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Posted on 10/03/2018 7:49:45 PM PDT by dayglored
Clicked Check For Updates? Welcome to the Release Preview ring
Windows 10 October 2018 update is here, having skipped past the Release Preview phase, and can be downloaded now if you can’t wait for it to make an automatic appearance.
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While many observers (us included) expected a release date for Windows 10 to be secreted among the hardware ejaculations during last night’s Surface announcement, having the thing actually smack users in the face like an octopus flung by a seal was unexpected.
This is because the last build, 17763, had yet to make it from the Slow Ring, where code that Microsoft reckons is relatively stable goes after a flirtation with the Fast Ring, to the Release Preview (RP) ring. While Microsoft is loath to use the phrase “Release Candidate”, the last two Windows 10 updates have turned up in RP prior to going live.
It was in the RP ring that the showstopper bugs for the April 2018 Update were found. Things are a little different this time around, as Windows Insider MVP Jason Coombes observed, which prompted a response from one of the Windows Insider bosses, Brandon LeBlanc.
It's not irrelevant. We just did a small change in our approach. 1809 is going to RP today and will be critical for helping kick start servicing. Slow was helpful in helping ID any show stopping bugs this time around. — Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) October 2, 2018
To be fair to Microsoft, the RP ring is supposed to be for patches and fixes to the current branch but the change in tack will unnerve some still sore from the shenanigans around the April 2018 Update (which Microsoft reckons went fabulously well. Right.) Members of the Release Preview ring will be seeing the build arrive automatically while ordinary users (El Reg included) have had to click a button in Windows Update to start the update process. Other users will see the build arrive when Microsoft’s AI reckons it is safe to fling it at their hardware.
Microsoft’s confidence in the Windows 10 October 2018 Update stems from the fact that, frankly, there isn’t a lot in it. Big-ticket items such as Sets disappeared some months ago as Microsoft focused on the fit and finish of the operating system. Add-on applications such as Your Phone and a bit of buffing-up of the unloved browser, Edge, filled the gap along with some welcome UI tweaks.
Your Phone is unchanged from its preview incarnations, allowing Android users who are willing to jump through the requisite hoops to download images from their phones as well as send and receive SMS messages. Microsoft has also said that mirroring of Apps from the phone to the Windows 10 desktop is also due to make an appearance (although not right now), which will make for some intriguing use cases.
The Edge browser receives a lot of attention in this build, with a redesigned ‘…’ menu and settings options that Microsoft reckon will make navigation easier to users. A redesigned toolbar also makes an appearance and the whole thing has been given a bit of a beating with the Fluent Design stick.
PDF improvements, the ability to turn off the accursed auto-play beloved by some websites, and enhancements such as an offline dictionary to improve the reading experience round out the changes, all of which make using the browser quite a pleasant experience. The nag screen at the start, suggesting users link their browser to their mobile device is, however, a bit less pleasant.
The Clipboard has received some welcome attention in the October 2018 Update. Using the same technology as the last version’s Timeline feature, the cloudy clipboard allows users to copy and paste between devices (although the feature is switched off by default.)
Switched on by default is a useful clipboard history, which will stash plain text, HTML and small images and is accessible by hitting the Windows key and ‘V’. Sometimes the little things can be the most welcome.
Search gets a truckload of changes (although the Cortana search box is disabled by default). The home screen has put on some weight, showing recently accessed items and more previews – apps, documents, email, people and so on now show up. And if you’ve bought into Microsoft’s cloudy world, search will also pick up email from Outlook.com and OneDrive.
Cortana’s tentacles will reach far and wide if you let them.
Screen-shotters get some love in the form of the Snip & Sketch app, and Windows Security (formerly known as Windows Defender Security Center) finally looks like it is actually part of the operating system thanks to a bashing with the Fluent Design stick.
Oh, and there is now something called Dark Mode, which appears to be compulsory in all operating systems now. The setting is hidden away in the Colors section of the Personalisation options and, well, frankly isn’t that great right now. The issue is mainly down to inconsistent implementation over applications, which can make things a bit jarring as displays flicker between soothing greys and bright whites.
We had no difficulty in downloading and installing the update and found the process markedly faster than the April 2018 Update – less than an hour from start to finish. Although the update is light on big new features, it remains a worthy, if unessential, upgrade although perhaps not until the first few rounds of patches have hit. And, of course, that 30-month support clock for the October 2018 Update has now begun ticking. ®
Will they try the “Mandatory” or “Opt Out x 100 or else we will Install it for you” approach?
F’m ... there are better alternatives
“Have you used Open Shell? If so, any problems?”
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Installed in Win 8.1 yesterday, so far no problem. But if Classic Shell caused problems for you, you could possibly also experience issues with Open Shell since they’re basically the same program at their core.
if you try installing it (or any other program for that matter) it’s always a good idea to make a restore point and/or backup your registry beforehand, so you can undo any changes after you uninstall it (if it doesn’t work/causes a problem)..
“Sometimes it will do a Windows upgrade twice in the same day.”
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If you want to set Win 10 so it only updates when you’re ready for it, there are ways to do it -
https://www.easeus.com/todo-backup-resource/how-to-stop-windows-10-from-automatically-update.html
Unless you connect to the internet using an Ethernet connection (wired), solution number 3 looks like the easiest way to turn updates off until you want ‘em.
I'll try it in Win 8.1 and save the Win 10 installs for later. The real test will come when a Windows update finally breaks Classic Shell.
“I’ve been using Ubuntu 18.04 now for a while and it’s really astonishingly supportive of the modern applications.”
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I use Xubuntu. One of the things I really like about Linux is when you update, the system update also updates your installed programs. You don’t get all that piddling around with a dozen different programs as you do in Windows.
“I love, and live in, the terminal/CLI 90% of the time”
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You Linux Luddite!!!
Sounds like a plan to me, You could also do some googling for others experiences with it in Win 10. Just as an example, I found this -
https://www.tenforums.com/windows-10-news/99582-classic-shell-no-longer-development-now-open-source-61.html
Got it last night. I can’t click on properties on a photo to post on FR because no such thing is on the new download. Any ideas?
Thanks.
It must be a celebration of Lincoln’s birthday.
Staying w/ Win-7 Pro x64, thanks. Will erase the update d/ld when I find it.
Pls, what’s the MS Number to look for, so I can uninstall it?
Usual collection of luddites check in. Ability to prevent web sites from auto play of videos makes Edge a winner.
Yep, pretty predictable.
> Ability to prevent web sites from auto play of videos makes Edge a winner.
Auto-Play on removable media was one of the worse ideas Microsoft foisted on computer users. It goes back to Windows 98 (we Luddites had been using real computers for 20 years by then) and it has been a major vector for viruses and other malware for two decades since. It should never have been done.
Arguably a worse mistake was in that same timeframe, when Microsoft discovered email (again, we Luddites had been using it for over a decade), they thought, "Hey we could let people attach an executable program to an email message, and it would open up and run on the recipient's computer. Cool!"
Microsoft has a long history of preferring convenience over safety, and coolness over security. So the fact that in 2018 they finally allowed their users to turn off video autoplay is admirable, but my comment is, "About bloody time."
Just ran the 1809 upgrade this morning on all my Win 10 devices.
Worked perfectly across two HP Probook laptops, a Windows Surface 3, a Sony Aio Tap 20 and several virtual machines running in Hyper-V.
Great upgrade!
Excellent news!
I’m gonna check out that article.
“I’m gonna check out that article.”
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When I’ve had to deal with Win 10, I’ve used the third option. Setting updates on “I have a metered internet connection”.
That way it won’t download updates until you’re ready and prepared to deal with things like it having to restart when your in the middle of doing something or if you just don’t feel like dealing with the pain-in-the-but auto-update.
It works only if you’re not physically connected to your modem/router using an ethernet port.
Read more here.
As I reported earlier, I have had zero problems, but for those that did, you can call Microsoft. As a Microsoft MVP, this sucks, but it is real.
I ran 1809 on Oct 3 on my ASUS laptop - no problems.
That said, I’ve not noticed any differences vs prior version.
All of my Windows 10 computers have the 1809 upgrade, and I have no problems whatsoever.
I am a Windows Insider on a couple of boxes, so I get the fast ring updates, and those rarely cause problems, and are expected to be somewhat buggy.
Why people have issues with the well-tested semi-annual releases is something I just can’t figure out. I just don’t know. However, on the forums, people I trust have had issues with this one. Mostly, this problem (disappearing files on the update) seems to happen where there is very little free space left on the C:\ drive. I keep all of my files in OneDrive and Box, as I need access to them from anywhere, and it is a major convenience.
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