Microsoft released Windows 10 19H1 Build 18237 to Skip Ahead Insiders yesterday, but many users were quick to report high memory usage and installation issues with this release. The Insider team was speedy in investigating the problems, and they’ve since provided an update, saying the build was re-released after unintentionally being pushed out as encrypted.

Hello #WindowsInsiders – here is a small update on today's Skip Ahead flight of 19H1 Build 18237. ^BLB pic.twitter.com/AniY2ZHzIZ

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) September 13, 2018

If you’re still having high memory usage or other issues with the build, the Windows Insider team said that they are still investigating to see if the re-published build resolves the problem. There are no further details beyond that, but Microsoft MVP Rafael Rivera dived deeper into what was causing the problem, explaining the technicalities in a series of tweets.

https://twitter.com/WithinRafael/status/1039986328576831488

Additionally, as noted by Richard Hay on Twitter, a symptom of getting this encrypted build could be the much-longer than normal install time. If that’s happening to you, it’s probably best to cancel the install or pause the update and restart. Did you also have issues installing this build? Let us know in the comments below.

Yesterday, we noted that Windows Insiders on Redstone 5 builds were getting an Edge app recommendation “ad” when trying to install Chrome or Firefox. Windows users across the internet have since shown major outrage over this, and it quickly became yet another controversy for Microsoft. Well, the company has now come forward on the issue, issuing a statement saying that the pop up is just a part of Insider testing (via ZDNet.):

We’ve tested this functionality with Insiders only – The Windows Insider Program enables Microsoft to test different features, functionality and garner feedback before rolling out broadly. Customers remain in control and can choose the browser of their choice.

In his testing, Ed Bott over at ZDNet found that the “ads” have since been turned off and can’t be reproduced with the latest Redstone 5 Windows Insider build, 17758.1. We also checked on PCs running build Redstone 5 build 17755.1 and 19H1 build 18234 and can confirm we’re not seeing these “ads.” as well.

Many other Windows features have disappeared and re-appeared after testing and a feedback period with Insiders, so it’s not surprising to see Microsoft pull that card here. The best example of this is the Sets feature and even A/B testing of certain features in the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft is obviously now trying to distance itself from the controversy, and the annoying pop up would probably have done very little to boost Microsoft Edge, which is still a decent browser. Do you agree that Microsoft went too far to promote its new web browser? Let us know below.

Microsoft’s Windows team has just dropped its latest Insider preview for the Skip Ahead release ring. With Windows 10 Insider preview build 18237. Insiders are given a hefty list of fixes and improvements.

UPDATE: Microsoft is investigating an issue with this build where some users are getting update failed with error code 0x8007000e or seeing very high RAM usage. You can check this page for more details. Please log your feedback on this RAM usage problem in the Feedback Hub here, and with the 0x800700e error here.

Skip Ahead 19H1 Insiders, if you are getting error 0x8007000e or seeing excessively high memory usage, please go here https://t.co/s2Rn9xbuMM to find more information and FBH links to upvote. Thanks!
^WH

