Microsoft has finally declared the semi-annual Windows update from October 2018 is ready for business.
The Windows release in question is the Windows 10 October Update (version 1809), a semi-annual update that Microsoft “paused” after detecting “isolated reports of users missing files after updating.”
The word “paused” was a smokescreen – Windows version 1809 was flat out unavailable for about five weeks, before distribution “resumed” in mid-November.
Which was embarrassing for Microsoft because it justifies its cloud and subscription services push by saying that more frequent releases means more chances to innovate.
While maintaining its “more upgrades = more chance for agility” mantra, Microsoft also recognises that businesses with large PC fleets aren’t always happy to update Windows as soon as its semi-annual updates land. So it waits a while before declaring each major Windows update is suitable for “broad deployment” – Microsoft-speak for ready for business.
April 2018’s Windows 10 1803 won “broad deployment” status 45 days after release in June 2018.
But when Windows 10 1809 achieved the same milestone late last week, almost five months had passed since its October 2, 2018 release.
It’s hard to see too many businesses bothering, given that Windows 10 1903 will emerge sometime during April 2019 and has two useful features.
One is the new Windows Sandbox, a lightweight virtual machine that Microsoft suggests as a way to isolate workloads you want to test. The other is passwordless logon to Windows, using a smartphone as an authentication token.
[“source=itnews”]
