Windows 10 October 2018 Update still not released, running out of October

[steven36]

 

 

Microsoft is making yet more fixes to Windows 10 build 17763, the build that has been blessed as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

 

The update was initially published on the second Tuesday of the month, but within a few days Microsoft had to pull the update due to a bug that could cause data loss. It turned out that the bug had been reported numerous times during the preview period, but for whatever reason Microsoft had overlooked or ignored the feedback items describing the problem.

 

Microsoft fixed that particular bug and sent the fixed build to Windows Insiders to test. The fixes published today include a fix for another widely reported (but apparently ignored) bug when dragging files from .ZIP archives in Explorer. If a file within the archive has the same name as a file in the destination directory, Explorer is supposed to show a prompt to ask whether to overwrite the existing file or rename the new one. For some reason, Windows build 17763 was not asking the question. Instead, it was skipping the extraction of the file with the conflicting name.

 

The company pushed these patches out to the Insider Slow and Release Preview rings. With today being the penultimate day of October, it looks unlikely that the October 2018 update will actually ship in October 2018—a rather unfortunate state of affairs for a software release that was thought to be finalized in mid-September.

 

We continue to believe that these problems indicate that the Windows development process is flawed. Inadequate testing (both automated and manual), combined with a general attitude of "add the new code now, we'll fix the bugs later," means that, with each new feature update, code quality takes a hit. Months can go by before the code gets back up to where it should be, with Windows users being caught in the resulting quagmire.

 

Source

[steven36]

As Windows 10 delay continues, support shortfall grows

 

By Gregg Keizer

 

 

Microsoft is running out of calendar runway for Windows 10 October 2018 Update, the one it withdrew from distribution earlier this month.

 

With less than 48 hours left in the month, the company is in danger of rendering obsolete the name of the fall feature upgrade and perhaps disrupting the scheduled support.

 

Although Microsoft officially released the refresh on Oct. 2, four days later it barred access to the upgrade via Windows Update, told those who had installed it to stay off their PCs and warned users who had downloaded but not installed it to trash the disk image. The reason for the unprecedented moves: Some users - Microsoft said 1/100th of 1% - reported that the upgrade deleted all files in several folders, including the important Documents and Photos directories.

 

The last word on 1809, Microsoft's name in its now-standard yymm labeling format, was three weeks ago, when John Cable, director of program management in the Windows servicing group, told customers that bugs had been fixed. But rather than again putting the general public at risk, the company handed the re-release to those who had volunteered to test the OS by signing up with the Windows Insider preview program.

 

With the release of Windows 10 1809 now postponed by at least four weeks, the delay has impacted the upgrade's support timeline.

 

According to the definitive "Windows lifecycle fact sheet," 1809 support for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro will expire April 14, 2020, and for Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education on April 13, 2021. (Microsoft recently extended support for Enterprise and Education from 18 to 30 months.)

 

 

If Microsoft restarted distribution of Windows 10 October 2018 Update today, it would shortchange customers on support. Rather than the promised 18 months for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro, it would instead provide support for 17 months and 15 days. (The original Oct. 2 release date translated to 18 months and 12 days of support.) And Windows 10 Enterprise and Education would get less than the pledged 30 months.

 

"If Windows-as-a-Service is in fact a hosted service, if general availability is paused, is the support window of 18 or 30 months extended by the number of days for each pause?" asked Wes Miller, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, in an Oct. 11 tweet.

 

 

It was unclear if Microsoft will redress the support shortfall, and if so, how. In April, when Microsoft delayed the release of Windows 10 1803 to the month's final day it added time to support. Rather than an Oct. 8, 2019 end of support for Home and Pro - based on an expected April 10, 2018, debut - Microsoft set it to expire Nov. 12, 2019. (That gave Home and Pro customers 18 months and 15 days of support.)

 

Microsoft could extend support for 1809 in the same way. For example, if the firm re-starts distribution on Friday, Nov. 2, it could restate end-of-support for Home and Pro as May 12, 2020, giving users 18 months and 10 days of security patches and bug fixes.

 

When asked today whether Microsoft will add more time to 1809's support, a spokeswoman said the company declined to comment.

 

Source