News

Microsoft To Update Windows 10 Technical Preview 'Soon'

• By Kurt Mackie
• October 14, 2014

Another build of the Windows 10 technical preview will be "coming soon," Microsoft said Monday, less than two weeks after releasing the first technical preview.

Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, made the announcement on the Windows blog. Belfiore described the Windows 10 testing progress so far and promised that "we're going to share our plan and progress with you earlier and more often." He didn't say when the new build would arrive, however.

The first technical preview (build 9841) was launched on Oct. 1.

Testers can try out the Windows 10 technical preview operating system by joining Microsoft's Windows Insider Program. They can provide comments using the feedback app within the OS. Microsoft also has an online suggestion box and forum pages for comments.

Currently, there are more than 1 million registered participants in Microsoft's Windows Insider Program, Belfiore noted, and they've delivered more than 200,000 feedback comments about the current Windows 10 technical preview build. Most (64 percent) of the testers were using the preview on real PC hardware, rather than running it in virtual machines (36 percent). About 68 percent of the testers used Windows 10 technical preview with more than seven apps per day.

So far, the top Windows 10 technical preview requests include adding the ability to disable or move the new Taskview or Search buttons, adding an animation when opening the Start Menu, and improving the sign-in screen, according to a compilation of requests by tech journalist Paul Thurrott. Microsoft's suggestion box has requests for adding tabs to Windows Explorer, adding driver updates to the Windows Update service and an appeal to bring back the Aero Glass graphical user interface.

There are actually two Windows 10 preview releases. There's a Windows 10 technical preview and the Windows 10 technical preview for enterprise. The latter version is available at this page.

Microsoft offers many caveats before installing the Windows 10 technical previews: It's not for everyday PC use or for production machine. The OS will deliver "lots of updates" and user interface changes. It's for people who will back up their data and know how to install an OS from scratch. The touch experience on Windows 10 technical preview machines will be somewhat "rough and unfinished," Microsoft warns. Lastly, users will have to be prepared to reinstall their previous version of Windows from recovery media or installation media.