The Windows 10 October 2018 Update (1809): Let's Try This Again
by Brett Howse on November 14, 2018 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Edge Updates
As with every update for Windows 10, Edge has gotten some new features as well.
Media Autoplay
Likely one of the most annoying things on the web is auto-playing videos, and Edge now has a setting to allow you to control this behavior. You can find this setting under Advanced. Allow is the default, and lets media play if the tab is in the foreground. Limit will restrict videos to only play if they are muted by default. Block will prevent all autoplaying videos unless you directly interact with the element.
In addition, this can be done on a site by site basis by clicking the icon beside the URL which will be a lock if the site has HTTPS or a circle if it’s HTTP.
Menu Changes
Edge started life as a browser lacking a lot of functionality, and with every update there’s been more added in, so with the 1809 update, the menus and settings interface has been adjusted to cope with the additional settings and features. The Favorites icon is now the hub for Favorites, Reading List, History, Books, and Downloads.
Settings is also broken up in the same manor, making it a much cleaner and easier to navigate settings page.
Reading View
Reading View now supports a Line Focus feature which highlights only a few lines of text at a time, which can help with distractions.
Additionally, Reading View now supports the ability to look up a definition of a word by selecting it. This works in Reading View for websites, Books, and PDFs, and the functionality works even if you are offline by referencing a built-in dictionary. This is exactly the same as a Kindle, and is great functionality.
Web Authentication
Edge now supports the Web Authentication API known as WebAuthN, and Edge supports authentication using Windows Hello to sign in with a biometric login. The end goal is to replace the multitude of passwords with stronger credentials that are easier for people to use, and hopefully this gains some traction on the web as a whole, because the password authentication system is not the best.
Under the Hood
In addition to these features, the Edge team has been busy adding new features under the hood for developers to tap, such as improvements to their CSS handling, and Service Workers. For a full list of all of the features on the current road map, check out the Platform Status page, and for a full change log of all new features in Edge, the team has a convenient changelog page as well.
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DominionSeraph - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - link
Calling the data loss a software bug isn't really accurate. After the users moved their user directories, the old ones should've been unused and ready for cleanup. Some users continued to stuff files into the old locations as well as the new ones, causing the ones in the old location to be deleted when the cleanup occurred. This isn't a bug, just the convergence between design choice and a fraction of the user base's use.If Microsoft made a smartphone with buttons on both sides of the case, decided in a refresh to switch it to right-side only, and people came out of the woodwork saying, "I masturbate with my right hand so those buttons on the left were useful," and Microsoft added them back in, is that saying that all smartphones that only have buttons on the right side are bugged?
If we're calling design choices bugs then MacOS is literally nothing but a bug for its lack of legacy support.
timecop1818 - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - link
Yep, 100% this. After i researched the data "loss" conditions, I was surprised it was called such a big deal.I actually DO move Known Folders to another drive due to space/management reasons, and i would never think to continue using users\documens etc locations for other files after the move.
There's not even a quick way to access those after transfer is there? the documents explorer pin will go to new location, and you'd need to drill down to c:\users\username\documents to get to old place manually. so if anyone lost data after knowingly moving Known Folder and continuing to use old one, it's 100% their fault and not Microsofts.
GreenReaper - Thursday, November 15, 2018 - link
No, it's fair to call it a bug, because the assumption (the directories are empty, or contain no valuable data, so it's safe to remove them) was incorrect. This may have been partially the fault of third-parties not handling shell paths correctly, but the fact remains: Microsoft was the one to delete user data.timecop1818 - Thursday, November 15, 2018 - link
No, user moved their data to another location. That was the end of microsoft involvement.If you use lunix and store shit in /tmp and it disappears on reboot, do you blame lunix or yourself?
bill44 - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - link
After 3 years and lots of promises, proper color management has yet to be implemented.ayunatsume - Friday, November 16, 2018 - link
Windows has had color management since... Windows XP? You can find it in the control panel and you can install ICC profiles by double-clicking them. I work in a printing press and use CM for RGB and CMYK jobs. I use it with Adobe's suite of programs from acrobat to photoshop, illustrator, and indesign. What were you looking for in color management?pjcamp - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - link
I'll wait a month to see if anything else surfaces. Luckily, I know how to disable forced updates. This is exactly the sort of catastrophe I feared from that policy.leexgx - Friday, November 16, 2018 - link
windows 10 pro set to none targeted +100 days delay (+15 delay on normal updates as you cant even trust them as they have pulled them in the past when a broken update has broken PCs)Makaveli - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - link
This build finally works for me as an in place upgrade on my Sony Vaio Z laptop 1803 would fail every time. Which means I can upgrade my main desktop tomorrow.BurntMyBacon - Thursday, November 15, 2018 - link
The early worm gets the ... bird?