Tag: Microsoft

Microsoft is overhauling the Windows Insider Program – here’s the deal

The Windows Insider Program isn’t the same as it was a year ago. A lot has changed, from leadership to the way that builds are delivered.

It started back in February, when we were all still testing out Windows 10 version 1903. Microsoft had opened up the Skip Ahead subset of the Fast ring, which we all assumed was for version 1909, but it wasn’t. Microsoft went ahead and put Skip Ahead on 20H1; for the first time, Insiders were testing a version of Windows 10 that was slated for release a full year from then. In April, everyone was equally surprised with the regular Fast ring also skipped 19H2 in favor of 20H1. 19H2 ended up being reserved for the Slow ring.

In early October, Windows Insider Program chief Dona Sarkar announced her departure from the program, moving to the Power Platform. A replacement still hasn’t been named, but I’m told that Microsoft is still looking.

More changes were to come. During Ignite in early November, Microsoft announced that it’s killing off the Skip Ahead subset of the Fast ring. The move made sense, with the Fast ring testing out updates so far in advance now.

What is perhaps the biggest change was announced yesterday. The Fast ring is no longer tied to a specific Windows 10 release. Typically, the Fast ring gets builds from the rs_prerelease branch and then transitions to _release when the update is close to being done. That’s not going to happen anymore. Instead, the Fast ring will always get builds from rs_prerelease, and then it will be spun off into the Slow ring to prep for release.

There are several reasons for these changes. One is that the rings don’t make sense anymore. Fast and Slow imply how often builds are going to be released, but they’re not accurate. With the old way of doing things, the Slow ring would be barren for months on end, and then get builds as often as the Fast ring as an update was close to being finalized. If the Fast ring is perpetually testing rs_prerelease builds and the Slow ring is testing a feature update every six months, the rings are more useful.

Microsoft also doesn’t want to tie features to specific releases. The company has run into trouble with this in the past, promising things and then not delivering on time. Now, we’ll be testing features in the Fast ring, and Microsoft will decide at some point if it wants to include them in the builds that are spun off into the Slow ring.

Another factor here is Windows 10X, and 20H2. From what I’ve heard from sources, 20H2 will be the same type of update as 19H2, being delivered as a cumulative update and an enablement package. But it’s not for the same reason. 19H2 was delivered that way so Microsoft could focus on 20H1 and align Windows 10 development with Azure.

20H2, on the other hand, is being delivered in a similar way, but because Microsoft is focusing on Windows 10X. An issue with testing the new OS is that there are no devices that run it yet, so Microsoft can’t exactly run a Windows 10X Insider Program. One of the first devices will be the Surface Neo, and that’s not coming until later on next year.

What you’re going to see is a bunch of features coming to the Fast ring that are meant for Windows 10X, and will probably show up in Windows 10 proper in 21H1. And yes, the timeframe here is a bit strange. The Surface Neo is due out in the 20H2 timeframe, and yet 20H2 is going to be a cumulative update/enablement package. Microsoft will have a broader story to tell here, but the way I understand it is that Windows 10X will have a different build number than Windows 10 proper.

The most recent 20H1 Insider Preview build is 19041, so let’s assume for a moment that that’s the RTM build (it very well may be). Windows 10 for PCs 20H2 would be something like 19042, with Microsoft bumping the build number by one like it did for 19H2. Windows 10X would end up being something in the 19600 range, while Windows 10 21H1 and Windows 10X 21H1 would be aligned at some higher number like 20000 or so, but now we’re just making up numbers.

Yes, it’s all a bit confusing. All you really need to know for now is that the Fast ring is in perpetual prerelease status. That also means that there’s no more “magic window”, which is that timeframe where the Insider builds line up with the RTM and you can jump off of the Insider train. Naturally, you’ll be able to move to the Slow ring and then stop receiving builds at some point, or at least do a factory reset.

Microsoft is making significant changes to how it tests Windows 10 with Insiders

Big changes are coming to the way Microsoft develops and tests Windows 10 with participants in the Windows Insider Program. Starting with today’s build, Microsoft will no longer designate preview builds that roll out to the Fast ring as part of a specific release of Windows 10. This means that from now on, builds released to the Fast ring can includes features that might not show up in the immediate next public release of the OS.

Microsoft is essentially turning the Fast ring into a perpetual beta ring for Windows 10, with features coming in and out all the time that aren’t necessarily tied to the next version of the OS. This is similar to how the Edge Canary and Dev branches work, in that features will show up, but aren’t always guaranteed to ship with the next stable release of the browser. Sometimes those features can remain in the Canary or Dev branches for months before they make their way to a Stable release.

