Articles about Redstone

With the new big update to Windows 10 just around the corner, Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to make sure that developers have access to the tools they need to take advantage of the new features. Windows 10 Anniversary Update is due for release in July and ahead of the big day Microsoft has released a new SDK.

Having open-sourced the Xamarin iOS, Android and Mac SDKs, the launch of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK Preview gives developers a chance to make sure their code works ahead of the update rollout. It is compatible with Build 14332 (and newer) of Windows 10 Insider Preview and includes an important selection of bug fixes.

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At Build 2016 earlier this month, Microsoft talked about Project Centennial and the Desktop App Converter. Part of the company's app drive, the tool has been designed to make it easier for developers to convert legacy apps into Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for Windows 10.

This is Microsoft's attempt to get more apps into the Store, making things as easy as possible for devs. Designed to run on the Enterprise and Pro versions of Windows 10 Anniversary Update build 14316 and newer (Redstone), Desktop App Converter is a free tool that can be used to quickly create apps that will run not only on Windows 10 desktops, laptops and tablet, but also phones, HoloLens and Xbox One, taking full advantage of features such as Live Tiles.

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The idea of badges is a very familiar concept on mobile phones. A little numerical overlay on app icons provides at-a-glance info about the number of notifications there are to look at for different apps and services. Now Microsoft has revealed that the same feature is coming to the desktop.

Among the changes in Windows 10 Anniversary Update are taskbar badge notification for Universal Windows Platform apps. This new style of notification joins improved toast notifications and changes to the Action Center. Developers will be able to try out the feature soon, and we've got a sneaky glimpse of how things will look.

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Since the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft has -- for want of a better way of putting it -- pissed off a tremendous number of people for the way it has tried to force the latest version of the operating system onto people. Some people found set up files were automatically downloaded, others were forcibly upgraded practically against their will, but plenty of people have been irritated by constant nagging about the availability of an upgrade they’re simply not interested in. Never 10 is a new tool that should mean the end of this pestering.

Various tools and techniques have been spawned as a result of things, providing fans of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 with ways to avoid Windows 10 and Microsoft's adverts for it. Maybe you're holding out for more feature-complete builds from the Redstone branch, or perhaps you just don’t like change. You would think that Microsoft would understand that 'no' means 'no' but there have been countless stories of people who have declined the Windows 10 upgrade finding themselves subjected to continued nagging. A registry hack can be used to block nags and upgrades, but Never 10 is a free portable app that does the hard work for you.

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The feature that has been missing from Microsoft Edge for so long is just around the corner. We've known for a little while that extensions are due to make an appearance in an upcoming build of Windows 10, and ahead of this the first extension has made an appearance in the Windows Store.

Page Analyzer is an extension aimed at developers, so it's arrival in the Windows Store is a little odd. It's likely that extension support will be added in the next Windows 10 Redstone build, although there's no official timeline for this release at the moment.

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Microsoft is currently working on the next version of Windows 10, codenamed Redstone, and we’ve been seeing the results of this labor in the form of new Insider Preview builds arriving on the Fast ring at a rate of around one a week now.

The updated OS will include new features, tweaks and general improvements and should, finally, introduce extension support to the Edge browser. It will also bring the different Windows 10 devices -- PC, Xbox, Mobile -- closer together.

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The first week of the New Year is out of the way and Windows Insiders are eagerly awaiting the first Windows 10 build of 2016. The waiting may be over soon, as Microsoft says that it should be just "a few more days" before testers' patience is rewarded.

It's only a few weeks since the Redstone branch of Windows 10 became public, and Microsoft's Gabe Aul suggests that a new build could be on the way next week. The Windows 10 team just needs time to recover from Christmas and the New Year, and then we should also start to see more frequent build releases.

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Having rolled out Threshold 2 under the guise of the November Update last month (and then removed and reinstated it shortly afterwards), Microsoft is now on the Redstone branch of Windows 10 development -- the next big update which will be pushed out to all users of its new operating system next year.

Build 11082 is now available for Windows Insiders on the Fast ring and Microsoft’s Gabe Aul introduced the new build saying:

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The major Threshold 2 update for Windows 10 was released to Fast ring Insiders last week, and moved on to the Slow ring yesterday in preparation for pushing to all users of the new OS in a couple of days' time.

With that branch of development done and dusted, Microsoft has switched its attention to the next big update, codenamed Redstone. This will bring some much needed improvements to Windows 10 -- including extensions in Microsoft Edge -- when it arrives sometime in 2016.

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