Microsoft Windows 10 Preview Build 10074: Big Changes Ahead
The latest Windows 10 Preview Build 10074 was released yesterday, not nearly a week after Build 10061. This particular build has been issued to both fast and slow ring Insiders, and here is what we think:
Our first impression is in regard to stability. The initial startup lag has nearly disappeared compared to previous builds, particularly 10061. Access to the taskbar menu is faster and more fluid, as well as the notifications bar.
The interface is far more polished and several enhancements have been introduced, reminiscent of Aero Glass, whose legacy we have noticed in the blurred transparency effects underneath the taskbar menu and other elements, which was confirmed by General Manager OSG Data and Fundamentals team Gabe Aul.
PIN login integration now provides an alternative to entering a password. Face recognition is definitely in the cards, however not yet available in this latest build.
Cortana enhancements
Microsoft Windows 10 Preview Build 10074 features numerous additions to its virtual assistant, which is now able to provide search capabilities in specific tabbed key areas.
The home tab offers the typical overview of generic news headlines, weather and other miscellaneous feeds.
These feeds can now be customized by interacting with the other tabs available. The Notebook tab, for example, provides easy access to a number of useful settings and presets that determine what type of information should be shown, like weather for certain locations, news, traffic conditions when planning a trip somewhere, and even concerts information.
The Reminders tab takes a page from Google’s “Remind me to...”, which sets reminders by either direct input, or by simply telling Cortana what one should be reminded of and when.
The Places tab stores favorite locations for quick retrieval. For instance, a particular vacation destination, or a place of business.
The Music tab will help finding favorite songs one might not remember the title of, by simply letting Cortana listen to a tune, from different sources, including TV.
The Help tab displays suggestions on what type of voice commands can be given to Cortana in order to perform any number of tasks. For instance, “Make a call to Jack on speakerphone” will initiate a call on a Windows Phone, using the speaker. “Make a call to Jack at home” will initiate a call to Jack’s home phone, instead of his mobile phone.
Taskbar Menu
As previously mentioned, a major overhaul was given to the main menu, which now features 3D animations for certain tiles, and the familiar blurry transparency for the background, which we remember from Aero Glass, one of the most beautiful, and hardware-hungry features in the history of Microsoft Windows.
As far as CPU overhead, it seems that this iteration of the Aero Glass look is far less demanding, perhaps thanks to modern GPUs.
Spartan.... not yet.
Since Build 10061, Project Spartan has seen increased instability. On the first few tries, Spartan has simply failed to start altogether. In at least one or two instances, we have experienced BSODs.
Third party apps
It seems that higher end apps like Photoshop and Dreamweaver have continued to run quite happily on each newer build, with no crashes whatsoever. Many of the illustrations and photos in our recent posts have been edited and processed in Photoshop, on Windows 10, since Build 10041.
What we really want to see:
The People app has been dearly missed, for which we expect outstanding features in alignment with the Mail and Calendar apps, which we have found quite a bit more stable than in the previous build 10061.
A few minor changes also include the WiFi icon, formerly in a raising bars configuration, now changed to rounded beaming arcs, still recognizable, but definitely more unique to Windows.