You may recall that last week when I talked about the Microsoft Edge insider program, I also mentioned the Windows Insiders program, specifically alluding to the aspect in which it occurred a small but noticeable difference between them. Specifically, what I commented is that while in the browser the channel where we find the most unstable versions but also the first to test many new features was the Canary channel, in the case of Windows testing it was the Dev channel, which in the case of the browser is the middle channel from three available.

At first glance, let’s recall the organization of the channels of both programs:

Not a problem, really, but doesn’t it seem a little weird? Developer and beta channel names do not match in both programs?

This is because Microsoft adopted the name “Canary” when switching to Chromium, with which it uses a deployment strategy called Canary Deployment, quite common in agile development models. It’s a common designation, Google Chrome actually has a Canary version as well, which is also available to all users who want to download and try it out.

Well, today I was surprised and it seems that Microsoft listened to me (or that I listened to them) because today we learned that The Windows Insiders program will soon launch a new channel called Canarywhich suggests that those at Redmond are also considering using this deployment strategy for their operating system, which at least a priori seems like very good news.

So the Windows Insiders program will have four channels, the current three, but now a fourth will be added, making the models of the two programs more similar:

Thus, Windows Insiders’ Canary and Dev channels remain the least trusted options and thus those that should never be installed on the systems we depend on for study, work, communication, etc. Now the news and tests that affect critical parts of the operating system, such as the kernel, are moved to the Canary channel, while the channel for the developer is “rebooted” in order to implement operating system features in time.

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