Windows 10 after three years: an improved report

Microsoft released Windows 10 three years ago this month.

This three-year jubilee was a big deal for Microsoft's OEM partners and for its Windows-based business customers, as it announced the expected arrival of a new Windows. version.

With Windows 10, this calendar is no longer relevant. Instead of a "big bang" publication every three years, Microsoft has come up with new features for its flagship operating system, publishing five feature updates over the past three years.

The latest version, April 2018 Update, may not seem like a big upgrade compared to the version that came out just six months ago. But compare it to the original version of Windows 10 from July 2015 and the contrast is striking.

Windows 10 that you see today is the equivalent of one of those big-bang outlets, and maybe even more impressive because Microsoft customers were able to provide feedback in real time that new features have evolved in the middle years.

Earlier installments in this series:

The user experience of Windows 10 mid-2018, for example, would be familiar to anyone I just woke up after a three-year nap, but a More careful review would reveal innumerable improvements in usability.

The transition from the old Control Panel to the new modern application has been impressive, especially if you take into account graphic changes. come with Fluent Design.

Microsoft designers have tweaked and adjusted the Notifications pane steadily, with the biggest change coming from the way potentially boring notifications are grouped for reasons of effective business management. When you add to the integration with Cortana and the ability to link a mobile phone to Windows 10, the experience is surprisingly useful.

And then there's a brand new feature like Timeline, which was scheduled to debut in 2017 but has been delayed until this year. This is a transformative use of the old Windows key + Tab shortcut.

I published newsletters for Windows 10 after his first and second year. With the approach of the three year mark, it's time to do it again. My 2018 newsletter uses the same categories (with a notable exception) as the previous two years

Adoption Rate: B

The installed base of Windows 10 is growing at a rate of about 200 million new active users per year. At this rate, the number of devices running Windows 10 will reach the 1 billion mark by the 2020 New Year.

This is an impressive figure in itself, but perhaps too little, too late . Because there is another important step that will arrive a few weeks later: the end of support for Windows 7, January 14, 2020. With this deadline in just 18 months, Microsoft's enterprise customers do not seem in a hurry to from 7 to 10.

US Data Analytics data usage provides a good measure of how migration has proceeded to date. As of June 30, 2018, Windows 7 still accounts for nearly 40% of visits to US government websites from Windows PC

Microsoft insists that it will not extend the support time for Windows 7, as it did with Windows XP. But if the majority of its business customers refuse to budge by the end of next year, this could turn into a very dangerous chicken game.

Updates and Updates: B

The "Windows as a Service" concept got off to a rather difficult start, but after three years Microsoft finally fixed two updates a year, one in April and another in October plus cumulative updates on the second Tuesday of each month.

Latest feature updates have added clearer notifications of upcoming updates, with options to postpone the installation of these updates. This design change has greatly helped to calm down Windows 10 users who are bothered by updates that start at unexpected and invariably uncomfortable times.

However, two other issues related to updates continue to annoy users of Windows 10.

The first is the size of the six-monthly feature updates. Although some ingenuity has allowed Microsoft to slightly reduce these packets, they still weigh several megabytes. This can be tedious for Windows 10 users who pay by the byte for downloads.

The other problem is that the process of updating the updates is still too complicated. Unless you are using Windows 10 Home, in this case it's literally impossible. Given the size and diversity of the Windows installed base, the update process will never be perfect. But a reasonable deferral option ("wait two months before delivering a feature update") could inspire true goodwill.

Privacy, A-

For the first year of Windows 10, critics have delivered a steady stream of telemetry data collection of the new operating system and presumed threats to your privacy. Over the past two years, however, this deluge has turned into a net and Windows 10 telemetry has become, for all intents and purposes, a non-issue.

What has changed?

To begin, Microsoft has started to share detailed information about what exactly it is and what it does not monitor with its Connected User Experience and Telemetry component, also known as Universal Telemetry. Customer. It has also changed the Windows 10 default privacy settings to handle complaints from European regulators.