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) September 12, 2018

Here’s what’s been fixed and improved upon in build 18237,

• General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC
  We fixed an issue where Task Manager couldn’t be resized in the previous flight.
• We fixed and issue resulting in Settings crashing when navigating to Accounts > Sign-in in the previous flight.
• We fixed an issue resulting in reduced Action Center reliability in recent flights.
• We fixed an issue where if you opened one of the taskbar flyouts (like network or volume), and then quickly tried to open another, it wouldn’t work.
• We fixed an issue for people with multiple monitors where if the Open or Save Dialog was moved between monitors some elements might become unexpectedly tiny.
• We fixed an issue resulting in certain apps crashing recently when setting focus to the in-app search box.
• We fixed an issue resulting in certain games, like League of Legends, not launching/connecting properly in recent flights.
• We fixed an issue where clicking on web links in PWAs such as Twitter didn’t open the browser.
• We fixed an issue resulting in certain PWAs not rendering correctly after the app had been suspended then resumed.
• We fixed an issue where pasting multi-line text into certain websites using Microsoft Edge might add unexpected empty lines between each line.
• We fixed a crash in recent flights when using the pen to ink in Microsoft Edge’s web notes.
• We fixed a high hitting Task Manager crash in recent flights.
• We fixed an issue resulting in Settings crashing for Insiders with multiple monitors when changing various options under Display Settings in the last few flights.
• We fixed a crash when clicking the Verify link on the Accounts Settings page in recent flights.
• We’ve added a new group policy for preventing the use of security questions for local accounts. This can be found under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Credential User Interface.
• We fixed an issue where the contents of the Apps & Features page wouldn’t load until the apps list was ready, resulting in the page appearing blank for a time.
• We fixed an issue where the list on Settings of built-in phrases for the Pinyin IME was blank.
• We fixed an issue in Narrator where activating Microsoft Edge history items would not work in Scan mode.
• We made some improvements in Narrator Selection when moving forward in Microsoft Edge. Please try this out and use the Feedback hub app to let us know any issues you encounter.
• We fixed an issue where Narrator would incorrectly report some standard combo boxes as “editable combo box” instead of “combo box”.

However, this wouldn’t be a Skip Ahead preview without a few issues testers need to be aware when downloading this build. Here are some notes for testers and developers.

Known issues

• Narrator sometimes does not read in the Settings app when you navigate using Tab and arrow keys. Try switching to Narrator Scan mode temporarily. And when you turn Scan mode off again, Narrator will now read when you navigate using Tab and arrows key. Alternatively, you can restart Narrator to work around this issue.
• You may notice the background of notifications and the Action Center lose color and become transparent (with an acrylic effect). We’re aware that for notifications this can make them difficult to read and appreciate your patience as we work on a fix.

Known issues for Developers

• If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring – optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.

A lot has been addressed in this build, but I’m sure we’ll see more addressed in upcoming builds as the Windows team preps for a possible October release of the next Windows 10 Update.

Microsoft released yesterday the Windows 10 SDK preview build 17754 as well as the second preview of Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9. After installing the latter, developers will see that the latest Windows 10 Preview SDK is now included as an optional component in the Universal Windows Platform development Workload, which is pretty convenient for accessing the latest Windows 10 APIs right away.

Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 Preview 2 comes with the following new features for developers (more details are available here):

• You can now import and export an installation configuration file that specifies which workloads and components should be installed with an instance of Visual Studio.
• Step back in debugger is now available in C++.
• We fixed several bugs in the F# compiler when working with byref types.

Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 Preview 2 shouldn’t be used in a production environment, though you can use this latest preview release alongside other versions of Visual Studio. You can download this latest preview from the Visual Studio website, and the Windows 10 SDK preview build 17754 is available on this page.

Following the action at Microsoft Ignite in September, Microsoft is set to take a few additional moments of your time with a special event in New York City on October 2. Timed perfectly for the Fall and holiday shopping season, many are expecting the Redmond giant to use the event to take the wraps off refreshed, new Surface products, and maybe even some new software. We’ll be attending and blogging live on the ground at the event in New York City come October 2nd, so here’s a look at what we expect (and don’t expect) from Microsoft.

What to expect (Hardware)

Surface Refresh

Like everyone else, we’re highly expecting Microsoft to show off some refreshes (with the latest 8th Gen Intel chips) for the Surface Pro, Laptop, and Book devices. The timing is just right, especially since the current generation devices were heavily discounted for Labor Day weekend. We also think these refreshed Surface devices will come with USB C ports, given that Microsoft is now selling its own Surface-branded USB C adapters for the Surface Go.

Maybe Surface Hub 2, Surface Studio 2, and HoloLens 2.0?

This is a bit wild, but these devices are still worth mentioning as a reminder of the state of the Surface family. First off, we think this event could finally reveal more on Surface Hub 2, which Microsoft has said is already in use by customers, but planned for 2019 release.

