Microsoft Updates Calculator in New Windows 10 Fast Ring Build

Microsoft has released Windows 10 Insider Preview build 19546 to Insiders in the Fast ring, and it has one new feature. Which may or may not be in the next version of Windows 10, because that’s the system we’re working with now.

Actually, it’s even stranger than that if you really think about it. This particular change is just one new feature in one Store app that happens to ship with Windows 10. So it could technically be added to any supported version of Windows 10 at any time. Meaning, it doesn’t have to be—should not be—restricted to Windows 10 version 20H2 or later.

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But that’s the system, right? We’re testing features now in the Fast ring. Including, apparently, new features inside of existing apps.

In this case, Calculator. (Or, as the Insider post refers to it, “Windows Calculator.” A name that appears nowhere in Windows 10 that I can see. Not in the Start menu, not in the app’s title bar, not in the app’s About box. And not in Task Manager when the app is running. I don’t why this stuff bugs me so much, but the lack of precision in these posts continues to amaze.)

And the new feature? It’s a new graphing mode that Microsoft says is one of its top feature requests in Feedback Hub. Which is interesting, given all the important things that still need to be fixed in Windows 10.

Still, it’s obviously useful for certain people, like students. Or, even “empowering,” as Microsoft claims, because everything has to be empowering these days. It will let you—sorry, empower you to—plot one or more equations on the graph, add equations with variables, and analyze the graph. It looks pretty cool. Doesn’t seem to warrant an entire build. But cool, sure.

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Conversation 28 comments

  • RobertJasiek

    17 January, 2020 - 9:23 am

    <p>MS should first fix all bugs of the W10 calculator. Under W7, it was bug-free so I use the W7 version in W10…!</p>

    • thejoefin

      Premium Member
      17 January, 2020 - 2:22 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#513934">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>Have you filed bug reports on the Calculator GitHub repo?</p>

      • RobertJasiek

        17 January, 2020 - 2:30 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#514049">In reply to TheJoeFin:</a></em></blockquote><p>No. I am sorry for not having time for doing so.</p>

        • thejoefin

          Premium Member
          17 January, 2020 - 4:12 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#514052">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>You don't have time to file bugs with the team so it can be fixed, but you have time to come here and complain about the bugs? Sounds about right for people on the internet these days.</p>

          • sandeepm

            17 January, 2020 - 8:12 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#514086">In reply to TheJoeFin:</a></em></blockquote><p>No point filing bugs… they will say it is by design. But seriously? I never saw an issue with calculator on W10… actually, if I am not wrong, a lot of the features, like currency conversion did not exist on 7 and not even on phone</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      17 January, 2020 - 5:02 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/228292/microsoft-updates-calculator-in-new-windows-10-fast-ring-build#513934&quot; target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><em>In reply to RobertJasiek:</em></a></p><p>I use the ancient CalcPlus when I'm lazy, though I also have MSFT Mathematics installed. When I'm not lazy and/or need fast, reliable arbitrary precision, I fire up WSL and use bc.</p>

  • vernonlvincent

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 9:36 am

    <p>I see your point, but in the hierarchy of Microsoft Sins – this doesn't bother me too much. Different teams work on different things, and get finished – or ready to demo – at different times. My guess is that this was ready-enough to slip into whatever build came next, and so they did it. </p><p><br></p><p>I get your point about precision, but – again, for me – the difference between calling something Calculator vs. Windows Calculator is the same as the difference between calling something Word vs. Microsoft Word. It's not like sudden and ineffable confusion is likely to result from the inclusion of an (albeit redundant or unnecessary) word in this instance.</p><p><br></p><p>And taking the feature on its own merits – it's a really nice thing to have that should have been done a lot time ago.</p>

  • branpurn

    17 January, 2020 - 9:36 am

    <p>Windows Calculator. The calculator that is distributed with Windows. Windows, Calculator. Doesn't bother me that much. <img class="emoji" role="img" draggable="false" alt="?" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/svg/1f914.svg"></p&gt;

  • thejoefin

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 9:43 am

    <p>From what I can tell on Windows Calculator repository on GitHub, the graphing feature will eventually be rolling out to all users. Microsoft is using the insider rings to test builds of the Calculator. The new build is not a requirement for this feature, anyone can get the code and build the app on their machine. The program is called the Windows Insider program, and since Calculator is a built in app it makes sense that the Insider team would be the one discussing feedback and announcing releases. A little odd that they include this announcement to a build post instead of just another post. </p><p><br></p><p>As for the naming, I'd guess this is the kind of thing where when you work at Microsoft there are a ton of different products with some form of calculator. Calling it Windows Calculator is instantly understandable. When I read a post about the "Windows Calculator" I don't read it as the entire product name being "Windows Calculator", but instead I see "Windows" as an adjective. Also it is very common to me to hear people use it this way when talking about Windows components: Windows Applications, Windows Taskbar, Windows APIs, Windows Mail app, etc. None of these are the technically precise names, just what people call them to be precise enough to minimize confusion. </p>

