Since I’m curious about the Windows 10 auto-update process, I usually wait for new builds to be installed automatically before I write about them. Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14328 was announced on April 22, but this morning (April 27), I started to wonder why my test computer was still running Build 14316.

The Windows Update settings page informed me that there had been a problem connecting with the update servers. Below this message was a Retry button. Clicking the button immediately started installing Build 14332, which was announced on April 26.

I’m not sure I understand what Microsoft thinks an ‘automatic’ update system should do, if it doesn’t automatically retry after failed server connections. Oh well, this is a preview build. Presumably this sort of thing won’t happen with release builds.

In any case, this means we have two builds to discuss.

Build 14328

The most notable change in 14328 is the introduction of Windows Ink, which adds pen/touch input support to Windows 10 and many of its included apps. If you don’t use a touch interface, this won’t be of much interest, although you can still use the Ink features.

Build 14328 includes welcome enhancements to the Start menu, although it’s still not possible to add custom entries. That functionality died with Windows 7, and it seems unlikely to return at this point.

Cortana can now be activated from the lock screen, which is obviously much more convenient for folks who use Cortana but also value security.

Windows 10’s search capabilities are improved in Build 14328; it now searches files on OneDrive cloud storage as well as local files.

Improvements to the Action Center include a more distinct notification icon, which now shows the number of pending notifications. Quick Actions may now be customized.

You can now access your calendar from the date/time display in the notification area, a feature that existed in Windows 95 but vanished in later versions for no apparent reason.

The taskbar clock now appears on all displays, something that gamers will appreciate. Taskbar settings are now on the All Settings screen. Why they were ever missing is a mystery.

The audio icon in the notification area now allows switching between audio output devices, something we’ve wanted to see in Windows for ages.

The Apps and Features settings page has a new feature that will reset a misbehaving app to its default settings.

Security was improved further with the removal of email addresses from the lock screen (by default). The lock screen now also includes media controls, so you don’t need to unlock Windows to play the next track.

Various bug fixes and visual changes round out this build, including new and improved icons for Windows Explorer and settings pages.

Build 14332

In this build, support for Linux programs is improved. I’m still not able to use this interesting feature, because my test PC is running a 32-bit Windows 10 build. I could upgrade it to 64-bit, but it also only has 2 GB of RAM, and although that’s technically enough to run 64-bit Windows 10, enabling the Linux subsystem and its other requirements will almost certainly overload it. 🙁

Cortana can now search documents on Office 365.

Changes to power management should improve battery life in this build.

Numerous bugs were also fixed in this build.

Last week Microsoft pushed out another preview build for Windows 10: build 14316.

For me, the most interesting aspect of build 14316 is ability to use Linux commands from the Windows 10 command line. Getting this to actually work involves a few additional steps, including installation of Visual Studio, Microsoft’s main development platform. Sadly (for me, anyway), this essentially requires at least 4 GB of RAM, and my test PC has only 2 GB.

Build 14316 also sports improvements to Cortana, more new extensions for Edge, and better control of alerts in the Action Center. You can now switch between dark and light visual modes globally. Virtual Desktops have been enhanced with multi-desktop pinnable windows. Battery settings were improved. The Feedback Hub now allows user comments.

The BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) screen that appears when Windows crashes has been improved with QR codes. This is a neat idea, because it means you no longer have to write down the error details. Just scan the code with your smartphone to find out what the error means.

A new setting in Windows Update allows you to specify a window of time during which the computer should not be restarted automatically. Unfortunately, the window can be ten hours long at the most.

With this build, Microsoft changed the status messages that appear on your screen during installation. These messages now look more like the ones you see when installing Windows updates. This change may be partly due to the unintentionally humourous nature of the original messages. My favourite was “All your files are exactly where you left them”, which was presumably meant to be reassuring, particularly as upgrades in previous Windows versions would sometimes blow away user data.