What’s Next for the Windows 10 Field Guide?
- Paul Thurrott
- Dec 14, 2020
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29
One year ago, I decided to support the Windows 10 Field Guide through the end of 2020. That date is now rapidly approaching.
I’m still not entirely sure how to move forward, but I have a few ideas.
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First, I’ve been updating the book for Windows 10 version 20H2 in recent weeks, so if you’ve not downloaded the book recently, you might want to grab a new version (it’s in your Leanpub library and you can always access the latest version).
Some additions to come include a new chapter about command-line shells, a major update to the Install Windows 10 chapter, and content related to Meet Now, Your Phone, and Microsoft Edge. So I think it’s fair to say that supporting/updating the book “through at least the end of 2020” will basically turn into “through as much time as it takes me to get it completely updated for 20H1.” Through sometime in early 2021, I guess.
As for the future, I’d like to move the book to the web somehow, perhaps as a series of Premium articles with a table of contents on Thurrott.com. Updating that—and/or the book in its current form—after that will depend on what happens with Windows 10 next year, and as I’m sure most of you know, Microsoft hasn’t been at all clear about its release 2021 roadmap. There are rumors that things are going to change quite a bit.
If Windows 10 is updated with some minor release in the first half of 2021, I can imagine updating the book to support that. But if Windows 10 is served by a major release sometime in 2021, I could also imagine releasing a new edition of the book that would be, in effect, a “new” book in the sense that it wouldn’t be provided free to existing customers. We’ll see.
The other option is a different book. Perhaps something that focuses on Windows 10X, if that makes any sense at all. I’m also interested in writing a book about Google Pixel. (Actually, two books. I’ve considered a Windows 10 Field Guide-like book that supports Pixel users, and also a history of the business I call Pixel Imperfect. I don’t know.) And then there’s that whole Programming Windows thing too.
For now, I need to focus on the 20H2 updates to the Windows 10 Field Guide, but I’ve been thinking about a way forward for a while now, and I will continue to do so. But let me know if any of this strikes you as particularly interesting or not.
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Conversation 29 comments
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saturn
<p>Just my 2 cents worth: I think it might be time to wrap up the idea of a Windows 10 guide. I'm not confident a version of the book accessible and updated through the website would attract much attention or readership. </p><p><br></p><p>I personally quite like the idea of Pixel Imperfect. I also like the potential idea of a series of web articles spread over time about the best and worst of Windows throughout the years – a reflection series on how Windows has changed, triumphed and faulted over time. Something tech enthusiasts can sink their teeth into.</p>