Windows 10 may not reach to all users on its July 29 launch date
Microsoft opts for caution and says the Windows 10 rollout will come “in waves, slowly”, as a lot of expectations have been pinned on the new version of marquee software
In the beginning of June, Microsoft had announced that they would be officially launching Windows 10 on July 29. With less than a month to go before the launch of its latest OS, Microsoft has said that it will roll out Windows 10 in phases, starting on its release date of July 29.
This would mean that not every PC that’s eligible for an upgrade will receive it on launch day. In order to mange the demand, Microsoft says that it has chose to go for a phased roll-out.
Those who have been assisting Microsoft to remove the flaws out of Windows 10, working through the Windows Insider program that went into effect last October will be the first to get the update to the company’s software.
In a blog posted on Thursday, Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s executive vice president of operating systems said “Starting on July 29, we will start rolling out Windows 10 to our Windows Insiders. From there, we will start notifying reserved systems in waves, slowly scaling up after July 29th.”
With the new version of Windows, Microsoft is hoping to get back some of the attractiveness and customers it had lost with Windows 8, which was released three years ago with much fanfare, only to be thrown out over its unloved design. According to Web tracker Net Applications, Windows 8.1 with its limited course corrections managed to go ahead of the 13-year-old Windows XP on desktops around the world. Windows 7 remains the most popular version of the software.
Microsoft is targeting to get back on track with the Windows 10 operating system that acts as the backbone of many of the world’s businesses and still powers many of the personal computers. Microsoft has made some of the important changes which ranges from appearance of the Start button to throwing out the unpopular tablet-focused interface of Windows 8. Edge, a new browser has been introduced to replace the decades-old Internet Explorer along with a more sturdy version of Microsoft’s voice-enabled digital software assistant, Cortana.
The company has plans to go beyond the traditional PCs. Windows 10, according to Microsoft, will surely influence all manner of devices ranging from desktops to smartphones, tablets and even ATMs.
To get as many as users possible, Microsoft is offering users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 a free upgrade of Windows 10. While those people have been able to retain a copy of Windows 10, some will have to wait for their reservation to be filled.
“Each day of the rollout, we will listen, learn and update the experience for all Windows 10 users,. If you reserved your copy of Windows 10, we will notify you once our compatibility work confirms you will have a great experience, and Windows 10 has been downloaded on your system,” Myerson said in the blog post.
As Windows 10 is getting ready to be launched, Microsoft is continuing to fine tune it by initially clinging to the safer embrace of the Windows Insiders who have been helping and combing through to tidy up each new test version.
As to how far past July 29 will the rollout run, Myerson didn’t point to any precise timeline, nor Microsoft did comment.
Those who have been asked to wait for an indefinite period to get Windows 10 may disappointed if they expected it to be July 29. However, Microsoft’s cautious approach may end up helping the company.
The new operating system is still new despite all the internal and external testing that has been performed on Windows 10. Although Myerson said that Microsoft has seen “full compatibility today with the vast majority of Windows 8x and Windows 7x systems,” there still seems to be some irregularity and incompatibilities with some systems out there. Rolling out the Windows 10 in stages would give Microsoft time to find a solution to those problems so that the versions of Windows 10 released after July 29 are more rock-solid.
Further, Microsoft is also aware that trying to provide Windows 10 to everyone on July 29 would be difficult. Such an effort would undoubtedly put a strain on the company’s back-end systems to try to keep up with the heavy load. Releasing the software in phases ensures that the downloads go more faster and easily.
Myerson also said that Microsoft will soon deliver a build of Windows 10 to its hardware partners, which they would be able to install on their devices. Following that, Microsoft will supply a build of Windows 10 to retailers so that they can assist consumers who may just have started using Windows 8.1 upgrade to Windows 10.
Microsoft’s phased rollout aims to make sure that the copy you install is as stable and as compatible as possible, even if it means that you need to wait beyond July 29 to get your copy of Windows 10.
“We’ve been really pleased with the strong response to Windows 10 since we kicked off reservations in early June, with millions of reservations,” Myerson said. “We want to make sure all of you have a great upgrade experience, so we’ll roll out Windows 10 in phases to help manage the demand.”
