Windows 10 Build 14342 - Polishing the Redstone
Late in the day on May 10, MS released Windows 10 Build 14342 to fast Ring Insiders for PC only - No new mobile build was released.
Several news sites called this an early release which to me is actually wrong. The previous Build release - 14332 - was released on 4/26 and this release was only 10 builds newer but released 14 days later. MS rarely releases the current days build, but it still has been a two week gap and the first released post Bug Bash.
14342 included improvements are Edge, Bash, Skype UWP, Ink Workspace along with a change to the UI notification for UAC acknowledgements and about 25 issue fixes. MS Defender also got a new icon.
As always I installed the build on desktop, laptop and tablet devices and as always the download/install process was smooth and without issue.
I experienced some inconsistencies with apps across my platforms with this build. For example on my laptop - the build broke an AT&T Connect App for Web Conferencing, but it worked on my desktop. Re-installation of the app did not correct the issue. Similarly Skype for Business and OneDrive for Business broke on the desktop but work fine on the laptop.
Post OS updates included an update to Groove which corrected some DRM issues that some folks had been experiencing as well as a Mail/Calendar update for some account issues.
As I've stated in earlier posts, Redstone 1 or the Anniversary edition is feature complete and now it's how much polishing and bug fixing can be done prior to the expected July 29 release - a little over 11 weeks away. I expect between 6 and 8 more builds prior to release.
Is Redstone an improvement over the previous major release - Threshold - yes.
There are improvements in features, capabilities and performance. The question for many folks however is that you may not use many of those new features unless you have a "Windows 10" device.
For example my laptop is considered new - a circa 2015 Lenovo T450. But it does not support Windows Hello via the build in web cam. The good news is it does support the fingerprint reader without the need for vendor software which is a welcome relief.
There are still several legacy issues that MS has to address. For example there is still IE11 included. This was obviously done to best support legacy enterprise apps with a compatibility view back to IE8, 9 - but if you don't know that it's in the Windows Accessories folder many folks won't find it.
Windows 10 is juggling act as it tries to provide support for an over 6 year legacy gap back to Windows 7 which is nearly 48% of the Windows install base. This is both from an app support perspective and UI. At the same time they are trying to move the needle forward by providing support for modern hardware and improved touch, write, social and online experiences.
One challenge I can see, is how corporate admins and security folks are going to address capabilities that just didn't exist with Windows 7. For example the Store, Groove, Movie & TV, MSN apps and OneDrive. Just like with phones there is much more of a personal/corporate blending of identity, content and use cases than ever before. If admins start to shut down all of this capabilities via group policies - then the value of Windows 10 starts to wane.
Bottom line is this. As critical as I am sometimes with MS, Windows 10 is still the best overall desktop OS you can get today. When you compare the capabilities that are available across the array of hardware solutions and the app support compared to Apple's OSX and Linux - there is no comparison.
If your hardware supports Windows 10 - I would recommend making the upgrade, especially while it's still free.
Several news sites called this an early release which to me is actually wrong. The previous Build release - 14332 - was released on 4/26 and this release was only 10 builds newer but released 14 days later. MS rarely releases the current days build, but it still has been a two week gap and the first released post Bug Bash.
14342 included improvements are Edge, Bash, Skype UWP, Ink Workspace along with a change to the UI notification for UAC acknowledgements and about 25 issue fixes. MS Defender also got a new icon.
As always I installed the build on desktop, laptop and tablet devices and as always the download/install process was smooth and without issue.
I experienced some inconsistencies with apps across my platforms with this build. For example on my laptop - the build broke an AT&T Connect App for Web Conferencing, but it worked on my desktop. Re-installation of the app did not correct the issue. Similarly Skype for Business and OneDrive for Business broke on the desktop but work fine on the laptop.
Post OS updates included an update to Groove which corrected some DRM issues that some folks had been experiencing as well as a Mail/Calendar update for some account issues.
As I've stated in earlier posts, Redstone 1 or the Anniversary edition is feature complete and now it's how much polishing and bug fixing can be done prior to the expected July 29 release - a little over 11 weeks away. I expect between 6 and 8 more builds prior to release.
Is Redstone an improvement over the previous major release - Threshold - yes.
There are improvements in features, capabilities and performance. The question for many folks however is that you may not use many of those new features unless you have a "Windows 10" device.
For example my laptop is considered new - a circa 2015 Lenovo T450. But it does not support Windows Hello via the build in web cam. The good news is it does support the fingerprint reader without the need for vendor software which is a welcome relief.
There are still several legacy issues that MS has to address. For example there is still IE11 included. This was obviously done to best support legacy enterprise apps with a compatibility view back to IE8, 9 - but if you don't know that it's in the Windows Accessories folder many folks won't find it.
Windows 10 is juggling act as it tries to provide support for an over 6 year legacy gap back to Windows 7 which is nearly 48% of the Windows install base. This is both from an app support perspective and UI. At the same time they are trying to move the needle forward by providing support for modern hardware and improved touch, write, social and online experiences.
One challenge I can see, is how corporate admins and security folks are going to address capabilities that just didn't exist with Windows 7. For example the Store, Groove, Movie & TV, MSN apps and OneDrive. Just like with phones there is much more of a personal/corporate blending of identity, content and use cases than ever before. If admins start to shut down all of this capabilities via group policies - then the value of Windows 10 starts to wane.
Bottom line is this. As critical as I am sometimes with MS, Windows 10 is still the best overall desktop OS you can get today. When you compare the capabilities that are available across the array of hardware solutions and the app support compared to Apple's OSX and Linux - there is no comparison.
If your hardware supports Windows 10 - I would recommend making the upgrade, especially while it's still free.
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