Though it doesn’t seem like the venue, there is also the possibility of hearing more about HoloLens 2.0. Several patents for that headset have leaked, but HoloLens 2.0 too was rumored for 2019.

Finally, something much more possible is Surface Studio 2, since the original Studio is now close to 2 years old. That hardware is now aging, and it would be nice to see the All-in-one PC pick up USB C, newer Intel Chips and even SSDs.

A New Surface and Surface Headset?

The past two Microsoft events in New York City have seen the reveal of new Surface devices— the Surface Studio and Surface Laptop. Though there are rumors indicating Surface Pro 6 (codenamed Carmel) won’t come until 2019, we might again see new Surface devices at this October 2 event. Surface chief Panos Panay has been quiet on any new hardware but last hinted at an “evolution of communication.” So, all things considered, it wouldn’t make sense for Microsoft to hype up and spend money on a media event in NYC and NOT showcase new Surface hardware.

Take it as a fine grain of salt, but a reply in this Reddit thread says Microsoft has banned entry into its Surface hardware building. Per that comment, the last time that happened was for the Surface Studio. There definitely could be something a new Surface cooking over at Redmond.

Finally, a story from Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley also shows that Microsoft could be working on a Surface-branded headset. She reports it could be like a Jabra Evolve. We’ve seen Microsoft reveal Surface-branded accessories (Surface mouse, keyboard, etc) alongside main new Surface devices before, so this too makes sense.

Surface Go with LTE?

When Surface Go launched in August, Microsoft promised that an LTE model would be coming later this year. Now that initial reviews of the device have phased through the media, it makes sense for Microsoft to now take the wraps off the LTE version at the October 2 event. As we saw with Surface Pro LTE, the company has also been big on pushing its devices for “a new culture of work”, and the LTE Surface Go would fit right in with that plans.

What to expect (Software)

Windows 10 October 2018 Update

The next version of Windows 10 is appropriately named for the month in which this event is occurring, so we expect for Microsoft to highlight this latest version of Windows 10. Similar to what they did with the 2016 Creators Update Surface Studio hardware event, any new hardware from this years event will likely pair up with new Windows 10 October 2018 Update features, and Windows 10 adoption rates and momentum. We could even hear about the next Windows 10 19H1 update, set for release in the Spring.

Office, Cortana/Alexa, other productivity software

After Microsoft’s internal shakeup, Corporate Vice President Yusuf Mehdi started using the term “modern life services,” talking about helping consumers achieve more and making their lives easier. The “moment in your time” theme for this event can be a nod to that, and even productivity. That said, we think this event could reveal more about Office 2019, recent updates to Office 365, and even that Cortana and Alexa integration. The last May 2017 Surface Laptop Microsoft event did feature a similar software side of things, so we expect it to come up again.

Xbox, Game Pass, Minecraft

New Xbox hardware is usually reserved for E3 2018 or Gamescom, but this event could again see a recap of what’s been new with Xbox software/games for the past few months. We could get a peek at the Xbox version of the Windows 10 October 2018 update, and also new or upcoming Minecraft features. Again, Microsoft’s October 2016 Surface Studio event did feature both Xbox and Minecraft, so it won’t surprise us to hear more about those on this October 2nd either.

What NOT to expect

Project Andromeda or Surface Phone

Windows Phone fans might be hoping this event could shed more light on Project Andromeda or Surface Phone, but we don’t see that as possible. Rumors have shown that Surface Andromeda is definitely not coming in 2018, so don’t expect for it to get any mentions at this event. Last we noted, the reason for the delay happens to be related to the software not being ready, so don’t get your hopes up just yet and wait for 2019 instead.

Microsoft Band 3 or Microsoft Watch

Despite the “moment of your time” theme for this October 2 event, we don’t think Microsoft will be showing off a wearable device. The company killed off its previous wearable, the Microsoft Band, and has shown little interest in it since then. Still, patents have shown that a new wearable could be in development, so you never know.

