76 PCWorld SEPTEMBER 2020FEATURE WINDOWS 10 AT 5
- LINUX...IN WINDOWS?
We still can’t quite believe that the company
previously famous for bashing Linux would
actually build a Linux shell into its prize
operating system. But that’s what happened
when Windows built in the Windows
Subsystem for Linux (go.pcworld.com/sblx),
which originated as a text-driven Linux
interface. That the company is now teasing a
GUI interface for Linux as well as GPU
compute capabilities (go.pcworld.com/
cmcp) means that you have an easy way to try
out Linux within Windows. Again, it’s just
crazy...and cool. - WHAT EXACTLY IS AN
APP, ANYWAY?
A decade ago, life was simple: Windows
users lived in a world of
Win32 applications,
with updates and
patches and a new
Office suite every few
years. But with
Windows Mobile and
Google Docs (go.
pcworld.com/godc) on
the horizon, Office
2010 launched
Microsoft’s suite of
“companion” web apps
(go.pcworld.com/
o10r). That online/
offline dichotomy was
fully entrenched by the time Windows 10
rolled out.
Windows 10 shattered the concept of an
app into pieces. Windows 10 began with
purpose-built, specialized UWP apps like Mail
and Calendar existing alongside Office 365
apps like Outlook—which, because they were
subscription-based, were regularly updated
with new features. UWP apps were updated
on the same cadence as Microsoft’s feature
updates—until they weren’t. Now these UWP
apps have their own feature road map and
schedule.
Those app road maps are often
fragmented into different “limited preview,”
“preview,” and “shipping” schedules, which
may differ by geography and by platform. (Oh
yes—some features arrive first on the webTogether Mode in Microsoft Teams puts video meeting participants in a
virtual setting designed to make meetings more engaging. It’s just a drop
in the deluge of features Microsoft is rolling out for Teams.