Today’s fast ring build is 19536, and Microsoft says these builds aren’t part of the next version of Windows 10 for desktop, codenamed 20H2. Some features that show up in the Fast ring may make their way into a 20H2 release, but I’m told that 20H2 for Windows 10 desktop will be just like 19H2, and not a full-blown release like 20H1.

As I understand it, Microsoft will be using the Slow and Release Preview rings to test builds that are part of a specific release going forward. After a certain amount of time in the Fast ring, Microsoft will take a snapshot of all the features and changes currently in testing, fork them into a release branch, and begin rolling those builds out to the Slow and Release Preview rings, before eventually rolling out the public a few months later.

This is a big deal, as it means Microsoft now has more room to breathe when it comes to building and testing new features for both Windows 10 and Windows 10X. Just because a feature shows up in the Fast ring, doesn’t mean it needs to be done in time for the next version of Windows 10. It can stay in there for as long as Microsoft needs.

Insider baseball

According to sources, many of the changes coming into play also tie into Windows 10X. Since Windows 10X will only be available on new devices, Microsoft can’t test it with Insiders. What it can do, however, is test specific features built for Windows 10X on desktop builds. Now that the Fast ring isn’t tied to any particular release, Microsoft can essentially use it as an experimental ring for features that aren’t intended to ever ship on desktop.

Since Windows 10X is shipping in the fall of 2020, the “shipping version” of that OS will technically be 20H2, but since 20H2 on desktop is a smaller 19H2-style update, these 195XX builds will be the 20H2 release (also codenamed Manganese) for Windows 10X. This means that there will be some divergence in codebase between the shipping versions of Windows 10 and Windows 10X at launch, but that will likely realign in 2021.

The 195XX builds for desktop will never actually ship as a public release. So once an “RTM” build is declared for Windows 10X internally, the equivalent build for Windows 10 desktop won’t ever ship to the public, and those in the Fast ring will continue testing newer builds like normal. If we’re using Microsoft’s internal codenames, the 195XX builds are part of the Manganese release, which is for Windows 10X only. The release coming after, codenamed Iron (or 21H1,) should be for both Windows 10 and Windows 10X.

Microsoft Pushes Windows 10 Autopilot Update by Mistake, How to Remove

Microsoft mistakenly installed the Windows 10 update for Autopilot on consumer versions of Windows. After learning of their mistake, Microsoft pulled the update from being offered incorrectly, but by that point, the update was already mistakenly installed on user’s devices.

Windows 10 Autopilot is a Microsoft technology that allows enterprise administrators to pre-configure new Windows 10 devices and easily deploy and manage them on their network.

On December 10th, during the December 2019 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft mistakenly released and installed the Windows 10 KB4532441 Autopilot Cumulative Update on users running consumer versions of Windows 10.

While this update had no harmful effect, it is not necessary, and in my opinion, the less unnecessary updates you have installed in Windows, the better.

As explained by Microsoft in the update’s support bulletin, after learning of the mistake the update was pulled from being distributed.

This update was available through Windows Update. However, we have removed it because it was being offered incorrectly. When an organization registers or configures a device for Windows Autopilot deployment, the device setup automatically updates Windows Autopilot to the latest version.

Note There is no effect on Windows Autopilot being offered to Windows 10 devices. If you were offered this update and do not use Autopilot, installing this update will not affect you. Windows Autopilot update should not be offered to Windows 10 Home.

For many users, though, the update was already installed.

How to uninstall the Windows 10 KB4532441 Autopilot update

While this update should not cause any issues for consumer versions of Windows, it is better to remove it if it is not needed.

To uninstall the KB4532441 update from Windows 10, you can use the following steps:

Open Control Panel, go to Programs > Programs and Features, and click on View installed updates in the left sidebar.

Next, right-click on the KB4532441 entry in the list and confirm when asked if “Are you sure you want to uninstall this update?”. Next, you’ll have to click ‘Yes’ when asked and then restart your device.

Once the update is uninstalled, you will be required to reboot your computer.

Microsoft may ship the Surface Hub 2X with a version of Windows 10X

Microsoft hasn’t said much about the Surface Hub 2X, a product initially announced in May 2018 to much fanfare, since the announcement of the Surface Hub 2S in April earlier this year. Initially announced as a single product, the Surface Hub 2 was supposed to launch in 2019 with a brand new version of Windows 10 built on Windows Core OS, and ship with modern features and capabilities such as tiling, dynamic rotation, faster Windows Updates, and much more.

