Windows 10 Build 17677 - If Sets is the future of Windows - I'm not sure I want it.
On May 24 - MS released their 12th build of the Redstone 5 (RS5) branch of Windows 10 to Fast Ring & Skip Ahead Insiders.
Build 17677 was the first build in the last 5 or so that wasn't a nightmare to install. Across all 3 of my test platforms - desktop, laptop and tablet the build downloaded and installed without drama. In all 3 cases the end-to-end process took from 60 - 90 minutes.
Of all the devices - my 5 year old Dell Inspiron 3847 running a 4th Gen Core i3-4150 w/ 4GB RAM along with a Samsung EVO 850 SSD and Intel 3160 WiFi card actually runs the the best. There is little to no lag launching apps and while it doesn't support capabilities like Hello facial recognition, touch or pen, it is a good overall test bed device. My more powerful AMD based laptop still is experiencing performance that I didn't have with RS4 and shouldn't have with 4 Cores, 16GB of RAM, NVMe SSD, etc.
Being set to Skip Ahead mode - the Inspiron supports the big feature of RS5 called Windows Sets.
MS and many MS watchers call Sets "the future of Windows". If so - I'm not sure I want it.
Sets is a multitasking "feature" that provides a single Edge style tabbed UI that allows you to launch multiple apps - each within it's own tab.
I've argued that MS is attempting to turn Windows into Google's Chrome OS with this feature. And personally I don't see the value.
In early builds - you could launch File Explorer for example then click on the + to open a new tab - but the only thing available was an instance of MS Edge.
Build 17677 was the first build that allowed me to choose additional apps - including MS Office apps via a tiled list called "Frequent Destinations" when you open a new tab.
So okay - let's say you have File Explorer open and then want to open "Word". Okay great - I'm running version 1806 build 10216.20000 as an Office Insider - so you see a Word tile in the Frequent Destinations and click it.
What you then see is the Word Launch tile and the app is displayed within the tabbed Window. So now in a single "Window" you have File Explorer and Word and the ability to click back and forth on each tab.
But isn't that what Windows Explorer - the desktop and start menu provide today ? Just in Windows form vs a Tabbed form ?
You have the ability to "save" the set - so in theory come back to the same view of the same tabs.
Yawn...
MS promotes this feature as a productivity enhancement and yes I can see the argument that it might save you a click or two. And when combined with Timeline introduced in RS4 - could allow you to easily go back to a site or doc or photo you may have been working with. But today there is no way to click on a Timeline item and "add" it to a tab set.
But in my opinion Sets is not any more productive than the Windows UI.
Windows has had the ability to support multi-tasking apps since it's inception along with the ability to cut and paste content from one app to another. Hence the namesake.
While Sets does provide a new form of organizing multi-tasking - I can't see it changing the way I work or being any more productive than I already am using the method that's been around forever.
And in fact the traditional method of navigating between apps - supports sets - so Alt+Tab shows you the list of apps whether stand-alone or part of a set.
Don't get me wrong - I think Tabs are a great way of organizing tasks.
My point here is this. I think MS could spend more effort around completing Settings Migration and eliminating circa 2000 UI components than adding new features that I may not even use.
The good news is Sets is configurable so you can turn it on or off.
The bigger question to me is the long term "vision". Will Windows eventually be a lite Core OS with an Edge based UI where all apps/features are just tabs ?
And will apps like Office only be available in Web form - so effectively Chrome OS ?
Maybe - but if so they are years behind and still won't have the App support that Chrome OS does. And if I really want that kind of a UI - why wouldn't I just go buy a Chromebook or Pixelbook today ?
So while the good news is - MS seems to have reduced the pain of RS5 upgrades - the whole Sets thing to me seems to be a huge waste of time and effort.
If Sets truly is the future of Windows - I'm not sure I want it. Right now this is a science experiment and hopefully MS will be smart enough to turn it off by default when RS5 releases this fall.
Build 17677 was the first build in the last 5 or so that wasn't a nightmare to install. Across all 3 of my test platforms - desktop, laptop and tablet the build downloaded and installed without drama. In all 3 cases the end-to-end process took from 60 - 90 minutes.
Of all the devices - my 5 year old Dell Inspiron 3847 running a 4th Gen Core i3-4150 w/ 4GB RAM along with a Samsung EVO 850 SSD and Intel 3160 WiFi card actually runs the the best. There is little to no lag launching apps and while it doesn't support capabilities like Hello facial recognition, touch or pen, it is a good overall test bed device. My more powerful AMD based laptop still is experiencing performance that I didn't have with RS4 and shouldn't have with 4 Cores, 16GB of RAM, NVMe SSD, etc.
Being set to Skip Ahead mode - the Inspiron supports the big feature of RS5 called Windows Sets.
MS and many MS watchers call Sets "the future of Windows". If so - I'm not sure I want it.
Sets is a multitasking "feature" that provides a single Edge style tabbed UI that allows you to launch multiple apps - each within it's own tab.
I've argued that MS is attempting to turn Windows into Google's Chrome OS with this feature. And personally I don't see the value.
In early builds - you could launch File Explorer for example then click on the + to open a new tab - but the only thing available was an instance of MS Edge.
Build 17677 was the first build that allowed me to choose additional apps - including MS Office apps via a tiled list called "Frequent Destinations" when you open a new tab.
So okay - let's say you have File Explorer open and then want to open "Word". Okay great - I'm running version 1806 build 10216.20000 as an Office Insider - so you see a Word tile in the Frequent Destinations and click it.
What you then see is the Word Launch tile and the app is displayed within the tabbed Window. So now in a single "Window" you have File Explorer and Word and the ability to click back and forth on each tab.
But isn't that what Windows Explorer - the desktop and start menu provide today ? Just in Windows form vs a Tabbed form ?
Yawn...
MS promotes this feature as a productivity enhancement and yes I can see the argument that it might save you a click or two. And when combined with Timeline introduced in RS4 - could allow you to easily go back to a site or doc or photo you may have been working with. But today there is no way to click on a Timeline item and "add" it to a tab set.
But in my opinion Sets is not any more productive than the Windows UI.
Windows has had the ability to support multi-tasking apps since it's inception along with the ability to cut and paste content from one app to another. Hence the namesake.
While Sets does provide a new form of organizing multi-tasking - I can't see it changing the way I work or being any more productive than I already am using the method that's been around forever.
And in fact the traditional method of navigating between apps - supports sets - so Alt+Tab shows you the list of apps whether stand-alone or part of a set.
Don't get me wrong - I think Tabs are a great way of organizing tasks.
My point here is this. I think MS could spend more effort around completing Settings Migration and eliminating circa 2000 UI components than adding new features that I may not even use.
The good news is Sets is configurable so you can turn it on or off.
The bigger question to me is the long term "vision". Will Windows eventually be a lite Core OS with an Edge based UI where all apps/features are just tabs ?
And will apps like Office only be available in Web form - so effectively Chrome OS ?
Maybe - but if so they are years behind and still won't have the App support that Chrome OS does. And if I really want that kind of a UI - why wouldn't I just go buy a Chromebook or Pixelbook today ?
So while the good news is - MS seems to have reduced the pain of RS5 upgrades - the whole Sets thing to me seems to be a huge waste of time and effort.
If Sets truly is the future of Windows - I'm not sure I want it. Right now this is a science experiment and hopefully MS will be smart enough to turn it off by default when RS5 releases this fall.
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