As you can tell, there is a lot of rumors, and hype around Microsoft’s fall devices lineup. All of that is likely to culminate come October 2nd, so be sure to keep it tuned right here to OnMSFT. The event is set to kick off at 4 PM ET, and it is not clear if Microsoft will be streaming it live, so we’ll have you covered with our own live blog.

Portable SSDs aren’t too common, but if you value speed and reliability, you should definitely go for one. They’re expensive, yes, and therefore mostly appeal to the geeks and early adopters at the moment.

I had a look a Western Digital’s My Passport SSD, a compact and uniquely designed portable SSD that fits into the palm of your hand, and here’s the complete review of the same.

Design

The WD My Passport SSD has an interesting design approach. It has a dual-tone finish with a plain black plastic half and a gunmetal looking ribbed half. The eclectic design apart, the build quality is pretty good and it feels solid. However, the metal portion picks up smudges all the time and it’s hard to clean them.

At about 3.5 inches long and less than 2 inches wide, the My Passport SSD easily slides into your pocket or any small pocket of your bag. It’s only about 40 grams, you won’t even feel its weight. If you’re used to carrying pen drives around, this one is just a little wider and that’s all.

According to the company, My Passport SSD can survive the shock of a drop from of up to 6.5 feet, but there’s no water or dust resistance, so keep it safe from the elements. That said, there’s a generous three-year limited worldwide warranty.

The drive comes with a USB Type-C (USB 3.1) connector, along with a USB Type C-to-A adapter bundled in eliminating the need to carry any extra cable. The only problem is that the adapter breaks the Type-C standard laid down by the USB Implementers Forum, the industry body that promotes and supports the standard. While the My Passport SSD works perfectly with this arrangement, you’d not be able to use this adapter with other cables for any other USB Type-C devices you have.

Since the SSD is bus-powered, it doesn’t need any power supply and is simply plug-and-play. In an odd omission, the My Passport SSD does not have any LED activity indicator so you’re always guessing whether or not a read/write operation has finished before you can unplug it.

Software

The WD MyPassport SSD comes with pre-loaded software on the drive that you can choose to install or ignore.

WD Drive Utilities lets you check the SSD for errors and format it. WD Security lets you set a password to take advantage of the 256-bit encryption on board. If the My Passport SSD is locked, it will show up on other PCs as a read-only virtual CD with a tiny utility called WD Unlocker where you need to type in your password to unlock the drive.

While these two are available for both Windows and macOS, WD Backup and WD Discovery are only available for Windows.

WD Backup lets you select specific folders on the drive and back them up to your Dropbox account at your preferred syncing schedule. Unfortunately, no other cloud storage services are supported. The WD Discovery app is a dashboard that lets you launch other utilities and check for updates. This one is mostly unnecessary, and its only purpose is to allow WD to push ads for third-party apps and services.

Performance

Out of the box, My Passport SSD is set to exFAT file system which ensures compatibility across any latest Windows PC or a Mac. There’s also 256-bit AES hardware encryption on board. I reviewed the 256GB variant, and the formatted capacity was 238GB.

My Passport SSD is described as ‘USB 3.1 Gen 2 ready’ but don’t expect speeds anywhere close to the theoretical 10Gbps. The rated speed is 540MBps anyway, and CrystalDiskMark test achieves up to about 450MBps sequential read and write speeds.

Copying about 30GB of videos from my latest Surface Pro to the SSD took under five minutes and only two minutes from the SSD to the Surface. Moving a cluster of about 10GB data with over 4200 files took five minutes. I’ve seen better speeds with some other SSDs but this is not bad.

The SSD works just fine as an OTG USB drive with an Android smartphone (I tried with a Google Pixel 2 XL and a OnePlus 6). Of course, you’d need to format it from exFAT to NTFC on the PC beforehand.

