Windows 10 Updates
Since the launch of Windows 10 Microsoft has ceased the traditional "Service Pack" update roll outs and instead tried to usher in a somewhat nameless Windows 10 updates procedure that to my experience doesn't actually seem all that different to what we had before the most notable being the 1st year "Anniversary" update fairly recently. The best thing about these update roll outs is that they are not just bug fix deployment to which the previous service packs seemed to be all about. New features and improvements seem to be very much as important as the fixes and one that has come to light as an upcoming refinement is a GUI refresh.
WHAT ALREADY????
Ok don't panic this one seems quite subtle but also welcome as it doesn't appear to be to intrusive. When you mention a GUI change with Windows some people come over in a cold sweat thinking about the transition from Windows 7 to the "Metro" style of Windows 8 that we have now got comfortable with through refinements in Windows 10, However this time around things seem a lot more gentle and easier on the eye so hang in there.
Do We Need Another Windows 10 GUI Change?
Don't jump the Gun this isn't quite as scary as it may sound....
Project Neon
Back in January news began to surface about this GUI update and its name was slated as "Project Neon" Windows enthusiast sites such as MSPowerUser started posting info and screen shots of what to expect such as this post when the news first broke.
"What’s interesting is that Microsoft’s Groove Music app already has some of the UI elements and Connected Animations if you are running the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview builds. For instance, the app is already utilizing Connected Animations where the artist’s profile pic gets smaller as you scroll down – as demonstrated in the GIF below:
This is all very well and good and nice to see some UI focus, However it doesn't really mean much for us Pro Tools users at first glance.
Usually on a Pro Tools Workstation we want as few graphic intensive activities happening in the OS as possible making sure all available power is going towards our are of most interest - Pro Tools, Whether these embelishments have any kind of adverse effect on DAW performance will remain to be seen, maybe the integration and coding is so slick it actually saves power on the current situation who knows?
Redstone 2 and 3
The Windows 10 Anniversary update mentioned above was dubbed "Redstone" and these new GUI changes from "Project Neon" are not reported to be integrated until "Redstone 3" (Did they really just swap out the words "Service Pack" for "Redstone" ? LOL! .....) But in the meantime we have "Redstone 2" upcoming and reported to be released in March/April time and has actually been dubbed "The Creators Update". What that actually means is a little baffling too, details of what it actually contains are somewhat thin on the ground. The term "Creators" is so ambiguous they may as well have called it the "Enthusiast update", It certainly doesn't seem to mean built in fully featured media creation applications.
Back in October MSPoweruser.com reported:
"At the moment, there aren’t many details on what the Creators Update will bring to Windows 10. Microsoft is, however, expected to bring the Windows Holographic Shell to Windows 10 next year — which could possibly be part of the Creators Update. With the Windows Holographic Shell, virtual reality headset owners will be able to experience and use Windows 10 in a holographic environment — just like the Microsoft HoloLens.
The Windows 10 Creators Update is also expected to bring some neat features such as Blue Right Reduction, which is similar to Night Mode that’s found on some smartphones. Blue Light Reduction apparently helps users to sleep better, and users who use Flux should already know that it is quite effective.
On the Mobile side of things, the Windows 10 Creators Update will bring a host of new features to Continuum for phones — adding features such as multi-window support, a better desktop experience, and much more."
So I don't really think they have us Pro Tools Users in mind but when did they ever 😉
So there you go !
Admittedly not a lot of juicy information for us Pro Tools people but mildly interesting none the less for anyone who wants to keep informed, We don't really make habit of posting every single piece of new Microsoft information to the site here because like these details above the vast majority is quite insignificant to us with Pro Tools Workstations, But rest assured we are keeping our eyes peeled for useful stuff and will always post it up if its of great interest in our little niche world of audio production so make sure you subscribe to our email newsletter below to get all the best Windows based Pro Tools related gossip straight to your inbox first.
For something somewhat more Pro Tools focused why not check out our article on essential keyboard shortcuts using the Windows "Start" Key.
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