In what appears to be a significant reversal of policy. Microsoft has announced that in the future it will detail the changes associated with automatic updates released to users of Windows 10. The announcement, however, referred to Enterprise users only, not most regular users of Windows 10.
Windows 10 appears to be a success, with over 75 million users having downloaded the latest upgrade to Microsoft's Windows desktop OS, and critics and consumers alike seem generally happy with the results. As expected there have been some problems, both with the ability to upgrade the system itself as well as issues once installed. These have included screen flickering and flashing, lag, problems with the Start Menu, Cortana, and more.
As we recently reported, Microsoft has issued several new automatic updates, ostensibly to resolve some of these issues, although the details of exactly what's included in the updates have remained elusive. That's because Microsoft has instituted a new policy with Windows 10 of not including detailed changelogs, making the content of each update intentionally vague. In addition to privacy concerns over institution of new data collection policies, this lack of transparency has been one of the biggest gripes of consumers and critics in regard to Windows 10.
It appears Microsoft has been listening to the criticism and is changing its policy as a result-sort of. In a meeting with the press, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Jim Alkove acknowledged the issue and stated the following: "We've heard that feedback from enterprise customers so we're actively working on how we provide them with information about what's changing and what new capabilities and new value they're getting."
What exactly that means though, is as vague as a current Windows 10 update. For one thing, Alkove mentioned Enterprise (business) customers only; he did not include the majority of Windows 10 users who received the OS with the recent free upgrade provided by Microsoft. In addition, Alkove chose his words carefully, not specifically promising the detailed changelogs customers are looking for and have grown to expect. Time will tell whether the policy shift will extend to the most popular versions of Windows 10, the free one, and to what extent new information on the details of updates will be disseminated.