Summary

The WD My Passport SSD has a lot of things going for it, especially its striking chassis, but the real-world usage is only middling. The preloaded software though adds some value.

A portable SSD is a luxurious indulgence at this point of time, but once you get used to the speed of one or if carrying large amounts of data all the time with you is a need, it’s hard to go back.

Available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB variants, the My Passport SSD is priced starting at $99.99 in the US or ₹8,999 in India for the 256GB variant.

Revealed at E3 in 2014, Crackdown 3 is an exclusive Microsoft title that has had its release date pushed back numerous times. Every time a new release date is announced, it should be looked at with scepticism.

In an attempt to turn the negativity of the release date being pushed back, Microsoft’s Xbox executive, Aaron Greenberg, has said that the company doesn’t need to release Crackdown 3 this year as it has more than enough AAA content for Xbox. Greenberg said he “can’t think of a holiday that had more AAA games in such a tight time period” (via gamesindustry.biz).

We’re going to get it (Forza Horizon 4) out early (October 2nd) and before the blast radius. Then we didn’t need Crackdown or any of our titles in this holiday window. We’re planning to launch that in February, and then after that we will launch Ori and the Will of the Wisps. We like to have a steady cadence of content throughout the year. But there is more than enough content this holiday. That’s why we’re working with so many third-party partners to showcase their games and help drive our platform during that window. I can’t think of a holiday that had more AAA games in such a tight time period.

Microsoft’s stance does make sense. With so many big releases this holiday season, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with a new Blackout mode, Battlefield 5 with a battle royale-style mode, Forza Horizon 4, Red Dead Redemption 2, and so many more, it is understandable that the company wouldn’t want Crackdown 3’s sales to be hindered by the already large lineup for gamers to choose from.

Not to be outdone by Apple and Google this Fall, Microsoft has announced it is hosting an event on October 2, 2018. The invite itself leaves plenty to the imagination with the words “A moment of your time.” cryptically displayed.

Historically, October has been the month Microsoft has introduced or refreshed Surface devices as well as unveil new or upcoming features to its Windows 10 operating system. There was even a point in time where a portion of the smartphone using population would eagerly await the next Windows Phone offering.

Here at OnMSFT, we share the same investigative hunch as the folks over at Windows Central do, that Microsoft is preparing to show off a possible Surface Studio 2 refresh as well as a possible update to the Surface Laptop with a much-needed USB-C upgrade.

As for a smartphone returning to the October event line up, we’re not holding our breaths. As far as leaks or industry gossip is concerned, project Andromeda seems to be in stasis at the moment. Whatever is announced at Microsoft’s October 2, 2018 event in New York, you can rest assured we’ll have all the details here.

Sea of Thieves, the much promoted pirate game for Xbox and Windows 10 PC, is set for a new major update, dubbed “Forsaken Shores,” due on September 19th. The free update opens up a new region in the game, “The Devil’s Roar”:

Navigating this treacherous land brings with it new threats, new challenges and new adventures. Superheated water, burning rocks raining down from volcanoes and exploding geysers are just some of the new environmental elements that will change the way pirates traverse land and sea.

In anticipation of the update, Rare has released a new video, which you can check out below:

The trailer was due to be released yesterday, but was held back because of “emergency maintenance” after an update caused gamers to lose, or appear to lose, their progression in the game:

The team are aware of an issue in which players have lost the ability to see how far they have progressed within a given level, we are aiming to have this fixed in the next game update.
Rest assured your progress within each Company, including Athena, is not lost, players can continue to play and your level will increase once you have fulfilled the XP level requirement for the given Company rank as normal.

Note: You will be able to see your updated progress briefly each time you hand in a treasure item.

The trailer was briefly posted before being pulled yesterday, not before some gamers were able to grab the video and distribute it, but this is the now officially released trailer.

You can get Sea of Thieves from the Microsoft Store below, or if you have the game you’ll be getting the Forgotten Shores update for free on September 19th.

