Technology Ramblings

On Mar 27, the Redstone 4 branch completed as MS released the RTM build 17133.1 or Spring Creators Update of Windows 10 to Fast Ring Insiders.  Like previous Windows 10 releases there may a .xxx of 17133 that is what finally goes out on the next patch Tuesday While I had held out some hope that my guess of 17120 - 17130 would be the release build I missed - so will try again with RS5. MS listed 3 fixes for 17133.1 and no open issues.   While MS has been promoting new changes to Windows Update to try and speed Windows 10 updates - I'm sorry to say that they still take 60 - 90 minutes to get through all phases from the time you press "check for updates" until you get to through Login post update. It's now decision time for me as I determine which machines I will opt out of Insider mode - if any or continue to press forward.   Right now I only have 1 machine in "Skip Ahead" mode which is running 17627 and with the next release will effectively be Fast R...

So one of the big announcements last year from MS was take 2 on Windows on ARM CPU with the partnership announcement with Qualcomm along with the commitment from 3 OEMS, HP, Asus and Lenovo to produce Qualcomm Snapdragon based PCs that included LTE support and eSIM that would be called Always Connected PCs. Back in the Windows 8 days, MS introduced Windows RT which was also based on ARM and while many folks liked it - it eventually failed due its extremely limited app support. Always Connected PCs (ACP) are take 2 on this capability.   There are 2 big goals in ACPs.  First is phone-like battery life.   OEMs were claiming 20+ hours under "normal" usage.  The second was the integrated LTE support and associated power management that would allow the devices to have "instant" on and always connected capability like smartphones. In addition these devices run full blown Windows 10 - albeit the 32bit edition. The initial release of these devices are...

With the upcoming Redstone 5 branch - so builds 17600+ the big thing will be Windows "Sets"  which in my opinion is MS's movement towards a PWA based Desktop/App experience based on Edge to compete with Google's ChromeOS and provide the ability to boost Edge's use and in theory market share. Sets introduces the capability of having "tabs" in traditional apps like Explorer or Mail, etc - that allow you to open a new tab within that app and launch something else.  Right now that "something" else is effectively Edge.  While MS stated that I should see a list of Sets compatible apps to launch along with some MS defined web sites - the reality right now is you don't. This focus on Edge is also changing with Apps.   Recently there was an update to the Twitter app that changed it from UWP to PWA and provided tighter integration with Edge.  In fact when I launched the app and logged in - I got a notification from Twitter that I had just logged...

On Mar 20 and then Mar 23 MS released Windows 10 builds 17127.1 & 17128.1 respectively.  While three days apart only 1 build number advanced. 17127.1 contained an update to Cortana Profile - so updates to how skills are configured and a new look along with some MR updates and 6 general fixes. 17128.1 only had effectively 1 change which was the removal of the "evaluation" watermark.   But according to MS 17128.1 is NOT is the release build - they stated specifically " This does not mean this is the final build as we are not done yet. We’re just now beginning the phase of checking in final code to prepare for the final release. The only difference between this build and Build 17127 from Tuesday is the removal of the watermark. However, we’ve got more fixes being checked in for the next flight." For me the only significance here is whether my guess of a release build number between 17120 & 17130 will be correct.   Both builds installe...

On March 16, MS released Windows 10 Build 17123.1 to Fast Ring Insiders and 17623 to Skip Ahead Insiders. Both builds included support for the new High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) file structure.  HEIF - developed by the MPEG group is a new Still image file format which supports the High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC).  HEIF will begin replacing jpeg as the standard for storing high def still images.   I've written about HEVC before as it is what is used for H.265 video compression which supports 4K & 8K video in a much smaller file size than the previous H.264 standard.   For those of you who rip video and haven't tried H.265 - by all means go there - The test's I've performed really reduce the overall file size making it much more portable and with more and more devices supporting 4K video it's really the only way to go.  You get all the video and audio fidelity you want in about half the size.   17123 also contained some small ...

