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Microsoft has now released three cumulative updates for Windows 10. These updates combine security fixes with non-security bug fixes, and so far, Microsoft hasn't done a very good job of describing the contents of these cumulative updates. While the security content is quite fully described, explanations of the non-security fixes have been lacking.
Many, including your author, feel that this is undesirable and that a key part of the Windows-as-a-Service concept, in which Microsoft releases a steady stream of fixes and functional improvements, is a clear explanation of what those updates are. This is a new approach for Microsoft, and it seems like reassuring users and administrators that issues are getting fixed—and that functional changes are clearly described—should be important.
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Unfortunately, it does not seem that the company intends to change this approach. Company representatives told The Register that while the company "may choose" to perform "additional promotion" of new features depending on their "significance," there's no intention of providing full release notes. This means that future patches are going to continue to say nothing more than "This update includes improvements to enhance the functionality of Windows 10."
Anybody want off the Microsoft train yet?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by BTRE on Tuesday August 25 2015, @03:16AM
Between this, the telemetry that can only really be blocked with hardware firewalls and the general unwillingness to listen to customers, I'm surprised there's anyone that would freely choose Windows. I get it if you have to use it at work but otherwise come on over to Linux land. We've got update notes galore and actual improvements coming in all the time. It's never been easier to switch.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2015, @06:14AM
Free choice involves knowledge of one's choices. Many people lack that knowledge. No knowledge = no choice.
I've pretty much given up on W10 and now use Xubuntu almost exclusively.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Tuesday August 25 2015, @12:52PM
I'm on devuan Linux. Not interested in systemd either.
My friend that uses Windows did the free upgrade to 10, and in a day or so downgraded again. It seems none of his games worked on 10.
-- hendrik
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Tuesday August 25 2015, @06:04PM
This surprises me. Which games? Were they modern, or designed for XP?
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 5, Interesting) by zocalo on Tuesday August 25 2015, @06:50AM
Between the dubious data collection, ads without a clear quid pro quo, broken/missing features, enforced patches (despite the obvious issues with that), a complete lack of transparency from MS, and more, MS appears like they might have actually managed to blow it. While a few of them are still running Windows 10 in VMs and on test boxes, I am not aware of any of our Windows using technical users that have upgraded their main machines to Windows 10. Not one. Some have also cancelled their free upgrades. Discussions with clients (many of whom have tens of thousands of users) indicate strongly that Windows 10 has already been rejected on a number of grounds, leaving Windows 7 Enterprise/Pro starting to look very much like it's going to be Windows XP all over again when it comes up to its EoL.
At this point, I'm starting to think Windows 10's success or failure might have become a case of who blinks first. On the one hand, we have the IT journalists that seem like they are all just waiting for another of their group with some credibility to go first and put the idea that the people that actually buy Windows have largely rejected it - despite it being free for most of them - and that it's shaping up to be a Windows Vista/Windows 8 fiasco all over again into print. If/when that happens, the IT media herd mentality will almost cetainly kick in and it's all over, no matter how capable the rest of the OS is, just like happened with Vista and Windows 8. On the other we have Microsoft who badly needs to address the concerns that people have with the OS - and more - before that happens. Place your bets...
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Tuesday August 25 2015, @11:41AM
It's sad, but the amount of abuse people are willing to endure from those who develop non-free proprietary software is truly staggering. Many people will not just endure this abuse, but actively defend it. I can't tell you how many people I've seen saying things like "Well, the abuses aren't *that* bad. Stop whining!" in regards to Windows 10. How much more can these suckers take?
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday August 25 2015, @03:58PM
Inertia makes the world go 'round...
(Score: 2) by skullz on Tuesday August 25 2015, @04:48PM
Drivers, games and .NET development keep me on the Windows system. I don't see any viable alternatives for an OS that will manage the daily grind.
I had high hopes for MS, it seemed they were pulling their heads out of their butts, moving to a service model so they could patch their crap, adding in user controls to manage privacy and security, even a half decent virus scanner. The .NET platform was being opened up and gone were the days when you needed MS-Internal-Secret-Sauce to get 3rd party applications to run fast on Windows. It was looking good, particularly compared to Apple and Android for mobile.
This lack of transparency is not going to fly in the corp world though and I worry that we will have two classes of MS digital citizens: those with patch notes and those without. Most people won't know / care until that cool new "feature" was snuck in without anyone knowing and it starts to blow up CNN and Fox News about teh eval computers spying on you, similar to the relatively benign WiFi sharing. Turn away from the darkness, Microsoft! You were on a reasonable track.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2015, @06:49PM
Mono can run many .NET applications.
(Score: 2) by skullz on Wednesday August 26 2015, @02:57PM
You are right, but when you want to do it in a production environment for a small business it is hard to sell a Linux + Mono install vs a "full stack" Microsoft + .NET deployment. The MS stuff is just easier for most businesses to maintain.
(Score: 2) by RedGreen on Tuesday August 25 2015, @04:59PM
Stockholm syndrome is at work there I would say.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Tuesday August 25 2015, @06:40PM
Most people just aren't aware that there are alternatives and that they don't have to put up with it.
As far as they know Windows is synonymous with "computer," just like they assume that iPad/apple (or Android, depending on which one they got their hands on first) is synonymous with "tablet," Word/Office is synonymous with "word processor/office suite" and the Big Blue "E" is synonymous with "the internet." If they are even aware of a choice, it is on the order of using Chrome instead of IE, trading one set of corporate product/spyware for another.
And they won't ever be aware--because We Are Not Good At Publicity. We assume that good products will automatically catch on; and so we rely on individual evangelists, rather than using mass advertising, like the big proprietary companies do. When MS has a new product version, it is EVERYWHERE. When was the last time you saw Mint, Ubuntu, LibreOffice, VLC or GIMP (which itself may be taken as an example of terrible public branding) advertised in National Geographic or People Magazine? Or on the side of a bus? Or on television?
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tl;dr - The public ain't gonna jump (the proprietary) ship if they don't know there's a (free, open, safe and convenient) life raft.