Download
QR-Code

Sea of Thieves: 2024 Edition

Developer:
Microsoft Studios

Price:
Free

Are you the ultimate Halo Fan? If you are, you might want to complete all of September’s Xbox Game Pass Quests for the chance to win a custom Halo Xbox One X console.

Master Chief-approved.
Complete this month’s quest for a chance to win a custom Halo-themed Xbox One X: https://t.co/u71UJEixto pic.twitter.com/2vnXE8kepw

— Xbox (@Xbox) September 6, 2018

To get started, head to the Xbox Game Pass tab on your Xbox One, and click on the Game Pass Quest tile. You must then play 120 minutes of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, complete five new achievements in that game and also increase your Gamerscore by 50 points. Microsoft will be tracking these quest activities and will message the winner on Xbox Live appropriately once the month ends.

As for the custom console, it looks to be a pretty cool representation of the Halo legacy. It has four helmets on the top to represent the design evolution of the Master Chief’s helmet through the Halo games, and a circuit boards pattern to represent Cortana.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has given gamers a chance to win a custom Xbox Console for completing Game Pass challenges. As you may recall, the company previously gave away a 24-karat gold plated Xbox One X to a lucky gamer who unlocked at least one Xbox Achievement in March while playing a game via Xbox Game Pass.

The Xbox team has been testing Xbox One 1810 builds with select Xbox Insiders for quite some time now, but those on the Preview Alpha Skip Ahead ring can now test the first “19H1” build for the Xbox One. This new build doesn’t bring any new features to the table, but we should learn more details about this major Xbox One update over the coming months.

Xbox One Insiders – Preview Alpha Skip Ahead users we will be releasing your first 19H1 build today at 6.00pm PDT 9/6/18. This build has the same features as 1810 plus more to be announced over the coming months! Please note the build is 3.6G, it does not perform a console reset.

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) September 6, 2018

The “19H1” naming, which was first used by the Windows Insider team to describe the next major update for Windows 10 after Redstone 5, is now being used by the Xbox team, which is quite interesting. To our knowledge, the team never used the “Redstone” moniker for previous major releases, and the latest Xbox One update (1806) was officially named “July update.” However, the Xbox team adopting the “19H1” naming doesn’t necessarily means that Windows 10 and Xbox One updates will be aligned going forward: this Spring alone, we’ve seen the Xbox One receive three minor system updates (1804, 1805 and 1806) in three months, which was pretty much unprecedented.

As a reminder, the upcoming 1810 update for the Xbox One will bring several new features including the redesigned Xbox Live Avatars, Dolby Vision support for video content (only Netflix for now) and UX improvements for the My Games & Apps section. Yesterday, Microsoft also started testing a new Xbox Skill for Cortana and Alexa with select Xbox Insiders in the US, and we wonder if an integration with the Google Assistant could also be in the works.

After introducing a completely revamped Xbox One dashboard earlier this year, it will be interesting to see what’s coming for the Xbox One OS next year. Fortunately, the Xbox team is being quite transparent and recently launched a new “Xbox Ideas” website where Xbox users can submit and vote for new features suggestions.

In a rather surprising move, Square Enix has just launched Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition on Xbox One and it’s now available to download and play for all console owners.

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition was released on mobile devices and Windows 10 computers for fans of the franchise who didn’t have hardware powerful enough to run the proper Final Fantasy XV video game. This Pocket Edition features a lot of the main story from the full game but uses streamlined graphics to make it more playable on a wider range of devices.

The Xbox One version of Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is currently selling with a 40% discount for the next six days, making it just $14.99 instead of its regular $29.99 price.

Are you thinking of playing Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition or will you stick to the regular version? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more video game content.

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QR-Code

FINAL FANTASY XV POCKET EDITION HD

Developer:
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

Price:
$29.99

With over 35 listed fixes, changes and improvements with today’s Windows Insider preview build 18234 for the Skip Ahead release, its easy to go cross-eyed trying to find the ones that will have the most impact on your Insider experience.

