Microsoft Commits To Updating Windows 11 Once Per Year, and Also All the Time (arstechnica.com) 44
An anonymous reader shares a report: When ArsTechnica reviewed Windows 11 last fall, one of its biggest concerns was that it would need to wait until the fall of 2022 to see changes or improvements to its new -- and sometimes rough -- user interface. Nearly a year later, it's become abundantly clear that Microsoft isn't holding back changes and new apps for the operating system's yearly feature update. One notable smattering of additions was released back in February alongside a commitment to "continuous innovation." Other, smaller updates before and since (not to mention the continuously-updated Microsoft Edge browser) have also emphasized Microsoft's commitment to putting out new Windows features whenever they're ready.
There's been speculation that Microsoft could be planning yet another major shake-up to Windows' update model, moving away from yearly updates that would be replaced by once-per-quarter feature drops, allegedly called "Moments" internally. These would be punctuated by larger Windows version updates every three years or so. As part of the PR around the Windows 11 2022 Update (aka Windows 11 22H2), the company has made clear that none of this is happening. "Windows 11 will continue to have an annual feature update cadence, released in the second half of the calendar year that marks the start of the support lifecycle," writes Microsoft VP John Cable, "with 24 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 36 months of support for Enterprise and Education editions." These updates will include their own new features and changes, as the 2022 Update does, but you'll also need to have the latest yearly update installed to continue to get additional feature updates via Windows Update and the Microsoft Store. As for the Windows 12 rumors, Microsoft simply told Ars it has "no plans to share today." This stance leaves the company plenty of room to change its plans tomorrow or any day after that. But we can safely say that a new numbered version of Windows won't happen in the near future. For smaller changes that aren't delivered as part of a yearly feature update or via a Microsoft Store update, Microsoft will use something called Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) to test features with a subset of Windows users rather than delivering them to everyone all at once.
There's been speculation that Microsoft could be planning yet another major shake-up to Windows' update model, moving away from yearly updates that would be replaced by once-per-quarter feature drops, allegedly called "Moments" internally. These would be punctuated by larger Windows version updates every three years or so. As part of the PR around the Windows 11 2022 Update (aka Windows 11 22H2), the company has made clear that none of this is happening. "Windows 11 will continue to have an annual feature update cadence, released in the second half of the calendar year that marks the start of the support lifecycle," writes Microsoft VP John Cable, "with 24 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 36 months of support for Enterprise and Education editions." These updates will include their own new features and changes, as the 2022 Update does, but you'll also need to have the latest yearly update installed to continue to get additional feature updates via Windows Update and the Microsoft Store. As for the Windows 12 rumors, Microsoft simply told Ars it has "no plans to share today." This stance leaves the company plenty of room to change its plans tomorrow or any day after that. But we can safely say that a new numbered version of Windows won't happen in the near future. For smaller changes that aren't delivered as part of a yearly feature update or via a Microsoft Store update, Microsoft will use something called Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) to test features with a subset of Windows users rather than delivering them to everyone all at once.
About as bad as KFC (Score:1)
They keep changing their image so often it's about as bad as KFC.
Choose who you are, be that, quit copying the successful competitors.
Damn.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't recall KFC really changing their image... except for the switch to the KFC name, and (regrettably) the switch away from trans fats... I mean, come on. It did taste better before that.
Bugs all the time, fixes once a year (Score:3, Insightful)
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Bugs all the time, fixes once a year
You nailed it. I think they could put that on every release instead of listing new "features".
One of the biggest concerns was not the frequency (Score:5, Informative)
Service Packs (Score:2)
This sounds like the old traditional (and very reliable) service pack process.
Dude, stop bogarting! (Score:3)
"Oh man, I got it! We'll call them "Microsoft Moments" to show our love and closeness with our family of humans across the world. It'll be stupendous and so, so well loved, man."
"Dude, stop bogarting that bong and pass it over here. I got another idea that's even better..."
Re:Dude, stop bogarting! (Score:4, Funny)
Windows (Score:3, Insightful)
Windows, the increasingly irrelevant OS.
Taskbar fix WHEN? (Score:5, Informative)
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You know you don't have to click on the window icon group, right? just hover over it, it expands nearly instantaneously, and then click on the window you want (which has the window name over it btw) .. it's extremely fast and a good balance imho between keeping clutter down but getting where you need to go quickly
I think having the "never combine" option back isn't an unreasonable ask, but I don't think it's egregious how it's implemented currently. You can add your vote to this here:
https://techcommunity.m [microsoft.com]
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I don't like having to do that and I don't want apps grouped AT ALL. I still have Win 10 devices that I also use daily, and I'd like to use them the same way and not have to think about it. Why the hell do they remove useful features in the first place?
Re:Taskbar fix WHEN? (Score:5, Informative)
Why the hell do they remove useful features in the first place?
I can only speak as a c++ programmer myself, but some reasons to remove features:
- sometimes what appears to be "removed" is actually just not yet re-implemented after a rewrite or refactor of a previous implementation of a tool or application that looks identical to the user
- the feature became technically unfeasible due to a change in the underlying libraries servicing it beyond the architectural influence of the (taskbar) developers who were using it
- some other functionality makes supporting older functionality cost prohibitive, sometimes due to technical details that are not user facing, sometimes due to usability considerations
- the number of people using it did not justify the costs associated with maintaining it
- user research may have shown that such an option was confusing to a significant enough number of users
- sometimes functionality added to an application is only available through an interface that doesn't make UX sense with the "other" way that an option may permit
- sometimes an option is removed under a larger mandate of driving down code bloat
All of these things are hard to judge because we're not privy to the technical details. Even with familiarity of the relevant source code, one may well need need user analytics, c/i costing, a grasp of the technical history of the system, etc in order to have an informed enough position to know if the decision was justified or not.
