14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Technical Preview build 10036 was leaked yesterday, and even though some features were removed on purpose by Microsoft, there still are a number of options that provide us with an early glimpse into the future of Windows.
One interesting feature that’s part of build 10036 is the possibility of getting updates from other places than Microsoft directly, including here PCs on a local network, but also other computers connected to the Internet.
The new Windows Update section available in this leaked build comes with an option to “get updates from more than one place” in order to get them more quickly, as the company itself says in the description of this new tool.
Basically, with Windows 10, Microsoft is implementing a technology that works pretty much like BitTorrent, allowing users to download updates from other PCs that already got them, either from Microsoft or from other computers.
Of course, users won’t be allowed to select which PCs they want to download from and connections will most likely be established automatically based on transfer speed.
The biggest challenge: encrypting transfers
While this could indeed speed up the whole process of delivering updates to a specific computer, it also raises some other questions that are entirely related to security.
With Microsoft allowing Windows 10 computers to connect to each other in order to get updates, the company also opens new connections that could be exploited by third-parties unless they are encrypted and secured effectively.
Shipping updates faster to Windows 10 devices will be a priority for Microsoft, as Redmond is working to deliver improvements and new features at a much faster pace than before.
Rumor has it that Microsoft could even stop releasing new stand-alone versions of Windows completely and adopt an approach that reminds of Apple’s Mac OS X, with one core operating system and major updates launched every once in a while.
Windows 10 is projected to debut in the second half of 2015, with RTM expected to be reached during the summer.