Windows 10 Build 10576 Hands On and Gallery

This week Microsoft did something they have never done before when it comes to the Windows Insider Program - they released a desktop and mobile build within hours of each other.

I guess this was a good test of the server farm to make sure it would not melt down if this was to happen in the future world of Windows as a Service.

First stop for us is the new desktop build of Windows 10, 10576, which is a continuation of the Threshold 2 (TH2) branch that we have been getting for the last several weeks.

The TH2 release is expected to be made available for all Windows 10 users sometime next month with current speculation placing that release near mid November.

As TH2 gets closer to its final version that means we are seeing fewer changes in the overall OS with a focus on finishing up the UI elements and smashing bugs however, we did get a couple of new features relating to Microsoft's Edge browser.

I go over all of those changes in the image gallery so be sure to follow along with the screenshots and see my commentary on those elements.

Unfortunately, one of the lingering issues is that small form factor devices like my HP Stream 7 are still vulnerable to a resolution related bug that will blue screen the device during the upgrade and revert to the previous build. Although we did discover you can get these latest builds installed by leaving those devices in portrait mode during the upgrade process most of them are eventually blue screening and require resets anyway.

Personally, I have left my device setup on the last build and will just wait until this particular bug is gone.

Other issues in Windows 10 Build 10576 according to Microsoft are:

• To continue receiving missed call notifications and send texts from Cortana, you will need to be on this build and higher. We’ve made a change that improves this experience that requires newer builds.
• When notifications pop up from Action Center, any audio playing (like music from Groove, or videos from the Movies & TV app) gets reduced by 75% for a period of time.
• After upgrading to this build, all your Skype messages and contacts are gone in the Messaging app. The workaround for this is to navigate to this folder in File Explorer:
  • C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Packages\
    Microsoft.Messaging_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache
  • Delete or rename the “PrivateTransportId” file.
  • Then restart the Messaging app.
• After upgrading to this build, the power button on your Surface Pro 3 may no longer put your Surface Pro 3 to sleep and instead shut down.
• WebM and VP9 have been temporarily removed from builds. We continue to develop a VP9 implementation that we intend to ship in Windows. Expect VP9 to return soon in a future build.

On the flip side - Microsoft has addressed these issues in this latest build:

• We fixed the issue where the Xbox app for Windows 10 would consume gigabytes of memory on your PC if you have any Win32 games (non -Windows Store games) installed on your PC that have been identified as games or added by you in the Xbox app.
• We introduced an early preview of nested virtualization so that people could run Hyper-V Containers in Hyper-V virtual machines with Build 10565. This build includes performance improvements.
• We’ve been addressing a lot of feedback around localization text UI in various languages and you’ll see a lot of that work in this build.
• The search box should now work in this build if you are in a locale where Cortana is not available.

What has your experience with the latest builds on Windows 10 been like?