Boy oh boy, Microsoft sure had quite an October! The company had a rather colorful launch of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, with the release plagued by several issues before being paused.
Everything from data loss to problems related to the default ZIP tool that causes hiccups when copying from an archive to a folder that already has a file with identical name.
And while the software titan is yet to detail the reason behind these issues, questions are being asked.
Particularly by the community.
Millions of Windows Insiders have had the opportunity, over these past few months, to test the previews for this latest version of the OS. Many actively reported any problems they encountered, offering up suggestions for Redmond.
However, as noted in a detailed piece on the Windows 10 development strategy, Microsoft currently has a fundamental flaw with the development process — one that destabilizes the codebase by integrating inadequately tested features with the hopes of fixing up all the problems later.
Not a good thing to have.
Goes without saying that the system of adding new features first and then fixing them at the end was not very good when Windows was released every three years.
And it’s certainly a recipe for disaster when a new version leaves Redmond walls every six months.
Long story short, in the last few weeks many have questioned the frequency of updates that are being sent to the operating system via the Insider program. Microsoft responded by announcing a new feature in the Feedback Hub to enable testers to assign a severity rating in the app.
Instead of simply relying on the upvote system to get the company’s attention.
But even if everyone assigned the right severity rating for the problems, the question then becomes whether actually listens to its testers.
As reported, up to 1500 Insides may have had their files deleted during the testing phase of this major new update, without triggering even a response from the Windows maker.
Obviously, Microsoft is not alone in dealing with these software stability issues — Apple has had it rough with this recently too leading to the Cupertino giant to focus on performance instead of new features.
However, Redmond will need to alter its approach of detecting and fixing these issues.
And soon.