But later in 2018, Microsoft announced that this version of the Surface Hub 2 would now be coming in 2020 and that it was splitting the Surface Hub 2 into two product SKUs known as the Hub 2S and Hub 2X. The Surface Hub 2S has since launched and is a “lesser” version of the Surface Hub 2X without dynamic rotation, tiling, or any other OS enhancements enabled by Windows Core OS. This is because the Hub 2S ships with the same OS that the original Surface Hub is running today.

Microsoft’s official reasoning for doing this is that customers wanted a version of the Surface Hub 2 running the old OS. While that may be true, the real reason this happened is because the OS being built for the Surface Hub 2X wasn’t going to be ready in time for a 2019 launch. Codenamed Aruba, this is Microsoft’s unique expression of Windows Core OS for collaborative displays like the Surface Hub 2.

I was fully expecting to hear more about the Surface Hub 2X at Ignite 2019, but there was nothing but radio silence on the subject. I mention this because at Ignite 2018, Microsoft gave us the chance to go hands-on with the Surface Hub 2X and its version of Windows Core OS, but that’s the only time anyone outside of Microsoft was able to play with it. In every Surface Hub 2 related event since, the Hub 2X has not been present.

A change in OS experience

So, what exactly is going on here? Has Microsoft silently killed off the Surface Hub 2X? I’ve asked multiple contacts to see if I could get some insider knowledge on the whereabouts of the Surface Hub 2X, and here’s what I found. According to sources, Microsoft has killed off the version of Windows Core OS it was building specifically for the Surface Hub 2. Aruba now joins Andromeda OS and Polaris as another deprecated version of Windows Core OS.

This is interesting, as what makes the Surface Hub 2X the X is the software additions enabled by Aruba and Windows Core OS. So what does this mean for the Surface Hub 2X? I’m told that the Surface Hub 2X itself hasn’t been canceled, and will still be launching at some point in the future. But now, instead of launching with Aruba, the Surface Hub 2X will ship with Windows 10X instead. Windows 10X is another variant of Windows Core OS, codenamed Santorini.

Now, I don’t know if Microsoft will actually call it Windows 10X on the Surface Hub 2X, but it is using the Santorini shell experience. Microsoft, for some reason, is hell-bent on selling Windows 10X as a version of Windows 10 for dual-screen devices only. This isn’t true, of course, as Santorini was built from the ground up for traditional form-factors too, whether they be laptops or large displays. So Microsoft may decide to call it something else, who knows.

Either way, I’m hearing the Surface Hub 2X will be launching with Santorini instead of Aruba now. I don’t know what this means for any of the unique Surface Hub 2X features that were announced back in 2018. I suspect those features will remain intact, as Santorini is still Windows Core OS under the hood. It’s also worth noting that Aruba and Santorini were pretty similar to begin with.

I have a feeling we’ll hear more about the Surface Hub 2X and Microsoft’s plans in this area in early 2020. I don’t know if Microsoft will go on record as acknowledging the fact that the OS has changed, as I don’t think they need to. But I do wonder if this OS change means the Surface Hub 2X will be delayed slightly. In theory, this won’t be necessary as Windows 10X itself is expected to be finalized in June 2020. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Microsoft reveals new Windows logo design and 100 modern app icons

Microsoft is tweaking its Windows logo and the icons for many of the operating system’s apps. We’ve known for a year that the software maker has been planning an icon overhaul, and the company’s new Office icons were only the start. Microsoft is now redesigning more than 100 icons across the company with new colors, materials, and finishes.

It’s part of a bigger push to modernize Microsoft’s software and services under the Fluent Design set of principles. “With the newest wave of icon redesigns, we faced two major creative challenges,” explains Jon Friedman, corporate vice president of design and research at Microsoft. “We needed to signal innovation and change while maintaining familiarity for customers. We also had to develop a flexible and open design system to span a range of contexts while still being true to Microsoft.”

Most of the icon changes aren’t major overhauls, but subtle tweaks that make them look far more consistent when you look at tens of them together at once. Microsoft appears to be focusing part of its design efforts on cleaning up its Windows icon problem. Windows 10 has lots of inconsistent icons appearing in settings and apps, with some old icons dating back decades.

Windows 10X appears to be part of the answer to this problem. The software maker revealed a slightly tweaked Windows logo as part of its Windows 10X announcement earlier this year. Windows 10X is designed for dual-screen devices, and it even has a new Start menu and no more Live Tiles.

The existing Windows logo, used in both Windows 8 and Windows 10, is a flat color, while the new logo looks more like a gradient of blue with each quarter representing a different color. Microsoft is also tweaking other areas of Windows 10X, including how you can quickly access the settings panels, the notification center, and more.

