Windows 10 Anniversary Update: The Road To Redstone
by Brett Howse on August 2, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Edge and Xbox
Edge Updates
With all of the changes that have come with the Anniversary Update, none have been more impactful or more necessary than the updates to Edge. When Edge came along, it offered some much needed performance improvements over Internet Explorer, and a goal to keep it up to date more, and improve standards compliance. That has happened, at least somewhat, but not to the extent that I had hoped or expected. We were promised that Edge would be updated through the Windows Store, so updates to Edge would no longer be tied to the operating system, but overall that hasn’t happened yet. Edge has been updated, but it seemed to happen only when there was an OS update. There have been a few changes brought along since release, but all of them have been pretty minor. I’m not necessarily disappointed in the update speed of Edge, but more that we’re still stuck with waiting for the core OS to get a major update in order to get a major update to the browser.
Still, the changes that have come for Edge with the Anniversary Update are very welcome. The biggest update is for extensions.
Internet Explorer had plug-ins, but when Microsoft created Edge, they ditched that model completely. The goal was to use extensions, and the extensions would share much of the same ideas as those in Google Chrome. However, the feature didn’t launch with Windows 10, and we’ve had to wait an entire year for it. With this update, Extensions are now available, and it makes Edge all the better for it.
At the moment, there are only a couple of extensions, but likely more will come over time now that it’s officially available and not just part of the insider program. Popular extensions like Lastpass are available, and they are installed and updated through the Windows Store. To find extensions, there is an Extensions hub in Edge’s settings which will take you to the store where you can see and search for them. The insider preview has shown that these extensions can be pretty much as fully customizable as those in Chrome, and other than a few times where the extensions have had to be reinstalled because of an update (and they were reinstalled automatically) the practice of using them has been great. Even though it’s early days, using Lastpass in Edge is already better than it ever was in Internet Explorer, as an example.
Other than extensions, there are other updates to Edge, but none of them are as highly visible. Instead, it gains support for things like Paste and Go, and the ability to navigate forward and backward by swiping the screen to the side, just like Internet Explorer had in Windows 8.1.
You can also specify what to do with downloads now, and change the default save location. Somehow this wasn’t available at launch, but it is here now. Sites that support it can also do web notifications in Edge, and Windows Hello integration is here too, allowing for sign into supporting websites. But don’t worry – your facial image won’t be sent to the site. Instead it will use a token system which Windows Hello will take care of.
Xbox
The Xbox itself is also getting the Anniversary Update, which will bring Cortana, Universal Windows Apps (UWP), and more to the console, but the big addition on the PC side is the new Play Anywhere initiative.
Microsoft has been updating their gaming platform on the PC continuously, and unlike Edge they have not been waiting for major OS updates to bring these changes. For example, in May, Windows 10 gaming got support for V-Sync control and Adaptive Framerate which was an early criticism of Universal Windows App based games like Rise of the Tomb Raider.
With the new WDDM 2.0, quite a bit has changed, and for a full refresher on this I’d recommend the Windows 10 Review which goes into some nice detail. As a summary though, WDDM 2.0 removes the full-screen capabilities of older games, and the sandbox model of UWP means that apps like FRAPS no longer function. It’s a change from the past, and people love the past, but with support now for variable frame rates and V-Sync, the compositing in Windows 10 is the best compromise for a tear-free gaming experience.
The big news on the Xbox side though is that Microsoft has created the Xbox Play Anywhere program. Games that are part of this program will offer both a version on the Xbox One as well as the Windows Store. You can buy the game on either device, and you get the copy on the other. Saved games will sync through the cloud to all devices. While the Xbox One has not been as successful as the Playstation 4, Microsoft has made a smart play by leveraging its other strengths, including PC gaming. Although this will require developer support, Microsoft Studios will be supporting it on all of the games they showed on-stage at E3 this year.
