NoelC

Somewhere in all this I ran across a mention of or link to instructions on how to optimize the servicing database, and I meant to get back to that and look it over in more detail, but now I've lost track of it. Anyone know more? -Noel

I'm sure some executives think the Universal Windows Platform App environment is relevant for desktops too. It's no less than cranial rectalitis. The glimmer of encouragement / hope I got from the above is that Google is pushing an operating system alternative. If anyone could create a Unix-based OS that can run Win32 applications, Google people could probably pull it off. I'm not sure I'm happy with the comment about China being where the talent pool is, though. In any case, competition will always bring good things to customers. -Noel

Did you notice the large number of comments on Woody's blog? The problem seems pretty widespread. I'm starting to wonder whether the delay may be dependent on the number of updates available, noting that I saw the whole process complete fairly quickly when I was doing a controlled incremental test and had only 3 Important and 3 Optional updates left. It really feels like something Microsoft is doing to penalize those who would 1) remain on an older OS, and 2) choose to take control of their updates. Speaking of my stupid fast Win 8.1 workstation, for what it's worth I also went through some controlled testing with Windows Update on it yesterday evening, and even though I'd not updated it since January, the available updates were found right away - no delay. Either it's not an issue with Win 8.1, or it is intermittent, or something. I'm not sure that the latest Windows Update process won't sneak GWX or something similar in, and I am not sure that it would help future update speeds, but at this point I'm of the opinion that if you want to continue to partake in Windows Update operations that you probably should install the latest updates to Windows Update itself. But that of course is up to each and every person - as it should be! That being said, I have a Win 7 system over in the corner of the office that serves as a small business server and I don't plan to update it any time soon. It's already accumulated 90+ days uptime and is running flawlessly. If it works, don't fix it. -Noel

I can only imagine the phone call to Nadella's office from a VP... "Hey Boss, you know that big enterprise customer, Xyzzy, who buys 10 million licenses for Windows for their multinational corporation... You're not going to believe this, but they're threatening to go to Linux if we reneg on support for their new SkyLake systems..." -Noel

See also: http://www.askwoody.com/2016/the-windows-update-takes-forever-problem/ -Noel

I suggest you disable it then. It doesn't take all THAT long for Windows to do a real shutdown / bootup, and you save yourself the potential hassle of the disk being dirty, the OS accumulating resource depletion or corruption, etc. -Noel

For what it's worth - and this is just a data point - I did some experimentation with Windows Update today in a Win 7 Ultimate VM... I seem to have a well-functioning Windows 7 system, having hidden only these: KB3139929 KB2952664 KB3021917 KB3035583 KB3035583 (yes, it's listed twice) KB3068708 KB3080149 KB3123862 KB971033 All the Windows 7 Language Packs -Noel

The button ignoring sounds similar to the problems I was seeing on my iPad (at 1024 x 768). -Noel

A restart initiated through software is already always a full shutdown and restart. -Noel

Don't assume things are working for iDevice users... I tried to reply to a post here earlier today with our iPad and I could not. You may have said it elsewhere, submix8c, but it might be good if you'd describe your browser. They don't all show the same things. -Noel

That's not my doing - it's from a current Microsoft TV commercial. -Noel

I have had the tasks in question Disabled on my Win 7 and 8.1 systems since last September. I don't see problems in general with events getting into my event logs, though no Windows Defender events show up there. It's not failing to update, though... -Noel

Why would they apologize? IMO, as far as the folks in Redmond are concerned things are measured in absolutes. Try the following on and see if it does not seem to fit their actions: "If you're not with us, then you're against us." Another mindset that IMO also helps explain their actions seems to be: "We know best, and you cannot possibly do anything but screw your computer up. Therefore anything that fails must be YOUR fault. Your expectations are wrong - here, let us help you with that." Bugs are cool. And did anyone notice that's a Monarch caterpillar? With no clothes on? -Noel

If Microsoft wants people to install their updates, they need to document them - MORE thoroughly than ever before. Not less. -Noel

