The story of "Visual Studio Code 1703" is actually a tale of a specific version—

Terminal Integration: Shell integration became enabled by default.

Shell Integration: Automatically enabled by default for PowerShell, bash, and zsh, providing enhanced terminal features like command decorations. Important Note for Windows 7 Users

Why developers roll back to this version:

Why Seek a “Top” Download for Version 1703?

You might wonder, why not just download the latest VS Code? Here are the top three reasons developers hunt for this specific legacy download:

Introduction

This release introduced several "top" workflow enhancements that redefined the coding experience: