Windows 11 Dev Channel Finally Gets Some New Features

A new Windows 11 build for Insiders in the Dev channel finally adds a few post-RTM additions to the new system.

Among the new features are the superfluous—a set of “much-anticipated” new Fluent emoji—and the truly useful, a new Update Stack Packages technology that will help Microsoft deliver update improvements outside of major OS updates (new builds). There are a few other minor changes, but nothing worth discussing.

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Microsoft is also belatedly celebrating the 7th-anniversary of the Windows Insider Program with two new wallpapers that in no way resemble the “flow” wallpapers that come with Windows 11. Ah well, some of the previous wallpapers were pretty nice.

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Conversation 9 comments

  • blue77star

    14 October, 2021 - 7:16 pm

    <p>And what’s actually a new feature exactly?</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      14 October, 2021 - 7:58 pm

      <p>It was mentioned in the article text, the Update Stack Package tech. It allows Microsoft to deliver even smaller delta updates for minor features and improvements without having to release a cumulative update.</p><p><br></p><p>Think of it as a Hotfix vs a Service Pack in the old days.</p>

      • blue77star

        14 October, 2021 - 8:27 pm

        <p>I was hoping for some performance fix on Zen 3 processors.</p>

        • skinnyjm

          14 October, 2021 - 10:22 pm

          <p>Yes that seems like something that should be tested thoroughly first but…probably will not.</p>

        • waethorn

          15 October, 2021 - 1:29 am

          <p>You silly. Didn’t you read Microsoft’s minimum specs? They call for a Zen 2. Who do you think you are, trying to use something better than their minimum specs anyway? A Zen 2 should be enough for anyone. What are you? An climate change denier using that latest and greatest high-performance chip that consumes more energy than Mother Gaia can afford?! Some people need that reserve energy to fly their massive private jets around the world to expensive retreats for the wealthy tech leadership to discuss how to abuse your data, you know. When Satya finishes his NewsGuard Ultimatum Edition plug-in, he’s going to filter out all the news about the latest processors and replace it with ads for Surface devices instead.</p><p><br></p><p>Is that enough sarcasm for the day?</p>

    • ezzy

      Premium Member
      15 October, 2021 - 5:49 pm

      <p>While not earth-shattering, you can now hover the cursor over the speaker icon in the system tray and use your mouse wheel to adjust the volume.</p><p><br></p><p>Pretty cool idea actually.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    15 October, 2021 - 5:29 am

    <p>I am confused, did Windows 11 Ship with the old set of emoji’s, after the big blog posts and reveals? That is sad!</p>

    • waethorn

      15 October, 2021 - 12:28 pm

      <p>Many things in Windows 11 are sad.</p>

  • slepr

    Premium Member
    15 October, 2021 - 5:55 pm

    <p>If only I could get it to install on my SP6. Tried 3 times last night and it always failed at 90% installation after restart. Guess I will stick with 22471 for a while. </p>

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