A new level of protection in Edge.

The last successful operating system from Microsoft was Windows 7. And although I liked Windows 8/8.1, even the most out-of-touch adherent of everything new understood that Microsoft’s “revolutionary” OS was a failure, to put it mildly. The only thing worse than Windows 8.1 was Vista. Some might say that the golden days of Windows ended with version 7 and from now on the market will be highly fragmented and uncertain. When everything seemed very bad, Microsoft showed Windows 10. The official launch took place in July 2015 and very quickly it became clear that Windows 10 is a win. The new OS follows a long-standing Microsoft tradition. Windows XP – win, Windows Vista– fail, Windows 7 – win, Windows 8.X – fail. Windows 10? A definite win.

Everything indicates that by the end of next year, which is about to arrive, new Windows 10 will become the most popular OS in the world and will take the first place from Windows 7. And that is already very for a long time stayed too long on her royal throne. Strengthened by the failure of Windows 8.1, Windows 7 continues to hold the palm even many years after its release.

Where do these conclusions about leadership change come from? Take a simple fact: Windows 7 computers are no longer being made, but new ones Intel processors Kaby Lake do not support the old (really old) operating system. If manufacturers flood the market with Windows 10 computers, sooner or later this OS will become No. 1.

Another reason is statistics. Net Marketshare, whose statistics we publish every month, will help you draw conclusions. If you look at the trends and growth rates, you can clearly see the growth line of Windows 10 and the decline line in the popularity of Windows 7. Gamers are actively switching to Windows 10, ordinary users are buying new machines with the new OS, and the corporate segment is updating the operating system to reduce support costs and improved security features or other goodies of Windows 10.

If these growth/decline lines are extended for a year ahead, we come to December 2017. According to optimistic forecasts, it is during this period that Windows 7 will move from its first place.

But the offer to update for free is no longer relevant and, therefore, the growth rate will decrease. Yes, in a sense, such a thought is not without meaning. But don’t forget that one of the main drivers of operating system growth is sales of new computers with the new OS and corporate users. It is in 2017 that a massive migration of the business segment to Windows 10 is predicted due to the increase in its stability and the updating of existing software, which may currently be poorly compatible with the new OS. At the moment, Windows 10 has already gained a critical mass among ordinary users who do not plan to buy new computers in the near future. Now it's up to the corporate segment and sales of new computers.

However, it looks like Microsoft has decided to end the offer to block a loophole that many users have been using to upgrade to Windows 10 without any cost.

Let us remember that after the release of Windows 10 in July 2015, Microsoft provided the opportunity to all owners Windows licenses 7 or Windows 8.1 upgrade to free new system within 12 months. After a year, the offer ended, but assistive technology users could still upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

Offer closes on December 31st

Although this offer was intended for users with disabilities, it is no secret that many Windows 7 and 8.1 users took advantage of it to upgrade to Windows 10 for free due to the lack of any control from Microsoft. In other words, there were no checks for specialized accessibility features on the system, so upgrading to Windows 10 was completely free.

Microsoft explained the situation as follows:

We do not limit our upgrade offerings to specific specialty technologies. If you use accessibility technologies in Windows, you are eligible for an upgrade offer.

Now Redmond has decided to close this proposal. The offer's English language page states that the offer free update expires December 31, 2017. So if you're an assistive technology user, you have 2 months left to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

Note: There is no expiration information on the Russian-language offer page yet.

Currently Windows time 10 is the second most popular operating system in the world with a market share of 29.09%, while Windows 7 continues to be the leader with 47.21%. Windows 8.1 comes in third place with 5.89%.

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The advent of Windows 10 not only marked a new important milestone in the history of Microsoft, but also marked the beginning of a new update model called “Windows as a Service” (WaaS). That is, starting with the “Ten”, new versions of the operating system are released not once every few years, as was the case before, but once or twice a year in the form of incremental updates.

As more and more updates are released, the disadvantage of this approach is the number of versions of Windows 10 - it will no longer be difficult to get confused in them. Previously, to understand which version was old and which was new, you just had to look at the number in the name (for example, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1). Now this is not enough, because even now, when after the launch of the original version Microsoft released not one, but three completely new versions, operating system continues to be Windows 10.

