Despite being publicly available for about a day and a half, rumors are already floating that Windows 10 will see its first major service pack next week. The news was first broken on The Verge that Service Release 1 is expected in August and likely as soon as next week. This is a far cry from the Service Pack mentality of Windows of old and is likely the path that Microsoft will continue to take as Windows 10 evolves. Like it or not.
Windows 10, the next generation of Windows, has officially launched today in over 190 countries globally. Windows 10 is a free upgrade for those who are running Windows 7 or 8.1 and it brings back the Start Menu which many loathed about Windows 8.1. It also brings an all new browser experience in Microsoft Edge and has Cortana, the voice recognition personal assistant built into it.
Having used Windows 10 for several months, I can tell you that this feels like Windows yet feels completely new. I personally think it is the best Windows release yet and after you upgrade I think you will agree.
Last weeks announcements that over 7,000 people were being laid off from Microsoft, mostly in the Nokia acquired mobile division, was the final nail in the Windows Phone coffin. Couple that with the multi-billion dollar write down of the Nokia business and, well, that nail is properly sunk deep in said coffin.
Make no mistake: I love Windows Phone. I have been using a Windows powered mobile device since the Pocket PC days and even before that in the H/PC days. In fact you can still visit one of the last H/PC sites out there, HPC:Factor, a site I helped found. But I left the platform in 2012 because of a lack of apps and direction. I came back in 2014 because it looked like things were turning around.
I was wrong. I’m terribly sad that I was wrong but I was wrong.
Over the course of the last two months you have seen a shift on my site. That shift has been more around Android than Windows Phone. The writing has been on the wall. Windows Phone is dying and Microsoft all but confirmed it was on its death bed last week. Sure there will be a new device or two for enthusiasts and developers but the cutbacks on devices should not be under estimated.
Microsoft flew the white flag last week. The war is over. Apple and Google won.
If you are on T-Mobile here in the US and carry the Sony Z3, you are about to have a good Wednesday. Starting today the carrier is rolling out Lollipop to the device and with the update will also come support for LTE Band 12. The news came via Twitter thanks to T-Mobile’s Des Smith who tweeted the update would be coming via an OTA (Over The Air) update to the device.
Software Update: @TMobile #Z3 – #Lollipop + Band 12 support! Should start after Midnight Pacific ✌Des pic.twitter.com/766pvQpKsq
— Des (@askdes) June 2, 2015
It’s good news for sure as the Sony Z3 has been a popular device globally and one that is more than capable of running the latest version of Android.
Leveraging the personal assistant Cortana, Microsoft has announced on the Windows Blog that Windows 10 will be coming to a Windows PC or tablet near you on July 29th. The announcement comes days after another significant build was released to Windows Insiders, a build that feels far more stable and complete than previous builds. It is clear that Microsoft is making major steps forward in the Windows 10 development and they in large part thank the Windows Insiders (all 4 million of them) for the rapid development cycle. Still, with the release now 59 days away, there is a lot for the company to do to get things ready.
If you have followed my site for the last few weeks you will have noticed a lot more Android updates. It’s partly because I have to use an Android device for my day job but also it is good to expand horizons. I’ve never been a big fan of Android. I don’t really like the UI although it is certainly better than the last time I really tried to use one, circa Ice Cream Sandwich. But it’s still not may favorite. That’s Windows Phone. I love the personal experience of Windows Phone that despite Google’s best efforts – and Apple’s with iOS for that matter – just can’t replicate well.
One factor about Windows Phone that I and many other sites and users have moaned about however is the upgrade process. While an update may be available, it could take months or never for that update to hit your phone depending on your country and if your phone is locked to a carrier. Everyone’s favorite example is Verizon and the Lumia Cyan update which never came out. Instead, owners of the Lumia ICON (Lumia 930 in the rest of the world) had to wait a full year before that got it and Lumia Denim at the same time. A year. It’s unacceptable and is something that Microsoft has said they are addressing with the release of Windows 10 Mobile.
If however you are thinking that the Android grass is greener, guess again. The upgrading of Android devices to the next version of the OS, Lollipop, if fraught with problems, delays and phones that, while can run it, will never get the update. Compounding this is the sheer number of devices that are out there and all the possible permutations of Android that have to be developed to support those devices. By Gartner’s estimate, there are over 18,000 versions of Android out in the wild today. 18,000! That makes a uniform, systematic upgrade virtually impossible.
Earlier today Microsoft released Build 10122 for Windows 10 for PCs to the Fast Ring participants of the Windows Insider program. The new build has a pile of new features along with a lot of improvements and fixes over the build released a couple of weeks ago. While the Windows 10 builds started out slow in coming, Gabe Aul and the team at Microsoft are releasing builds fast and furious now which is critical given that it is expect to reach GM (Gold Master) in July.
Unlike previous updates to Windows 10, the blog post on the Windows Blog clearly stated an issue up front for users of AMD processors. That issues has to do with crashes of the new Microsoft Edge (Project Spartan) browser. In fact, AMD users are advised by Microsoft to “sit this one out”
I usually start these posts with the fun stuff at the top but want to call out our only big known Issue here right away – if you’re using an AMD GPU you’re likely to run into frequent crashes in Microsoft Edge (still branded as “Project Spartan” in this build.) If you want to avoid that, simply go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Advanced and change to the Slow ring to sit this one out.
So if you are using an AMD processor you will need to do as advised and move to the Slow Ring until a fix is released.
This is one that I personally take a lot of satisfaction in seeing. After indicating they were not going to update MLB At Bat for Windows Phone for the 2015 season, Major League Baseball has reversed course and has just released an updated version for the season. We are 2 months into the season but I’m not going to complain. It is here and it is great.
Back in April before the start of the baseball season, MLB said they would not be updating the app for Windows Phone. I was plenty critical of it as a baseball fan and Windows Phone fan.
@MLB shame you have left out us #WindowsPhone users. We too want to be able to follow our favorite teams on the go @Rockies
— Clinton Fitch (@ClintonFitch) April 5, 2015
At the time, it was the latest in a long string of apps that support for Windows Phone had been dropped (Bank of America, I’m STILL looking at you) and while I appreciated that Universal apps would be coming in Windows 10, it was frustrating as a baseball fan. Now, it seems, all is right with the world.
MLB At Bat for Windows Phone – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now