New Windows 10 preview: You get better localization, privacy, Mixed Reality
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Windows 10
Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 preview with better localization, privacy changes for microphone access, and Mixed Reality improvements.
The new Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17686 is the latest Redstone 5 build available to participants in the Windows Insider Fast ring and those in the Skip Ahead group.
Microsoft has added a Region page in the Settings App under Time & Language that allows users to override default regional format settings for Calendar, First day of the week, Dates, Times, and Currency.
Microsoft's Local Experience Packs, which are normally available through the Microsoft Store, are now accessible in the Settings App itself.
This change should make it simpler for users to enable Windows display language improvements. To do this you can click on the 'Add a Windows display language with Local Experience Packs' in Time & Language under Language.
See: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)
If you've previously disabled access to the microphone in privacy settings, Windows will now show a notification when the first attempt to use the microphone is blocked. The pop-up also has a link to review privacy settings.
Windows Mixed Reality no longer needs a physical monitor to be connected when using a backpack PC with this build, though the connection is required when setting it up.
Sharing images from a Mixed Reality view should be easier now that Mixed Reality apps can use the Camera Capture UI API to capture images of the mixed-reality world.
Microsoft recommends trying the capture and sharing enhancement by running Mail in the Cliff House and inserting a new image from the camera in a new message.
This build as usual includes a lot of bug fixes, changes, and improvements for Windows 10 on PCs, and an equally long list of known issues.
Build 17686 follows the May 31 Redstone 5 release of Windows 10 preview Build 17682, which introduced the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on-demand feature.
That build also brought default support in Edge for the WebAuthN API, bringing it in line with Google Chrome's and Mozilla Firefox's default support for the API, which aims to replace passwords for web logins with authentication dongles and biometrics stored in smartphones.
In Edge's case, it will allow Windows users to sign into sites that have enabled WebAuthn with Windows Hello -- via PIN or biometrics -- and FIDO2 Security Keys or FIDO U2F Security Keys.
Microsoft's new Region page allows users to override default regional format settings.
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