The release of Windows 10 in the summer of 2015 was, no doubt, extremely important for the software giant, which by that time had been badly burned on Windows 8, which was not widely used due to the controversial interface with two desktops - classic and tiled called Metro .
Some errors
While working on the creation of a new platform, the Microsoft team tried to take into account all the criticisms of the coolly accepted GXNUMX by the market and even launched the Windows Insider preliminary testing program, the largest project in the history of the corporation to interact with users who got the opportunity to take an active part in the development of the operating system : download test versions of the OS, communicate with developers, send your wishes and comments. This hitherto unprecedented openness of Microsoft allowed the company to release a really high-quality product that fully meets the needs of the user audience, which appreciated the new system.
A well-planned marketing strategy played its role in the rapid growth in the popularity of Windows 10, which allowed for free installation of the “dozens” for owners of previous versions of the OS. Such a broad gesture of the Redmond residents did its job and provided a good start for the latest Microsoft platform: only in the first day after the release of the operating system about 14 million times. The mark of 50 million installations was passed approximately two weeks after the release of the platform, and it took two months to install 100 million copies. It is not surprising that the new product rather quickly pressed Windows XP/8/8.1, and two and a half years later it removed the market leader, Windows 7, which at that time had a strong position in the corporate sector, from its pedestal.
Windows 10 is currently the most popular Microsoft operating system in the world. According to StatCounter analytical agency, "ten" is installed on 73,1% of computers, while "seven" is used by 20% of PC owners. The third in demand is Windows 8.1, but its share is a modest 4,5 percent and is steadily declining. In general, various versions of Microsoft software platforms occupy 77,7% of the global OS market for personal computers. Approximately 17,1% more are on macOS, about 1,9% are on all sorts of Linux variants.
Changing priorities
With the release of Windows 10 for personal computers, Microsoft switched to a new OS update model - the so-called "Windows as a Service" concept, which implies the release of major updates twice a year (spring and autumn) and their support for 18 months. An exception is made only for corporate and educational editions of the platform, the autumn releases of which are supported for 30 months from the release date. To understand the scale of change, it is enough to take into account the fact that in the past, Windows was updated every three years. Now the development process has accelerated six times, which inevitably affected the quality of products. However, we will not get ahead of ourselves just yet and will dwell on this important point later.
Over the five years of work on the platform, the software giant's specialists managed to release nine service packs that significantly expanded its functionality. And this is an indisputable fact, confirmation of which can be easily found in our и Windows 10 publications.
If we compare the “top ten” of the 2015 model with the current version, one cannot fail to notice how much the platform has changed and evolved over the years. The OS received support for 3D technologies, mixed reality (Mixed Reality), DirectX 12 Ultimate, game mode and the ability to instantly pair with external Bluetooth devices. It has new tools for quick data exchange between devices, new tools for working with multimedia, network and entertainment content, the ability to reinstall the system from the cloud and support for the "picture in picture" mode, which allows you to place a small window on top of other active programs and thus execute several cases at the same time. Security features have undergone significant improvements: protection mechanisms against ransomware and potentially unwanted software have been added, tools for automatically locking a PC in the absence of a user, and the Sandbox component (“Sandbox”), which allows you to safely run applications of dubious origin in an isolated environment. The list of changes and improvements is really impressive.
Peace, Friendship, Open Source
With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft took a big step towards open source technology, and this change of course has been praised by the professional Open Source community. From the work done in this direction, select the browser based on the source codes of the Chromium project and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which allows you to run Linux applications in a Windows environment. In addition, Microsoft active work on integrating the software platform with Android-based devices. It is expected that in the future it will be possible to run and use any applications originally created for Android through the Your Phone program supplied as part of the OS. All of this makes Windows 10 a great tool for multiplatform IT administrators, programmers, web developers, and those who work with open source applications or just have an interest in Linux-based platforms.
Less is better, but better
Now it's time to talk about sad things. Namely, that in pursuit of frequent releases of the Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft has begun to pay less attention to quality control of its flagship product. This is evidenced by numerous complaints and feedback from users who now and then encounter various problems after installing OS updates. A huge amount of material on this topic is presented in specialized IT forums and the media. Need examples? Here are just a few of them: , , , .
For the first time, Microsoft became aware of serious problems with the development, debugging and testing of software in 2018, when the company frankly "raw" major autumn update, bypassing the stage of preliminary testing Release Preview under the Windows Insider program. As it turned out, this was not the best solution, since the Windows 10 October 2018 Update revealed a critical bug that deleted user files stored in the Documents folder on some PCs. Microsoft acknowledged the problem and suspended the rollout of the update. After re-launching the update, a bunch of bugs and problem areas were again discovered, including at the system level, accompanied by the appearance of the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD). The company again had to take a break in distributing the update package for the "dozens" - and so several times.
The recent release of a major Windows 10 May 2020 Update with ten (sic!) problems on board, leading to critical platform errors up to BSoD blue screens. Compatibility issues have been reported with Thunderbolt, Nvidia graphics cards, Conexant Synaptics audio drivers, Realtek Bluetooth network adapters, Intel Optane memory, and other PC components. The scale of the flaws turned out to be such that Microsoft, a few days after the release of the May 2020 Update, had to deploying a major update for problem computers. Why was there such a rush to release a problematic update package for the "ten"? Why was it necessary to rush to release a product that was not ready for a wide audience? There are a lot of questions, but there are no answers to them.
According to experts, the root of the problem lies in the updated OS development scheme, which involves the release of major updates with new features twice a year. You won't get far with such a Stakhanovite impulse. And how can you deliver a quality product when the efforts of developers are not focused on fixing bugs, but on endless improvements to the Start menu and notification panel, adding new icons in the Fluent Design style and expanding the set of kaomoji emoticons. Why all this cycling around and around and twisting "nuts" in the user interface of the system when programmers cannot cope with the heap of problems mentioned above? "Ten" for a long time with the light hand of Microsoft has become a testing ground for experiments - recently not very successful.
Whatever one may say, the picture that emerges is not the most rosy. One can only hope that a series of scandals with updates for Windows 10 will lead to an improvement in the situation in software development by Microsoft. There are prerequisites for this. Corporation already approach to testing new OS builds as part of the Windows Insiders program. Also, according to network sources, Microsoft management the question of making major changes to the strategy for releasing updates to Windows 10. If now major updates are released in the spring and autumn, then the new schedule will assume only one such update per year. And it is right.
For two hares
It is curious that against the background of obvious failures with Windows 10, the company the creation of a new Windows 10X platform designed with dual-screen and foldable devices in mind. It is expected that the system will receive a radically redesigned user interface and built-in support for virtualization tools to run Win32 applications. The appearance of the first hardware solutions with Windows 10X on board spring 2021. At one time, Microsoft has already made unsuccessful attempts to gain a foothold in the mobile market with Windows 10 Mobile. Now, with the announcement of the "tens" for hybrid devices, the company intends to perform in the adjacent territory and firmly believes in the success of its event. Isn't it too early?
Source: 3dnews.ru