Microsoft Pulls Sets From Windows 10 Redstone 5

Microsoft is removing the new tabbed experience for windows in Windows 10. Dubbed Sets, the feature first debuted in Redstone 4, but it wasn’t ready in time for the release of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The update has been available in most of the recent Redstone 5 builds, but Microsoft is now pulling it with the latest Redstone 5 build. The feature will return with a future build, though t’s not clear whether it will return in time for the public release of Redstone 5.

The company isn’t stating the exact reason behind this move, although Sets was never supposed to arrive with Redstone 5. Microsoft has been pretty careful when talking about the timing of the release of new features like Sets, completely avoiding mentioning a specific release date. Sets is, however, a bit rough at this point in time. While some of Microsoft’s apps, including Office apps and File Explorer, work pretty well with Sets, a lot of the third-party apps and even some of Microsoft’s UWP apps don’t really go well with the new tabbed experience mainly because of the user-interface. Microsoft clearly has a lot of complications to overcome here.

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“Thank you for your continued support of testing Sets. We continue to receive valuable feedback from you as we develop this feature helping to ensure we deliver the best possible experience once it’s ready for release. Starting with this build, we’re taking Sets offline to continue making it great. Based on your feedback, some of the things we’re focusing on include improvements to the visual design and continuing to better integrate Office and Microsoft Edge into Sets to enhance workflow,” said Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar.

Sets is part of a much larger, cross-device experience Microsoft is building for Windows 10. It is a key part of Windows Timeline, which is already available in the April 2018 Update, but there is a lot of work left to be done for the feature to be completely useable. Microsoft needs to effectively nail this feature, mainly because of the fact that it will otherwise dilute a core building block of the OS: the titlebar of applications.

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Conversation 40 comments

  • davidblouin

    27 June, 2018 - 2:26 pm

    <p>Good, this should shut the hell up of the professional complainers from complaining that Microsoft focus too much on adding more "useless feature" with each Redstone release since there is supposedly already way too much "useless feature" in Windows 10 and that the OS should be stripped down to their own need. </p><p><br></p><p>So now they can all focus on complaining about how Microsoft haven't yet update that rarely ever use dialog box that date back more than, GASP , five years ago and didn't yet implement it into the setting app. </p><p><br></p><p>We know they're just itching to start complaining that the setting app is too bloated with "useless feature"…</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      29 June, 2018 - 4:59 am

      <p><a href="#286649"><em>In reply to davidblouin:</em></a></p><p>OK as long as 1809 (whatever) finally eliminates as much of Control Panel as possible. How hard would it really be, say, to move the link for Administrative Tools in Control Panel to a link under System in Settings? Will MSFT take this as an opportunity? I know how I'd bet on that.</p>

      • davidblouin

        29 June, 2018 - 10:21 am

        <blockquote><a href="#286958"><em>In reply to hrlngrv:</em></a></blockquote><p>Ask yourself how much of the Windows using crowd use Administrative Tools on a regular basis and you will understand everything.</p>

  • lezmaka

    Premium Member
    27 June, 2018 - 2:51 pm

    <p>How does Sets compare to Groupy?</p>

    • ph-sth

      27 June, 2018 - 3:01 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#286655"><em>In reply to lezmaka:</em></a></blockquote><p>Groupy works.</p>

      • Martin Pelletier

        Premium Member
        27 June, 2018 - 3:31 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#286657"><em>In reply to ph-sth:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yep, Groupy works just fine.</p>

  • curtisspendlove

    27 June, 2018 - 2:56 pm

    <p>Well, heck…maybe they can announce it alongside Apple announcing AirPower is “finally” for sale. :)</p><p><br></p><p>It is tech people, software and hardware are hard. </p><p><br></p><p>:: shrug ::</p>

  • SRLRacing

    27 June, 2018 - 3:48 pm

    <p>This is a good move. Sets is still a bit too rough.</p>

  • jwpear

    Premium Member
    27 June, 2018 - 4:06 pm

    <p>I'm probably an outlier here, but I don't understand all the fuss over this feature. How does it make folks more productive? How does it make Windows better?</p><p><br></p><p>I prefer tabbing through windows, not tabs. I constantly fight the browser tabs with this–I like having some things in tabs, but often want others in their own windows so I can quickly alt-tab through my "apps". I wish there were hotkeys to quickly dock or undock a tab. Maybe that's what Sets is all about? I've never been on one of the insider builds that got them.</p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">My workflow certainly may not translate to the majority. </span></p><p><br></p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      28 June, 2018 - 8:26 am

      <blockquote><a href="#286676"><em>In reply to jwpear:</em></a></blockquote><p>No, I think you make sense. What does having them grouped into tabs do that wasn’t already solved for?</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    27 June, 2018 - 4:51 pm

