Thurrott Daily: November 13

There is a lot going on today, so let’s get to it.

11/13/2015 10:32:16 AM

Windows 10 build 10586 was a “release candidate”

Last week, when the entire world—OK, “my entire world,” e.g. the people I follow on Twitter—was proclaiming with utter certainty that build 10586 was obviously the final build of Windows 10 1511, I wasn’t so sure. And the thing is, when you upgrade, you notice that the build number is actually 10586.3, meaning that Microsoft iterated the build three times since the initial Windows Insider release. When I discussed this with Terry Myerson, he told me that that initial build was “a release candidate” and that had they found truly serious issue they would have absolutely gone with new full builds. “It’s not like it was just sitting there for a week,” he said. Point being, I don’t know why people are so sure of things they aren’t involved with first hand.

Apple to kill Beats Music at end of month

No surprise here—in fact I’m not sure why they even waited—butApple’s Beats Music subscription service will shut down on November 30, given that it’s been replaced by Apple Music. The one thing I’ll note, however, is that this means Beats will be gone forever on Windows phones, another non-shocker. There’s no way we’ll ever see Apple Music on my favorite mobile platform.

“I just streamed Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify on a plane — all at once”

You are just so precious.

Black Ops III runs better on PS4 than Xbox One

I guess this isn’t surprising, but GameSpot reports that the latest Call of Duty game performs better on the Sony PlayStation 4 than it does on Microsoft’s Xbox One.

In cutscenes, both PS4 and Xbox One were able to regularly achieve full 1080p. However, native resolution during gameplay is targeted to be 1920×1080 (1080p) on PS4 but 1600×900 (900p) on Xbox One … During “more challenging scenarios,” resolution on Xbox One could fall to 1200×900.

“The Xbox One release possesses a consistent blurry appearance when the action really kicks in: fine details are frequently smudged over, while geometry edges appear rough and fuzzy,” Digital Foundry said. “It’s a substantial downgrade over last year’s Advanced Warfare, where Sledgehammer stayed locked at a 1360×1080 resolution during the more demanding scenes.”

The good news?

On average, the PS4 edition ran at 51fps, compared to 49fps on Xbox One.

Oh, and this is just the single player campaign.

Google gives away a ton of free comic books

This could end at any time, but Google is providing a nifty selection of free comic books via its Play Store. (This works in Android and iOS using Google Play Books, or on the web.) Here’s a bit of the announcement:

Today, Google Play Books is getting an upgrade specifically designed for comic book fans, making it easier to read your favorite comics on your phone or tablet. Reading a comic book is all about following the story and enjoying the art, dialogue and pace the way you want. But navigating a comic can be tricky on a small phone or tablet screen. So, we’re introducing a new vertical scrolling experience for comics in landscape mode. Flip your device on its side and you can easily scroll through the story with quick vertical swipes.

We’ve also made finding great comics and series really easy. Now we’re offering a new comics destination and a bunch of beautifully curated series pages on the Google Play Store that organize volumes, issues and other editions of the top comic series. You’ll also find new personalized recommendations for similar series to help you discover new stories and characters.

YouTube Music finally launches

In tandem with YouTube Red (which provides ad-free video and music at $10 per month), Google has finally launched YouTube Music, a “completely new experience making music discovery easier than ever.” Like YouTube Red, YouTube Music is US-only for now (see, it’s not just Microsoft) and … I don’t understand why they need three different music services, either. (Add in Google Play Music.)

“Don’t want the Surface Book? Here are the next best things”

If you don’t want a Surface Book, why would you want something like a Surface Book that isn’t as good as a Surface Book?

“Windows XP users can kiss Chrome goodbye”

Sure. But what they should be kissing goodbye is Windows XP.