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The Windows Insider Program is a confusing mess

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ZDNET's key takeaways:

The Windows Insider Program has evolved tremendously in the last 11 years.

For enterprise customers, those changes have been a source of confusion.

Recent key leadership shifts suggest more unwelcome changes are on the way.

When the Windows Insider Program launched on Sept. 30, 2014, it was a game-changer. The new initiative was a way for Microsoft engineers and product managers to hear from customers about "how they are using and deploying Windows, and what they need from us," said the then-leader of the Windows division.

With the Insider program, we're inviting our most enthusiastic Windows customers to shape Windows 10 with us. We know they're a vocal bunch – and we're looking forward to hearing from them. The Windows Insider Program is intended for PC experts and IT pros who are comfortable using pre-release software with variable quality. Insiders will receive a steady stream of early builds from us with the latest features we're experimenting with.

More than a decade later, the Windows Insider Program is still chugging along, but it's changed tremendously in that time -- and not necessarily for the better.

How it started

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