The Windows 10 Creators Update Arrives
by Brett Howse on April 25, 2017 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Wrapping up and how to get it
This certainly is not a completely comprehensive look at the latest update, and there are many more features under the hood. Regardless, this is a much lighter update than the previous one, which included things like Windows Ink, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Edge extensions. Still, it’s a solid update, with a lot of nice additions without forcing a re-think of everything. After several updates to Windows 10, it certainly feels like the old Windows servicing method of having a major release every couple of years is an out-dated model.
It would be hard to point a finger at the Creators Update and nail down a single feature that is the key one. Instead, it’s more a collection of smaller updates. There are still plenty of things to be worked on, and hopefully we will see some news out of the Redmond company soon, detailing their direction for their next update.
Really, the biggest thing they need to work on is improving UWP. With the loss of their mobile play, they need to re-focus their efforts on making this work better for the desktop, where the majority of Windows 10 installs are. Xbox is always going to be small by comparison, and even something which has a lot of potential like IoT is going to struggle to compete against the userbase of the PC right now. UWP needs to be improved for these scenarios, and developers need to be sold on why they should switch. This will bring benefits down the road for everyone, but at the moment it’s an untapped market.
Microsoft is going to continue to work on High DPI, and hopefully start to fix their color management woes as well, but at this point both seem like very difficult problems to overcome. This is one of the main issues where legacy application support can be such a burden, but removing this support isn’t the answer either. They are in a tough spot, and have more work to do here. Hopefully we will here some more news on this front soon.
One of the nicest changes with this update is how to get it. Microsoft started rolling out the update over Windows Update on April 11, but it will be a staggered rollout, only targeting known good devices first. That is what they have done in the past, but the big change this time is that you can easily update any computer running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update by running the Update Assistant.
Anyone wanting to force the update to come sooner can go to the Windows 10 Download page and download and run the Upgrade Assistant. It will verify the requirements are met, and trigger the download and install.
With the Windows 10 update model, eventually it will be pushed out to all machines of course, so waiting is always an option, but the new features have been a solid upgrade to Windows 10, if taken in their entirety. Whether you are a web browser, or web developer, there should be something here for you.
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Aloonatic - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
Well, so far all that's happened for me is that Minecraft has gone from about 25 fps to 5 or 6, with "game mode" turned off.ruzicka4613 - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
For some of us, The update fails to install, even when using an ISO. To date, Microsoft tech support is stumped. The install gets to 75%, reboots...then fails.https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/...
Gigaplex - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
The new Windows Defender UI overhaul now nags at me that I've got a driver issue. Following the prompts it turns out that it doesn't like disabled devices. Well, that's how the Cisco VPN system works, the VPN adapter is disabled while not connected. Stop nagging me already!serendip - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
UWP is still needed for Windows tablets for instant resume and long battery life. There are a bunch of small tablets that run full Windows for less than $200 but they all use old Cherry Trail Z38xx chips, as no Apollo Lake parts go below 4W TDP.Anyway, I'm totally stoked about Windows Subsystem for Linux. It's been a pain running Ubuntu VMs on an Atom-based tablet because of VM integration issues and a big hit on battery life. Hopefully I can do dev work on a Windows tablet without the horror of Cygwin...
serendip - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
And then I found out 32-bit Windows doesn't get WSL. Why, Microsoft, why? Ubuntu has 32-bit images of the latest releases.So it's back to Cygwin and VMs for me. Looks like a whole bunch of Atom machines are due to get EOL'd because they're stuck with 32-bit UEFI even though they have 64-bit CPUs, all because Microsoft couldn't get Connected Standby working properly on 64 bit Windows way back when.
Zingam - Thursday, April 27, 2017 - link
What is a 32bit Windows?Ascaris - Thursday, April 27, 2017 - link
"Consumers want more features, and sooner,"Are you sure about that? There are an awful lot of consumers who are going out of their way to avoid any of the new features in Creator's... and Anniversary... and Threshold 2... and RTM... and Windows 8.1... and Windows 8. MS had to force the new "features" on these consumers using every dirty trick they could think of even though Windows 10 was a free upgrade!
I don't want new features. I want the old ones back! Things like user control over updates and telemetry, a desktop-centric UI featuring a complete lack of "app" garbage, no nags when I install or use non-MS software, no ads, no changing my settings, no uninstalling my stuff, changing my drivers, or downloading stuff I never asked for... those are all must-haves. Any product lacking any one of these isn't even worthy of consideration.
versesuvius - Thursday, April 27, 2017 - link
Very true. Thank you very much for that comment.The bug as feature philosophy is gaining new ground in Microsoft strategy. And this is one of the richest companies in the world with practically unlimited resources. The future is bleak. I can already picture robots that shit their pants as a natural feature.
Zingam - Thursday, April 27, 2017 - link
A bunch of unneeded stuff and no fixes for older laptops - mostly driverAnd then it looks like new laptops have probs too. I am talking from personal experience.
Icehawk - Thursday, April 27, 2017 - link
Jesus, when will they learn that one friggin place for settings is a lot better than two? Just go back to the old control panel for F's sake