Category: Windows 10

So a funny thing happened this afternoon.  As I took a break from my Saturday goings on I snapped a screenshot of my Ninja Cat wallpaper on my Windows Phone and Tweeted it.  Why?  I kinda like it and with all the Ninja Cat fun stuff going around, I thought I’d throw my .02 cents into it.

Confident this is a proper #WindowsPhone wallpaper #NinjaCat @GabeAul agree? pic.twitter.com/Lrg77HKTIP

— Clinton Fitch (@ClintonFitch) March 14, 2015

What I DID NOT expect was the massive amounts of retweets and emails asking me for it.  So now that I’ve finished drinking my green beer for Saint Patty’s Day, I’ve posted them up on the Wallpaper page.  There are two versions – the blue one which I showed on my Lock screen in my Tweet and a white version.

Please note, I did not create these images.  I honestly don’t know who the author is but props to them for making them as they are great fun.  Actually, I do know now! Microsoft MVP Michael Gillett created them.  Thanks Michael – great stuff here!  You can see Michael’s original images and his other wallpapers on his site

Don’t forget to order your Ninja Cat shirt from the team over at Windows Central.

[UPDATE] – The Insider Hub now confirms that the Fast Ring will be getting faster with a much more discernable difference in release drops between it and the Slow ring.  If you want a more polished, stable Windows 10 experience then you should move to the Slow ring.  If you want more updates but with likely more bugs/issues, stay in the Fast ring. 

For those in the Windows Insider program waiting for an updated build of Windows 10 Technical Preview, time to start looking towards next week.  Microsoft’s Gabe Aul has just tweeted that there will be no new build released publically today.

No new build today, but we will be posting an announcement in Insider Hub. suggesting people who want lower risk to move to Slow.

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) March 12, 2015

While the news undboutedly comes as a disappointment to many in the program, given that it is Friday it shouldn’t be much of a shock.  As I eluded to earlier today, Microsoft does not tend to release updates on Friday’s (nor does anyone for that matter) because the weekend and generally lower availability of support makes it a bit of a non-starter.  It’s unfortunately on the other hand as the weekend is a good time to do testing and work on Windows 10 for many.

As you can see from the post though, it looks like an announcement to Insiders will be made in the Insider Hub which is part of Windows 10.  As of this writing that post has not been made in the Hub.  That announcement is likely going to circle around the speed of the releases and the increase of speed given Aul’s reference to those wanting lower risk to move to the Slow ring.

My suspicion is that we will see a new build on Tuesday or Thursday of next week.  More news as I get it.

I will preface this post with a disclaimer to start in an effort to ward off the flaming emails.  The purpose of this post is not to suggest that Microsoft should get rid of their current ecosystem of partners.  It is too fast and far to important to the company and the success of their solutions.  All you have to do is look at the all new Dell XPS 13 laptop and read the raving reviews it is getting to understand just how important OEMs are in the mix for Microsoft.

But equally, you can look at the Microsoft built and branded devices and see where the company could and should be more actively involved in hardware manufacturing.  I’m not talking about mice and keyboards (although they do a pretty good job at that too) but rather things like the Microsoft Lumia lineup and the Surface Pro 3.  Arguably the best Windows experience for their form factor are on these devices because Microsoft has intimately been involved in the hardware design of them to get the most out of the Operating System.  Even with the Microsoft Band, a device that is near impossible to get because they can’t keep them in stock, produces a great experience for users.  And while user experience is important, there is also the matter of controlling their own destiny when it comes to updates and improvements along with security.  All of these are why I think Microsoft should look long and hard at the PC and Laptop market for their own branded devices.

Microsoft’s Gabe Aul has taken to the Windows Blog site to offer up a great piece on the Windows 10 Technical Preview cadence and why dates are not broadcasted out to the public.  The article can be found here and I’m not going to waste your time by rehashing the entire post which is quite lengthy.  The article lays out in great detail the internal processes and testing schedules, the balance of too fast versus too buggy and why they don’t set dates (HINT: It is beta software so if they run into a showstopper internally, they will postpone a release.  They publish a date and miss it, the masses will revolt).  Again, give it a read.  It’s worth it.

What I will do however is say is that I understand the logic that Mr. Aul lays out in this post, particularly around show stopping bugs.  If you have a bug that gets out that crushes every PC it is installed on, you will have a huge problem on their hands.  Microsoft and many sites have pointed out that Windows 10 is in beta and it will be buggy.  Unfortunately a lot of people forget that when they are looking at a BSOD or worse, a corrupt boot sector on their laptop after installing the Preview.  Microsoft cannot afford that kind of misstep.  So they are taking their time.  The question however, is should they risk a little more, particularly on the “Fast Ring”?  I think so and here is why.

Last month I posted that a new Movies and Trailers section in Cortana had been become available here in the United States.  At the time it could be turned on but there was no content populated in that section of the Personal Assistant on Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Technical Preview.  That seems to have changed today on both platforms.

Now if you open up Cortana and have the Movies and Trailers section enabled under Interests you will see movies that Cortana thinks you might be interested in along with show times of theaters near you for that movie.

Another day, another Windows 10 Technical Preview leak.  The leak is for Build 10031 and as with other leaked builds, there are a wide range of tweaks and adjustments (although apparently everyone is still freaking out over the Recycle Bin icon) but one significant visual change has come in this build:  Transparent Start Menu.

The site Wzor.net has posted several screenshots of what appears to be Build 10031 including the new Transparent Start Menu both in Start Menu mode as well as Start Screen Mode.