Windows 10 October 2018 Update Is Now Available; Features 'Your Phone' Android Messaging App, Dark Theme For File Explorer, and Other Tweaks (techcrunch.com) 67
Microsoft today announced that the Windows 10 October 2018 update is now available. While the update is fairly minor, it does offer a number of interesting new features. TechCrunch reports: The most interesting of these is probably the new "Your Phone" app, which allows you to text from your PC using an Android phone that also runs Microsoft's mobile companion app. In later iterations, that app will also sync notifications to your desktop, but for now, that's not an option. There also are tools for continuing your workflow as you switch from your phone to PC (or vice versa). These features work for iOS users, too. As far as syncing between devices goes, it's worth noting that the update also will allow you to share your clipboard between PCs.
Since everybody likes a dark mode these days, the Windows 10 File Explorer now also includes a dark theme. There's also a revamped search experience, as well as a new screenshot tool. While the release includes plenty of other tweaks, both in terms of functionality and design, the most anticipated feature, Sets, didn't make it into this release. Sets is probably the biggest change to the overall Windows user experience since the release of Windows 10, so maybe it's no surprise that Microsoft is trying to perfect this. And perfection takes a while. ZDNet has highlighted many of the "smaller" new features, such as the improved Windows search functionality, battery details for Bluetooth devices, and a built-in Clipboard manager that can sync clips across devices signed into the same Microsoft account.
Since everybody likes a dark mode these days, the Windows 10 File Explorer now also includes a dark theme. There's also a revamped search experience, as well as a new screenshot tool. While the release includes plenty of other tweaks, both in terms of functionality and design, the most anticipated feature, Sets, didn't make it into this release. Sets is probably the biggest change to the overall Windows user experience since the release of Windows 10, so maybe it's no surprise that Microsoft is trying to perfect this. And perfection takes a while. ZDNet has highlighted many of the "smaller" new features, such as the improved Windows search functionality, battery details for Bluetooth devices, and a built-in Clipboard manager that can sync clips across devices signed into the same Microsoft account.
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It was one of the primary changes to "Mojave", the latest iteration of OS X (Mac OS). Every feature listed up there is present in Mac OS.
I for one do not mind when they copy each other, Android and iOS have been copying features of each other for a decade, and that's been a good thing. Seeing what works elsewhere gives platforms the best of both, and everyone wins. What sucks here is there doesn't seem to be any truly unique features released in Win10 that were not already on Mac OS, so it seems this releas
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Who sends SMS messages any more?
Whatsapp is free, it's end-to-end encrypted, and it has a desktop mode.
This new feature is just a way for Microsoft to scan your SMS messages.
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The only thing I want to know is have they removed the spyware and all advertising and given control of updates back to users?
Um, no. They've just added another one that lets them read your SMS messages.
(or did you think this was to make life easier for Android users?)
Re:/sarcasm Awesome priorities there MS (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, I prefer not staring into a fucking lightbulb with light grey text on lighter grey backgrounds which seem common these days. The dark mode also works with most of the win32 widgets, benefiting explorer and classic windows applications as well.
Also Raytracing (Score:4, Interesting)
More notably, for people with brand-spanking-new Geforce RTX video cards, this update adds DXR support. That is, DirectX Raytracing, and by extension Nvidia's RTX. Not sure if any games support it yet in public releases though.
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Re:Why not just use the system color theme? (Score:5, Insightful)
The days of OS imposed consistency died when armies of idiots decided they knew what's best. Today, we call them UX 'designers.'
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Since Windows 1.0, there has been a system-wide color theme.
Since Windows 95 that was over. Remember Winamp? It didn't give two s***s about your system-wide settings, and neither did an entire world of applications afterwards. Real Player, ICQ, probably the most widely used currently: Chrome, or Steam.
Running it... (Score:4, Informative)
I've been running it for about a week on an HP G4 Zbook. No major surprises or snafus. My fingerprint reader didn't work immediately post-upgrade, but works now. I assume it grabbed the new driver from Windows update, but haven't followed up to check.
(I work for Microsoft as a Platforms PFE supporting enterprise customers, and I understand that makes my opinion invalid. They aren't paying me to say this. They aren't paying me to say that either.)
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PFE? Pinple Faced Engineer?
See "Bastard operator from hell"*
On a more serious note, Good to know is working without major snafus.
But it will be a pain in the ass for me the next time I boot the bootcamp partition on my main laptop, or the old emergency/media laptop that is booted once a week.
I'll try darned hard to schedule the update in a convenient timeframe, if projects permit.
* I guess it means Professional Field Engineer, but the BOfH reference was ripe for taking...
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Good to hear something is working. However I don't trust any opinion regarding snafus. Unfortunately someone in your company has a history of systematically ignoring problems raised by insiders, even on their own premium hardware.
Windows 10 has had Targetted Branch disabled on all my devices ever since stories about Windows 10 bugs affecting Surface devices, and more importantly being reported by insiders.
At this point it's like playing russian roulette if you have a Surface.
It's more like playing reverse r
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Copy that. If you do see anything, Window Key-F pulls up the Feedback center where you can report it and upvote issues that others have reported. That data really does drive decisions on what gets fixed.
(Microsoft is still not paying me to say that.)
Dark Mode File Explorer - Thank You, Microsoft (Score:4, Informative)
.
I'll get used to it though. Thanks Microsoft for the choice.
Next thing you know, Microsoft will add the dark mode to the Control Panel (it just continues to stick around after its deprecation in Windows 8: aka the tablet touch UI fiasco, so scandalous it caused Microsoft to skip a version.)
I will be pissed if in a future release "dark mode" inverts the colour scheme of the command window to be black text on a white background, though. ;-)
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so scandalous it caused Microsoft to skip a version.
That's the version I want! Everyone knows Microsoft releases good then bad then good then bad. Windows 8 was bad, Windows 10 is bad. Where's Windows 9?!?! That's the good one. That's the one I want!
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According to MS that's not gonna happen.
Tabs for File Explorer (Score:2)
I still want that and a million other posters asks for this for years in the feedback app.
Anyway I am addicted to type 1 hypervisors which means Hyper-V thanks to Intel crippling my i7 4770K with VT-D IO so I can't run VmWare esphere so I will be sticking with the later version of Windows 10 as Hyper-V seems buggiest with new releases as it is never tests thanks to only Grandma and average Joes testing new releases.
My usual question (Score:2)
Can I revert to the old look and feel or can I turn that "update" off altogether?
Dang, talk about bloat... (Score:2)
...the length of these Slashdot headlines is getting way out of hand.
What about no spying? Still not? Not interested... (Score:2)
Unless Win10 gets working prevention of their snooping, it will not make it on my machines.
*Disk Cleanup Option Thinks Downloads Are Dirt (Score:2)
BTW, that last update was 38GB. Really, does it seem reasonable that an operating system would take up 9 DVD's WTF?