Having committed to providing one new Technical Preview update a month, Microsoft has dropped the latest build of Windows 10 a week early. According to Thurrott.com, build 10061 is available only to Fast Ring users currently and includes a number of new fixes and features.
The most notable change comes with the Start menu, taskbar and Action Centre, allowing for more customisation than before. You can now resize the Start menu, Auto Colour has been added and you can change the colour and transparency of the Start menu, taskbar and Action Centre if you like.
Users will also receive new Mail and Calendar apps, allowing for customisable swipe gestures in Mail, along with support for Office 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, Gmail and other account types.
Alongside these additions, there are also improvements to Continuum, Task View and Virtual Desktops. You can read the full list of additions, along with bug fixes and known issues, over on the Microsoft Windows blog.
Windows 10 for Phones update coming this week
(09/04/2015): Jane McCallion: Microsoft will release the latest technical preview of Windows 10 for Phones on Friday 10 April, according to Windows Insider Programme chief Gabe Aul. Aul first made the announcement on Windows Weekly, and followed it up with a tweet stating the new build will be available for registered Windows Insiders to download at 10am PST (6pm BST) tomorrow.
In case anyone missed the announcement on Windows Weekly: We're targeting Friday @ 10:00AM PST for next phone build.
— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) April 8, 2015
Windows 10 for phones will also now be available on a wider range of phones, a full list of which is available here. If you're a Windows Phone owner and want to get on the Insider Programme, it's not too late to register – you can read our full step-by-step guide to registering and installation here.
Microsoft backtracks on "free to pirates" Windows 10 offer
(23/03/2015): Jane McCallion: Just when it looked like Microsoft was getting ready to bring those who had been using pirated versions of Windows back into the fold with Windows 10, the company has done an abrupt, if rather half-baked, flip-flop.
Last week, Terry Meyerson, who heads up Microsoft's Windows division, told Reuters: "We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10." He explained that this would help Microsoft "re-engage" with the hundreds of millions of potential customers in China in particular, who are currently running "non-genuine" (i.e. pirated) versions of Windows. ZDNetwent on to confirm that the offer wasn't open only to pirates in China, but around the world.
Over the weekend, however, it began to appear that Microsoft – or at least part of Microsoft – had undergone a change of heart. Not wishing to contradict itself completely, the company issuedZDNet this fantastic piece of legalese fudging:
"With Windows 10, although non-Genuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license. Non-Genuine Windows is not published by Microsoft. It is not properly licensed, or supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade."
Ars Technica was also sent the same statement and, when it tried to clarify "the material implications of having a 'non-genuine' free upgrade to Windows 10" was stonewalled.
Windows 10 release date
Microsoft has confirmed a summer 2015 launch for Windows 10 in the UK and 189 other countries. No exact date has been given, although rumours suggest OEMs will have Windows 10 by June, with devices available for the “back-to-school” rush.
AMD's president and CEO Lisa Su inadvertently confirmed Microsoft's target summer release date, stating there will be a "windows 10 launch at the end of July" during an investor call.
This does raise questions around the possibility of a Consumer Preview build being unveiled ahead of launch.
Microsoft has also revealed its plans for upgrading Windows 7 and 8.1 users. Issuing a patch to its older OSs, Microsoft will let users know they need a fully updated Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 machine to receive the free upgrade once available.
If rumours are to be believed, there could be two versions of Windows 10 released to consumers this year. Amid rumours about next year's Windows Redstone release, Mary J Foley at ZDNet has claimed that Windows 10 will be released in two waves.
The first release will arrive in June, as confirmed by Microsoft in its announcement to OEMs, and a second release will come in the autumn. The autumn update, which could come in October, will be significant, but not groundbreaking, and will be preceded by several smaller updates in the interim. This would fit with Microsoft's stated plan to speed up its update timetable and break with its history of releasing totally new versions of the Windows OS every few years. There has been no confirmation from Microsoft on this matter, however.
Regardless of those rumoured plans, Microsoft has announced it will be releasing one new Technical Preview update a month ahead of final release.
Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones is available to download too.
Writing on Microsoft’s official blog, engineering general manager Gabe Aul explained why updates have been rolling out so slowly.
"We’ve probably been too conservative about pushing builds to the Fast ring for Windows Insiders," admitted Aul. "The reality is that faster builds to you will include more bugs, and so far we’ve erred on the side of stability."
"We’ve not had as much distinction between Fast and Slow," explained Aul. "In our internal rings, our Canary ring probably sees 2X-3X as many builds as OSG because we catch problems in Canary and don’t push to OSG."
Thankfully Microsoft is speeding up this process for “Fast” lane Insiders.
Windows 10 price
Good news for everyone running Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade upon launch, providing you make the shift within 12 months.
Windows Phone 8.1 users will also be able to upgrade to Windows 10 free for a year after launch, and yes, that is the full version of Windows 10.
Microsoft is bringing a unified approach to its operating systems from now on, meaning the same OS will work across desktops, laptops, tablets, hybrids, phones, phablets and, eventually, Xbox, adjusting automatically for each device's screen size and automatically detecting whether a keyboard and mouse are present.
What's uncertain, however, is how Windows pricing will work in the future, and Microsoft has been very vague on this matter.
While clearly those moving either from older versions of Windows or from totally different operating systems will have to pay for a licence, it's unclear if all further Windows updates will be free to existing customers, or if they'll have to pay a subscription fee. All should be revealed at the official launch.
Rumours around a subscription-based model have certainly picked up thanks to a trademark filing from Microsoft. Spotted byNeowin, the trademark was submitted to the US Patent and Trademark office on 29 January this year. It covers a whole range of features, including streaming and video-on-demand services, email and IM, and educational services.
The most intriguing features listed are “operating software as a service (OSAAS)... desktop-as-a-service (DAAS), cloud services… [and] providing temporary use of non-downloadable software”.
It’s unlikely that such a pricing model will be put in place by Windows 10’s launch, but this could be Microsoft preparing for the future. Although Microsoft will never fully opt for a "Freemium" model.
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