back to article No more Windows build strings for you: BuildFeed has turned off the lights

As Windows 7 tipped over into its 12-month march to oblivion, the popular Windows tracking site, BuildFeed, issued its final update. It's an ignoble end for a handy resource for those trying to work out what is happening within the bowels of Redmond with regard to the many and varied versions of the Windows operating system. …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seems odd that this site was required, let alone MS being against such a thing.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Typical MS

    One bit does something useful and loses an internal power struggle so another bit comes along does a 'deltree' to all that good stuff and starts again. The result is what we see today, an unholy mess.

    Sorry, they are painting themselves into the 'corner of irrelevancy'.

    I'm making quite a decent crust moving businesess (mostly SME's) away from their dependency on the whims of Redmond.

    In this time of political uncertainty, they want to know that their email + web + shopfront ++++ server won't be borked by the next poor quality update that gets out into the wild.

    1. N2
      Pint

      Re: Typical MS

      "I'm making quite a decent crust moving businesess (mostly SME's) away from their dependency on the whims of Redmond"

      Good for you, have a pint.

  3. Paul Herber Silver badge

    19H1 - sounds like a bird-flu variant.

    1. druck Silver badge

      Has about the same effect on the average user's productivity too.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Funny, Win has been running on foldable devices for decades already. They're called laptops.

  5. viscount

    Can someone decode this article because I don't get it. What would MS do to force a site with a list of build numbers to close? What are "internal pressures"? It makes no sense.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      Microsoft did place pressure on BuildFeed

      @viscount: “Can someone decode this article because I don't get it. What would MS do to force a site with a list of build numbers to close? What are "internal pressures"? It makes no sense.

      BuildFeed posts information on using Microsoft Windows build strings. It seems that BuildFeed posted a Windows build-string referencing ‘rs_shell_foldables’, in the process accidentally leaking the information that Microsoft is working on a Windows version that will run on foldable devices. Shortly after BuildFeed was shut-down. BuildFeed has stated that this has nothing to do with pressure coming from Microsoft. “Were Microsoft not placing any pressure on BuildFeed, I doubt there'd be an issue”. It would be relevant to know exactly the nature of this pressure, who it is coming from and the motivation for such pressure. Was it in retaliation for leaking “s_shell_foldables”.

  6. Howard Hanek
    Flame

    Windows 7 Die?

    Lack of MS support won't get Microsoft much further. They're busily bricking themselves in with Windows 10 into their tomb of corporate incompetence.

  7. mark l 2 Silver badge

    "Many in the open source world will cheerfully fling out nightly builds to any that would like them (with, of course, a hefty health warning)."

    Microsoft entire strategy with Windows 10 is to fling out builds with very little in house testing, but without the hefty health warnings. Then if it doesn't work they will try to patch it later.

  8. adfh

    The whole emphasis on driving features down into build numbers etc. feels very Apple

    I mean, look at Apple hardware.. You used to have things like "Plus" "Classic" "SE/30" "LC II", "LC 575", "Powerbook 150" (uggh - the 150 was an abomination) - where it was clear which model was what. Now you have an indecipherable, usually really tiny string of meaningless letters and numbers hidden somewhere, and have them described as "2012 with the bezel that looks like X, and the thing on the back".

    I mean, Apple dropped "OS X" and went back to "macOS" (with slightly different capitalisation).. how long until Windows 10 becomes just "Windows Client", "Windows Server", "Windows Mobile" (lol, ok I included the last one as a gag). I get that it's all about subscription models, continuous development, small releases etc.. but it's the same with trying to figure out just what exactly changed in a patch release... go to this KB article, then this one, then go to this site..

    The smoke and mirrors is just so tiring!

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