Windows Insiders have a new mission this week: finding and reporting bugs affecting the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
Set to arrive this summer, presumably around July 29 to commemorate a year since Windows 10 launched, the Anniversary Update will bring several highly anticipated features to the operating system, including support for the Bash Unix shell and Docker-compatible Hyper-V containers. As the clock ticks down to the update’s unspecified release date, Microsoft has begun an internal effort to unearth bugs and other OS annoyances called the Windows 10 Anniversary Update June Bug Bash.
Microsoft isn’t going it alone, according to Dona Sarkar, head of the Microsoft Windows Insider program. With build 14366 of the OS for the PC, the software giant is turning to the Windows Insider community for help.
“Over the course of the next four days, we will also be publishing multiple Quests inside Feedback Hub that will highlight different areas of the product each day,” said Sarkar in a June 14 announcement. Quests are used by Microsoft to encourage users to put test builds of Windows 10 through their paces and report their results by adding a dash of gamification to the proceedings, a tactic increasingly used by enterprise software providers to foster employee engagement and reap the benefits of digital work styles.
“We will be looking for feedback on each Quest, but you can also just use all the Windows 10 features and apps you are most passionate about,” added Sarkar. Microsoft will be issuing both limited time (24-hour) quests and advanced quests that may require users to change system settings and revert back to previous configurations. Sarkar and her group will be running the quest-driven Bug Bash through June 19.
In terms of new features, build 14366 includes support for the company’s new Office Online Microsoft Edge extension. The browser add-on provides quick access to the Web-based versions of Office applications along with files stored on Microsoft’s cloud, courtesy of OneDrive and OneDrive for Business integrations.
Also new is a Windows Store update that makes it less crash-prone and reduces the app store’s PC resource consumption. Users should also notice snappier performance as they navigate the store and explore its app listings, said Sarkar.
Addressing previous bugs, build 14366 fixes an issue that would cause CPU consumption to spike when the Edge browser encountered a Web page with several animated GIFs. Microsoft also fixed a flaw that would cause certain captchas to display incorrectly.
Working with multiple displays is less exasperating now that Microsoft fixed an issue that would cause scaling changes and monitor ordering problems in the display settings screen. Full-screen Remote Desktop windows now unsnap correctly while being prompted for credentials after users attempt a connection.
Cortana handles reminders better in build 14366 after software engineers fixed an issue affecting the display of existing reminders, an error that often occurred when users tried saving new reminders. The full list of bug fixes is available in this blog post.