Microsoft Ships Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 Build 10074

Surprise! Microsoft has delivered yet another Windows 10 pre-release build for PCs. Windows 10 build 10074 is now available to both Fast and Slow rings—the first time that’s ever happened—and it brings a number of new features, including some we saw today in the Build keynote.

Build 10074 is the third Fast ring build that Microsoft has delivered in the past 30 days. It follows the March 30 release of build 10049 and the April 22 release of build 10061. The last Slow ring release dates back to March 25, however. That was build 10041.

So now we have build 10074. Because it is being released to both the Fast and Slow rings, ISO downloads are available too, which is fantastic.

Here’s what’s new in this build.

General user experience improvements. There are a ton of UX changes, including a new Live Tile animation for Start, better support for high DPI displays, Aero Glass-style transparencies (which is curiously random; some will see it, some won’t) and more.

Continuum improvements. Work on the simplified taskbar continues, and when you close an application in Tablet mode, you go back to the Start screen instead of the desktop. Snapping has more polish, and the shared divider between two snapped windows is now size-adjustable.

Multi-tasking improvements. Alt-Tab, Task-View, and Snap Assist have all changed, though it’s not clear how. Snap Assist now supports the ability to close a window while in this view.

New default sounds. Not much to say here, but I think we got a preview of this during the Build keynote.

Cortana. Cortana has an updated UI in this build and is more tightly integrated with Start. The new Windows split view control has been added to Cortana’s left rail, offering quick access to key Cortana functionality like the Notebook, Reminders or Feedback. And there are some new and updated experiences powered by Bing Instant Answers.

Music Preview and Video Preview. The Music Preview app gets some UX improvements like a more immersive Now Playing experience with a real full screen mode. The Video Preview app can download content again.

Xbox app. The new Xbox app supports Game DVR for PC games, screenshots, a Live Tile, user profiles, and real-name sharing.

Windows Store Beta improvements: There’s a new blue tile, Xbox Live games and in-app purchases now work, and the Store Beta has expanded from 41 markets to numerous new markets.

Tips, tricks and how-to’s. There are all kinds of little tips, tricks and how-to’s all over Windows 10 now, aimed at helping you get up to speed on what’s new.

I’m downloading the build now over a slightly slow convention center connection, but I will have some shots up by tomorrow.