Another reason why the OS seems to swell with every update

Changing text in Microsoft Windows requires freezing string updates well before code changes stop, often leading to strange wording that persists for years.

These quirks aren't due to last-minute updates. Instead, it is all about the translations, according to veteran engineer Raymond Chen.

"This deadline usually comes well before the engineering 'no code changes' deadline," Chen wrote on his Old New Thing blog, "because the translators require a lot of time to go through all the strings and translate them into the many target languages that Windows supports."

The real problem emerges during updates when changes get rolled out and existing functionality is updated. Does Microsoft modify the text to say that widget x performs function z instead of function y?

Nope. Microsoft adds new translations and leaves the old ones alone. Anything that is already in the system is considered permanently locked and cannot be changed.

"The reason ...