One thing I will say tho is things don't often happen for no reason at all (with the allowance that of course reasons can sometimes be startlingly esoteric). Of course, this reason may not matter the user it impacts, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter or wasn't a justified decision when all things that go into product design and its implementation including decision making, resources available, etc are factored in.
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Re: Taskbar fix WHEN? (Score:2)
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Look for ExplorerPatcher [github.com], a tool which restores Windows 7/10 behavior to the Windows 11 taskbar and Explorer.
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(I give you credit for at least having the self-awareness to qualify your complaint with "to me" though.)
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This alone is keeping me on Windows 10.
I'll switch to Mac or Linux before I upgrade to Windows 11 with it's limited taskbar flexibility, ruining literally decades of muscle memory & learned patterns from previous versions of Windows, for precisely zero benefit.
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what they really need to do (Score:1)
Wasn't Windows 10 supposed to be... (Score:2)
I'm having a Windows Moment (Score:2, Funny)
Stability over innovation (Score:5, Insightful)
We don't want "continuous innovation". We want a stable system which doesn't change every day so that we can carry on with the actual task at hand rather than havint to relearn a new interface all the time. This is particularly important for all non-technical people and the elderly. Continuous delivery of an operating system should be a criminal offence.
Re: Stability over innovation (Score:1)
i agree. i think the win2k or winxp gui was fanrastic, simple direct, couple of clicks and your choices were done. i dont understand the win7 and later fame: mixed configuration (old/new style) and worse:a left click+properties is replaced by a white borderless book you have to read to know what option you are looking for. let s go back to the simple win2k mznus,i dont understand the need for this fusiness.
Re: Stability over innovation (Score:1)
bordeless white windows! give me back my supported office and outlook 1997! (i m now on a higly customisable linux, with libreoffice, web-teams, a windows vm for unsupported old software, won t hide the fact most hw vendors dont care and you need to debug stupid bugs still present since 1999...)
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rather than havint to relearn a new interface all the time.
Fortunately if you've used Windows at all any time in the past 20 years you don't need to re-learn anything. The interface is the same. You still start apps on the bottom of the screen. You still find more apps by clicking the bottom left most icon. You still maximise minimise and all that top right. Documents are still called Documents. And alt-tab still switches between open apps.
If you do anything other than these actions you're no longer using the operating system, you're likely tweaking or changing set
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Not everybody works on the lukewarm level of mental activity that you do...
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I completely agree. On Linux I still use the FVWM desktop I configured for myself in about 30 years ago (on Solaris back then) and it works just fine. On Windows I always have to search for stuff and it is really pathetic that I cannot configure my own desktop. And then, in addition, the incompetent assholes at MS change things all the time.
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"Updating" (Score:2)
Meanwhile File Exploder still can't handle 20-year old NTFS long file paths.
hope market is evolving (Score:1)
i just hope the market is evolving: microsoft locked in most businnesses and gvnmnts. but i think of geeks, students, some workforce: devops is finally turning windows away(hope). i think that s why they are shimiking to embrace open source,embracing with WSL. but they are as usual, trying to lock in further like apple in braindead new releases. now is not the same public. it s time to go to a better future, do everything we can to improve the future of our kids, limiting the catastrophic economy we are in.
Interesting commitment... (Score:2)
They are committing to updating it once a year. Is there any commitment to actually making it any better?
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Is there any commitment to actually making it any better?
You know, I think MS has by now proven conclusively that they simply cannot do good software engineering.
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Their compiler says otherwise, but aside from their development tools, you're right.
I worked with an ex-Microsoftie about 20 years ago, and the answer I kept getting when I asked him by so-and-so was so bad was that they didn't have enough good people to put on it. It seems, at the time based on what he said, that outside of the Windows kernel and SQL Server, there just weren't that many good people working on software at MS.
I'm guessing that the developers themselves are mostly fine, but it's management t
This level of incompetence this late in the game.. (Score:2)
... is just completely unacceptable. MS needs to start to make things work reliable, have stable and well used interfaces (no "ribbon" crap that is worse just for the sake of being different), stop the "new version" insanity and finally get the basics of secure coding and secure system design right. It is completely unacceptable for a "world leader" to be bumbling about on amateur level like MS continues to do.
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There really is no hope that it will ever happen no matter who is running the company. Game over, move on and move along.
LoB
They have said that for years (Score:2)
LoB
It's no trouble. (Score:2)
They can update your system constantly at no real inconvenience to them. Every time you turn it on, they're in there checking on what you've looked at and done anyway. They can drop off a small update while they're there and you'll never even know.
All my home machines have been on Linux since the 1980s.
Honestly, does anyone believe these monkeys (Score:2)
> But we can safely say that a new numbered version of Windows won't happen in the near future.
That's the same lie you spouted when you introduced Windows 10. I'm sure when you monkeys come up with another privacy-violating idea which requires a kernel update you'll suddenly discover a reason to introduce Windows 12.
Honestly, if you work for Mickeysoft you're morally bankrupt.
How long does it take to sort out procedures? (Score:1)