Here's a simple scenario where the lack of patch information could severely limit Windows 10's acceptance.
Late last week, Simon Sharwood at The Register
dropped a bombshell. Where many of us had been fretting and complaining about the complete lack of information about Windows 10's four cumulative updates, Sharwood prompted an official response about stealthy patches from Microsoft, the first I've ever seen. Here's what a Microsoft spokesperson said:
As we have done in the past, we post KB articles relevant to most updates which we'll deliver with Windows as a service. Depending on the significance of the update and if it is bringing new functionality to Windows customers, we may choose to do additional promotion of new features as we deploy them.
I've been waiting, patiently, hoping that Microsoft would either clarify or contradict that statement. (Actually, I was assuming that someone with a "We listen to customers" pin on their hoodie would take notice and start screaming.) Alas, at this point, that appears to be Microsoft's final say.
It's too bad, really. With the exception of unexplained monitoring (
detailed meticulously by Peter Bright at Ars Technica) and the inability to block patches, Windows 10 seems to be evolving as a genuinely user-friendly product. While Win10 doesn't work right for everybody yet, and we'll undoubtedly see discarded mounds of Cumulative Updates before things stabilize, it's been obvious from the first Insider Preview that we're working with a new regime, and a newer, much more open environment.