The information on this page will help you know which version of Windows 10 is the latest available.

The original OS build number for version 1511 was 10586, and after a number of cumulative updates the current build number is 10586.1007.

RELEASE DATE	ASSEMBLY NUMBER	IDENTIFIER	PLATFORM
June 11, 2017	10586.1007	KB4025344	Computers
June 27, 2017	10586.965	KB4032693	Computers
June 13, 2017	10586.962	KB4022714	Computers
May 9, 2017	10586.916	KB4019473	Computers
April 11, 2017	10586.873	KB4015219	Computers
March 14, 2017	10586.839	KB4013198	Computers
January 10, 2017	10586.753	KB3210721	Computers
December 13, 2016	10586.713	KB3205386	Computers
October 11, 2016	10586.633	KB3192441	Computers
September 13, 2016	10586.589	KB3185614	Computers
August 9, 2016	10586.545	KB3176493	Computers/Smartphones
July 12, 2016	10586.494	KB3172985	Computers
June 14, 2016	10586.420	KB3163018	Computers
May 10, 2016	10586.318	KB3156421	Computers
April 12, 2016	10586.218	KB3147458	Computers
March 8, 2016	10586.164	KB3140768	Computers
March 1, 2016	10586.122	KB3140743	Computers
February 9, 2016	10586.104	KB3135173	Computers/Smartphones

First version of Windows 10 (1507)

This is the same version with which the life of the new operating system essentially began. It debuted at the end of July 2015 and support will end on May 9, 2017.

The starting version of Windows 10 received build number 10240, which has now grown to 10240.17488 .

RELEASE DATE	ASSEMBLY NUMBER	IDENTIFIER	PLATFORM
July 11, 2017	10240.17488	KB4025338	Computers
June 27, 2017	10240.17446	KB4032695	Computers
June 13, 2017	10240.17443	KB4022727	Computers
May 9, 2017	10240.17394	KB4019474	Computers
April 11, 2017	10240.17354	KB4015221	Computers
March 14, 2017	10240.17319	KB4012606	Computers
January 10, 2017	10240.17236	KB3210720	Computers
December 13, 2016	10240.17202	KB3205383	Computers
October 11, 2016	10240.17146	KB3192440	Computers
September 20, 2016	10240.17113	KB3193821	Computers
September 13, 2016	10240.17113	KB3185611	Computers
August 9, 2016	10240.17071	KB3176492	Computers
July 12, 2016	10240.17024	KB3163912	Computers
June 14, 2016	10240.16942	KB3163017	Computers
May 10, 2016	10240.16854	KB3156387	Computers
April 12, 2016	10240.16769	KB3147461	Computers
March 8, 2016	10240.16725	KB3140745	Computers
February 9, 2016	10240.16683	KB3135174	Computers

Windows Insider Preview Program - Redstone 3

Along with official, public Microsoft versions releases updates as part of a trial program, by joining which any user can install preliminary Windows versions 10, allowing you to try out features that will be included in future official updates.

The program is divided into so-called “accesses” (or “circles”): “early access” (Fast), “late access” (Slow), “pre-release” (Release Preview).

Test versions of Windows 10 with the latest features and changes are sent to the “fast” circle. Typically, builds released through this circle are riddled with errors and are very unstable, so Microsoft does not recommend enabling Fast on computers that are used for work and other important things. Most The latest build in Fast at the current time is Build 16179.

By enabling late access, users receive fairly stable trial versions of the operating system, which, however, may also contain many errors. Unlike other circles Windows programs Insider, assemblies of the “slow” circle are published both in Windows Update and on the Microsoft website, from where they can be downloaded as an installation ISO image. Currently available in Slow is build number 15063 .

Release Preview, also known as a pre-release circle, is used to release preliminary versions of cumulative updates for a specific version of Windows 10.