Here’s a list of the most important changes, as well as highlighting what still needs to be addressed by the Windows team in the next preview.

Fewer GSOD’s

Nothing is more annoying the a Green Screen of Death (GSOD) using a Windows 10 PC. It often just reaffirms that, despite all the improvements, Windows 10 is still susceptible to crashes. Fortunately, they are becoming far and in between with recent Windows 10 updates.

• We fixed the issue where logging out of your user profile or shutting down your PC would cause the PC to bugcheck (GSOD).

Snip & Sketch working like it was supposed to

The Windows team’s newest publicized change wasn’t working. The Snip & Sketch app (previously Snipping Tool) would launch but users would need to close and reopen the app to conduct multiple screen grabs.

• We fixed an issue resulting in New button in Snip & Sketch not working

Edge & UWP apps copy/pasting again

While Microsoft hasn’t completely abandoned its UWP platform for the greener pastures of PWA, it has seemingly put development and publicity of the app development on the backburner.

Perhaps, this led to a missed check box on a seemingly obvious omission. Fortunately, the Windows team has addressed it and Windows 10 users who rely on UWP apps can go back to seamlessly transferring data between Edge and apps.

• We fixed an issue where text copied from certain websites in Microsoft Edge couldn’t be pasted into other UWP apps.

Office in S Mode works

For those adventurous types still living the Windows 10 S Mode life, aside from battery life, the other benefit is being sold is the ‘near’ Windows 10 like experience for the OS and when an error in the Windows Store spits out a .dll explanation, you’re in for a bad time.

Perhaps, some experiencing this issue have just gone to the web to workaround not being able to download Office from the one place it’s available on S Mode, others may have just stopped using S Mode and upgraded to Windows 10 avoid the headache. Well, the Windows team would like you to try again.

• We fixed the issue causing Office in the Store to fail to launch with an error about a .dll not being designed to run on Windows on PCs running in S Mode.
• We fixed an issue for Insiders using Windows 10 in S Mode recently resulting opening Word from a Word Online document not working.

There we have it, a lot crashes, hangs and closures have been addressed with this preview and for the full list read here.

Serious shooters fans know that you should always carefully wash your hands before starting practicing your aim, but in our increasing fast-paced environment, hands hygiene can often be an afterthought. Well, for all the dirty-handed gamers out there, the smart folks over at Xbox Australia are here to help.

Indeed, Xbox Australia has a new competition on its Facebook page where you can win one of five limited edition PUBG Greaseproof Xbox controllers (via Eurogamer). The limited edition controllers are part of a clever marketing campaign to promote the release of PUBG 1.0 in the country, and according to the video description, that greaseproof technology is totally not a joke:

Created to celebrate the graduation of the game from Xbox Game Preview to full release (out now) and as a nod to the fan favourite “WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!” phrase, the controller features a patented coating that is resistant to chicken grease – assisting players in their fight for elusive, yet tasty, chicken dinner victories.

If you want to participate to the competition, head over to the official Facebook page for Xbox Australia and tell everyone about your best “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” story to the After offering limited edition Xbox Onesies and inflatable white Xbox One controllers, it seems that Xbox Australia is just getting started with fun goodies and we can’t wait to see what they will come up with next.

After announcing important changes to the Office 365 Pro Plus and Windows lifecycle for businesses back in February, Microsoft again today revisited the topic. The firm has now backtracked on their original promises and will be extending the support cycle for businesses running Office, Windows 7, and Windows 10 to help them “shift to a modern desktop.” Please keep in mind these changes are only for businesses, and the standard 18-month support period of Microsoft’s consumer-facing products are not otherwise impacted.