Also, make sure the theme atlas .png file and .png.layout files are right together in the same folder. As Shining Escuridao notes, the GUI tool is a way to select it into the system. Check the box, put in the name, and voila, you immediately have an alternate theme atlas, so you'll know if it's working properly right away. If something is wrong, you can just uncheck the box, restore the previous theme atlas you had, or just press the [ Revert ] button. Note that this dialog stays up normally, which is a bit of a departure from those that have [ OK ] buttons. To make a change permanent you just press [ Save ] then use the X in the upper-right corner to close it. -Noel

Tineye.com turned up an even bigger one... http://cdn.desktopwallpapers4.me/wallpapers/nature/2560x1600/1/9341-green-hill-2560x1600-nature-wallpaper.jpg -Noel

Noticed the discussion about pasting links... Just trying it out... This is a link to a specific post. http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/174208-windows-10-deeper-impressions/?do=findComment&comment=1120769 This is a link to a thread: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/174344-uninstall-cortana-from-windows-10/ These seem to preview okay... I wonder if they'll look right or get interpreted somehow upon actual posting. Posting with IE11 here. -Noel

What if you've learned it and just can't find a way to love it? By the way Woody Leonhard, someone who's well in tune with Windows Updates and writes books and blogs and articles on it had HIS system upgraded without his permission. It's old news now. http://www.infoworld.com/article/3043526/microsoft-windows/microsoft-upgraded-users-to-windows-10-without-their-ok.html -Noel

Have you met someone who craves talking to their phone or computer? Of those who do, do you know one who is particularly successful at it and gets useful things done? These features needed to work right - amazingly right - before being rolled out. And there is no excuse for them not to be working. I was successfully controlling a small R/C car around a room with a microphone plugged into an Apple II in the late 1970s. Machines are literally a million times more powerful now. -Noel

Thanks, I'm starting to understand a little better. Perhaps, now seeing what you've extracted, I'll dabble with creating a .layout file for the pre-release version and my RoundedCorners theme atlas when I find a little more time. I guess there can never be an assumption that there won't be a new graphic element used in a different place than ever before, but they DO seem to just change things for change's sake. They're of course quite free to alter the mechanics of the display compositing any way they want - it's their product - but I wonder whether they spend some money to just make people like you tired. It almost sounds like what DWM does should just be replaced entirely by a product like yours. I know that's a LOT easier to say than to do! I have read that Microsoft claims to be putting effort into trying to make display scaling better, but from what I can see they're not even coming close, still having basic problems like the borders on the edges of controls remaining only 1 pixel thick even at 200% scaling and beyond! I see that in the .png file you posted there is still only one set of graphics for all the buttons. I have recently gone through the effort to re-code all the control drawing logic for the on-screen controls my own products use, just because Microsoft's common control implementation is just so wrong. As a result I can do stuff like 175% scaling with pixel-perfect results, and can even alter the UI colors. But that's effort I should not have to put in - controls have been around a long time! The idea with an OS is that it should be providing a platform for the easy implementation of functionality, not making it hard to make it do what you want and not making it necessary to do work to change software for every release as time goes on! Microsoft has lost the plot entirely. -Noel

I can only imagine that all employees were told that they would lose their jobs if they didn't find a way to make 1 billion Windows 10 systems happen. What are they up to now (even per their own skewed reporting)? A quarter of that? I sense from every direction that the remnant goodwill is exhausted and the number is not going to grow much higher. -Noel

I wonder if Microsoft reports that system to Wall Street as a Windows 10 "upgrade" anyway. -Noel

Now you have me a little bit confused... I thought that the layout file describes the graphics in the .png file, and that your software takes care of mapping the resources to the right places in the operating system data structures. I modeled the graphics in my RoundedCorners.png file on the (Win 8 RP?) theme atlas you have been providing with your product. Are you saying that even if you should update the Aero Glass DLLs that I'll need to update the .layout file again, similar to what you will do for the supplied theme atlas? Seems like it would be better if your software would just read one theme atlas file format and translate it to the needs of whatever system it is being used on. And correct me if I'm wrong, but many of the graphic elements in the theme atlas file are not used at all, right? -Noel

Thanks, I didn't quite know what that meant, but... It's good news! It means they plan to support Windows running without Cortana. Hallelujah! Someone is finally seeing the light. -Noel

Seems to be kind of a big disparity between "wildly successful" and "no one will touch", eh? -Noel