Posted on 11/27/2019 6:47:34 AM PST by dayglored
Spices up your life with change to naming conventions
Microsoft crossed the streams last night as both the Fast and Slow Rings of the Windows Insider Program synchronised ahead of the final fit and finish of next year's Windows 10.
While build 19033 was light on features, as is depressingly the norm with 20H1 these days, that watermark remained absent and, more importantly, the release hit the cautious Slow Ringers as well as the brave folk on the bleeding edge of Fast.
And because it wouldn't be Windows without a good few ways of referring to it, 20H1 will also now be known as "2004" rather than "2003" as one might have expected, based on the previous numbering convention (1909, 1903, 1809 etc).
The reason, according to the gang, was to "eliminate confusion with any past product names" such as Windows Server 2003. Presumably Microsoft Money 2004 was not deemed risky enough.
The synchronisation also opens a brief window for Fast Ring Insiders to take a breath and spend some quality time on the Slow Ring instead of being flung further into the future by the Insider team. Teasingly, Microsoft would only say that Fast Ring fans would soon be getting builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch of Windows 10 rather than using terms such as "20H2" or even "21H1" to give people a clue with regard to when the code would show up in the Windows Update of the general public.
As a reminder, the next version of Windows 10 is known as "20H1". Or "2004". Or "that thing Santa left on the lounge carpet". We made that last one up, but you get the idea.
As has been the norm of late, the release was light on features to enliven a keynote, but heavy on fixes. We've been told by more than one MVP (on condition of anonymity, in order to avoid a short, sharp, defrocking) that the bulk of the changes have been "under the hood" ahead of what should be an interesting 2020 for Windows fans.
The fixes themselves included dealing with the Start Code 38 issue that had cropped up with some USB 3.0 devices, although the Start Code 10 problem still remains, as well as the Start Menu crashing if a Windows Update was pending.
Those pesky compatibility problems with anti-cheat software continue to linger, as well as the Update process occasionally hanging and optional printer drivers reappearing in Windows Update after an install.
And, of course, while it looks like Microsoft is almost finished with this release, this does remain very much preview code and should be treated with caution lest something explode messily in your face. ®
[[Any other suggestions for protection?]]
Yes, virtual machine with linux as os as it’s a really secure (though not 100%) os- viruses which are generally written for windows, will not execute in a linux environment- (But htere is a small risk of ‘crossover’ IF you have networking between the host os and VM os)
oh, and running windows browser in a sandbox greatly increases security- it’s a little complicated though IF you need to save stuff from the sandbox container to your host os, you’ll have to learn how to do that
I've used COMODO Cloud Antivirus for a couple of years now (plus Driver Booster Pro to keep *that* stuff squared away) with very good results.
Many thanks; I’ll look into both.
Thank you for providing a serious answer.
My initial lighthearted snark was because, being an old fart ("Ok, boomer") I still think everybody knows what a write-protect tab is.
Or was.
Gawd, I'm old....
Hell, I’m 70 and barely remember that, since starting w/ DOS2 in 1987 on an IBM PS2/ 50. Back then, we had 9 DOS commands; I remember 4 or 5 of them. We had Compuserve BBS and 12.4 modems w/ drop-in phone cradle. Heh.I looked up the write-protect tab... senior brain fart, I guess.
“Never found anyone locally who uses Linux, so I could try it. My local computer shop doesn’t like it.”
Of course they don’t. They don’t like operating systems that don’t break, or that can fix themselves, or that the user can fix themselves. They depend on OS disruptions and viruses for a living. Linux doesn’t even get viruses and antiviruses are not needed. Those who suggest it is time to make a change are correct. Win 7 was Microsoft’s last dependable OS and it is done, the next best thing and in many ways superior to win 7 is Linux. And it functions and feels just like win7. It costs nothing to create a CD yourself and run it from off the CD to try it out. You might be pleasantly surprised. I know I was. :)
OK, thanks.
I thought it was hilarious. :) I probably still have a hardened roll or two of the fancy silver write protect stickers around here. :)
I'm wondering if the XP system I use, with Norton virus definitions last updated in 2011, is so old that new viruses don't even work on it. I don't have any problems from the web that I know of.
But I'm thinking of adapting to an old Windows 8 laptop I have access to, and try to downgrade it to W7. Now I wonder if I'll be MORE vulnerable with W7 than I am with XP.
Well if you hate W10 that much It may time to look at a Linux distro or Mac OS
XP-SP3 was pretty good, and when I have to run XP, that's what I run. With all available patches, of course.
But no, just because it's old doesn't mean the later viruses won't run on it. Most viruses know about it and still take advantage of it. Security-by-obscurity won't help there.
An up-to-date-patched copy of Win7 is damn secure, certainly better than WinXP, whose security patches stopped in, what, 2014 or so?
The silver ones were the good ones. When they started cheaping out and producing plastic ones, the plastic was stiff enough that over time, it caused the adhesive to release, and the tab would fall off.
It produced the same sort of uneasy feeling as a condom with a pinhole in it.
My sister has the $3700 Mac deluxe desktop set-up, and won’t let me near it, except to install her printer. I may need to have a look at Linux...
lol, I remember that. The silver ones were thicker and more solid to better push the internal trigger, but even then out here in the southwest we had to double check the stickers every time we used the disk. Just storage in the hot environment demanded it because of the adhesive. They used to like to come off inside the drive and gum things up. When a drive refused to let you write to a disk there was usually a sticker stuck in there on the trigger write-protecting EVERYTHING.
Now I realize this reply could be very misconstrued... lol
If you need a hand at all please drop me a line by freep mail. I have helped quite a few here and would love to do it so that you can just give it a test run. Like I say it costs nothing and changes nothing to run it from a CD to try it out. It’s actually not that complicated and I can lay it out step by step in easy to understand terms. :)
That is a pretty high end Mac. If you have been using a desktop/tower you could get a fairly good current Mac mini from e-bay for $400-$800 and use your existing Monitor and printer.
Agree 100%. Oh, except for the Win2K look. I go with a Win XP skin.
“That is a pretty high end Mac. If you have been using a desktop/tower you could get a fairly good current Mac mini from e-bay for $400-$800 and use your existing Monitor and printer.”
Linux would make whatever you have now be completely up to date and with current capabilities, even if it is a 32 bit system. Although I suspect that if it has win 7 it is more than likely 64 bit. I have made current up to date capable computers out of everything from a 2002 Emachine desktop and up. Laptops shine with Linux because of the much less resources needed.
Thanks!
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