First off are the longer Windows 10 support periods for Windows 10 Education and Enterprise. Customers running these flavors of Windows will now find 30 months of support for Windows 10 version 1607, 1703, 1709, and 1803. Additionally, starting with Windows 10 Version 1809, any Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions with a release month of September will get support for 30 months. And finally, starting with Windows 10 Education and Enterprise version 1903 (with a March release date,) will see support for 18 months from release. The graphic below summarizes the September 2018 changes quite nicely for you non-technical folks.

Secondly, Microsoft will continue to support Office 365 Pro Plus on Windows 8.1 through January 2023. The company will also continue to support Office 365 Pro Plus on Windows Server 2016 through October 2025. There are even changes for Office 2016, with the connectivity support to Office 365 now getting support through October 2023 instead of October 2020.

Microsoft is also announcing changes to Windows 7, now offering paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January of 2023, beyond 2020. The ESUs continue to be available for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise customers in Volume Licensing, and there will be a discount for those with Windows software assurance. This also means that Office 365 ProPlus will be supported on those devices with active Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023.

As part of helping businesses upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft announced cloud-based analytics tools. The first one is called Desktop Analytics and it is integrated into ConfigMgr, Microsoft says this tool will create an inventory of apps running in any organization and access app compatibility with the latest versions of Windows 10 and Office 365 Pro Plus. Also announced was Desktop App Asure, which scans a system after a Windows 10 Upgrade and helps address issues with program compatibility.

All of these changes come as Microsoft wants to help businesses ease their transition over to Windows 10. The company realizes that the process is much more complicated than it seems, and came to this decision based on feedback. As Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Office and Windows Marketing explained: “We recognize that it takes time to both upgrade devices and operationalize new update processes. We know that there is still a lot of work to do. But we’re committed to working with you and systematically resolving any issues.”

Back in 2004, when Paint for Windows wasn’t 3D or even very good, a Washington State University student created Paint.net, a free .Net based image and photo editor that became a bit of a sensation. The program, which boasts both traditional Windows and Windows Store versions, has just been updated to version 4.1, bringing with it a number of new features and enhancements.

At the top of the list is the conversion of some effects in Paint.net to use the GPU, resulting in “phenomenal” performance gains:

Gaussian Blur is actually fast now and no longer takes ages to complete for large images or radii, and the same goes for both Motion Blur and Radial Blur (although Radial Blur does currently need a pretty powerful GPU). A few other effects were converted for the sake of completeness and for my own learning, and there are two new ones (Morphology and Turbulence). This is where most of my time (the aforementioned “last 7 months”) and sweat was spent: getting a GPU-based effect rendering system up and running end-to-end was no small feat! Expect to see more effects converted over to the GPU in subsequent updates as this tech matures. I am also planning to make the GPU available for plugins to use in a future update.

The update also includes copy/paste for selections, bicubic sampling for the Move Selected Pixels tool, and +/- controls for Tolerance and Hardness. If you’re looking for a Windows based, full featured image and photo editor, check out Paint.net!

The upcoming Windows Server 2019 Essentials may well be the last edition of the server OS for small businesses, the Windows Server team announced yesterday. This new version will succeed to Windows Server 2016 Essentials later this year, but Microsoft warned IT admins that there is a “strong possibility that this could be the last edition of Windows Server Essentials.”

The Windows Server team explained that it has been seeing more and more small businesses embrace cloud services in recent years. However, Microsoft also acknowledges that “on-premises servers are still valuable and desired in the short term for reasons such as price and ability to run traditional applications that may not yet have corresponding cloud-based functionality.“

Compared to its predecessor, Windows Server 2019 Essentials will bring support for new hardware and features like Storage Migration Services, System Insights and more. However, companies with more than 25 users may consider switching to Windows Server 2019 Standard, which will provide even more deployment options.

There’s still no official release date for Windows Server 2019 Essentials and other editions of the server OS, though it’s worth nothing that Windows Server 2016 Essentials will still be supported through November 2027. That should leave IT admins enough time to decide between keeping on-premises servers or moving to a complete cloud solution like Microsoft 365.