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
Final Words
Although the Windows 10 October 2018 Update has gotten off to a pretty rocky start, when people get the update they will find some new functionality that isn’t just for show. There’s enough new features here that it’s already difficult to use devices on previous versions, which is generally a good sign.
The Your Phone app is likely the highlight, since it really helps integrate the PC with the world of mobile in an easy to use way. The app is a bit light on features right now, but functionality will improve over time. The ability to send and receive text messages on the PC is a nice feature though, and there’s been many times where the new photo sharing would be very handy.
The new clipboard functionality, tied in with the new screen capture tools, are a great update. Being able to map the new screen capture to the print screen button also makes it much easier to access, and it would not be a huge surprise to see this get eventually set as the default. What would really put the cloud clipboard over the top though would be having it as a standalone app, so you can leave it open and reference it when needed, since right now you have to open it every time you want to paste something.
Proper Dark Mode is slowly taking shape, although we’ll likely continue to see it evolve over the next several updates. Having File Explorer added to the list of Dark Mode views though is welcomed. As with everything on Windows though, having a full system dark mode is difficult to achieve since buy-in from developers is not as strong as some platforms, and much of the software is legacy. But some applications such as Visual Studio do offer proper dark modes, and many of the built-in UWP apps like Skype support this as well.
Edge has come a long way since Windows 10 first launched. At that time, it was pretty difficult to use, but the Edge team has continued to improve their product significantly over time. With Edge now being available on Android and iOS, it’s now quite powerful. There’s no doubt that Google Chrome is still the browser of choice for most people, but Edge does offer a solid product now, with low power usage, and great text rendering.
Overall this is a nice update, and is really the style of update that suits Windows 10 now. It’s been out for three years, and there’s not a big push for major UI changes that drastically alter how people interact with the operating system. There’s likely always going to be a debate about how often is too often for a major feature update, and the twice per year scenario we have now is perhaps too aggressive, when you see Android and iOS both updating only once per year, and neither of those have the legacy devices of Windows to contend with. Having major bugs missed during the launch of this update hasn’t helped the discussion either. The other side of the coin is that even with yearly updates, these bugs still could have been missed.
Major bugs aside, and now hopefully fixed, the Windows 10 October 2018 Update provides really useful new features, and three years in, that’s really all we can ask for.
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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?