  • hoyty76

    17 January, 2020 - 10:08 am

    <p>Alternate headline suggestion – Paul dislikes WIP communication, oh and new build with calculator. Seems the headline feature was discussed in less than half the article.</p>

  • Pierre Masse

    17 January, 2020 - 10:54 am

    <p>Leave Britney… Euh, sorry… Leave Windows Insiders alone!!!!! (Cry)</p>

  • robert_wood

    17 January, 2020 - 10:58 am

    <p>Texas Instruments just had a stroke.</p>

    • TroyTruax

      17 January, 2020 - 1:48 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#514010">In reply to Robert_Wood:</a></em></blockquote><p>Can you&nbsp;imagine if Microsoft were to release this version of Calculator to IOS and Android?</p>

      • Paul Thurrott

        Premium Member
        18 January, 2020 - 11:09 am

        What would happen exactly? 🙂

    • thejoefin

      Premium Member
      17 January, 2020 - 2:23 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#514010">In reply to Robert_Wood:</a></em></blockquote><p>nah, TI calculators are popular because they are the standardized testing standard, not because they are good.</p>

  • MikeGalos

    17 January, 2020 - 11:42 am

    <p>Paul, if it bothers you that much then file a bug against the name of the application. </p><p><br></p><p>That's what beta testing is all about.</p>

  • Intara

    17 January, 2020 - 12:34 pm

    <p>Regarding the "top feature request" graphing mode: M$ did not include the source code of this graphing mode into the github source code repository of "Calc.exe". What is quite strange, because they wanted to promote UWP apps by releasing the Calc.exe source code. </p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(36, 41, 46);">"To that end, the UI from the official in-box Windows Calculator is currently part of this repository, although the proprietary Microsoft-built graphing engine, which also drives graphing in Microsoft Mathematics and OneNote, is not." (source: Readme.md in </span>github.com/microsoft/calculator)</p><p><br></p>

  • Vitor Canova Weingaertner

    17 January, 2020 - 12:50 pm

    <p>They should fix Ctrl+C Ctrl+V first. Many people complain that sometimes you try paste and nothing happen. You can even see the data in transfer area using Windows+V but paste fail. I reported it years ago. No answer.</p>

    • thejoefin

      Premium Member
      17 January, 2020 - 2:27 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#514033"><em>In reply to Vitor_Canova_Weingaertner:</em></a></blockquote><p>Windows isn't one giant team working on one codebase one bug at a time. Also throwing more devs on a bug doesn't simply fix the problem faster or better. </p>

  • Cdorf

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 2:10 pm

    <p>My biggest thing is that why did we shorten the life of our SSD's to pull down a whole new build for a store app that could have been put in any ring at anytime?</p>

  • Jim Lewis

    17 January, 2020 - 3:44 pm

    <p>Amazing how negative Paul can get about a very useful feature that needs to be tested before it's put in the Store or released as part of Windows. If it was made widely available and discovered to have serious bugs, Paul would be on MS's case for not adequately testing it before it was released, e.g., see comments about problems with previous Win10 versions, too rapid release, etc. Since it's a useful, requested, but not particularly crucial feature, what's wrong with MS favoring its own priorities and so on in how it goes about releasing the graphing feature-Fast Ring Insiders are those who've volunteered to be on the bleeding edge for whatever reasons. It's not as if the masses of "normal" people are clamoring for a graphing calculator in Windows 10 (or WinX). But it might be a relatively more important feature in selling Win devices in the educational market – but I don't think MS wants to test the graphing feature out first on school children….</p>

    • sandeepm

      17 January, 2020 - 8:07 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#514072">In reply to Jim_Lewis:</a></em></blockquote><p>It need not be tied to a Windows beta, it can be an app beta. Somehow, Microsoft can not get to modularity, no matter what… still stuck to the monolithic win32 concept.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 4:29 pm

    <p>I would prefer they bring back the worksheet functions they had in the Windows 7 calculator. Those where very handy. Calculated my house bond it while hunting for a house. </p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 4:55 pm

    <p>The return of XP's Powertoy Calculator? Great if true.</p><p>As for Feedback Hub, MSFT pays attention to what it wants to pay attention to. Claims of 'top feature request' rank right up there with 'the check's in the mail' and 'I'd never cheat on you'. This was easy to do (MSFT already had code to do this more than a decade ago, and that ignores Excel's code base), and it'll look good. Cheap eyewash is always a winner in Redmond.</p>

  • sandeepm

    17 January, 2020 - 8:03 pm

    <p>Duh! Windows Calculator is the best calculator, even without graphing. Pity it is not available on Android. No one uses calculator on a PC. </p><p>Actually, bing search is also a very good calculator.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      18 January, 2020 - 11:03 am

      Yeah, Windows is going to die on this hill. Say what you will, but our Calculator app is great! 🙂

  • tomker

    Premium Member
    17 January, 2020 - 8:16 pm

    <p>Calculator? How about some attention to something that really needs it — the Mail and Calendar app.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      18 January, 2020 - 11:03 am

      Or the built-in crapware, advertising, and telemetry. There are many, many things to fix.

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