back to article First 'issue-free' build of Windows 10 October 2018 Update arrives

While a certain fruit-based company hogged much of the limelight last week by seeing just how much cash could be wrung from fanbois, Microsoft found itself in the spotlight of shame. But Edge-pleading and build-encrypting weren't the only things that happened in the world of Windows. Quick fire fast and slow ring releases tease …

  1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    Happy

    1st Issue Free Windows?

    Ohhhhh This could get interesting.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 1st Issue Free Windows?

      That sounds like a challenge... hold my beer...

    2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: 1st Issue Free Windows?

      There is no way that could not come back to bite.

      Naaahh. Not gonna happen.

    3. Anonymous Coward Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: 1st Issue Free Windows?

      Missing punctuation...

      1st Issue. Free Windows.

  2. deadlockvictim

    Download

    Does anyone know if these builds can be downloaded as an executable, like the SPs of yore, if so, where they can be found?

    I don't fancy leaving a machine on for a couple of hours while Windows Update does its thing online. I'd rather install the build offline.

    1. Wolfclaw

      Re: Download

      When released, just search the Microsoft Catalog for the KB number and download the MSI.

      1. deadlockvictim

        Re: Download

        Thanks.

      2. Waseem Alkurdi
        Stop

        Re: Download

        MSI

        MSU, not MSI. That's a Windows Installer package.

  3. Wolfclaw

    WIndows and issue free,cannot be said in the same sentence !

    1. Boothy

      I removed Windows from my laptop, and it was issue free!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    "find other ways to check if they've saved up enough to buy an iPhone XS"

    No loans? I can't find my credit card...

  5. cambsukguy

    Banking Apps

    > Users have 60 days to make the jump from the moribund mobile OS, or find other ways to check if they've saved up enough to buy an iPhone XS

    Or stop using the App and use the web version, not quite as good but perfectly serviceable.

    Or... Stop using that bank and switch to, er, OK, use the Web page version.

    Mind you, RBS have told me I was 'selected' for the forced switch to another bank anyway (as agreed to get their massive bailout after the 2008 financial crash) so I could not have stayed using their App past about February regardless.

  6. Jou (Mxyzptlk) Silver badge

    No, I will not switch out the lights.

    I will use it until id really dies.

    I am still SO annoyed that, when MS finally fixing the last flaws of WinPhone 7 and 8 with version 10 just to kill it. Ignoring 14% Italian market share and nearly 10% German market share. (UK data anyone? Bueller?)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

      Technically speaking, Windows 10 Mobile is not the same as Windows Phone.

      If the fucking press would stop confusing the two, more developers might make the effort to put out apps that support both mobile and desktop (and xbox 360/one and hololens and hub).

      1. Richard Plinston

        Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

        > Technically speaking, Windows 10 Mobile is not the same as Windows Phone.

        That is part of the problem. WM6.x -> WP7 was a complete rewrite in a completely different development toolchain. WP7 -> WP8 was maybe just review and recomp, or maybe change away from yet another dead end. WP9 -> WM10 was another rewrite to UWP.

        > more developers might make the effort to put out apps that support both mobile and desktop

        Developers do not want one app for both mobile and desktop. They want a cheap mobile app that is simple to use _and_ a more expensive desktop application for better revenue.

        Mobile users won't pay desktop prices for an app, developers don't want users to get desktop software at mobile app prices.

        1. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

          Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

          Another W10M hold-out here. I'm genuinely at a loss as to what to buy when it finally dies: friends' Android feels like a really shoddy OS compared to W10M and using iOS is basically like signing up for Scientology. A voice-phone with built-in 4G dongle and a small laptop looks the most likely thing.

          But, about apps...

          WP8.1 to WP10 actually is a recompile (with a bit of search/replace), unless you'd used Silverlight (WP7) to write the app, in which case it's a lot of search/replace.

          The problem is that just doing a port of a WP8.1 app to Windows 10 doesn't allow you to use the big feature of UWP: a single executable that works (not just "runs") on desktop, tablet and mobile.

          Mobile-phone apps are easy to design because the size of the display doesn't change dynamically. Desktop apps aren't because it does: grab that window-sizer, and see the UI designer flinch. Add in the different interface choices to accommodate both mouse and touch input, and it becomes a significant amount of work to make something that will work properly on different devices and isn't crap.

          To get that working, you have to redesign your UI pretty much from scratch to make fewer assumptions about the screen aspect, resolution, viewing distance and the input methods used.

          It's a lot of work, and Microsoft's lack of a mobile platform makes it not a lot of gain for that work. (Not many apps make sense on both XBox and PCs).

