Windows 10 Windows 10 Insider Preview

[kemical]

Let us know what you think Joe.. I for one like it on the whole although I wish they'd sort the Windows update app. This one seems worst than the one contained in build 9926

 

[kemical]

Anyone using the latest Build (10041) and has a DX12 capable gpu as well as a 3DMark licence can now download the app as it's been updated with it's own DX12/Mantle benchmark.

Games make thousands of draw calls per frame, but each one creates performance-limiting overhead for the CPU. APIs with less overhead can handle more draw calls and produce richer visuals. The 3DMark API Overhead feature test is the world's first independent test for comparing the performance of DirectX 12, Mantle, and DirectX 11. See how many draw calls your PC can handle with each API before the frame rate drops below 30 fps.

http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark#api-overhead

 

[kemical]

Been testing the new DX12 API:

Just look at the difference between draw calls...Huge! This is going to be a revolution in terms of gaming and related apps.

 

[kemical]

A new Build people and includes Spartan too..

Microsoft has today announced that it's pushing a new build of Windows 10 out to Windows Insiders, which includes the highly-anticipated web browser Spartan! Microsoft notes that todays build is pretty much all about Spartan, so it's time to be excited!

Here's some known issues for the build:

• After logging in, you may see a blue screen instead of your desktop. To work around this issue, lock your PC (with the hardware button or by pressing the Windows Key + L) and try logging in again. You can also try Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
• Indexing of new email in Outlook is not working, so search results will be limited to when the last index was built.
• If you have Virtual Machines hosted on your PC running Windows 10, you will want to move to the Slow ring and wait for the next build as this build breaks the ability to run VMs.

A number of issues have also been fixed in this build:

• We’ve fixed the issue from Build 10041 for when the Photos app on your PC crashes when you tap on the circular icon at the top left to view the photo you just took.
• We’ve also fixed the issue from Build 10041 where you might end up in a state where windows open on your desktop are accidentally visible behind the Start Screen, Task View, Snap Assist, and when rearranging windows in Tablet Mode.
• You will no longer get stuck when you manually lock your PC (Windows Key + L) during the initial out-of-box experience.

Microsoft warns developers using Visual Studio 2015 to not install this new build as VS2015 has some issues. Microsoft is working to fix these soon. Insiders can check for updates via the fast ring right now. Considering the build was just pushed out, it may take some time to reach you. Keep checking for updates however!

http://www.winbeta.org/news/microso...uild-10049-insiders-includes-spartan-and-more

If you try downloading and nothing happens (via WU) then go to advanced options and change to the 'Fast Ring'.

 

[kemical]

Microsoft Spartan

In a post on Blogging Windows, Microsoft announced that the new Windows 10 internet browser, Project Spartan, is now available for testing by Windows Insiders with the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview build. This preview version of Project Spartan is not feature complete, as Microsoft plans to add more features and many improvements to the browser until it releases alongside Windows 10 this summer.

Cortana integration is only available for US Windows Insiders at this time with the promise of a wider rollout for Microsoft’s personal assistant within the browser at a later date. The inclusion of Cortana within Project Spartan promises to offer “help at just the right moment, based on what she knows about the Web, about you and what you might be trying to do”. How useful this will be though and if this is something users will actually use remains to be seen.

Other Project Spartan features highlighted (and are included in the preview for all regions) include:

• The ability to draw and write on webpages (such as circling text in an online article).
• Simplified sharing via email, OneNote and social media.
• A new Reading List that allows saving of webpages and PDFs for later viewing.
• An integrated Reading View which essentially extracts a webpage’s text for easier reading.

ref:
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[Trouble]

includes Spartan too..

You say that, like it's a good thing.

 

[kemical]

You say that, like it's a good thing.

Not terribly impressive is it...

 

[Trouble]

Personally I wish they would have waited until it was a bit more polished.
I can see the need for a new, more robust browser, that's both lean and feature rich. That would be a good thing.
What I can't see, is any need for it to have been included in or in any way associated with Windows 10.
AND
What I simply can't believe, is that a software giant such as Microsoft can't seem to produce a browser product that is equal to (never mind superior to) other browser products on the market. It seems that they can't manage to get out of their own way.

This build is pretty much all about Project Spartan, so we hope you enjoy getting your hands on it for the first time. As with all other new features we’ve introduced, we have a ton of work left to do with Spartan so expect to see some bugs and rough edges in this first preview.

Ya think?

SOURCE: Link Removed

 

[kemical]

Agreed. A more polished product would have been better but perhaps they wanted feedback before moving forward.??

 

[davehc]

Trouble's last para hits the mark!
MS have been working on this, based on their own news flashes, for at least 6 months, possibly much longer. We are talking about a software giant above other giants here. Is that the best piece of software they can come up with so far? It is not innovative in program technique or practical use, so the base for working on was already there.
Frankly, for me it is a big let down. Something rotten in the establishment at the moment, I fear.
As an aside, I have had a look around the OS and, for reasons which are not clear, Spartan has infiltrated the build in a huge number of paths. It looks, at first hand, that there are too many cooks working on the project, lacking inter communication.