Microsoft’s icon work and Fluent Design has been a gradual process, and this will continue throughout 2020. The company’s Edge browser now has a new icon, and even Office itself has a more modern logo. There’s still much to be done, and Microsoft is even trying to tackle mobile design.

Microsoft designers are now working collaboratively internally in what’s described as an “open source” way. Read our full Microsoft design feature from earlier this year to find out how the company has learned from its mistakes to redesign its future.

Microsoft: Xbox Scarlett will kick PlayStation 5’s ass in perf/price

The fight for console dominance is going to really kick off in 2020, as Microsoft doesn’t want to behind in any sense of the word with the new generation of consoles. Microsoft plans to use its Xbox Scarlett to well and truly kick some Sony ass with its right-now-way-more-hyped PlayStation 5 console.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently talked with The Verge, where he talked about Project Scarlett and said: “I would say a learning from the Xbox One generation is we will not be out of position on power or price. If you remember the beginning of this generation we were a hundred dollars more expensive and, yes, we were less powerful. And we started Project Scarlett with this leadership team in place with a goal of having market success”.

Spencer continued, saying that Microsoft had talked internally about whether they would do another generation of consoles “years ago”. He added that he personally thinks there will be more generations of consoles post-Scarlett, saying: “We’re all-in on Project Scarlett and I want to compete, and I want to compete in the right ways which is why we’re focused on cross-play and backward compatibility”.

There you have it — Microsoft knows it was too expensive, and too slow, with Xbox One — and the company won’t repeat that mistake with Xbox Scarlett and its 2020 and beyond battle with Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 5. It’s no surprise, since Microsoft has been teasing it will be pulling no punches with Xbox Scarlett against the PS5 for a while now.

Microsoft begins the official rollout of Windows 10 1909

Microsoft is kicking off the official rollout of Windows 10 1909, the Windows 10 November 2019 feature update today, November 12. The timing isn’t surprising, given today is Patch Tuesday, which tends to be when Microsoft commences new feature update rollouts these days.

As it did with Windows 10 1903, the May 2019 Update, Microsoft first rolled out its 1909 feature update to developers about a month ahead of today’s commercial launch. In mid-October, Microsoft made the 1909 client and server ISOs available to developers on MSDN.

Today, Microsoft is starting to make 1909 (Build 18363.418) available to “seekers,” meaning those who proactively go to Windows Update, check for updates and subsequently opt to download it immediately. As it has been doing with recent updates, Microsoft will be throttling delivery, providing the new feature update over the next few weeks to users with devices that Microsoft has deemed most likely to accommodate the 1909 feature update successfully. 

Officials said 1909 is available via Windows Server Update Services and Windows Update for Business. It also will be available vi the Volume License Servicing Center (VLSC) in the next day or so. Users can download from here the Windows 10 1909 Enterprise evaluation edition (Thanks to Tero Alhonen for that link. Officials added that Windows Server 1909 is scheduled for general availability later this month via the Azure Portal and the Volume Licensing Servicing Center.

Microsoft has been testing 1909 in the Slow Ring since July 1. This feature update is unlike previous Windows 10 feature updates, in that Microsoft intentionally decided to limit the number of new features in the release and focus on making changes to the way it services, or updates, this particular release. Though 1909 will look and feel more like a traditional service pack or cumulative update to many users than it will a full feature update, technically it still is a feature update.

As Microsoft officials noted earlier this year, customers who already are running Windows 1903 will find 1909 to be a small, minimally obtrusive update. Those on older Windows 10 feature updates (like 1803 or 1809, for example) will find 1909 to act more like a traditional feature update in terms of size and amount of time required to install it.

Many of the new features in the Windows 10 November 2019 Update are behind-the-scenes improvements to general performance and battery usage efficiency. There are also several feature improvements included for OEMs, application developers, and enterprise administrators. With the release of Windows 10 Version 1909, users of voice-activated digital assistants will be able to converse with associated devices from the Windows 10 lock screen. This handful of new features will be turned on by default. Windows 10 1909 users will start seeing the new Chromium-based Edge browser starting some time after January 15, 2020, and it will be delivered on a staggered, gradual basis to those customers.

Microsoft already is well down the path of testing the next Windows 10 feature update, known as 20H1/2003. Just yesterday, November 11, Microsoft made build number 19013.1122 of 20H1 available for the first time to testers in the Slow Ring. 

Windows 10 20H1 — codenamed “Vibranium” — introduces Cortana as a standalone app, improvements to Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 including Arm64 support, the ability to sign into a device with a Windows Hello PIN, and faster Bluetooth pairing with keyboards and Microsoft mouse devices. 

