Microsoft launches Hub for all Insider Programs
Microsoft's Insider program is a success and it should not come as a surprise that the company launched Insider programs for many of its core products in recent years.
It all began with the introduction of the Windows 10 Insider Program. Organizations, administrators, and interested users could join the program to test pre-release versions of the operating system.
Microsoft killed two birds with one stone with the introduction; it opened up development to the public, at least to a degree, and got its hands on data provided by Insider PCs to detect certain issues prior to release.
Participants were encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions. The effect of feedback on development is debatable. Critics argue that Microsoft is not listening enough to the provided feedback, Microsoft argues that it values feedback and used it in the past to improve or change functionality.
Microsoft launched Insider programs for other company products. Microsoft Office, the search engine Bing, the new Microsoft Edge browser that is based on Chromium, the communication software Skype, the development environment Visual Studio Code, and Xbox support the Insider program.
The new Insider Programs hub provides a list of these programs.
The Hub lists the available Insider Programs on a single page. Each program is listed with a short description and a link to the actual homepage of the Insider Program.
A click on the learn more link under Office Insider opens the official Office Insider Program homepage.
Closing Words
The new hub offers little in terms of functionality. It offers an overview of available Insider Programs, and that may be reason enough to bookmark the page. Microsoft will add new programs to the page when they are launched so that it is easy enough to keep an overview of new programs.
Insiders share Telemetry with Microsoft, something that home users and organizations need to be aware of. It is highly suggested not to join Insider Programs on production machines as software released should be considered in development.
Now You: Have you joined an Insider Program?
That depends on your definition of a success. For example it didn’t do a great job when it came to user data being deleted even though it had been reported. If it was in addition to proper internal QA then fine but they’re using instead of and that’s not.
Certainly. What I meant with success was that Microsoft managed to get lots of sign-ups for the program. It is clear that the program cannot replace proper testing. One of Microsoft’s problems right now has its source in focusing on Telemetry data. If Microsoft would have kept its in-house testing team and added Telemetry from Insiders to the system, that would probably have turned out better in terms of issues in release versions of the operating system.
“Have you joined an Insider Program?”
Sortof. Back in the Windows 3 days, I was part of what the equivalent of the “insider program” they had then. I was even a beta tester for Windows 95 (it was still called “Chicago” then). After that, I became part of Apple’s equivalent of an “insider program” related to the Newton.
I haven’t joined a similar program since.
I do not trust “Google” and “Microsoft” because of the concerns of the NSA and Five Eyes.
It is an idea that I do not participate (from before and from now on) in the means by which Microsoft’s telemetry is obliged.