Windows 10 release: What you need to know

By Andy Patrizio, NetworkWorld contributor

If you didn’t grab the latest builds of Windows 10 – Build 10162 or Build 10166 – then you will have to wait until launch day because Microsoft is ending beta downloads in advance of launch.

Microsoft stopped making builds available as it prepares for the big launch, which will undoubtedly be a bandwidth-crushing event, so it has to test the deployment channels that will be used to deliver the final version. The last thing it wants is for Twitter to be full of reports of slow or no downloads come July 29. 

Gabe Aul said the following on the Windows blog:

“We’re suspending the availability of Windows 10 builds briefly while we prepare for that, and the next build that we flight to you will be delivered using the production channels. Starting tomorrow, we will also not be delivering any additional ISOs at this point as we really need Insiders to be using, stressing, and validating our distribution and upgrade processes. We’ll make ISOs available again in the future, but for now we ask you to upgrade your current build via Windows Update once the next build is released.”

Microsoft’s next move will begin on July 20, when it starts a marketing blitz in the U.S. and expands it worldwide on July 29. On launch day, Microsoft plans to have events at its retail stores worldwide.

In 110 Microsoft stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, Microsoft Stores will celebrate the launch of Windows 10 with launch-day promotional activities, and some stores will go one step further. In a separate blog post, the company said that “in select Microsoft Stores, fan celebrations will feature Windows 10 pop-up demo experiences, prizes, giveaways and more.”

There will also be Answer Desk services and free in-store workshops to help people learn how to get the most out of Windows 10.

And despite a foul-up from a Microsoft executive, who said there will not be PCs in stores on launch day, Microsoft has told Bloomberg News that there will be PCs with Windows 10 pre-installed. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Acer will all have pre-loaded PCs in stores on July 29, which is impressive given we are two weeks from launch.

This article was written by Andy Patrizio from NetworkWorld and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

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