Windows 10 news recap: RTM sign-off, build 10166 and 10176, Windows Hello, and more

Yet another informative and exciting week of Windows 10 news has come and gone. Let’s take a quick look back at the biggest news stories of the week in a little feature we like to call “Windows 10 news recap.”

At the start of the week, we learned that Windows 10 RTM candidate build 10176 had been compiled and that RTM sign-off was imminent. For those that didn’t know, RTM stands for “Release to Manufacturing.” Generally, this means the software is complete, but with Windows 10, things are going to be a little bit different. Windows 10 RTM will be a build of Windows 10 that is stable and not buggy, and it will be missing a number of features that will be coming in later builds of Windows 10 as that is simply the nature of WaaS (Windows as a Service). 

For those curious how the sign off process works, our own Zac Bowden has an explanation: “Microsoft will compile a number of builds they consider ‘worthy’ of RTM, these are called RTM candidates. These builds will be tested, and if the builds are found to have no bugs or issues, will be then voted on by employees. The build which is voted for the most is then selected as the RTM build, and recompiled into the winmain branch. The build number then usually jumps to a number which is divisible by 16 and 100, like 10400.”

Screenshots of build 10163 leaked onto the internet at the start of the week, revealing nothing new. Microsoft also rolled out build 10162 to the slow ring for Windows Insiders. A few days later, Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 build 10166 to participants of the Windows Insider program. You can check out our hands on demo of the build below — showcasing game streaming, since there isn’t much else to show off that we haven’t already shown off.

Windows 10 build 10176 leaked onto the internet on Friday, and we also went hands on with this build. There are no new features in this build, but you will notice that there is no watermark (this is because the RTM will not have a watermark). Microsoft has also added the Windows 10 branding to the About Windows dialog. You can check out our hands-on demo of the build below. 

Microsoft rebranded Xbox Music to Groove earlier this week, and looks to reignite music on Windows 10. “The name Groove was chosen based on customer feedback from Windows fans, and it best represents Microsoft’s music strategy: to be fun, engaging and intuitive.” Joe Belfiore would further expound upon the necessity of Groove’s need for intuitiveness and how Xbox Music failed to accomplish that goal.

Alleged Windows 10 retail packaging box art leaked onto the internet, giving us a close look at what appears to be the retail box for Windows 10. You can check that out here.  

Microsoft has been working hard to beef up Windows 10 with enterprise-grade security, making sure that both consumers and businesses are protected from threats. One particular feature in Windows 10 is called Windows Hello, which allows users to seamlessly and securely log into their PCs. Check out the video below showcasing Windows Hello in action. Stay tuned for yet another exciting week of Windows 10 news!