Windows 10 launched in July 2015, and on April 11, 2017, Microsoft released the third major update to their latest operating system. First announced in October with the Surface Studio, Microsoft has dubbed the latest update the Creators Update. Officially it is Windows 10 version 1703, OS build 15063. Naming it the Creators Update seems to signal some future intentions, but the actual release is less creative than the hardware they announced with it, and feels a bit like the company really just didn’t want to call it Windows 10 SP1 R2. Compared to the last major update, named the Anniversary Update, this version has less big features, but does bring a few new things to the OS along with some more polish.

With the new “Windows as a Service” model that came with Windows 10 in July 2015, more small updates seem like the proper method for servicing Windows, but Microsoft is definitely pulled between the consumer and business groups that they serve.  Consumers want more features, and sooner, but business needs to test everything before rolling it out. They must walk this tightrope between the two groups, and it’s not clear that they have struck the right balance yet. With this update coming early in 2017, and an announcement of another event in New York City in early May, it does seem like there will be a second update later this year too.

Throughout it all, they have kept their successful Windows Insider program running, and they are now citing over 10 million people in the Insider Program. This feedback driven change has been very successful, even if certain features which have been highly requested still haven’t seen their introduction yet. The number of builds being released has ramped up significantly from when the program first started, and now it is not uncommon to see several builds released in a week. The overall quality of some of those builds has degraded though, so people running in the Fast Ring carry much more risk than before, but there are less risky rings to be in as well. Microsoft has also opened up the Insider Program to business as well, since they are going to need to stay on top of the changes.

Windows 10 is going to keep evolving for the foreseeable future, with regular updates being first tested with the Insider Preview program, and then rolled out to the general public. With almost two years of Windows 10 behind us, we can take a look at what’s improved, what needs work, and where Microsoft can go from here.

Universal Windows Platform, now down a leg
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  • EricaSplash - Friday, April 28, 2017 - link

    when will they learn that one friggin place for settings is a lot better than two? Just go back to the old control panel for F's sake
  • martixy - Friday, April 28, 2017 - link

    WSL is good stuff. So Woot.
  • TheUsual - Saturday, April 29, 2017 - link

    I'd definitely like to disable updates/restarts while the computer is hibernated.
  • ricster7227@gmail.com - Saturday, April 29, 2017 - link

    I have had a number of software compatibility issues with this upgrade. On my desktop the MS Windows Media Player is no longer usable for files not purchased via MS, legacy programs of several types are no longer supported and there are a number of problems that were addressed in new updates that were posted after MS found out they had Screwed Up! I have been on Win 10 for over two years! I just formatted my SSD and am now running Win 7 Pro. It would appear that MS is returning back to their unfriendly stance that has dominated their history! Beware!
  • lanceton - Saturday, April 29, 2017 - link

    This update broke many apps for me so I rolled it back.
  • h4rm0ny - Sunday, April 30, 2017 - link

    >>"this version has less big features,"

    So by "less big" you mean "smaller"? :D :D

    Or do you mean fewer big features? :D
  • Jaybus - Monday, May 1, 2017 - link

    That many/some legacy apps don't work with high DPI displays cannot be blamed on Microsoft alone. The WM_DISPLAYCHANGE windows message, which supplies both screen resolution and color depth, has been available in the win32 API since Windows 2000, so it certainly isn't their fault that these legacy apps don't bother to scale their windows to fit the screen size.
  • mrvco - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link

    Being that I self-identify as a marketing genius, my recommendation to Microsoft would be that they start naming their OS releases after burrowing mammals. e.g. Mole, Pocket Gopher, Great Gerbil, Groundhog, Vole, Prairie Dog, etc.
  • snapch23 - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link

    We have make it so simple to get the movie maker for widows 10 at http://moviemakerwindows.com when we how to make the movies in windows.

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