Skip to main content

Another week, another Windows 10 build, and more bug fixes

A new build of Windows 10 Redstone is currently being distributed to users that are part of the Insider program. Redstone is the codename for a large update scheduled to hit this summer, which seems to be as close to Windows 10.1 as the strategy Microsoft is implementing with the OS will allow.

The latest build is largely intended to bring about minor bug fixes to various elements of the Windows 10 experience. Given that the current build, number 14271, comes just a week after its predecessor, number 14267, this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Recommended Videos

Some of the issues addressed include a problem where the window borders in applications would turn black rather than the user’s specified accent color after a new build update was installed. Another fix tweaks the way playback iconography is displayed in taskbar previews, making them sharper and clearer.

Fast user switching will now work with the picture password option, also. Additionally, there are some usability fixes to various parts of the UI — for instance, the entire app header in Action Center has been made right-clickable, rather than just the word itself. These issues may be small, but it’s good to see Microsoft shaving off rough edges.

It’s worth noting that this is the first time that Microsoft has distributed new Insider builds for PC and mobile devices concurrently, as Windows 10 Mobile received the same update today. This seems to reflect the company’s desires to bring all compatible hardware underneath the Windows 10 umbrella.

Users that are part of the Insider program will likely see this build pushed to their system imminently. It’s currently being rolled out to accounts that are part of the Fast ring, so expect to see it sooner rather than later if that includes you.

You can read a full list of the fixes included in Build 14271 over at Microsoft’s Windows blog.

Brad Jones
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
I hope these 3 long-lost Microsoft Windows 8 features stay gone forever
Windows 8 Start screen

If you used a Windows computer in the early 2010s, chances are you experienced Windows 8. Whether it was a good experience is another matter entirely, though. If you ask me, it was a bit of a disaster.

For me, updating to Windows 8 was an unexpected jumpscare. Maybe you had a similar experience; perhaps you just updated your computer one day to discover that the beloved Start Menu vanished without warning. In its place, you saw a full-screen tile interface that probably made you feel like you were using a phone rather than a desktop.

Read more
Microsoft just turned 50, can its dominance last another half a century?
Microsoft at 50.

Microsoft is officially half a century old and what a half a century it's been. It went from being a small scale software company to dominating the world of personal computers, to today where it's worth over $3 trillion -- or at least it was until some recent tariff shenanigans. It's not the only name in the game any more, with Google's Android platform the most popular operating system on devices, but Microsoft's Windows still forms the backbone of the professional and gaming worlds, and that's not the only pie it has its fingers in.

From trying to wrestle control of the AI hype train, to endeavours in Quantum computing, Microsoft is looking to form the zeitgeist of the next 50 years. Let's take a look at some of its big wins over the past few decades, and what it might do in to secure some more in the years to come.

Read more
This Windows 11 update makes Start Menu much more desirable and usable again
The Dell XPS 13 on a table with the Start Menu open.

The Start Menu has been the central element in Microsoft Windows for nearly three decades. Though loved initially for its resourcefulness, the Menu went through some debatable -- I call them abhorrent -- changes with Windows 8, but eventually returned to occupying less space in the interface with Windows 8.1, and then Windows 10 and 11. Despite the rescuing, it is still reeling under the damaging changes in the form of recommendations and random automatically populating lists that reduce it to a mere glorified search interface. However, Microsoft may now be looking to resolve these issues and bringing back a more simplified interface with an upcoming update.

Microsoft is testing a new interface for Start Menu on Windows 11, reducing the existing clutter of randomly interspersed apps and files. X user @phantomofearth, renowned for testing new features in Windows Insider builds, gave us a good look at the new interface in a detailed video walkthrough.

Read more