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Microsoft's problem isn't how often it updates Windows—it's how it develops it
Elon Musk And 'Fortnite' Trade Shots On Twitter In Unexpected Meme War
'Pokémon GO' Community Day: How To Get Yourself A Shiny, Powerful Metagross

Microsoft's problem isn't how often it updates Windows—it's how it develops it

Posted: 20 Oct 2018 07:29 AM PDT

Enlarge / Windows 10 during a product launch event in Tokyo in July 2015.
Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

It's fair to say that the Windows 10 October 2018 Update has not been Microsoft's most successful update. Reports of data loss quickly emerged, forcing Microsoft to suspend distribution of the update. It has since been fixed and is currently undergoing renewed testing pending a re-release.

This isn't the first Windows feature update that's had problems—we've seen things like significant hardware incompatibilities in previous updates—but it's certainly the worst. While most of us know the theory of having backups, the reality is that lots of data, especially on home PCs, has no real backup, and deleting that data is thus disastrous.

Windows as a service

Microsoft's ambition with Windows 10 was to radically shake up how it develops Windows 10. The company wanted to better respond to customer and market needs, and to put improved new features into customers' hands sooner. Core to this was the notion that Windows 10 is the "last" version of Windows—all new development work will be an update to Windows 10, delivered through feature updates several times a year. This new development model was branded "Windows as a Service." And after some initial fumbling, Microsoft settled on a cadence of two feature updates a year; one in April, one in October.

This effort has not been without its successes. Microsoft has used the new model to deliver useful new features without forcing users to wait three years for a new major version upgrade. For example, there's a clever feature to run Edge seamlessly in a virtual machine to provide greater protection from malicious websites. The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which equips Windows systems to run Linux software natively, has proven a boon for developers and administrators. The benefits for pure consumers may be a little harder to discern—though VR features compatible with SteamVR, improved game performance, and a dark theme, have all been nice additions. While the overall improvements are smaller, the current Windows 10 is certainly better than the one released three years ago.

Enlarge / It's hard to imagine that WSL could ever have become a useful tool in the days that Windows was only updated every three years.

This is a good thing, and I'd even argue that some parts of it could not have been done (or at least, could not have been done as successfully) without Windows as a Service. WSL's development, for example, has been guided by user feedback, with WSL users telling Microsoft of incompatibilities they've found and helping the company prioritize the development of new WSL features. I don't believe WSL could have received the traction it has without the steady progress of updates every six months—nobody would want to wait three years just to get a minor fix so that the package they care about runs properly. Regular updates reward people for reporting bugs, because they can actually see those bugs resolved in a timely manner.

The problem with Windows as a Service is quality. Previous issues with the feature and security updates have already shaken confidence in Microsoft's updating policy for Windows 10. While data is notably lacking, there is at the very least a popular perception that the quality of the monthly security updates has taken a dive with Windows 10 and that installation of the twice-annual feature updates as soon as they're available is madness. These complaints are long-standing, too. The unreliable updates have been a cause for concern since shortly after Windows 10's release.

The latest problem has brought this to a head, with commentators saying that two feature updates a year is too many and Redmond should cut back to one, and that Microsoft needs to stop developing new features and just fix bugs. Some worry that the company is dangerously close to a serious loss of trust over updates, and for some Windows users, that trust may already have been broken.

These are not the first calls for Microsoft to slow down with its feature updates—there have been concerns that there's too much churn for both IT and consumer audiences alike to handle—but with the obvious problems of the latest update, the calls take on a new urgency.

It's not how often, it's how

But saying Microsoft should only produce one update a year instead of two, or criticising the very idea of Windows as a Service, is missing the point. The problem here isn't the release frequency. It's Microsoft's development process.

Why is it the process, and not the timeframe, that's the issue? On the release schedule front, we can look at what other software does to get a feel for what's possible.

Two updates a year is more frequent than macOS, iOS, and Android, so in a sense Microsoft is attempting to overachieve. But it's not unprecedented: Ubuntu sees two releases a year, and Google's Chrome OS, like its Chrome browser, receives updates every six weeks. Beyond the operating system space, Microsoft's Office Insider program has a monthly channel that delivers new features to Office users each month, and it manages to do so without generating too many complaints while delivering a steady trickle of new features and fixes. The Visual Studio team similarly produces frequent updates for its development environment and online services. Clearly, there are teams within Microsoft that have adapted well to a world in which their applications are regularly updated.

Move beyond the world of on-premises software and into online and cloud services, and we see, both within Microsoft and beyond, increasing adoption of continuous delivery. Each update made to a system is automatically deployed onto production servers once it's passed sufficient automated testing.

It's true that none of these projects is as complicated at Windows. Ubuntu may contain a more diverse array of packages, but it benefits from many of these packages being developed as independent units anyway. Windows does, of course, contain many individual components, and Microsoft has done a lot of work to disentangle these. But the fact remains that its scale is unusually large—and unusually integrated. Windows is also, at least in places, extremely old.

