometimes this is for relatively critical stuff - like entering a WiFi password. Just sloppy design and execution.
What concerns me here most of all is MS's commitment to the non-keyboard form factor and sub 10" screen. Its almost like all the developers use Surface and so they always have their keyboard. To me there is a distinct possibility that this form factor may just fade to black or require a keyboard cover to be effective. That would be a shame.
So where are we timeline wise ? Even though I believe there are still many holes in Windows 10 - It is my personal belief that we are 3 maybe 4 builds away from the Desktop release of Windows 10. Considering it is late May and they have been releasing preview builds about every 3 weeks now - I am thinking it will be late July to mid August for Desktop.
MS is just going to continue cleaning up the universal apps, tweaking the start menu and fixing bugs. I know they are not going to really address my big concerns. The only thing that may effect the timeline is when Surface Pro 4 will be available and any other OEM Windows 10 machines. That could potentially push Desktop into September.
Small form factor Tablet is going to be late - I say November at least. But from my experience there is still a ton of work there to get it stable enough to deploy at scale. And to be honest I don't expect the experience to be that great.
Same for Phone - the timing on phone is going to be completely driven by the new phone platforms. Again I say late October / Early November. And as I've stated several times - if you are a Windows Phone fan and you want Windows 10 be prepared to buy a new phone. From my experience so far - Windows 10 on any legacy Nokia device is fair at best and horrible at worst. In my opinion MS at going to stick to their word and say - see we support legacy devices - and dangle some new carrots to get you interested in the new devices. I expect to see some pretty strong trade-in promotions to try and get the new phones some traction.
Bottom line is this. Windows 10 is not that great. Yes there are some improvements over Windows 7 & 8. But the UI and overall experience is a mess. The story so far gets even worse on tablets and phones. I'm not impressed. With so many choices out there in terms of how you can perform end user productivity MS is not really taking a leadership position.
As always I installed on both a traditional desktop and an 8" tablet. Once again from an installation perspective the desktop was a breeze and the tablet was a pain in the ass.
The tablet especially. First it took several attempts just to get the build to download with Windows update showing multiple errors. After some due diligence within the Windows Insider Community site - where several Surface Pro users had been complaining about their installations stalling at 18%, - I did perform what seemed to correct the problem which was using the Disk Cleanup utility to remove old windows build, temp windows installations and drivers.
So as I expected - the work around Windows 10 builds now is all about Universal Apps and cleaning up the UI. Build 10122 contained universal versions of the MSN apps - so News, Weather, Finance Sports, etc as well as updated versions of Music, Video and XBox.
For the first time I can say that the Music app is actually starting to look and operate the way it should. It was very fast to find both my local and cloud based content and load the proper cover art, sort, etc.
There is a new look to the MSN apps - kind of a Flipboard meets Google+ look and the navigation and UI is consistent across Finance and Sports as well. I've kind of like the look. The apps also seem to work well in both traditional mouse and touch modes which is nice to see. The live tiles has a little more animation to them - but are inconsistent in their updating - sometimes they work great - other times they don't work at all.
There are still several areas that need to consolidation and improvement. First is Settings and Control Panel. Why both ? Its just confusing. They need to be consolidated in a single UI. In fact you can make this comment about the entire set of management tools. A lot of it is older legacy Windows XP & 7 era stuff - and maybe MS is keeping it that way to support legacy apps, tools and support those users who are used to looking for those items
Second MS has gone to this new toggle method for turning features, capabilities on/off - but they are very inefficient in terms of their real estate. Typically they are a single long column of options that sometimes would need to scroll and scroll to get to what you want. I'd much rather see a multi-column or array based - so I can see everything at a glance
Finally - MS in trying to simplify the Settings has reduced the capabilities - giving you less control. This is an area I have been critical of for sometime. MS does not take into context the role of the user. If I'm an admin - show me everything and don't have me run to 5 different places to find it.
That is my one biggest criticism of Windows 10 in its current state. It ends up being a mashup of Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10. So what you end up with is a very inconsistent UI and approach to managing your device - whether its a PC, Tablet, whatever. In my opinion if your going to go through the effort to create a new UI - then you damn well better make sure that you convert the entire OS experience to that new UI.
The tablet experience is still horrible. Tablet mode sucks. I always end up turning it off on my tablet to be able do real work. An additional concern I have about Windows 10 is this challenge when it comes to non-Surface tablets. Especially those without a keyboard cover or hybrid configuration.
There have been several times where you want an particular app or feature that has an entry field. When you select it - the on-screen keyboard does not come up. Then if you go to the task bar and select the keyboard - the original app - feature goes away. And sometimes this is for relatively critical stuff - like entering a WiFi password. Just sloppy design and execution.
What concerns me here most of all is MS's commitment to the non-keyboard form factor and sub 10" screen. Its almost like all the developers use Surface and so they always have their keyboard. To me there is a distinct possibility that this form factor may just fade to black or require a keyboard cover to be effective. That would be a shame.
So where are we timeline wise ? Even though I believe there are still many holes in Windows 10 - It is my personal belief that we are 3 maybe 4 builds away from the Desktop release of Windows 10. Considering it is late May and they have been releasing preview builds about every 3 weeks now - I am thinking it will be late July to mid August for Desktop.
MS is just going to continue cleaning up the universal apps, tweaking the start menu and fixing bugs. I know they are not going to really address my big concerns. The only thing that may effect the timeline is when Surface Pro 4 will be available and any other OEM Windows 10 machines. That could potentially push Desktop into September.
Small form factor Tablet is going to be late - I say November at least. But from my experience there is still a ton of work there to get it stable enough to deploy at scale. And to be honest I don't expect the experience to be that great.
Same for Phone - the timing on phone is going to be completely driven by the new phone platforms. Again I say late October / Early November. And as I've stated several times - if you are a Windows Phone fan and you want Windows 10 be prepared to buy a new phone. From my experience so far - Windows 10 on any legacy Nokia device is fair at best and horrible at worst. In my opinion MS at going to stick to their word and say - see we support legacy devices - and dangle some new carrots to get you interested in the new devices. I expect to see some pretty strong trade-in promotions to try and get the new phones some traction.
Bottom line is this. Windows 10 is not that great. Yes there are some improvements over Windows 7 & 8. But the UI and overall experience is a mess. The story so far gets even worse on tablets and phones. I'm not impressed. With so many choices out there in terms of how you can perform end user productivity MS is not really taking a leadership position.
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