Maybe things are changing at Microsoft
Gabe Aul gave a planned release date that was more than 12 hours away and wasn't in a cryptic code he was unlikely to admit anyone had cracked anyway! The next preview of Windows 10 for phones which includes the vastly improved list of Lumia devices is planned for 10am EST on Friday!
The advance warning really only amounts to roughly 48 hours. But previously this would have been unthinkable. Yes, the company has internal goals and timelines for releases. Dates may be more likely to slip early on in a project but goal dates are there. One of the things many people clamoured for was target dates. You feel a little less in the dark if you at least know when they are trying to have something new even if you know it isn't promised to be on that date and there are no promises about what it contains.
Though, I imagine that at this point they are mostly just doing device testing and polishing things up and the timelines and supported devices are likely to change any further (the Icon got removed from the list along with the 930 that was already not there). I mean seriously, that 2 days is really more like 1. By the time the news came out, today was almost over work-wise. Which means they get tomorrow to work. And then from start of day to 10am can really just consist of signing off and pushing the actual updates out.
Now, this all out of they way... it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft made a good move and then immediately discontinued it. In fact, Windows Phone users know this better than anyone else. Early on the preview program was great, then they dropped it entirely for a while and then randomly brought it back as a good example.
I'm hoping this trend continues. I'd love to know when builds are targeted a week or two out. That would be great. Or better yet... if they are serious about letting the community be major contributors to Windows 10, let us know how long each iteration is planned to be, and high level features or changes that are planned. Based on community feedback, if the team is falling behind on a feature the community cares less about it can be cut in favor of getting a new build, or if a critical feature from the community is falling behind the team can decide it would be better to delay until they can get the high value items out. That is probably wishful thinking.
The advance warning really only amounts to roughly 48 hours. But previously this would have been unthinkable. Yes, the company has internal goals and timelines for releases. Dates may be more likely to slip early on in a project but goal dates are there. One of the things many people clamoured for was target dates. You feel a little less in the dark if you at least know when they are trying to have something new even if you know it isn't promised to be on that date and there are no promises about what it contains.
Though, I imagine that at this point they are mostly just doing device testing and polishing things up and the timelines and supported devices are likely to change any further (the Icon got removed from the list along with the 930 that was already not there). I mean seriously, that 2 days is really more like 1. By the time the news came out, today was almost over work-wise. Which means they get tomorrow to work. And then from start of day to 10am can really just consist of signing off and pushing the actual updates out.
Now, this all out of they way... it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft made a good move and then immediately discontinued it. In fact, Windows Phone users know this better than anyone else. Early on the preview program was great, then they dropped it entirely for a while and then randomly brought it back as a good example.
I'm hoping this trend continues. I'd love to know when builds are targeted a week or two out. That would be great. Or better yet... if they are serious about letting the community be major contributors to Windows 10, let us know how long each iteration is planned to be, and high level features or changes that are planned. Based on community feedback, if the team is falling behind on a feature the community cares less about it can be cut in favor of getting a new build, or if a critical feature from the community is falling behind the team can decide it would be better to delay until they can get the high value items out. That is probably wishful thinking.
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