In an earlier post I discussed the trials and tribulations of trying to rebuild a circa 2013 Dell Venue 8 Pro 5830 tablet I've been using as a Windows 10 test device for the last 3+ years. During my journey I had to buy 2 new batteries, a new motherboard and a display assembly. The good news is that I got my old friend back running and as I mentioned I was trying make a decision on whether to keep the replacement motherboard which was a WWAN (Broadband) model and do some hacking or to return it. Also good news is I was able to get a refund on the defective replacement battery and as we speak I am getting a replacement display assembly since the first one - would simply not calibrate correctly. Back to the motherboard - the unit I purchased ran the same Atom Z3740D CPU with 2GB of RAM, but had 64GB of local storage and could support a broadband modem and SIM.   When it arrived I noticed it was still running Windows 8.1 and would not activate and that the 64GB drive had ...

On March 13, MS release Windows 10 Build 17120.1 to Insiders on the rs4_release branch.   There was no Skip Ahead release. The main focus of 17120.1 was with Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG).  This feature is very enterprise focused towards Edge browser security and with administrative template downloads and requires network isolation policies to be configured. Along with WDAG updates - there were some updates to Mixed Reality and about 6 other fixes. Typical to recent updates - the download was fast but overall update is still a 90 - 100 minute update process.    Overall RS4 is done - so now it's a matter of what the final build number will be.  Right now we are in my guestimate range of 17120 - 130 - so will see if I'm right.   17120 still has rs4_release watermark - so we'll see what happens by end of week.

Back in late 2013 - I purchased a Dell Venue 8 Pro - Model 5830 to experiment with what MS called at the time Sub 10 sized PCs.  The Venue 8 had gotten pretty good reviews and with an Intel Atom Z3740 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of Storage, Touch and Pen, Cameras, SD and Wifi - felt it would be a good portable device for flights and testing since it could run full x86 Windows. The little guy has hung in there very well.  Starting life as a Windows 8.1 device - I joined the Windows 10 Insider Program for it and it has supported every update so far through the Redstone 4 branch.  It had good battery life - often 6 - 7 hours and could play music and movies well enough. But last month I ran into an issue that I thought may have been the end of my little device.   I had picked it up from desk desk and was working at the couch when I noticed that the screen was flexed and bulging and had in fact started to separate from the back casing. The cause was a failed bat...

This week MS released two Windows 10 builds - 17115.1 as part of the RS4 "Release" branch to Fast Ring Insiders and 17618 to RS5 Skip Ahead branch Insiders 17115.1's fixed the two big issues with the 17110 & 17112 where you could receive a Green Screen of Death (GSOD) failure when clicking on a One Drive file that had not sync'd locally (I experienced this) as well the MS Store "disappearance" (I also experienced this).    In addition there were 14 fixes as a new OOBE Privacy settings page that collects all options and places them on a single page.   Post OS MS released an update to the Mixed Reality Viewer to address some of the very slow frame rate issues it had called out. 17115.1 was definitely more stable that 17110 and 17112 and was also released to the Slow Ring which is a pretty good sign that MS felt good about the build.  As I mentioned in previous posts - I actually have to question why 17110 & 17112 were released at all.   O...

MS released two builds this week to rs4-release branch Fast Ring insiders.  First was 17110 on Feb 27, then 17112.1 on March 2.  Again there was no Skip ahead release. With the Redstone 4 branch nearing completion MS often releases multiple releases as it works down bug lists.  17110 contained about 15 fixes and 17112.1 contained less than 10.    But both builds broke stuff.   17110 broke the MS Store app.   The issue was quickly identified in the feedback forums and a Powershell command was published to correct the issue. Build 17112.1 broke Mixed Reality.   MS in fact warned Insiders at the top of the 17112.1 release notes of the issue as well as possible issues with Store, OneDrive and even potential boot loops.    To me I always question - if MS knew of these issues then why release the build?   Sure 17110 contained some last minute enterprise deployment updates - but explorer capabilities like bein...