Deutsch
English
Microsoft sure are having a hard time with their customers. Their trust is limited, they have ample bad experience with purported software "enhancements" and they dislike being surveyed. This becomes particularly apparent once new Windows updates are about to be rolled out. Many users like their systems the way they are (and fear that updates will cause issues). On the other hand, Microsoft want a consistent OS level across their user base to facilitate future modifications. And since Microsoft are calling the shots, they are about to force updates down our throats.
Windows knows two types of update: feature updates and quality updates. Quality updates address issues like security or stability problems and software bugs. Feature updates add new functionality – and often modify or break existing designs and work flows. In many cases, feature updates are a prerequisite to installing the latest security updates. That is why Microsoft have been ramping up their efforts to distribute their 1903 update, released in May 2019, making it voluntary for some users and mandatory for others!
Microsoft base this decision on their users' update level. Those who are still running version 1803 or older will be forced to accept the update without consent – but not without prior notice. Microsoft have been communicating for years that, though Windows 10 will never expire, individual update levels will – usually after 18 months but there have been cases when Microsoft shortened the deadline by several months! Despite the sledgehammer approach, the update is scheduled to be rolled out incrementally. As mentioned in several previous articles on this blog, there are differences between the consumer and professional editions of Windows 10. Windows Home and Windows Pro will receive the update through Windows Update while Enterprise users won't be affected.
Bane or curse: Cortana
Still, update 1903 is not without issues and may cause Windows to refuse to boot from USB-connected drives altogether. Various drivers are still incompatible, including chipset drivers from AMD and bluetooth drivers from Qualcomm and Realtek. Even Intel's chipset drivers still experience issues. WLAN connections that rely on Qualcomm chips can become shaky, and then there's the much debated, and still bumpy, new Windows sandbox feature that locks software into a virtual enclave so you can try out games and questionable software without worries. At least, Microsoft were smart enough to exclude a number (not all) of PC configurations from this update.
Here's a textbook example of irony for you: With update 1903, Microsoft softens the blow and allows you to veto future automatic updates. That's a whole new level of humor! Ever since its release, users felt disenfranchised and bullied by Windows 10. Now, 1903 will allow you to mostly halt automatic installations – until your Windows version is nearing its scheduled end of life and auto-updates kick in again. It's a small concession. But, if you've ever experienced the joy of updates on vacation or right before an important presentation, you'll appreciate this move.
So is 1903 worth it? That depends. There are no major feature changes but visuals have been polished. After most applications already support it, Windows finally supports dark mode Ihroughout its user interface. Time will tell if this is just an attempt to look cool or whether it can actually reduce eye strain. The (still underperforming) Explorer also receives a visual upgrade and the start menu gets uncluttered.Alas, sandboxing is only available in Windows Pro and higher. Though the feature has undergone extensive testing, it's still far from perfect. Still, it's a great way to try out new software without breaking Windows.
If your pulse always went up the moment Cortana tampered with Windows Search (mine did), you'll be happy to hear you can finally search your files undisturbed. To increase stability, Windows now requires more disk space, i.e. seven additional gigabytes to avoid update failures due to space issues. Nice idea but maybe more space-efficient programming (what Linux does) would have also helped. On the plus side, with update 1903, Windows supposedly notices when it experiences an issue and will even suggest a fix. Please understand that, after so many years of broken or half-implemented promises, I'll believe it when I see it (work). At least, Microsoft have come around and are giving users the option to uninstall bundled applications, like 3D Viewer, Movies & TV, Paint 3D, Groove Music and many others that almost no-one asked for or uses. Good riddance!
In summary, update 1903 is not a revolution but a tentative evolution towards more freedom of choice. That this freedom is made possible through coercion is an oddity.
What I would like to know: Do you understand Microsoft's approach? Does a software company have the right to be authoritarian?
Personally I dislike Windows 10. My 1st experience was with Windows 7 when I was told, it is Incompatible. Windows 7 would be restored. That was a Lie and my Laptop was never the same. I had to get Windows 8 Installed in order to get Windows 10 to work. From then to this day my Laptop has never worked properly.
Personally I Dislike Windows 10. It is based on a Lie. When I 1st got Windows 10, I was told It was incompatible with Windows 7. I then had to get Windows 8 Installed so that Windows 10 would work. From then until now I still get lots of problems. I think I need to learn about Linux. Thank you.
不能更新 系统崩溃
Thanks for your interesting and informative blog on this subject - I have Win 10 Pro and recently installed that update - didn't real;ise that it would take an entire afternoon on a fibre connection that supposedly provides me with 40mbps download speed (tests at around 38-39mbps). I'm finding this version a tad slower than the older one - maybe my imagination?
