Windows 10 news recap: Leaks, leaks, and more leaks!

Another week of Windows 10 is behind us. This week, we learned that Microsoft is planning to unveil new ways in which the company plans to monetize Windows 10 in the new year. Kevin Turner (Microsoft COO) took time to answer some questions, and spoke about monetizing Windows and “monetizing the lifetime of the customer.”

Also this week, it was revealed that Microsoft is looking at ways to improve touch targeting within Windows 10. In other words, Microsoft wants to ensure that Windows 10 features the right size and spacing for mouse or touch. When asked if Microsoft was looking at concept designs for File Explorer, Aul tweeted that he does definitely look at them and loves seeing ‘cool high fidelity mockups by Windows fans.’

Windows Insiders received somewhat of a problematic update this week too, which caused problems for a number of users. The update was supposed to fix a number of Explorer.exe crashes, however it appears that over 12% of users who tried to install the update was met with an error.

This week, a new rumor claimed that “Mixview”, the exploding live tile UI which was supposed to arrive with the now canceled Lumia McLaren device would arrive alongside Windows 10 for phones. The UI is rumored to allow more information to ‘explode’ from a live tile by simply hovering over the tile.

Microsoft also sent out invites for an event in January, in which the company plans to unveil the “next chapter” of Windows 10.  The event is rumored to unveil Windows 10 running on tablets and phones, as well as even more improvements to the desktop. Features like Continuum and possibly Cortana are on schedule to make an appearance.

Furthermore, another Windows 10 build leaked, which includes the Remind Me app which is yet to be seen in a public build. The build wihch leaked is fairly old, being compiled way before the first Windows Technical Preview. The leak is zh-CN, and in x64. The Remind Me app is a companion to Cortana, which is not present in this leak.

Up next, Phil Spencer clarified what he’d be talking about during the January Windows 10 event. Spencer will be speaking about gaming on Windows 10, which could mean a number of different things. Perhaps Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox One games to PC? Only time will tell.

It was also revealed this week that Microsoft is planning to improve the File Explorer within Windows 10. It’s currently unclear what these improvements will be, but we’re hoping to see a brand new user-interface, something that hopefully matches Office 2015.

And finally, build 9901 leaked which includes a number of consumer preview features. An updated Cortana, improved Taskbar UI, new Modern UI apps and more are all on the list of new features.

So there you have it, another awesome week of Windows 10 news. As January approaches, you can expect to hear even more about new features coming to Windows 10 in the new year, so stay tuned for that.