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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: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Tuesday August 25 2015, @09:14AM
I can't believe that Microsoft can possibly think that having an OS where no one trusts their patches, and taken to the logical conclusion do not install them either, is a good idea - which seems very much like the direction thinks are rapidly headed in - so what on earth is their thinking here?
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday August 25 2015, @09:32AM
Perhaps it is some sort of desperation? It seems like someone in the tech pit had a good idea: "Our software suffers from bugs. If we switch to software as a service, we can patch continuously so everyone stays up to date!". When someone in the business office heard it up the chain, the immediate reaction was how to make money out of it: "Hmmm, how can we use this to wring every last penny out of our customers?" And from there, a reasonable idea ended up on the express train to hell.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Tuesday August 25 2015, @09:53AM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday August 25 2015, @01:41PM
Holy crap. Each one of these stories about Win10 that comes out leaves me astonished at MS's gall. And you've done it interstitially. If you have a link to a story on what you're saying, you should submit it to the story queue. More people need to know, if that's the case.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Tuesday August 25 2015, @04:03PM
As for posting the story, I agree that this needs to get out there. The concern I have at the moment is that while there's a lot of smoke, like the site I linked above and others, we don't really have the fire in the form of more than one of the more credible sites/journalists covering the story with the kind of supporting evidence necessary to back it up beyond any question yet. There are some pretty damning packet captures knocking around and the story is starting to get move traction though, so it's just a matter of time, I'm sure.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Tuesday August 25 2015, @07:43PM
I don't think they care if we don't trust their updates. The average user has been trained to unquestioningly accept unexplained ("This update fixes issues in Windows...") patches over the last several versions of Windows. This will just be more of the same, as far as they are concerned, only they will have to restart every few days instead of once a month.