July 29 will mark the launch of Windows 10, but Microsoft just announced that insiders will be the only consumers not left outside initially.
Terry Myerson, Microsoft's executive vice president of Operating Systems, played the role of downer on Thursday, when he announced in a blog post that Windows 10 will, at first, only be available to individuals who have been providing feedback on preview builds of the operating system (OS).
"Starting on July 29, we will start rolling out Windows 10 to our Windows Insiders," said Myerson in a blog post. "From there, we will start notifying reserved systems in waves, slowly scaling up after July 29th. Each day of the rollout, we will listen, learn and update the experience for all Windows 10 users."
Microsoft has already been listening to Windows 10's preview users and updating the OS, said Myerson. That process will continue until Microsoft puts the OS out of service, according to Myerson.
"In our testing of millions of systems, we're seeing full compatibility today with the vast majority of Windows 8x and Windows 7x systems — and we are not yet done, we will never be done — we will be continuing this application and device compatibility work every day as part of our ongoing commitment to Windows as a service," said Myerson.
Myerson didn't specify when Microsoft will offer Windows 10 to regular folks, though Newegg seems to think that date will be Aug 31. For those who reserved copies of Windows 10, Microsoft wants to test their PCs first to ensure that they're capable of delivering an optimal experience.
"If your system is not ready yet for your upgrade to Windows 10, we will provide more details during the upgrade experience," said Myerson. "In some cases, we will include contact information so you can follow up directly with an application provider or device manufacturer to learn more."
Going by Myerson's remarks, the rollout will be highly dynamic in order to evolve the Windows 10 experience to annoy the least people. It's a more prudent and proactive strategy than having to completely iterate on an OS mid-cycle, as was the case with Windows 8.