RELEASE DATE	ASSEMBLY NUMBER	Access	PLATFORM
WINDOWS 10 REDSTONE 3
April 19, 2017	16179	Early	Computers
April 14, 2017	16176	Early	Computers
April 7, 2017	16170	Early	Computers
WINDOWS 10 REDSTONE 2 (CREATORS UPDATE)
March 23, 2017	15063	Late	Computers
March 20, 2017	15063	Early	Computers, smartphones
March 17, 2017	15061	Early	Computers
March 16, 2017	15060	Early	Computers
March 14, 2017	15058	Early	Computers
March 10, 2017	15055	Early	Computers, smartphones
March 10, 2017	15051	Late	Smartphones
March 8, 2017	15051	Early	Smartphones
March 8, 2017	15048	Late	Computers
March 3, 2017	15048	Early	Computers
March 3, 2017	15047	Early	Smartphones
March 2, 2017	15043	Late	Smartphones
March 1, 2017	15042	Late	Computers
February 28, 2017	15046	Early	Computers
February 24, 2017	15043	Early	Smartphones
February 24, 2017	15042	Early	Computers
February 9, 2017	15031	Early	Smartphones
February 8, 2017	15031	Early	Computers
February 2, 2017	15025	Early	Smartphones
February 1, 2017	15025	Early	Computers
January 27, 2017	15019	Early	Computers
January 19, 2017	15014	Early	Computers, smartphones
January 12, 2017	15007	Early	Computers, smartphones
January 9, 2017	15002	Early	Computers
December 22, 2016	14986	Late	Computers
December 7, 2016	14986	Early	Computers
December 1, 2016	14977	Early	Smartphones
November 17, 2016	14971	Early	Computers
November 16, 2016	14965	Late	Computers, smartphones
November 9, 2016	14965	Early	Computers, smartphones
November 3, 2016	14959	Early	Computers, smartphones
October 25, 2016	14955	Early	Computers, smartphones
October 19, 2016	14951	Early	Computers, smartphones
October 13, 2016	14946	Early	Computers, smartphones
October 7, 2016	14942	Early	Computers, smartphones
September 28, 2016	14936	Early	Computers, smartphones
September 14, 2016	14926	Early	Computers
August 31, 2016	14915	Early	Computers, smartphones
August 17, 2016	14905	Early	Computers, smartphones
August 11, 2016	14901	Early	Computers

If you don't know which one exactly Windows update 10 installed on your computer, read

In the past 2017, the operating room Windows system turned 32 years old, and her latest version 10 has gone for the 4th year now. As we can see, both the system itself and its separate version with its own characteristics are mature. And Windows 10 has a lot of features. The most important of them - “Ten”, according to Microsoft, completes the format of evolution of the operating system from version to version, as it was before, and gives rise to a new format of improvement through the introduction of cumulative updates. The latter are developed in parallel with the existence of a stable branch of the operating system and are tested within the . In 2017, 2 cumulative updates were released - the March Creators Update and the October Fall Creators Update. What key moments transformed Windows 10, and what other interesting things happened to the system in the past year - more on that below.

Paint 3D

The appearance of the Paint 3D application on Windows 10 has become main feature March Creators Update. Paint 3D is the simplest graphic editor, with which you can create and edit two-dimensional pictures and three-dimensional objects.

The purpose of its implementation is the development creativity in the younger generation. For so much good purpose and an interesting idea, unfortunately, as often happens with Microsoft, lies far from the most successful implementation. Paint 3D is too primitive for even novice designers to consider it as a professional tool. And children with extremely weak devices cannot use it as a toy. Plus, the Remix 3D web catalog of 3D models is still not available for a number of locations (in particular, post-Soviet countries).

Windows Defender Security Center

The Creators Update innovations, which have nothing to do with creativity, turned out to be much more useful. The March update introduced a unified environment for accessing system security functions in Windows 10. The new standard application “Windows Defender Security Center” combines:

Functionality of standard antivirus;

Firewall functionality;

Smart Screen Options;

Reinstalling Windows from the current system;

Parental controls.

And the autumn Fall Creators Update added to the Windows Defender Security Center, in particular, with tools that protect against ransomware viruses. In this way, Microsoft responded to the epidemic of ransomware viruses WannaCry, Petya and their variations. This, by the way, is one of the sensational events of 2017, which went beyond the IT sphere and affected the political, economic and social areas.

