The biggest story of the week (Win 10)

The first major update for Windows 10 was released this week, packing new changes and features such as improvements to Microsoft Edge, new Skype preview apps and more. Apps for Windows 10 are have also been improved, including Mail, Calendar, Photos, Groove, Xbox, Store, OneNote, Solitaire, and more.Also this week, eagle-eyed Windows Insiders noticed that a new Redstone development branch “rs1_release” began appearing for Insiders to select. It only appeared for some insiders however, and didn’t actually do anything once selected. Still, it does mean Microsoft is now well underway on the next major update for Windows 10, which if you don’t know is codenamed Redstone.

Up next, Microsoft outlined that the new Windows 10 update includes more unified context menus:

“You asked us to pick a menu and stick with it, and we heard you loud and clear. We want to share a snapshot of where we are today thanks to our design/engineering teams, and of course our Windows fans. Keep in touch and let us know what works (and what doesn’t). Consistency is tricky when you have menus built using different frameworks and principles, so we went back to the drawing board with questions that needed answers.”

The biggest problem had to do with different development teams building different menus for Windows 10. To fix this, Microsoft simply brought everyone together and agreed on principles and design direction — including size, color, touch-friendliness, etc.

A new Facebook Beta app for Windows 10 desktops also appeared on the Windows Store this week. It only works for a select amount of people, and it appears the app has been ported with the Project Islandwood development bridge allowing apps to be ported from iOS to Windows Phone. It’s good to see developers taking advantage of the tool, as it allows developers to more easily get their apps up and running on Windows Phone.