I still think they have some work to do in order to compete against the likes of Steam and Origin though, including the ability to backup games and more. One change that has helped though is that you can now specify which drive to install a game on. Considering games can now easily be 50 GB or more, having that default to the C: drive as it was at launch can be a big problem when you have a smaller SSD as your boot drive. You can now specify where to install the game when you choose to download it.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
194 Comments
View All Comments
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Mint is a good alternative for people willing to roll up their sleeves on occasion. I've been using it full time on everything but my headless desktop which really only exists to stream Windows-only games to my Linux box through Steam.sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Does that work well (streaming of games to Linux)? I've never tried it but it might be a viable option. I'm planning on only using Windows for steam gaming and Photoshop, all my normal computing needs can readily be handled by Mint. Was originally thinking of just dual booting but if I could setup a reasonable workflow on Mint for photo editing I could then use the streaming option for games.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Getting streaming setup was painless. Install the Steam client on both computers and have them running at the same time. They'll see one another on your local network and on each respective machine's library, there's an option to stream the game. You can also stream non-Steam games and even random applications like Internet Explorer or MS Word over it by manually adding them to your game list.It's not perfect though. Your mileage will vary greatly based on the performance of your local network. In my case, my desktop is connected via wired ethernet at 100mbps to my crappy DSL router and my laptop can connect at up to 144 mpbs over wireless. Streaming is doable up to 1366x768, but there's the occasional hiccup in network performance that'll cause the video stream to pixelate or hesitate. Even then, the encoding process reduces image quality slightly so things just don't really look as good. There's also added latency between 10-20ms which might put multiplayer shooters out since you'll be a bit behind in reacting to what's happening in-game. Steam recommends doing the streaming thing purely on wired connections and they're probably right that it'd work better under those conditions, but I think I lose too much flexibility by being wired to the laptop. Oh and some games refuse to stream at all, but I've only seen that happen with MMOs. There's a few that are oddly picky about slinging their video to another computer.
Now on the good side of things, just about any piece of garbage laptop made since 2008 running linux with a decent wifi nic has the compute power necessary to decode the incominng stream. Its nice to keep upgrade pressure off every box but the headless desktop and a little cheaper too. Plus, with summer heat bearing down on the US, I like not having my desktop in the same room, baking my proverbial beans with its heat output. I still keep Tight VNC installed on the desktop so I can remotely access the desktop from outside a Steam session.
In the end though, the best advice I can suggest is to just fire up Steam and play with it a little to see how it works for you.
sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Thanks, I'll have to give it a shot. I've got a gigabit wired home network so that should help some. I'll have to fire up Fallout 4 and see how it plays.:-) Sounds like UT2K4 would be out, I've already got a ping of over 100 talking to the server I play on in Chicago (I'm in California).
doggface - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I have two streaming windows PCs at home (GbE) (one for my wife and I) and i will say categorically that your results == how good your network is.I have two lappys that effortlessly stream over 5ghz and struggle on 2.4ghz.
Otherwise steam streaming is the greatest lock-in that steam has on my gaming purchases. Love playing AAA/indies/etc. on the couch with an xbox controller. A pain when i have to actually sit at my desk to game
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I had an unused 8.1 Pro license lying around that shipped with my machine, so I installed it, and upgraded it on the last free day, so when I do sell my laptop (I change 'em every 2yrs), it would have the latest s/w for the new noob user.Anyway, I couldn't resist trying to run the Time Spy DX12 benchmark. What a mess. DX11 titles did work though without issue (but tried for short period only though). Tried updating Nvidia drivers - Nvidia 'Experience' was unable to sucessfully complete. Manually downloaded & failed also. Deleted existing, ran the install package as admin, failed again.
So no video drivers for Win 10 now at all. Even Windows itself is unable to update the GPUs.
Anyway, volume backed-up with Macrium Reflect for possible new machine owner, and partition deleted.
Still happy on 7 Pro.
PROUD tin-hatter here!
inighthawki - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Sounds more like a driver issue than an OS issue. What video card are you using?Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
"For now, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out in waves today, so check your Windows Update."What version of Win10 is going out with the media creation tool? I need to clean reinstall Win10 on a PC and wanted it to be the Anniversary update version right off the bat.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/w...
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
10586 for now, I believe. I`d like to have a 14939 ISO myself.Hopefully those will soon show up on MSDN.
Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
The Windows Blog posted on how to get build 14393 ISO :)https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/0...