These days, Microsoft runs Windows as a service. The company launched two yearly major feature updates for Windows 10 and monthly security and problem solving patches. The first of 2018 is the Spring Creators Update, also known as Redstone 4. Microsoft is finalizing that build as we speak and it will be launched in April. The second yearly release of 2018 will be the codenamed Redstone 5. Last year Microsoft changed the way the Insider Program operates. Previously Insiders were only able to preview builds for the current in-development version. However, last year Skip Ahead was introduced which allows users to preview future Windows 10 builds. Skip Ahead tests are limited to a certain number of users as Microsoft still needs people to provide feedback on the next release. However, those on Skip Ahead have been testing Redstone 5 since early February. With Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17627 (RS5), Microsoft has made the following improvements:
We fixed an issue where If you try to open a file that is available online-only from OneDrive that hasn’t been previously downloaded to your PC (marked with a green checkmark in File Explorer), your PC could bugcheck (GSOD). We fixed an issue resulting in the Emoji Panel not working in the last two flights. When a process in Task Manager is suspended, or has suspended child processes, you’ll now see an icon indicating as much in the Status column of the Processes tab.
As usual, the company has also highlighted some known issues with this build:
If you open Settings and clicking on any links to the Microsoft Store or links in tips, Settings will crash. This includes the links to get themes and fonts from the Microsoft Store, as well as the link to Windows Defender. When opening .html or .pdf files from the local system (double-click, right-click > open), Microsoft Edge will not render the loaded content if Microsoft Edge wasn’t already running before opening the file. To work around the issue, you can open the file again without closing Microsoft Edge. On resuming from sleep, the desktop may be momentarily visible before the Lock screen displays as expected.
Redstone 5 Features
At this early stage of testing, new features are thin on the ground. We expect Microsoft to start debuting new Redstone 5 features when the Spring Creators Update is official. That said, we do know of one new addition coming to the fall release. Microsoft will finally release its much-awaited Cloud Clipboard, which was first announced nearly two years ago.
