The new build is only offered to fast ring users

Aug 18, 2015 17:49 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has re-launched the Windows Insider program with a fresh build that comes with some eagerly-awaited features, including colored title bars – an option that was already available in previous builds via a registry trick.

Windows 10 build 10525 is only available to those enrolled in the fast ring and Microsoft says that it hasn’t yet made a decision on a possible release to the slow track too.

For the moment, Microsoft is going forward with the Windows Insider program just like before, so fast ring users get new builds first, while slow ring users receive them if they’re stable enough or if Microsoft manages to fix the majority of bugs before this.

What’s new?

The new build thus comes with updated color options, which Microsoft says should help anyone personalize their desktops even more. The feature is turned off by default, but you can enable it from Settings > Personalization > Colors.

“We got a lot of feedback on the default color for Start, Acton Center, Taskbar, and Title bars and that you wanted to be able to change to reflect your preferences,” Gabe Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, explained.

At the same time, Microsoft says that it made significant improvements to the Memory Manager, a new feature that helps Windows 10 manage running processes in a more effective way, improving performance and reducing the impact on system performance.

“We have added a new concept in the Memory Manager called a compression store, which is an in-memory collection of compressed pages. This means that when Memory Manager feels memory pressure, it will compress unused pages instead of writing them to disk. This reduces the amount of memory used per process, allowing Windows 10 to maintain more applications in physical memory at a time. This also helps provide better responsiveness across Windows 10,’ Aul pointed out.

How to get it

Windows insiders who have already installed preview builds on their computers get the new version automatically, so nothing needs to be done here.

On the other hand, if you are a new Windows 10 user who just upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1, you need to register your computer to receive preview builds. To do that, go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced options and activate the Get Insider builds feature.

As usual, keep in mind that in many cases these builds are unstable and could include bugs that might significantly impact system performance, so think twice before replacing a stable OS with this one.