Windows Updates

In 2017, the functionality of system updates was actively improved. The Creators Update introduced Unified Update Platform technology to this functionality - simplified delivery of updates to user computers. Microsoft has learned to create update packages that do not contain all the files of the current system build, but only those that are missing since the last update. This reduced the size of update packages, and, accordingly, they began to download faster.

The same Creators Update made it possible to postpone different types updates for specific periods, and also allowed you to pause receiving any updates for up to 35 days.

Fluent design for UWP apps

Windows 10, as soon as it was released, initially included compatibility with the modern type of functionality of the system version 8/8.1 Metro, later renamed Modern. Later, the standard Tens applications were transferred to the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) software platform. Universal UWP apps from the store Microsoft Store not compatible with Windows 8/8.1. But these applications are called universal because they can be installed on a number of devices such as: computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones with Windows 10, as well as Xbox One. So, in 2017, Microsoft worked fruitfully to change the design language of UWP applications in order to replace the old one, based on the Modern (Metro) style, with a new type of interface. Fluent Design became such a new type of interface. It is not flat, not monochromatic, like its predecessor style, but multi-layered, with the texture of physical materials, dynamically changing colors depending on the tones that are behind the application window. By the end of the year, most of the standard UWP applications had already been transferred to Fluent Design. One of the last to receive a new style was regular Skype. Now, when communicating, on the left side of the window where contacts are displayed, we can admire the acrylic effect.

Mixed reality

The passing year has given Windows users 10 the ability to work with the mixed reality platform from Microsoft - Mixed Reality.

Granted, however, not to everyone, but only to those who, for this pleasure, have the opportunity to buy a Mixed Reality helmet (costing from $400), and the power parameters of the computer are not lower than the minimum requirements:

Intel Core i5 processor (6th generation, dual-core) or AMD FX series (quad-core, frequency at least 4.2 GHz);

Nvidia GTX 960 or Radeon RX 460 video card;

RAM 8 GB;

100 GB of hard disk space (preferably SSD);

Bluetooth 4.0.

People panel

At first glance, the controversial solution in the form of a “People” widget built into the taskbar, introduced by the Fall Creators Update, did not cause much negative excitement among users of the operating system. As often happens with her catchy innovations. On the contrary, the People panel turned out to be quite convenient tool for those who actively use Tens applications for communications.

Microsoft Edge

Success among the user audience of the standard browser “Ten” Microsoft Edge conquers sluggishly. According to Irish statistics service StatCounter, Edge's share of the browser market at the end of 2016 was 4.3%. At the end of 2017, it increased by only 1% and amounted to 5.3%, respectively. Work on improving the browser in the past year was carried out much more dynamically:

Improved work with active tabs;

Support for EPUB books has been implemented;

Added the ability to play text web content using a voice engine;

Improved data import-export function;

The catalog of extensions for Edge has increased;

Other improvements have been implemented.

Windows 10S

Windows 10 Mobile crash

2017 was a bad year for Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft officially admitted the collapse mobile platform and will no longer develop it. The delivery of necessary updates to support already released devices will not stop anytime soon.

Windows 10 Mobile couldn't compete with Android. Smartphones based on the latter are several times cheaper and offer great opportunities due to the huge number of applications in the store Google Play. Microsoft's future plans for market development mobile devices now very squat - the release of Android smartphones in the Microsoft Edition with pre-installed Cortana, OneDrive and a selection of office suite applications.

Summing up

Recovering passwords for local accounts by answering security questions;

Improved scaling;

As well as other improvements.

The free upgrade period to Windows 10 officially ended on July 29 last year, but Microsoft left loopholes to get new version operating system. IN one of the ways had to pretend to be a person with disabilities, but users discovered an easier option. To do this, just run the Media utility Creation Tool With official website and select "Update this PC".

The free upgrade period to Windows 10 officially ended on July 29 last year, but Microsoft left loopholes to get a new version of the operating system. One of the methods involved impersonating a person with disabilities, but users discovered an easier option. To do this, just launch the Media Creation Tool utility from the official website and select “Update this computer now.”

Whoosh - and you saved $120

Creators Update expected in the spring

The next major update to Windows 10, called the Creators Update, may arrive in April this year. According to rumors, by the fall the operating system will also receive new design interface, codenamed Project Neon.