back to article Microsoft tells AMD-powered Insiders they're unblocked in new Windows 10 Dev Channel build: 'Oh no we're not!'

Microsoft celebrated the end of its Inspire conference and the release of its financials with a pantomime-like Windows 10 Insider update. At least as far as AMD-based PCs were concerned. The previous Dev Channel Insider build had been blocked for AMD-owning Windows Insiders. Microsoft reassured worried users that all would be …

  1. elkster88
    Trollface

    A humbly crowdsourced edit

    "In Windows land, sometimes it can feel like everyone is a tester."

  2. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

    What on earth is the point of such a thing?

    If you want to be seen gazing at the camera, gaze at the camera. If you want the camera to pretend you're gazing at it, gaze at it, take a snap, and send that picture instead. It's telling no-one anything, just pointing out the uselessness of a live camera for many video conference situations.

    Or is it just an aid to making bosses feel happy? Oh look, all of them watching me with dog-like devotion?

    Either way, it's one more thing buggering up the real world...

    1. joesomeone
      Meh

      Re: the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

      I'm sure this will look just as natural as the non-Chroma Keyed background obfuscation/picture injection from Teams.

      Where ears and the sides of your head get cut off when you turn your head and if you aren't fully bald or with a full head of hair... all sorts of weirdness is going on above you.

      Awesome.

      Oh and to answer your question on why... this is because with everyone WfH, they've come to realize that it's actually hard to talk TO a camera while trying to NOT focus on your return video feed or any number of other distractions going on. :)

    2. sabroni Silver badge

      Re: What on earth is the point of such a thing?

      It's to make it feel like you're making eye contact with someone when you look at their eyes on the screen. Like when you're talking to someone in real life.

      Whether it works is another question.

    3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

      I have disabled the camera on my laptop.

      I am tired of seeing people waiting to be able to say something. There is a benefit in face-to-face communication, that I do not dispute, but when remote, honestly, I see no interest in watching four people silently stare, bored out their skulls, while the fifth takes the floor.

      Remote viewing is useful for one-on-one conversations. For meetings, just make it a conference call.

      Saves on bandwidth as well.

      1. Lee D Silver badge

        Re: the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

        And would be solved in a second by the "Raise My Hand" feature which puts a flag on the speaker's screen so they know who's waiting to talk.

        Most videoconferences don't actually need to show video for most participants at all. Two-way, you want both people to see each other. When there are more people and one's talking, maybe the previous speaker needs to be shown to the current but it already switches to the active speaker. Everyone else, that's just pissing bandwidth away.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

      You're wrong about that. When you can watch video-call participants look to the left at their other monitor, or actually turn around and work on the computer behind them, you know damn well they aren't paying attention to what's being said.

      1. walterp

        Re: the much-vaunted Eye Contact feature

        That all depends on your setup. For a laptop that might be true. For a desktop with two monitors, there is no requirement that the camera is mounted over the monitor that is displaying your Teams window.

        For many meetings, once you have read the text on the screen, there is no need to continue to stare that the text. I often change to watching the image boxes which makes make look like I'm looking down, not straight. This happens because I have 32" monitors and the camera is mounted on the top of the display.

        If I look up at the camera, it is actually harder to pay attention to what is happening in the teams meeting.

        Many seem to assume that users are using phones/laptops for meetings. There are millions (maybe 10's of millions) of desktops that do teleconferencing. Assuming anything about their cameras is a mistake.

  3. Jou (Mxyzptlk) Silver badge

    Get via uupdump

    I updated yesterday via https://uupdump.ml/ to 20175.1000, AMD 3900X. Though I am only on Insider since nested virtualization works with AMD since 19640, and to my surprise no problems at all. Currently it looks like nested with AMD will be in the 21H1 build, thanks COVID19... When I see the version numbers 20H2 will be 19042, a cowardly mini step from 19041 like they did from 1903 to 1909, again thanks COVID19.

  4. NetBlackOps

    Meanwhile....

    20H1 got presented last night for my Dell Latitude notepad, it had been locked out since it's a Thunderbolt 3 machine, and once complete promptly stopped recognizing anything plugged into the Type-C/TB3 ports. Thinking whether waiting it out to make use of WSL-2 or reverting to 1909. Decisions, decisions.

    1. NetBlackOps

      Re: Meanwhile....

      Fixed it with clean install of 20H1 and installing dock drivers first, then rest of Dell software/drivers. Now off to play.

  5. Jou (Mxyzptlk) Silver badge

    Fixed, they say on this blog

    https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/07/22/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-20175/

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    eye contact??

    but I stare at my shoes when I talk to them (unless I like them, when I stare at their shoes)

    Anonymous, because I don't want people to notice me

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