    <p>I'm not surprised. The experience I had with Sets was pisspoor.</p><p><br></p><p>This was a total shitshow of a "feature." It was a halfass idea and executed poorly.</p><p><br></p><p><em>I tried it and hated it and I'm glad it's dead.</em></p><p><br></p><p>Edit: In the cold light of day, I was harsh but my opinion still stands. The implementation was lacking. The only thing I disagree with from my original post is that it wasn’t a good idea. It was, but it wasn’t done very well. </p>

  • Dan1986ist

    Premium Member
    27 June, 2018 - 5:37 pm

    <p>Remember at Build, Microsoft said they were not going to tie the release of a feature to the next Windows 10 Version, which is what I think they doing with Sets again.</p>

  • seapea

    27 June, 2018 - 7:59 pm

    <p>oh well. easy come, easy go.</p>

  • AlexKven

    27 June, 2018 - 9:07 pm

    <p>Paul says twice a year is too fast for Windows, and may be so for large events where they tie big features to specific releases of Windows. But if they're going to pull this on us and make prefect the enemy of good, and where "not quite great" = 6 months longer to wait, then they ought to do releases quarterly. </p>

  • irfaanwahid

    28 June, 2018 - 1:36 am

    <p>So what remains in RS5? Another boring unnecessary forced upgrade. Microsoft should really get rid of bi-annual for annual upgrade cycle and actually focus on features and refinement. Releasing Builds after Builds to the public is probably not helping all that much after all, like loads of problems reported for RS4.</p><p>They can go back to Alpha, Release Candidate etc and release bigger upgrades every year.</p>

    • Tony Barrett

      28 June, 2018 - 6:44 am

      <blockquote><a href="#286752"><em>In reply to irfaanwahid:</em></a></blockquote><p>Release as much as they want to Insiders (those people are on a Win10 rollercoaster ride anyway), but for general release, a single, annual update is way better and more sensible. More time for testing and bug fixing, and hopefully, more stable builds. Why MS committed to this bi-annual thing is beyond me – just so they can say 'everyone else does one, but we do two!'. Stupid AF!</p>

      • davidblouin

        28 June, 2018 - 1:01 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#286767"><em>In reply to ghostrider:</em></a></blockquote><p>Because everyone and their mother complain on the internet that Windows was way behind iOS and Android and it needed to be modernize fast.</p><p><br></p><p>I actually remember not long ago when they announce the 2 update a year cadence and everyone was happy that they seem to finally take modernizing Windows seriously and that could soon take on Android and iOS.</p><p><br></p><p>And now everyone is complaining that it has to stop because they add to many feature…</p><p><br></p><p>I can't wait until they slow down their release cadence and everyone start to complain that they are abandoning Windows…</p><p><br></p><p>Oh the wonderful world of Windows fans…</p>

        • irfaanwahid

          03 July, 2018 - 1:33 am

          <blockquote><a href="#286811"><em>In reply to davidblouin:</em></a></blockquote><p>Say what you will, 3 year cycle was granted long. But at least it brought a lot of goodies with it and exciting ones. From XP to Vista (ok that's 5yrs), to 7 and 8. All those big updates were exciting and fun loads of productivity features came in.</p><p>With the current state, neither Microsoft is able to release big/productive updates nor it is able to retain quality. We're actually getting no quality stuff.</p>

  • dcdevito

    28 June, 2018 - 6:36 am

    <p>We can't have nice things</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      29 June, 2018 - 5:08 am

      <p><a href="#286765"><em>In reply to dcdevito:</em></a></p><p>With respect to Sets and Office, maybe we can't have both nice things. That is, Sets and Office's QAT (Quick Access Toolbar). Given what Sets eliminates, I have to wonder whether Windows and Office developer teams had any discussions. Commendable in a way if they didn't, and (if so) amusing that Windows changes get tabled.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    29 June, 2018 - 4:39 am

    <p>If Sets were the only major new feature, then 2018Q3 through 2019Q1 may be a wonderful time to release only cumulative updates. However, there's Edge to consider, and it looks like a fall 2018 upgrade would be needed for an Edge upgrade. No better reason for Edge to be unbundled from Windows, but if that made it easier NOT to use Edge, then MSFT just ain't gonna do it.</p><p>FWLIW, this last build changed my Start menu's contents, so it seems MSFT is intent on giving me the Windows user experience MSFT wants me to have. Same goes for the browser experience MSFT wants me to have. If so, then semiannual upgrades are the new normal as they allow MSFT to reset pesky user customizations as often as MSFT can get away with.</p>

  • Jules Wombat

    30 June, 2018 - 7:34 am

    <p>Microsoft should return to 3 year cycles, so that they could actually deliver compelling features. The so called Windows 10 "upgrades" have all been cross. Business users have become so frustrated by Windows 10 management, it is no wonder they are dropping Windows and flocking to thin client platforms. </p>

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