Technology - Google News |
- Windows-as-a-service fail: Microsoft keeps customers in the dark
- Google just told us how to fix the worst thing about Androids and iPhones
- Diablo Immortal Controversy: Blizzard's New President Responds
| Windows-as-a-service fail: Microsoft keeps customers in the dark Posted: 09 Nov 2018 06:01 AM PST "Windows as a service" sounded like a good idea in 2015, when Microsoft released Windows 10. But after a terrible October, Microsoft's Windows 10 problems continued in November. Yesterday, an unknown number of devices running Windows 10 suddenly lost their activation status; the owners of those devices were told that they no longer had a valid digital license and were running a "non-genuine copy of Windows." Those activation problems are now apparently resolved, but Microsoft hasn't offered an explanation or an apology. A company spokesperson declined to provide any additional details beyond a terse one-line statement: "We're working to restore product activations for the limited number of affected Windows 10 Pro customers," I was told. In the Windows-as-a-service era, it's perfectly understandable that problems will occasionally crop up. But customers have a right to expect prompt, accurate notification when those problems occur, and Microsoft is failing badly in that responsibility. Also: New Windows 10 19H1 test build adds new security, high DPI settings For its enterprise customers, Microsoft long ago realized the need for timely and accurate status updates. If your organization is experiencing a problem with Office 365, there's a Service Status dashboard where you can find out what's wrong. Microsoft Azure customers have a similar Azure status dashboard and can even check the resolution of previous problems on the Azure status history page. Windows 10 customers have no similar resources. The closest equivalent for Windows 10 is the Windows 10 Update History page, which offers documentation concerning feature updates and cumulative reliability and security updates. That page shows that the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) was released on October 2, 2018. Over the next four days, an unknown number of Microsoft customers downloaded and installed that update. Several days later, Microsoft pulled that release from its update servers and took the unprecedented step of also removing the installation files from its download servers. At that time, the company revised the text on Update History page to include this note: "We have paused the rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809)* for all users as we investigate isolated reports of users missing some files after updating." Also: Windows 10 1809 delay: New Arm PCs having to ship with untested Windows 1803 That note included a link to an accompanying blog post that tried to explain the cause of the bug. That post ended with this note: "We are committed to learning from this experience and improving our processes and notification systems to help ensure our customers have a positive experience with our update process." Well, points for good intentions, but the company's behavior since then has exposed multiple flaws in the way it communicates with its Windows customers. For starters, that page hasn't been updated since October 9, exactly one month ago. Anyone who checks that official resource would, logically, assume that Microsoft is still investigating those reports. In fact, Windows engineers have identified additional bugs in the October 2018 Update. There's a second issue, involving extracting files from a ZIP file in File Explorer, that can result in data loss. Essential performance information on the Processes tab is being reported incorrectly. There are multiple compatibility issues with device drivers and third-party antivirus and virtualization products. Also: It's time for Microsoft to bring Windows 10 Mobile back from the dead None of those issues are acknowledged on the Windows 10 Update History page or on John Cable's blog post referenced there, which has also not been updated since October 9. Instead, those bugs were documented in a pair of updates to a September 18 blog post announcing the release of Windows Insider Preview build 17763, which eventually became the October 2018 Update. Microsoft says all of those issues were fixed in cumulative updates that were released on October 16 and October 20, respectively. But if you were one of the enthusiastic souls who downloaded and installed version 1809 in the first week that it was available, you have not received those updates. To get the fixes for what are undeniably serious bugs in a version of Windows 10 that was released through public channels, you have to add your device to the Windows Insider Program and choose the Slow or Release Preview Ring. That's not right. Customers who are running an officially released version of Windows should not have to sign up as beta testers to get critical fixes. Also: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF) TechRepublic And let's talk for a minute about the horrible communication around yesterday's activation issues. For hours after this issue began occurring, the only sources of information were a Reddit thread and a third-hand report from a volunteer moderator on Microsoft's Answers forum, quoting a report from "Microsoft Chat Support." That's not right, either. And don't get me started on the Microsoft Answers forum, where overwhelmed volunteer moderators routinely paste boilerplate replies to customers reporting genuine issues. Good luck finding actual help there. Mainstream customers running a released version of Windows shouldn't have to spend hours hunting down information about issues and updates. But in the absence of an official status dashboard for Windows 10, that seems to be the only option.  Previous and related
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| Google just told us how to fix the worst thing about Androids and iPhones Posted: 09 Nov 2018 04:49 AM PST No matter how strong your allegiance to Android or iPhone is, you’ll probably agree that the worst thing about Android phones and iPhones is battery life. Yes, most of the new phones will get you through the day, and the advantage is clearly on Android, as some vendors have equipped their devices with massive battery packs. But battery life is never enough, especially as the battery degrades over time. Thankfully, Google just told us how to improve battery life on certain Android and most of the new iPhones, admitting a mistake in Android design in the process. It turns out it’s something as easy as switching to dark mode whenever possible. That’s something smartphone-savvy users have long suspected, that dark mode will help conserve battery life. There is a caveat, however. The screen has to be an OLED one. But that’s absolutely not a problem these days, as most of the flagship devices out there pack OLED screens, premium iPhone X versions included.