The next update after 20H1 will be — unsurprisingly, 20H2 — which internally is believed to be codenamed “Manganese.” Now that the Windows and Azure engineering are on the same “semester” development schedule, Microsoft is believed to be targeting summer 2020 as its completion date for 20H2, which means it could begin testing among Fast Ring Insiders any time now. 

Microsoft officials have declined to say whether all the H2 releases of Windows 10 feature updates, going forward, will be like 19H2, meaning very minor and basically similar to a cumulative update for the H1 release. I’ve been hearing from my contacts that 19H2 might just be a one-off that was kind of a catch-up/servicing type of thing that won’t become the new normal. If that’s true, 20H2 could be a more substantial, regular feature update when it arrives.

A related aside: Today, November 12, is the last day that Windows 10 1803 Home, Pro and Pro for Workstation users will get free security and feature updates from Microsoft, as today is the end of support for those 1803 feature updates. Windows 10 1803 Enterprise and Education users still have another year of support left.

Surface Pro X teardown finds a new high in ‘repairability’ for Microsoft

Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is even more repair-friendly than the Surface Laptop 3, getting a bigger thumbs-up from the teardown experts over at iFixit.

While iFixit scored the Surface Laptop 3 as a 5 out of 10 when it came to repairs, the freshly unleashed Surface Pro X managed to creep ahead with a 6 out of 10.

The most positive facet was the SSD being ‘truly user-replaceable’ as it’s accessed without having to remove the screen, and can be taken out with just a SIM eject pin (and a T3 Torx screwdriver is needed to undo a single screw).

“That’s awesome to see in such a slim form factor,” enthuses iFixit, while observing that the solid-state drive is the same model used in the Surface Laptop 3, and so standardization across the range means it’s easier for third-parties to support repairs on these devices.

Screen pass

All the screws used in the Surface Pro X are standard Torx affairs, and the iFixit team were particularly impressed with how easily the display came out, with no globs of glue holding the screen in place (rather there’s foam adhesive which can be cut easily enough, without requiring any heating and possible accidents with cracked displays).

There’s even a tongue-in-cheek mention of a celebratory dance and the fact that “we never thought we’d get into a Surface Pro this easily”.

The caveats here are that iFixit noted that almost all repairs do require removal of the screen – and it still isn’t a trivial matter – plus the battery remains firmly glued in, so there’s no change here.

Still, Microsoft is clearly moving in the right direction with this and the Surface Laptop 3, and is certainly a long way away from the days when iFixit wanted to give the Surface Laptop 2 a negative score for repairability.

Related product: Microsoft Surface Pro X

Our Verdict:

☆☆☆☆☆

The Surface Pro X is an astoundingly impressive looking and feeling Windows tablet – possibly the best yet in that department. Still, while we understand Microsoft’s faith in its new ARM processor, we’ve yet to see an ARM-based Windows device perform to expectations for the price it will cost you. Consider us impressed, though cautiously optimistic.

FOR Refinement of Surface Pro design

Fantastically bright and vibrant display

Brilliant Surface Pen implementation

AGAINST ARM CPU is worrisome

No more microSD slot

Microsoft announces the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, confirms final build

In an evening blog post penned by the Windows Insider Program team’s Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft announced that it’s prepping the Windows 10 November 2019 Update for release. Aside from being the first time that the company has publicly mentioned the (fairly obvious) name of the update that’s otherwise known as version 1909, the blog post confirmed that build 18363.418 is likely to be the one that ships to non-Insiders.

For those that don’t know, the Fast ring has been testing 20H1 previews for some time now; that’s the update that’s going to ship in the spring. Naturally, today’s news means that the Slow ring – which has been testing out version 1909 – will soon be moved to 20H1. In other words, if you want to stick with the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, you’ll want to move to the Release Preview ring.

One thing that’s somewhat refreshing about tonight’s blog post is the level of transparency being provided, something that hasn’t been offered before. Microsoft has never confirmed that a build is likely the “final build”, or even said that it’s expected to be the one that goes out to non-Insiders.

Being that this type of transparency is something that we’re not used to, it’s absolutely worth noting that the build number that goes out to production might be different. That’s why Windows Insider testing, or more specifically the Release Preview ring, exists. If there are any last-minute show-stoppers that Microsoft finds before the release date, it could release a new build.

Also, the November 2019 Update will have the same build revision number as the May 2019 Update, so you’d move from build 18362.418 to build 18363.418. Both versions get the same cumulative updates, but there’s an additional enablement package that gets added to make it version 1909 and enable new features.

Microsoft didn’t say when the Windows 10 November 2019 Update will be released, but it should be soon. And if you’re on the Slow ring and you don’t want to move to 20H1, you’ll want to switch to the Release Preview ring.