Windows 10 - Build 10525 - So why now ?
So today by surprise - MS released a new Windows 10 build to Fast Ring folks - 10525...
The question to me is why ?
In it's 3 weeks since official release MS has provided 3 cumulative updates to repair bugs. And then today we get a whole new build. Obviously the old rules about a build a day have been broken because this build number is in theory 285 builds newer than 10240 which was released back in July. Or let's say at least the build count rule is broken...
So what has changed ? And why did MS feel it necessary to release an entire new build ?
I installed on my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet to start....
First - a quick note on the install process. 10525 did show up fine in Windows Update and downloaded and installed with no issues over 10240. What did seem odd was yet another cumulative update that seemed to be included in the download. I didn't write down the KB number and this build actually clears out update history. It actually followed the 10525 download and prepared for installation at the same time but it does not show up in update history - so not sure if it was a prep step or not...
Also with 10525 the Evaluation Copy markings are back...
Next I'll go back over some of the general issues I found with 10240 and see what 10525 fixed if anything...
First the settings and default apps. What is interesting is now contacts and calendar are gone with only email now listed. Video player still defaulted to Windows Media player instead of Movies and TV. Browser allowed me to select from Edge, IE or Chrome.
Location services is still broken. Maps still shows the wrong location and the Weather tile said I'm in Laughlin NV when in fact I'm in Anaheim, CA and never searched on Laughlin as a location for Weather. However when I launched weather it stated Orange, CA which is close...
The Bing background still does not update daily or in fact at all...
Thinking that maybe my MS account settings where causing an issue I created a new one and logged in - same problem. So it's not that...
All of my drivers seem intact and all of my settings and apps seem to work..
The Store did download an updated version of the Camera App. Pen services seem to be fine and another small issue I had after installing the cumulative updates also seems to have gone away. That was after I applied the update and rebooted - the Windows Keyboard would not display when I touched the password field on my tablet. I had to launch the BIOS keyboard to enter the password the first time. Subsequent reboots seemed to work okay..
So I come back to the question of what has changed and why now ?
To me not much has changed. But MS obviously felt it had to get something out for more feedback on Windows 10.
To me this reinforces my thoughts that Windows 10 at build 10240 was not really ready for release to the general public. There are also several reports and surveys that state that updates are not going as smoothly as folks expected. I believe part of this goes back to my post regarding OEM support for Windows 10. Yes many vendors have posted updated drivers to their sites for Windows 10 support - but a lot of them don't seem to be fully vetted and folks are experiencing pain it seems especially true with video cards.
But this whole approach of releasing a new complete build less than a month after general release - raises some interesting questions about the whole approach of the new Windows as a Service model...
If you're not in the Fast Ring and therefore not getting a new build - how do you get the new functionality and/or fixes - more cumulative updates ?
Is 10525 just a roll-up or will all 10240 folks have to upgrade ? Is 10525 a path to Service Release 1 ? And how will Service Release 1 be applied ? As a new build ?
If you upgrade today to you get 10240 + fixes or 10525 ?
MS is being pretty tight lipped.
To me this approach of whole new builds at this point really is going to have an impact on both general confidence and acceptance. I can't say 100% that MS is going to effectively release new builds much like what is done with Phones - but I am not sure that non-techie folks are going to like that. It's disruptive and potentially risky..
And how are corporate types going to deal with this. Yes the update process is very zero touch - but it is still large and has to managed.
Anyway more to come - what is going to interesting is the gap now to the next build - are we going to see one a month for a while...
The question to me is why ?
In it's 3 weeks since official release MS has provided 3 cumulative updates to repair bugs. And then today we get a whole new build. Obviously the old rules about a build a day have been broken because this build number is in theory 285 builds newer than 10240 which was released back in July. Or let's say at least the build count rule is broken...
So what has changed ? And why did MS feel it necessary to release an entire new build ?
I installed on my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet to start....
First - a quick note on the install process. 10525 did show up fine in Windows Update and downloaded and installed with no issues over 10240. What did seem odd was yet another cumulative update that seemed to be included in the download. I didn't write down the KB number and this build actually clears out update history. It actually followed the 10525 download and prepared for installation at the same time but it does not show up in update history - so not sure if it was a prep step or not...
Also with 10525 the Evaluation Copy markings are back...
Next I'll go back over some of the general issues I found with 10240 and see what 10525 fixed if anything...
First the settings and default apps. What is interesting is now contacts and calendar are gone with only email now listed. Video player still defaulted to Windows Media player instead of Movies and TV. Browser allowed me to select from Edge, IE or Chrome.
Location services is still broken. Maps still shows the wrong location and the Weather tile said I'm in Laughlin NV when in fact I'm in Anaheim, CA and never searched on Laughlin as a location for Weather. However when I launched weather it stated Orange, CA which is close...
The Bing background still does not update daily or in fact at all...
Thinking that maybe my MS account settings where causing an issue I created a new one and logged in - same problem. So it's not that...
All of my drivers seem intact and all of my settings and apps seem to work..
The Store did download an updated version of the Camera App. Pen services seem to be fine and another small issue I had after installing the cumulative updates also seems to have gone away. That was after I applied the update and rebooted - the Windows Keyboard would not display when I touched the password field on my tablet. I had to launch the BIOS keyboard to enter the password the first time. Subsequent reboots seemed to work okay..
So I come back to the question of what has changed and why now ?
To me not much has changed. But MS obviously felt it had to get something out for more feedback on Windows 10.
To me this reinforces my thoughts that Windows 10 at build 10240 was not really ready for release to the general public. There are also several reports and surveys that state that updates are not going as smoothly as folks expected. I believe part of this goes back to my post regarding OEM support for Windows 10. Yes many vendors have posted updated drivers to their sites for Windows 10 support - but a lot of them don't seem to be fully vetted and folks are experiencing pain it seems especially true with video cards.
But this whole approach of releasing a new complete build less than a month after general release - raises some interesting questions about the whole approach of the new Windows as a Service model...
If you're not in the Fast Ring and therefore not getting a new build - how do you get the new functionality and/or fixes - more cumulative updates ?
Is 10525 just a roll-up or will all 10240 folks have to upgrade ? Is 10525 a path to Service Release 1 ? And how will Service Release 1 be applied ? As a new build ?
If you upgrade today to you get 10240 + fixes or 10525 ?
MS is being pretty tight lipped.
To me this approach of whole new builds at this point really is going to have an impact on both general confidence and acceptance. I can't say 100% that MS is going to effectively release new builds much like what is done with Phones - but I am not sure that non-techie folks are going to like that. It's disruptive and potentially risky..
And how are corporate types going to deal with this. Yes the update process is very zero touch - but it is still large and has to managed.
Anyway more to come - what is going to interesting is the gap now to the next build - are we going to see one a month for a while...
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