Google shared data about energy consumption on phones at this week’s Android Dev Summit, SlashGear reports. The company studied energy consumptions on phones with white and dark themes and concluded that at max brightness, the dark mode on OLED always wins. With OLED screens, each pixel lights up independently, which is why dark mode helps preserve battery life.
Google also showed a comparison between the original Pixel and the iPhone 7 which is self-explanatory, as long as you’re aware of the screen differences between the two devices. OLED, on the original Pixel, does consume less power on dark mode compared to the iPhone 7, which has an LCD. All Pixels since the Pixel 3 come with OLED screens, as do Samsung flagship devices like the Galaxy S or Note, and Apple’s iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. But you won’t really find true dark modes for any of them.
Even Google admitted that it was wrong to impose white as the predominant color for Material Design apps. Apple’s iPhone UI, meanwhile, is also heavy on white, and there’s no dedicated dark mode on iPhone either. Interestingly, Apple launched a dark mode for Mac, although all Macs have LCD screens, which means it won’t help with battery life. Samsung phones, meanwhile, will get a dark mode via the One UI update, but not all its phones are eligible for it.
Just because Google told us how easy it is to “fix” battery life on OLED smartphones, doesn’t mean we’re getting dark modes from either Google or Apple anytime soon. But there may be independent apps that may offer users dark modes, with YouTube being one such example. Image Source: Zach Epstein, BGR |
| Diablo Immortal Controversy: Blizzard's New President Responds Posted: 08 Nov 2018 03:48 PM PST  At BlizzCon, Blizzard announced an all-new Diablo game for mobile devices called Diablo Immortal. To say the announcement didn't go over well with the community is an understatement. Even though Blizzard warned fans that it wasn't planning to reveal the next core Diablo game at BlizzCon, many were upset over the reveal of Immortal and the fact that Blizzard didn't provide any details whatsoever about what's next for the mainline series. Now, Blizzard's new president J. Allen Brack (who replaced Mike Morhaime) has responded to the drama. During an earnings call, Brack said he's thankful for the loud feedback because it shows people care about Diablo. He said he understands players are hungry for more Diablo on PC and console, and reiterated that Blizzard has multiple teams working on different games in the franchise. According to a report, Diablo 4 is in development right now. Blizzard reportedly filmed a video in which co-founder Allen Adham confirmed the next big Diablo game, though whether or not it was intended to be shown at BlizzCon is unconfirmed. For its part, Blizzard claims it didn't pull any announcements from BlizzCon. "We've seen some interesting reaction to the announcement," Brack said. "I think it's clear there's a lot of players who are eager for more Diablo PC and console content. That came through loud and clear from BlizzCon. Frankly, we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so much about that franchise. The commitment and the engagement of our community is one of the things that makes Blizzard very special and something that we really appreciate. "We like to hear the things that the fans articulate as to what they want to hear next, and what we can do better, frankly. Diablo is an important, tentpole franchise for Blizzard. One of the things that we've said is we have multiple teams working on multiple different projects for the Diablo community," he added. Brack went on to say that Diablo Immortal, despite being only available for mobile devices, will be a "very authentic Diablo experience," with Blizzard refusing to compromise on that. Not only that, but Brack said Blizzard has plans to support the game for a while after launch. "We feel that Diablo Immortal is going to deliver a very authentic Diablo experience, and we're not going to compromise on that mission," he said. "Launching the game is only going to be the beginning. There's going to be ongoing support. We're only going to release the game when we feel like it is meeting the community's very high standards. In the end, Diablo Immortal is going to fulfil that, and we think that people are going to experience it, and we think they're going to love it." Blizzard is making a Diablo game for mobile because of one very obvious reason: mobile is the biggest gaming platform in the world, and especially with its appeal to the Chinese gaming market, it could be very lucrative no matter what business model it ends up using. Brack said mobile is a "very significant opportunity" for Diablo as it relates to the game's reach and presumably its revenue potential. He also teased that Diablo for mobile could be just the first of Blizzard's franchise to get mobile releases, as another Blizzard executive already said. Blizzard is apparently planning to adapt all of its franchises for mobile in the future. "Mobile is the biggest platform in gaming today," Brack said. "And taking a game like Diablo onto that platform in a way that is really reflecting our quality standards, I think can open that franchise and other franchises to a global audience, including people who don't have PCs. Or especially in China where Blizzard is a very, very strong western brand. Regarding the timing, that's something that we'll talk about as we go forward. It's very important that we release the game, and it's an excellent experience when it is released." Also during the call, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said people who actually played Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon quite enjoyed it. The feedback was "really positive" among those who tried it out, Kotick said. GameSpot went hands-on with Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon, and editor Alessandro Fillari was surprisingly impressed by the game in this early stage. No release date for Diablo Immortal has been announced, nor has Blizzard said if it will be a free or paid game. Blizzard is developing the title alongside free-to-play veteran and longtime partner NetEase, if that's any indication as to the business model it may use. |
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