Huh?
Did Washington state legalize pot? Slurp must have it in the cafeteria for this level of stupidity. Patches and security updates are reasonable but new features every 6 months is plain idiotic.
Windows Server and System Center will soon receive twice-yearly updates and come in two “channels”, one for the latest stuff and another less-frequently-updated channel. Microsoft's explanation suggests the new arrangement represents “cloud cadence” while its announcement says this is all about enabling faster innovation while …
>Its optional.
Is it?
"you'll need to be a Windows Server Standard or Datacenter user and have Software Assurance, or run Windows Server in Azure."
What MS haven't said is whether this is additional to the normal WS support life or not. So will a customer be able to set up a WS either on-premise or on Azure and run it for 16 years, fully benefiting from MS's bug and security fix service and not have to worry about Semi-annual or LTS updates?
The only real beneficiaries of the Semi-Annual channel are developers who get an early indication of what willis likely to be in the next LTS release and thus develop accordingly and have products available closer to the launch of the LTS that can utilise the new functionality. But then their needs can be catered for via the development build channel. For useful new functionality the out-of-fashion Service Pack or Extension is a much better way of getting new functionality into existing production systems before the next major update; from a production environment viewpoint, you just don't want (or need) the hassle of the Semi-Annual channel and even the LTS.
Sounds very similar to those Linux distros that release a Long Term Support and Bleeding Broken, I mean Edge, versions.
Nope, there is LTS AND stable, then come the borken testing, and venerable unstable which, as the name suggests, might fry your GPU, burn your house down, explode into your face, or hit the fan ...
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Changing a product road map when customers haven't completed the migration to version 1.0 isn't helpful. Does somebody in marketing really believe that companies will hop onto the Semi-annual Channel in the desperate hope that something new fixes things?
The Semi-annual Channel build will be useful in a test & dev environment to see if the promised "new features" transpire.
The Semi-annual Channel build will become a problem if application developers assume that it is the default version.
Is Windows server software going to be like Windows 10 has become ?
One spends hundreds of pounds on new server software for some really expensive but older hardware you'd like to keep using. It works fine. One is really happy. Then they shove out some OS update or other, you don't need at all, and then you find that your very expensive custom legacy app (correctly written using only fully documented APIs) no longer works on it and/or your legacy hardware is no longer supported, so you have no choice but to roll back. Then find this rolled back version is only going to be supported for another 18 months!
Time to buy new hardware which is even more expensive, or time to consider using something like Linux and get used to it ?
MS are on record saying that old legacy FS filter drivers will be blocked by default, then possibly blocked completely, so one has to "move away from them!" It seems to be as if they are on some sort of strange suicide mission.
Block stuff and deprecate APIs by all means ... But only do it in absolute brand new new versions of the OS. That means Windows 11 or something to me. It's how it was with 2000, Vista, Win7 etc.
Windows 10 is becoming a joke (and a nuisance) for this kind of thing in my opinion. You pay for windows 10 update, for your old Win7 laptop and then on the next version such as "Creators " then your hardware or custom software no longer works and you roll back to 18 months of support at most... Is server going to be like this as well ?
I remember being taught that one important job of an OS is to help protect against programs not working in future versions...
I think everyone using currently sold windows versions should have the option to move to a long time servicing branch to ensure support for the OS they have, which is currently workimg fine. That ought to mean ten years, from first release too, not a measly two or three years.
I remember MS updating Win 2008 server once, and it blue screened. A complete re-install was the only fix we could do. They don't seem to be able to pull this continuous updating off, in any reliable and satisfactory way at all.
If Microsoft are making this change to generate short term revenue, they are mistaken.
Maintaining multiple versions of Windows Server, Windows 10 desktop, SCCM, Azure and the whole caboodle costs a lot of money. MS can afford to lose the money, but customers have different expectations.
The only attractive feature of this update model is to small companies experimenting with Windows. Perhaps it appeals to developers looking for new niches. MS could make a small fortune selling MSDN and Software Assurance licences -- losing a bigger fortune in the process.
"The only attractive feature of this update model is to small companies experimenting with Windows."
Don't know what world you live in, but in mine no company experiments with their servers, they rely on them for their businesses!
You can't spin this, If it looks like a turd, smells like a turd, it is a turd, even if it's blue.
Don't get blue in the face about my comment; read it again. I'm not spinning for anybody.
Most companies experiment with servers. That is why we have test and dev environments. What works until you test it?
My sentence about "small companies experimenting with Windows" referred to businesses trying to find a niche in Windows. As people adding more.
Than that pile of shite.
As for windows 10, makes a grand++ top i5 QHD laptop work like a 150 quid netbook.
black screen with Dell logo and spinny windows thingy followed by
black screen no logo windows spinny thing followed by
blue screen windows spinny thing followed
getting windows ready for half an hour+ followed by
two reboots
followed by spinny thing 35% done eventually followed by
reboot
windows login, thank fcuk... followed by
getting windws ready followed by
tada!!
followed by shutdown as remote meeting finished.