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

            i feel the same, not sure what to do when my 950 dies. Got my OH a Motorola G6plus which isn't bad for £250 but I'm not a massive android fan but couldn't bring myself to buy an apple product, so it'll be an android something or other. Shame as windows phone could have been great if it was managed properly by MS still like the look and feel of it

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

              I have a Lumia 950 too. And a Huawei P20 Pro that work bought for me. The Lumia is my everyday phone still, except for when I need to go to the big smoke, in which case I'll take the Android because I need it to buy my transport tickets (because the fucking bus company refused to ask their payment service provider to fix their Mobile Edge support).

              If my 950 dies (and I've dropped it on to concrete enough that I'm almost convinced it's indestructible) I'll switch to the Android for now, and then pick up an Andromeda device when they finally ship.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

            Using my 950XL for personal use and will do so for as long as I can. Business has provided a Galaxy 8+ which is just about tolerable once Microsoft Launcher is used and running the MSFT apps for Office 365

    2. //DLBL SYSRES

      Re: No, I will not switch out the lights.

      I've just switched from Android back to WM10 as I was sick to the back teeth of Android and its tracking crap amateur apps. I purchased a "refurbished" (new) Lumia 950, 32Gb for under a £100. This appears to be considerably better built than the Sony it replaced - even if the Sony was considerably tougher than than anything that Samsung produces. Performance is pretty good too.

      Banking apps I can live with, it's one thing less to worry about if the phone gets nicked. Which reminds me, the Lumia facial recognition is PDG.

  7. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    Your Companion?

    Somehow this reminds me of Sirius Cybernetics' definition of a robot: "Your plastic pall who's fun to be with". So does Your Companion have the GPP feature?

    Sorry, couldn't resist. The one with the HHGTTG radio play cassette tapes in the pocket.

    1. Jeffrey Nonken

      Re: Your Companion?

      Share and enjoy!

  8. Zippy´s Sausage Factory
    Windows

    By "issue free build" they could mean the opposite of "issue checked build"...

    Windows greybeards are now nodding sagely, remembering the "checked builds" of NT 4.

    Everyone else is sitting there scratching their head at this saying "wtf is he talking about". Try reading "The Old New Thing", especially if you're suffering from insomnia...

    1. Twist Rolarian

      "We didn't find any issues, primarily because we didn't look for any."

      1. Avatar of They
        Thumb Up

        Exactly.

        Its what the fast ring, slow ring and windows 10 home users are for. Isn't it?

    2. Waseem Alkurdi
      Thumb Up

      How the hell did you manage to spot this! xD

      To save newtimers the Googling:

      Windows (post-NT) comes in two "flavors": Free and Checked.

      Free is a Release build (for long, I've seen that XP's version line read "x86fre", but had no idea why. That's why.)

      Checked is a Debug build with debugging syms on and compile-time optimizations off.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    MS ignoring Apple?

    While continuing to conspicuously ignore the iPhone, the

    I'm torn between cheering or booing this.

    On one hand there could be a lot of Apple fans cheering at the thought of their precious iDevice not being sullied by Software from Microsoft apart from Office.

    And on the other there could be others who really want the MS tools/apps on their iDevice.

    Oh... which way to go?

    This fence is getting mighy hard to sit on...

    1. Waseem Alkurdi

      Re: MS ignoring Apple?

      really want the MS tools/apps on their iDevice.

      Then get a Windows Phone .. oh wait ...

  10. Jeffrey Nonken

    "...find other ways to check if they've saved up enough to buy an iPhone XS."

    I certainly hope they aren't doing that because the banks are switching to a system that requires an iPhone XS. That would be astonishingly exclusive.

  11. simonlb Silver badge

    "left Windows fans positively frothing at the mouth"

    What, all three of them?

  12. Diogenes

    Hope it works with junctioned directories

    I have many failed installs of 1803 (spring creators update) because the install can't/won't handle a junctioned User directory (or Applications or Program Files according to the reports on the error I get ), and I have way more stuff sitting in my user folder than I have room for on my SSD - can't be bothered shrinking it down & faffing about 'unjunctioning' , there is nothing compelling enough to make want to waste 4 hours of my life doing it

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hope it works with junctioned directories

      You know you can move the whole user folder, or even specific folders in the user one to different directories/disks, do you?

      I usually move out the music/pictures/video folders. No need to use junctions.

      Still, if it's a feature it should work, I agree. But hitting repeatedly the head against bugs when there are other solutions...

      1. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: Hope it works with junctioned directories

        "Moving" the user profile folders? Whilst it is supposed to work, usually stuff barfs because there are no files in c:\users\USER

      2. Diogenes

        Re: Hope it works with junctioned directories

        found it does not reliably work with AppData unless I junction - some idiot devs hardcode c:\users\ \ username\Appdata.

        Even worse is when they mix hardcode & softcode - & things crash all over .

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like