Author: Paul Thurrott / Source: Petri
Because my son is about to turn 21 and where does the time go, this edition of Short Takes looks at Microsoft’s glorious but overdue u-turn on Windows 10 updates, Microsoft’s retreat from the consumer market, U.S. governmental spying on Huawei, Samsung’s falling profits, and so much more.
Microsoft’s overdue about-face on Windows 10 updates is a win for humanity
For four years, Microsoft has jammed frequent, disruptive, and often-unreliable software updates down the throats of Windows 10 users. But this week, finally, it announced that it has heard the criticism: Starting with Windows 10 version 1903, set for broad release in May, it will allow all Windows 10 users—yes, even the lowly Windows 10 Home users who were previously treated like update guinea pigs—to defer so-called quality updates, which arrive one or more times every month, by up to 35 days. Furthermore, and even more important, it is moving so-called feature updates—which are really major Windows version upgrades—out of the normal Windows Update process so that no user will ever inadvertently install a mammoth upgrade when all they were really trying to do was make sure their PC had the latest security updates. Folks, this is what I’ve been asking for for four years. And while I do not appreciate the amount of time it took, I applaud the fact that it’s finally happening.
“Microsoft is finally fixing one of the worst things about Windows 10”
It’s getting rid of the emojis?
It’s official: Microsoft is exiting the consumer market
It will claim otherwise, but with Microsoft killing off yet another consumer service, I’m calling it: The firm no longer even tries to address the consumer market in any meaningful way. And, no, Xbox and video games don’t count: Even though gamers are, semantically speaking, “consumers,” they’re really prosumers and premium device buyers that have more in common with Surface PC owners than they do with the soccer moms playing Words with Friends on their smartphones. And the future of gaming is cloud-based, which has more to do with Azure than it does with Minecraft. Yes, Microsoft has many products and services aimed at individuals, but they are…
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