Windows 10 19H1 - Improving - but does it matter ?
So it's been a several months since I've posted anything regarding Windows 10 19H1 Insider builds and that's because this falls builds have been quite boring and painful.
Obviously a lot of resources were placed on the 1809 release disaster and it wasn't until Dec 24 that MS finally released to the public. It's was in my mind the worst single OS release issue is the history of MS.
There have been a total of 12 Insider releases since my last report on 18234 in September and until recently most of those builds had little to nothing of real value and when the big improvement is an update to the venerable NotePad app - you get the drift.
The most recent build is 18305 which I have installed on two devices - a circa 2018 NUC8I5BEH and a circa 2016 HP Elitebook 745G3 laptop.
In both cases MS got over the first big hump with this Insider which was being able to deploy an update in a timely manner. For most of the fall - updates where taking 2 - 3 hours - re-initiating several times in the process. While the update would eventually take - the process was just painful.
Starting with 18290 the process began to improve - and with 18305 I was seing updates take just 35 - 40 minutes end-to-end which is where they should be.
I've only have one challenge with the updates on the NUC. Windows keeps attempting to update the 9560 WiFi driver to version 24.100.0.4 which seems to break my connections with my Orbi Mesh network. I continually have to roll-back to version 24.70.0.5 - which is what Intel has listed in the supported downloads for the NUC.
In addition - we've started to see some additional new features come to play like the most recent "Sandbox" feature. The Sandbox feature allows you to create a Windows inside of Windows segmented environment without the need for a full HyperV or VirtualBox configuration. It utilizes an "on the fly" hypervisor capabilities to segment a windows kernel in hardware.
The goal of Sandbox is to allow you to test an application in this isolated windows environment that's ephemeral - meaning that once you close the app - all associated storage, etc vanishes. Here is how MS describes it...
Windows Sandbox has the following properties:
I have not done any testing with Sandbox yet - but it is an interesting approach for developers and potentially much less overhead than maintaining VMs.
18305 also included a number of security updates from protection history and tamper protection to PIN reset and Passwordless login.
There were also updates with everything from ClipBoard to Task Manager, Cortana, StartMenu and even a new Office App.
With all of that - I'm not really sure that Windows 10 really matters that much anymore.
I'm writing this post on my Google PixelBook - which in my opinion is for the modern user probably the best device out there today. In comparison to where Windows is today - this device simply blows it out of the water. Updates are rapid and fast with zero drama - I can run Android, Linux and soon Windows Apps and I can perform all the needed tasks I need for work and play on the device.
Now some may say - ChromeOS is not a real operating system - I say BS. I can use local files, run Office apps (android or web versions) and do anything I normally do and more with a Windows machine. I like it better than Linux and MacOS as well. The device boot in seconds - has tight integration with my Pixel 2 XL phone and just works.
Is Windows still relevant ? Sure as it is still the largest market share OS out there. But it's influence is fading and as MS recently made the decision to transition the Edge browser to a Chromium based version. That would have never happened even 5 years ago.
I would not surprise me at all if MS simply allows Windows to fade to black over the next few years or simply become a shell on top of a Linux kernel. At the end of the day that's what Mint, DeepIn and even MacOS are.
Obviously a lot of resources were placed on the 1809 release disaster and it wasn't until Dec 24 that MS finally released to the public. It's was in my mind the worst single OS release issue is the history of MS.
There have been a total of 12 Insider releases since my last report on 18234 in September and until recently most of those builds had little to nothing of real value and when the big improvement is an update to the venerable NotePad app - you get the drift.
The most recent build is 18305 which I have installed on two devices - a circa 2018 NUC8I5BEH and a circa 2016 HP Elitebook 745G3 laptop.
In both cases MS got over the first big hump with this Insider which was being able to deploy an update in a timely manner. For most of the fall - updates where taking 2 - 3 hours - re-initiating several times in the process. While the update would eventually take - the process was just painful.
Starting with 18290 the process began to improve - and with 18305 I was seing updates take just 35 - 40 minutes end-to-end which is where they should be.
I've only have one challenge with the updates on the NUC. Windows keeps attempting to update the 9560 WiFi driver to version 24.100.0.4 which seems to break my connections with my Orbi Mesh network. I continually have to roll-back to version 24.70.0.5 - which is what Intel has listed in the supported downloads for the NUC.
In addition - we've started to see some additional new features come to play like the most recent "Sandbox" feature. The Sandbox feature allows you to create a Windows inside of Windows segmented environment without the need for a full HyperV or VirtualBox configuration. It utilizes an "on the fly" hypervisor capabilities to segment a windows kernel in hardware.
The goal of Sandbox is to allow you to test an application in this isolated windows environment that's ephemeral - meaning that once you close the app - all associated storage, etc vanishes. Here is how MS describes it...
Windows Sandbox has the following properties:
- Part of Windows – everything required for this feature ships with Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. No need to download a VHD!
- Pristine – every time Windows Sandbox runs, it’s as clean as a brand-new installation of Windows
- Disposable – nothing persists on the device; everything is discarded after you close the application
- Secure – uses hardware-based virtualization for kernel isolation, which relies on the Microsoft Hypervisor to run a separate kernel which isolates Windows Sandbox from the host
- Efficient – uses integrated kernel scheduler, smart memory management, and virtual GPU
I have not done any testing with Sandbox yet - but it is an interesting approach for developers and potentially much less overhead than maintaining VMs.
18305 also included a number of security updates from protection history and tamper protection to PIN reset and Passwordless login.
There were also updates with everything from ClipBoard to Task Manager, Cortana, StartMenu and even a new Office App.
With all of that - I'm not really sure that Windows 10 really matters that much anymore.
I'm writing this post on my Google PixelBook - which in my opinion is for the modern user probably the best device out there today. In comparison to where Windows is today - this device simply blows it out of the water. Updates are rapid and fast with zero drama - I can run Android, Linux and soon Windows Apps and I can perform all the needed tasks I need for work and play on the device.
Now some may say - ChromeOS is not a real operating system - I say BS. I can use local files, run Office apps (android or web versions) and do anything I normally do and more with a Windows machine. I like it better than Linux and MacOS as well. The device boot in seconds - has tight integration with my Pixel 2 XL phone and just works.
Is Windows still relevant ? Sure as it is still the largest market share OS out there. But it's influence is fading and as MS recently made the decision to transition the Edge browser to a Chromium based version. That would have never happened even 5 years ago.
I would not surprise me at all if MS simply allows Windows to fade to black over the next few years or simply become a shell on top of a Linux kernel. At the end of the day that's what Mint, DeepIn and even MacOS are.
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