 

[kemical]

Build 10051 was recently leaked. Rather than download it you can check it out right here:

 

[Joe S]

I'm not that impressed with it either. I thought by now it would begin to look more like a finished product. If their goal is to release before school starts in the fall they've got a lot of work to do.
Joe

 

[davehc]

Well, I've gone back to 41, and put myself on the slow ring.

 

[kemical]

Recent updates for Build 10049:

Today, Gabriel Aul announced on Twitter the release of two hotfixes for Windows 10 Technical Preview build 10049. The two hotfixes address two issues found in the build. After installing Windows 10 Technical Preview build 10049, many users reported issues with Outlook and Hyper-V. It looks as if Microsoft is actively listening to users' complaints and have released the following hotfixes to correct the issues:

• KB3053902: Outlook might not index new emails in Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049. "After installing Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049, Outlook 2013 and Outlook 16 Preview might not index new emails. As a result, new emails do not appear in search results, and if you rebuild the index, no emails appear in search results."
• KB3053898: Hyper-V cannot be enabled in Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049. "You cannot enable Hyper-V after performing a clean install of Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049, nor after upgrading to Build 10049 from a build that did not have Hyper-V enabled."

For those experiencing issues with Outlook, the problems occurred with Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016 Preview not indexing new emails correctly. Thus, no new emails would appear in your email search results, and if you rebuild the index, no emails would appear in your email search results.

The other issue occurred within Hyper-V. WinBeta previously reported on the issue and gave users a temporary solution to the Hyper-V issue. This issue only occurs if you had Hyper-V disabled as you upgraded to build 10049. However, those of you who had Hyper-V enabled prior to upgrading to build 10049 will not encounter the bug. The Hyper-V hotfix will help resolve this problem.

ref:
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[ussnorway]

Yes, the fact that hyper-v gives an error but vmware is happy was probably a bit embarrassing for Microsoft.

 

[kemical]

Well, I've gone back to 41, and put myself on the slow ring.

I downloaded the Build 10049 via WU but when it asked me to reboot I delayed it by an hour. This gave me time to create an ISO file from the ESD files and so I then clean installed.
So far so good really.. Running has been relatively smooth with the odd bsod here and there although to be fair that was testing a new monitoring beta called CAM 2.0 from NZXT. Clearly it isn't ready for Windows 10 although I haven't tried compatibility mode yet.

As for Spartan... It needs some work. I found it hard to be inspired by what I saw although it is early days. Being able to write on the web page is handy I guess but couldn't they just have added that to IE? I guess what I'm saying is that I don't see anything yet that detracts it wildly from Internet Explorer. Hopefully the full version will amaze us but we'll have to wait and see..

 

[davehc]

Good one. fwiw. The ESD file will remain (forever) until you manually delete it.

For Spartan, I confess a lack of interest. I use Chrome, which is identical and feature finished - and also free.

 

[kemical]

Same here.. Chrome user. It just does what it's supposed to as well as looking great too.

 

[Saltgrass]

In build 10051, Spartan was cleaned up some. Such things as the Favorites bar being cut off at the bottom has been fixed. It also put back Windows Mail, which does Pop servers. So I don't have to download Thunderbird...

There is a lot of talk about Spartan, but I am still unclear exactly why all the hype. I see Kemical's posts about what it can do, but when I find articles, the main focus seems to be making websites compatible and the "Rendering" engine, Edge. Such abilities as drawing on a web page will only be usable with touchscreens, and I haven't seen the price on those drop very much. Even a 12 inch Surface 3 Pro is selling for around $2000. Even with the better processor, I can't see how they could justify that price point.

I would think "Rendering" would mean video, but I don't think like a web developer so it may mean more than rendering video, anyone know?

It also seems to open many TCP connections. A couple of processes and multiple ports for each one. Maybe this is something being done for testing, not sure.

Overall I have not really seen anything in 10 which would make me want to change. I am probably being influenced by the bugs still prevalent in the builds so a bug free version might help.

 

[ussnorway]

Rendering is taking the input (touch screen, large image, maths formula calculated against a variable or pre-set code) and drawing it on the screen as a 2,3 or 4 dimensional shape… video tends to be the most demanding type of rendering because there is a time factor but any image can be rendered to the screen.

At the moment, a typical web design is made for desktop first (allowing for both square and wide screen) then the same site is redesigned to give a version for people with mobile phones and finally tablets… ime tablets only get their own design when the customer is marketing themselves at a tablet market but each of these 3 possible websites supports the defaults; firefox, chrome and internet explorer.

Now at this point presumably I'll have to use some Microsoft licensed software to then make 3 new (desktop, phone and tablet) copies of the site for the people that want to use Spartan… remember the Frontpage glory days?