Friday, May 5th 2017
Original Windows 10 Release will be EOL'd Next "Patch Tuesday"
If you are running the original release of Windows 10 for some reason nearly 2 years after launch, you may want to consider finally doing a feature update to one of the newer builds. This May's "Patch Tuesday" will be the last for the original release build of the operating system, otherwise known as "Version 1507."Microsoft states the usual tune regarding what will happen if you ignore this: Your computer will continue to work, but you will miss out on new security updates. This could make your machine vulnerable. Furthermore, several driver model and kernel level changes have occurred since the original build, meaning you may not even be able to load your latest GPU drivers, for instance.
It is worth noting this is the first time Microsoft has EOL'd an operating system under 2 years of age. Microsoft defends this of course by explaining the "Windows as a Service" model is built for constant feature updates, to improve the OS over time. Windows 10 itself remains an actively supported product, naturally.
Regardless of how you feel about the practice of "Windows as a Service," you probably should consider updating machines still running this build of Windows 10, if you have any. The only reason I can picture you'd still be on this build would be bandwidth limited machines, in which case, you may have to make an exception and get bandwidth somehow (or burn an update CD/USB, etc). There are also of course offline machines, where you likely don't care either way about network security issues, but those are few and far between today. If you are online, it really is advisable to update if you can to an actively supported OS.
It is worth noting this is the first time Microsoft has EOL'd an operating system under 2 years of age. Microsoft defends this of course by explaining the "Windows as a Service" model is built for constant feature updates, to improve the OS over time. Windows 10 itself remains an actively supported product, naturally.
Regardless of how you feel about the practice of "Windows as a Service," you probably should consider updating machines still running this build of Windows 10, if you have any. The only reason I can picture you'd still be on this build would be bandwidth limited machines, in which case, you may have to make an exception and get bandwidth somehow (or burn an update CD/USB, etc). There are also of course offline machines, where you likely don't care either way about network security issues, but those are few and far between today. If you are online, it really is advisable to update if you can to an actively supported OS.