An infinitum of expletives can't adequatly explain the dross that windows has become.
The only way to hope your windows PC will do what you want is to disable updates and never turn of off or install Linux or tonymacx86 if compatible.
Microsoft has added a certification to augment the tired eyes and haunted expressions of Exchange support engineers.
The "Microsoft 365 Certified: Exchange Online Support Engineer Specialty certification" was unveiled yesterday and requires you to pass the "MS-220: Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Online" exam.
Updated Two security vendors – Orca Security and Tenable – have accused Microsoft of unnecessarily putting customers' data and cloud environments at risk by taking far too long to fix critical vulnerabilities in Azure.
In a blog published today, Orca Security researcher Tzah Pahima claimed it took Microsoft several months to fully resolve a security flaw in Azure's Synapse Analytics that he discovered in January.
And in a separate blog published on Monday, Tenable CEO Amit Yoran called out Redmond for its lack of response to – and transparency around – two other vulnerabilities that could be exploited by anyone using Azure Synapse.
Microsoft has indefinitely postponed the date on which its Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) will be required to sell software and services licences on new terms.
Those new terms are delivered under the banner of the New Commerce Experience (NCE). NCE is intended to make perpetual licences a thing of the past and prioritizes fixed-term subscriptions to cloudy products. Paying month-to-month is more expensive than signing up for longer-term deals under NCE, which also packs substantial price rises for many Microsoft products.
Channel-centric analyst firm Canalys unsurprisingly rates NCE as better for Microsoft than for customers or partners.
Updated Microsoft's latest set of Windows patches are causing problems for users.
Windows 10 and 11 are affected, with both experiencing similar issues (although the latter seems to be suffering a little more).
KB5014697, released on June 14 for Windows 11, addresses a number of issues, but the known issues list has also been growing. Some .NET Framework 3.5 apps might fail to open (if using Windows Communication Foundation or Windows Workflow component) and the Wi-Fi hotspot features appears broken.
Jeffrey Snover's lengthy and occasionally controversial term at Microsoft is to come to an end this week, as the PowerShell inventor sets off for pastures new after more than two decades at the Windows giant.
Microsoft is extending the Defender brand with a version aimed at families and individuals.
"Defender" has been the company's name of choice for its anti-malware platform for years. Microsoft Defender for individuals, available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, is a cross-platform application, encompassing macOS, iOS, and Android devices and extending "the protection already built into Windows Security beyond your PC."
The system comprises a dashboard showing the status of linked devices as well as alerts and suggestions.
Microsoft has pledged to clamp down on access to AI tools designed to predict emotions, gender, and age from images, and will restrict the usage of its facial recognition and generative audio models in Azure.
The Windows giant made the promise on Tuesday while also sharing its so-called Responsible AI Standard, a document [PDF] in which the US corporation vowed to minimize any harm inflicted by its machine-learning software. This pledge included assurances that the biz will assess the impact of its technologies, document models' data and capabilities, and enforce stricter use guidelines.
This is needed because – and let's just check the notes here – there are apparently not enough laws yet regulating machine-learning technology use. Thus, in the absence of this legislation, Microsoft will just have to force itself to do the right thing.
Microsoft has made it official. Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 distributions are now supported on Windows Server 2022.
The technology emerged in preview form last month and represented somewhat of an about-face from the Windows giant, whose employees had previously complained that while the tech was handy for desktop users, sticking it on a server might mean it gets used for things for which it wasn't intended.
(And Windows Server absolutely had to have the bloated user interface of its desktop stablemate as well, right?)
Desktop Tourism My 20-year-old son is an aspiring athlete who spends a lot of time in the gym and thinks nothing of lifting 100 kilograms in various directions. So I was a little surprised when I handed him Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio and he declared it uncomfortably heavy.
At 1.8kg it's certainly not among today's lighter laptops. That matters, because the device's big design selling point is a split along the rear of its screen that lets it sit at an angle that covers the keyboard and places its touch-sensitive surface in a comfortable position for prodding with a pen. The screen can also fold completely flat to allow the laptop to serve as a tablet.
Below is a .GIF to show that all in action.
Microsoft isn't wasting time trying to put Activision Blizzard's problems in the rearview mirror, announcing a labor neutrality agreement with the game maker's recently-formed union.
Microsoft will be grappling with plenty of issues at Activision, including unfair labor lawsuits, sexual harassment allegations and toxic workplace claims. Activision subsidiary Raven Software, developers on the popular Call of Duty game series, recently voted to organize a union, which Activision entered into negotiations with only a few days ago.
Microsoft and the Communication Workers of America (CWA), which represents Raven Software employees, issued a joint statement saying that the agreement is a ground-breaking one that "will benefit Microsoft and its employees, and create opportunities for innovation in the gaming sector."
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