So anyway, I go back all the way to DOS 3.2. I became Microsoft certified in Windows NT 3.51 in 1996. I went through the full MCSE training even though I didn't get the rest of the certifications. I was a network engineer for a Insurance company in 1997 - 2004. Here's some things I learned: Microsoft are jerks. They never do anything logical and they don't care if you agree or not. Their programs continue to get more resource hungry on each new operating system they come out with. More disk space, more RAM, slower bootup and then again they don't care. My wife's company built hardware for them and she had told me also what jerks they were and they were always trying to squeeze the vendors for ever penny they could because they were big and powerful Microsoft. I have also noticed that every update brings changes to my default programs (that I did not ask for), device drivers are not the drivers from the manufacturer that built the devices, so therefore they don't work right (Microsoft puts in one of their crappy generic drivers). My system runs slower because Microsoft has not cleaned up their programming code and deleted old files not are no longer needed with the new update (taking more precious disk space). I finally had to put SSD drives in my laptop and gaming tower because they got to the point of taking 3 minutes to boot back up from a cold boot. I received a notice from Microsoft telling me that eventually they would force the new update and that I would automatically accept their new terms by a certain date or I would be welcome to stop using their product. Really made me mad. I started thinking about Linux. Linux keeps looking better and better as Microsoft presses their luck with me. So, I am going to hold out as long as I can but like I said, Linux is looking good.
Hi again:
I wish to add that Microsoft new Edge is a real bummer. I don't know what they did with it but you get these super large windows on the top which look rather gross. Maybe, it is to make it easy for selection purposes but it is annoying. I have to use Firefox and it works rather good. Another browser I like is Opera. I really like the bookmark features. If Edge can be improved, that would be another matter.So, you never know what changes take [place until the updates are on your computer.
I agree and disagree with some of the comments displayed here. True, Microsoft will always have a means to upgrade when it is time to do so. There are many times when I shut down my laptop and it doesn't shut down right away. Instead it says that it is updating and do not turn off. I know more things are being downloaded, yet you don't what it is. Even though you restart your computer, still you are not certain what was changed. Maybe your computer is a little slower like mine tends to be. The only way you can get out of this mess is to install Linux. The problem with that is you have to learn the ins and outs of working with it. It can be a little tricky, especially when you download other programs or even to launch them. I tried several versions of Linux and each one has it's own particular way of doing things. There has been a lot of improvements as far as looking and behaving somewhat to windows. No matter what distro I tried, it still is hard to get around. That is why there are so many versions of Linux. There is one other thing I would like to mention about Microsoft support. I have never had a problem with it and the people I have chatted with were very helpful and considerate. It all depends upon how you are communicating with them. If you are nice, they will be likewise. In other words, don't piss them off. That is easy to do when you are not clear in stating a problem where they ask you to be more specific. I find that you sometimes talk to program engineers and they like when you are on the same level as it makes their job easier. Sometimes, I have spend a few hours with them on chat and telephone and they were great. They even say you helped them knowing what the problem can be. That is all I have for comments.
I spent 9 hours fixing issues that arose from the update. I am still discovering issues. When I first brought up my computer after the update, EVERYTHING I had was gone. Thankfully, it had been saved to a backup file. I am not a happy camper and I am looking for a different operating system. Any suggestions?
@John Hitchens
I agree about Linux, but the thing is, where will the profit be when there are so many free (donate if you want to) packages that cover pretty much most of the Ashampoo range?
I think there can be a commercial market within the Linux universe, but it will have to offer much more than what is already available.
Steam and GoG are great for gamers with a growing range of multi-system ported games, and of course, much of what is available on Linux is FOSS, which may not agree with corporate interests.
It would be interesting to see if a corporation can port products to Linux and receive donations from users rather than pay for them in the traditional way. There are lots of people who donate to Youtubers on a regular basis, so there may be many who'd donate for software development.
Updates. They mostly are annoying, usually mess with something you had that was working fine, & make the producers happy (I think).
When ever I get the chance, I turn updates off. I don't want to wait while the update finishes, I don't want to restart my computer so they will mess things up (take affect).
If something isn't right for me, I'll look into updating something. If it's running smoothly, leave it alone. How many times do I have to reset some setting I was happy with? Sometimes, you lose that one thing you were happy with.
Clogging & huge. Certainly you can do quite a bunch of computer things with Windows, but chill out on the space. I couldn't install the free upgrade to Windows 10 on a new computer, because it was too big! Now it's even bigger. That is stupid.
I doubt that I'll be any more thrilled with this update, & will do my best to opt out. I have an SSD on the Win 10 laptop for speed. It's not "big on space".
no
you are right about the nuisance of windows starting it's downloads at the wrong time.Maybe if they had an ear and listened to the people who use their system they might not get it so wrong !!!
Hi Sven,
I rolled back to v: 1809 due to many hours wasted in trying and failing to repair all the damage created by v: 1903.
Windows 10, Roman number Windows X.
Windows XP was an excellent, simple Operating System and now with Windows X the other half, the P has been removed leaving a hole to be occupied by 'bugs.
We are now expected to use an O\S which should have been left in the 'Too Hard' basket as the Microsoft 'techies' are not competent enough to produce a bug-free O/S.
I suspect that the banning of Huawei by the US government could relate to that company creating an Operating System to rival Android.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/huawei-operating-system-news/
Next on the agenda of Huawei will be an O\S to rival Microsoft Windows and Linux.