These factors certainly make developing Windows challenging—but so challenging as to make two releases a year impractical? That's not clear at all. It just needs the right development process.

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Elon Musk And 'Fortnite' Trade Shots On Twitter In Unexpected Meme War

Posted: 20 Oct 2018 10:11 AM PDT

Photo by Ray Tamarra/GC Images

Just in case Fortnite wasn’t popular enough, it got another shoutout from the world’s most controversial tech figure at the moment, Elon Musk, this weekend.

Yesterday, Musk shared a photoshopped screenshot of a QZ article that claimed “Elon Musk buys Fortnite and deletes it,” followed by a fake quote from Musk stating “I had to save these kids from eternal virginity.” Musk shared the image (which I do not believe he created), and said “It had to be done.”

Not wanting to take this lying down, the official Fortnite account (with 6 million followers to Musk’s 22 million) tweeted a month old article about Musk wanting to building a base on Mars in 10 years. Fortnite said “A whole decade @elonmusk? Just build, LOL!” referencing a common “git gud” style Fortnite meme. Musk responded “Reality is hard,” and it appears this feud is over, with Fortnite letting him get the last word so far.

Musk’s tweeting has gotten him in no small amount of hot water the past few weeks, with his most famous tweet about wanting to take Tesla private attracting SEC attention and subsequent fines. This is a less controversial tweet no doubt, though I’m guessing most at Tesla wish he wasn’t tweeting as much overall, even if it is just a goofy meme beef with Fortnite.

FortniteEpic

As for the meme itself, it did strike me as kind of weird to hear the “har har gamers are lifelong virgins” take which now seems very dated in an age when the average gamer is over 30 and games are a bigger industry and movies and television combined. The meme also implies Fortnite isn’t “cool” and will turn off potential partners, and yet in reality, especially among the younger crowd, it’s been the case that you aren’t cool unless you’re playing Fortnite. I’ve heard stories about kids actually being hounded by classmates because they weren’t playing the game, which is kind of the polar opposite of what this meme suggests.

So, could Elon Musk buy Fortnite and delete it? Well, his net worth keeps fluctuating due to Tesla’s stock price, but by last count Musk is worth about $19.7 billion. And while Epic is a private company, the success of Fortnite has estimates making it worth about $8 billion, at least a few months ago. So yeah, if Elon Musk liquidated about half his fortune, he might actually be able to buy Epic Games and then promptly flush that money down the toilet by shuttering its most popular product.

Alright I feel like I’ve explored the depths of this meme war enough, but I’ll update if it escalates any further.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.

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'Pokémon GO' Community Day: How To Get Yourself A Shiny, Powerful Metagross

Posted: 21 Oct 2018 05:46 AM PDT

Pokemon GONiantic

Another Pokémon GO Community Day is upon us, and this time it’s featuring an attractive evolution family that most GO players are absolutely going to want to get their hands on.

The featured Pokémon today, which will spawn like crazy from 2-5 PM ET on October 21, is Beldum, the Steel/Psychic type that may not be much to look at in its initial form, but it evolves into Metang and then Metagross, one of the most coveted Pokémon in Gen 3.

This is definitely going to be one of the most valuable Community Days to date, not only given Metagross’s popularity, but also the fact that you can get a shiny version, and a powerful version with Meteor Mash as its special Community Day move when evolved.

So, how best to get yourself an ultimate version of Metagross?

If spawn rates stay the same, that means that it’s about 3-5% to get a shiny. So that’s anywhere from 1 in 20 to 1 in 35 Beldum catches should get you a shiny. As ever, sometimes your luck may be way better than that, but it could also be worse, and it’s common for players to sometimes go 50-100 catches without one. I feel like Niantic has been slowly nudging up shiny rates over time, but I’m not 100% sure yet. They definitely did it for the limited time raid bosses, but those were a lot more rare to encounter.

Pokemon GONiantic

Remember to keep incense going at all times during this window, and also remember that lures last three hours during Community Day, and both of these will produce more of the featured Pokémon than you would see otherwise. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t have incense or nearby lures running for all three hours. Shiny Metagross is great looking too with gold highlights instead of silver, so it’s one of the shinies where the difference is definitely noticeable.

After that? If you’re lucky enough to get more than one shiny, make sure you evolve the highest IV one so that you get the most powerful shiny Metagross you can before the Community Day window closes. Meteor Mash is a really good charge move with high damage and a low execution time, meaning that your Metagross can really turn into a Steel/Psychic powerhouse if it leaves tomorrow with that move, so make sure you collect enough Beldum candies for an evolution or two.

As I said, this is definitely going to be a Community Day that you’re not going to want to miss if you’re still actively playing GO, both for shiny Metagross but for one with a move you may never see again. Some in the US are complaining this is happening right during a ton of football games, but hey, sacrifices have to be made.

Happy hunting!

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.

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