SEPTEMBER 2020 PCWorld 75refused to budge
from Windows 7
(go.pcworld.com/
w7ho) was a
stubborn “if it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it”
mentality. In an
abrupt about-face,
however, Microsoft
adopted that
strategy over the last
two years, with most
recent updates
devoted to
incremental
performance
improvements.
It’s been a weird growth curve. While the
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (go.
pcworld.com/fl19) positioned itself as an
idealist out to change the world, the recent
May 2020 Update (go.pcworld.com/mayu) is
more like a burned-out office drone punching
the clock.
- MICROSOFT’S GREAT
WINDOWS INSIDER
PROGRAM
The Windows 10 Insider program (go.
pcworld.com/iprg) was a groundbreaking
move by Microsoft. Opening its flagship
operating system’s beta development to the
masses allowed millions of invested users to
help shape the OS while being granted
access to its inner workings before official
launches. New builds are released frequently
for Insiders to test.
Managing the cacophony of
suggestions, bug reports and snark within
the Windows 10 Feedback Hub is a huge
task. Microsoft still rightfully takes heat for
missing reports of showstopper bugs (go.
pcworld.com/shst) amid the noise. But the
ability to track changes and updates before
they’re pushed to the public benefits analyst,
reporter, user, and IT admin alike, and is one
of Microsoft’s best accomplishments. Even
better, the monthly, informal podcasts with
the Windows Insider team are a great
opportunity for average users to ask
questions and give feedback to help
influence Windows’ direction.Windows Subsystem for Linux plays very well within the Windows world.