The boot issue isn't limited to usb connected drives for 1903. Purchased a new wireless mouse and inserted the receiver into an open slot on a hub. Setup completed and mouse worked. Next reboot and windows failed to load. After a couple failed attempts, removed receiver and windows booted. I then inserted the receiver into a usb port on the computer, boot was successful but the computer's performance has taken a serious hit. Slow is being generous. I feel my only solution is to roll date the 1903 update if will be allowed. I will think twice about installing 1903 on a second desktop that is on standby in the update queue. Thanks for the headache Microsoft.
It's not just upgrades. Microsoft customer service is just crap. I upgraded my computer, and needed to confirm the OS because of new components. Unfortunately the email address they need to send the confirmation through to is out of date, and even though they have my new email address they will not send it to that for some strange reason. And when you ring them, if you can in fact understand what they are saying which is difficult sometimes, the person on the other end of the phone "Does not have the authority to fix this problem." They say they will put you in touch with someone who can authorise a change of email address, but then there is a click and.... they're gone.
I'm fortunate - all my computers except my (and I stress *MY*, not Microsoft's) Windows 10 (Home) Laptop can dual boot into Windows 7 or a flavour of Linux. I use Linux for choice but have to keep at least one machine running Windows because certain software I use is not available in a Linux - or Linux compatible - version.
Microsoft's attitude is akin to that of Soviet communism - you do it as you are commanded by the Central Committee, or you are a traitor and deserve death or banishment. If system, and the updates they keep forcing upon me, actually worked reliably, it might be worth keeping, but they don't. Half the time the W10 laptop won't let me log in, it is slower than any of my W7 machines to boot, despite having a quad-core AMD CPU and twice the RAM of others; the rest have no better than 3-core CPUs and boot twice as fast. It also hangs for no apparent reason.
For a supposedly professional company, Microsoft are a joke; unfortunately, so often the joke is on us, the poor users.
If it were possible to do without Windows altogether, I would.
Their updates wouldn't bother me so much if they didn't consistently screw up my computer. Once they've done an update, my file folders have been reassigned to a view I don't use; changed to Details instead of Large Icon. It's a royal pain to have to redo every single folder in my drive after an update.
"So is 1903 worth it?" Yes, in my case. My desktop and laptop were both running erratically. When I installed 1903, it was like having 2 new machines. There was a small driver incident with the laptop, but this was easly resolved. I'm stlll not a fan of W10, but this latest verson is the best I've encountered.
Microsoft. is still using the adage. Lets make it better till it is unusable. Sad fact is they do have the whip hand with 10, hopefully not with 8
No firstly they have no visibly logical approach, and it seems no logical aims from the viewpoint of the user.
They have no right to make changes on your own pc at their whim, and without your knowledge quite often and without your assent, irrespective of it controlling your allegedly private "pc life" or not.
Bring back XP
When I got my update, I lost free space on ALL of my hard drives (HDD and SDD) I had a 4 TB Easystore that is now worthless holding not even 1 but telling me it is full. In all I started with 8.56TB (6 of which were unused) and now my PC says I have 3TB and not enough space to download any more games.
The reason I know it is that upgrade is I can still take the externals put them on my laptop and they work fine and the space is there.
The `upgrade` somehow managed to stop my Office Professional suite from working - It couldn't be repaired locally so I had to install it completely from scratch from M$.
Had to re-configure Outlook to my personal preferences and set up EMAP mailboxes once again.
Not happy.
I agree that Microsoft's attitude towards its customers gets worse year on year and so I have moved over to Linux and have found products that are equivalent to popular Windows based products. On reading through the comments so far I noticed the number of references to Linux. Perhaps Ashampoo should consider offering products that will run under Linux.
Naturally, we regularly reevaluate whether we should support the Linux (and Mac) platform. At present, the two are not lucrative enough for us but that's the status quo and may change in the future.
I tried all windows operating systems including windows 10, I prefer windows 7 out of all, I hope microsoft keeps it alive complete with updates, if windows 7 ends I'll switch to Linux for sure.
Big money will always try to get the upper hand
Microshyte Windows 10 was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I had had enough of their spyware they laughingly call an operating system and their shoddy, second rate programs, that they saw fit to foist upon people like the xbox app with no way to uninstall it.
Then there was the hideous updates that you had no control over. You used to be able to go over each update and decide if it was relevant or needed, and 9 times out of ten it wasn't, before having the option to either install it or untick it. That was when the updates worked. Most of the time it was not possible to connect to the pathetic attempt to outdo the Google Play store, with their version of the so-called, Windows store.
Despite losing a lot of expensive software that came with the PC I felt I had to choice but to let it all go. Good riddans to idle rubbish. I went out and got Linux Mint and wow! I haven't looked back once and I certainly don't miss the piece of shoddy shit that was Windoze 10. Linux is like a breath of fresh air. Computing for adults. Moreover it is yours. You own it, unlike with Microshyte where you don't own your own pc and nothing on it, it belongs all to Microshyte.
I only have one bitter regret and that is the fact that I left it so damn long to move to Linux. I should have moved right after XP but didn't. Shame on me.
There is nothing on this earth that would ever make me go back to Microshyte. EVER!