4 ms·

You can't update between Mobile and Desktop editions, or between Desktop and Xbox, or between Xbox and Hololens, etc.

WorldMaker 9y ago
Yet. Right now there are a bunch of little forked differences between them all. Microsoft says they are working to merge all the shell differences into a single project (CShell; composable shell), and the point of getting to a clean core (the "Polaris" codename in this article) seems to be to make sure all the rest of Windows modularly slots in on top of that, and a benefit to that is that you could quite possibly more easily change between which modules are loaded/available. From the Continuum project, we know that Microsoft finds it interesting to be able to switch between Mobile and Desktop editions as much "on the fly" as possible. Could mean they have ideas for switching between Desktop and Xbox modes, too.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Microsoft says they are working to merge all the shell differences into a single project (CShell; composable shell), and the point of getting to a clean core (the "Polaris" codename in this article) The clean core is Windows Core OS; Polaris is the desktop-specific composer on top of CShell and Windows Core OS and is also used in this article as the name of a UWP-only Windows edition incorporating the Core OS/CShell/Polaris-composer stack.
  - WorldMaker 9y ago
    Do you have a source for your specifics? From the linked article I assumed that Polaris was just the new codename for the next big phase of Windows Core OS/OneCore/etc work and the article was mistaken or presuming much about a Core/CShell-only edition release plan. It makes sense that there would be a codename for the desktop-composer on top of CShell, and that would be a far better explanation of things than the article here.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      Here's an article which discusses the strategy in some more detail, explicitly identifying Polaris as the composer (but then also seeming to use it as the name for a desktop spin of Windows with Polaris in the stack): https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-core-polaris https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-core-polaris This Windows Central article actually seems to be the source for most of the other recent coverage, so it may be the most complete piece out there.

Yet. Right now there are a bunch of little forked differences between them all. Microsoft says they are working to merge all the shell differences into a single project (CShell; composable shell), and the point of getting to a clean core (the "Polaris" codename in this article) seems to be to make sure all the rest of Windows modularly slots in on top of that, and a benefit to that is that you could quite possibly more easily change between which modules are loaded/available. From the Continuum project, we know that Microsoft finds it interesting to be able to switch between Mobile and Desktop editions as much "on the fly" as possible. Could mean they have ideas for switching between Desktop and Xbox modes, too.

dragonwriter 9y ago
> Microsoft says they are working to merge all the shell differences into a single project (CShell; composable shell), and the point of getting to a clean core (the "Polaris" codename in this article) The clean core is Windows Core OS; Polaris is the desktop-specific composer on top of CShell and Windows Core OS and is also used in this article as the name of a UWP-only Windows edition incorporating the Core OS/CShell/Polaris-composer stack.
- WorldMaker 9y ago
  Do you have a source for your specifics? From the linked article I assumed that Polaris was just the new codename for the next big phase of Windows Core OS/OneCore/etc work and the article was mistaken or presuming much about a Core/CShell-only edition release plan. It makes sense that there would be a codename for the desktop-composer on top of CShell, and that would be a far better explanation of things than the article here.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    Here's an article which discusses the strategy in some more detail, explicitly identifying Polaris as the composer (but then also seeming to use it as the name for a desktop spin of Windows with Polaris in the stack): https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-core-polaris https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-core-polaris This Windows Central article actually seems to be the source for most of the other recent coverage, so it may be the most complete piece out there.