Then, with the release of Windows 10 version 1803 earlier this year, Microsoft has provided a new utility, Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer. administrator account to inspect telemetry data collected from a device. The April 2018 update also includes a Delete button that instantly deletes all stored telemetry data.

This tool was available as preview version for three months and is now installed on more than 250 million Windows 10 PCs. Until now, no privacy advocate has been installed. has made discoveries that contradict Microsoft's insistence that telemetry data is used solely to improve products.

And Facebook was not hurt.

Security: A / B

As in previous years, I have assigned two ratings to this category, reflecting the two very different client groups that use Windows.

Microsoft has provided an impressive assortment of security features for its corporate customers, by getting an A- on my newsletter. Many of these security features are not available to consumers and small businesses. That's why I've assigned a B to this category.

All basic security features are present in all editions of Windows 10, including support for biometric authentication in Windows Bonjour, ubiquitous disk encryption, and built-in malware protection. Microsoft continues to invest in Windows Defender Security Center, which links its many security features into a single dashboard.

The net effect is to make it less necessary for consumers and small businesses to spend money on third party security software. Deciding to abandon these programs becomes a little easier when they end up causing more problems than they solve, as was the case when Avast Behavior Shield caused spectacular failures at certain bets. Windows update a few months ago

. The list of business features is more impressive, with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection at the top of the list. This feature, designed to detect threats that have outpaced other defenses, provides business customers with tools to investigate breaches and provide answers.

Other features still available in preview last year are now fully available for businesses. Windows Defender Exploit Guard and Windows Defender Application Control (formerly known as Device Guard).

The security feature that has not taken off in the past year is the Windows 10 S, which has been transformed Windows Edition to a feature, "S Mode".

Applications: C-

For two years of Windows 10, I assigned an Incomplet in this category because we were waiting for the arrival of some key office applications in Microsoft Store. A year later, these apps are here, and they have done little to revitalize the apps landscape.

You can now get Microsoft Office, iTunes, Slack and Spotify from the Apple Store, as well as other low profile desktop applications. applications, courtesy of a software tool called the Office Bridge (formerly named Centennial). Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much reason to hijack through the store when each of these apps is also available for download.

In fact, iTunes in the Microsoft Store, has one of the worst reviews I've ever seen. 10 of the 10 most recent reviews offer the lowest ratings possible, 1 star, with reviews like "Irritating", "http://www.zdnet.com/" Stupid, "and" Hate it. "

the applications included in a default installation of Windows 10 are greatly improved over rudimentary versions of the first generation, but any positive credit that they earn is offset by the load of Foistware (Candy Crush, by example) that Microsoft insists on grouping all applications: new Windows 10 PC

The only good thing about today's Windows application firmament is Office 365. But of course, this does not require Windows 10. [19659012] Hardware: B +

the Tablets & Phones category, and Microsoft got a solid F last year, its capitulation in the mobile markets having reached its absolute low point.Lucky, the company has completely destroyed its Windows Phone product line last year, leaving it free to focus on PC hardware.

In the end, at least, there has never been a better choice of PC hardware. The e Surface Pro and the Surface Book have evolved into magnificent examples of the state of the art PC. In the process, they seem to have accomplished what Microsoft said was its goal all along: encourage OEM partners to build better devices.

That does not hurt Microsoft because Apple is tripping over the Mac market, criticized for the quality of its keyboards, an unattractive approach to design, and an inability to provide upgrades for signature products like the Mac Pro.

And, of course, the most egregious failure: a total lack of support for touchscreen

This allowed Windows builders to offer really interesting designs, such as the HP Specter x360 and the Huawei MateBook Pro X.

At the beginning of this decade, a number of experts were ready to declare the PC dead. But the industry continues to thwart funeral companies, and much of the credit should go to Windows 10.