Ask Paul: May 25 (Premium)

It’s the start of a long Memorial Day weekend, but here are some reader questions to get the holiday started.

Windows Hello and FIDO 2

StudBen asks:

I was curious as I know with 1803 Windows Hello was getting Fido 2.0 support and I realize it’s in limited preview with Azure AD, and Fido 2.0 devices are still trickling out. Was curious if you heard of when Microsoft might have planned on adding support for this for consumer Microsoft Accounts, it would be nice to get a device like this to take the place of my password.

I’ve not heard anything in the past month. But it’s safe to say that it’s going to be while.

Microsoft announced this support only a month ago, noting that it would work with Azure Active Directory (AAD), Microsoft’s cloud-based directory service for businesses. They never mentioned this support coming to Microsoft accounts. I assume that it will. But given the timing on AAD support—it’s currently in a limited preview—I would not expect this to appear for consumers before the next Windows 10 release (1809) at the very earliest.

OneDrive and special folders

Dan1986ist asks:

With the changes coming to OneDrive such as the ability to move the location of known folders like Desktop and Documents into OneDrive, would this make it possible for a Microsoft Account to become a roaming profile and be accessible on mutiple systems? If so, would ordinary users benefit from this?

He’s referring to this write-up if you’re not familiar with the Known folder move feature that is coming this summer to OneDrive for Business.

I don’t use OneDrive for Business, but if you look at how OneDrive works in Windows 10 today, you can already configure it to “roam” your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders—e.g. “sync them to OneDrive”—so that their contents are consistent across your PCs. And you can, of course, arbitrarily access/sync whatever content you store in OneDrive between PCs and other devices.

Windows 10 also syncs many of your settings with your Microsoft account (which is tied to OneDrive, too, of course). These two things—OneDrive and MSA settings sync—together constitute most of what a consumer would want from a roaming profile, as we understand it from the business world. So you might make the argument that this functionality is already there.

But what’s missing?

True folder redirection, for one: This is what Known folder move appears to do in OneDrive for Business, and I noted at the time that such a feature would be very useful (for example, for those with multiple drives). Also, full special folder support: OneDrive doesn’t let you easily move your Music or Video folders across PCs.

The biggest missing feature today, however, is what I’ll call “full settings sync”: Windows 10 today syncs many, but not all, settings between PCs. I feel like this could be more complete.

Anyway, as noted, I feel like the current implementation will satisfy most consumer’s needs today. The ability to just open a second PC and access a document (or whatever) you were just working on elsewhere is pretty amazing.

The important questions

StevenLayton asks:

Who really shot JFK?

Lee Harvey Oswald, and he acted alone. Irrefutable.

Also, note that he looks a lot like Steven Sinofsky. There’s a conspiracy theory to think about.

Did you watch the Royal Wedding?

Absolutely not.

Why didn’t Gandalf use the Eagles to get to Mount Doom?

This is the central question at the heart of any critique of The Lord of the Rings. And there’s no good reason beyond creative failure: That he didn’t just think of this and impose some reason why it couldn’t happen is unknowable.

Why does ET still choke me up, even after all these years?

Because you are a human being with a heart. Good for you. Stay off Twitter to keep it that way.

Pix for Android?

AnOldAmigaUser asks:

Do you know if Microsoft is going to offer an Android version of its Pix app for iPhone? I cannot imagine they have more control over the camera in iOS.

I don’t, sorry. I’m not sure if third-party camera apps would be more powerful than those on iOS—as is often the case with apps, generally—but it’s fair to say it would be no less powerful, for sure.

The problem with Microsoft Pix is that it’s essentially a research project, similar to a Garage app. So Microsoft could just quietly stop working on or even pull it from the App Store at any time.

Interestingly, I see that the Community Manager for the Microsoft Computational Photography Team answered this question recently online. By not answering it at all.

“Our team is currently focused on improving the functionality of Microsoft Pix before exploring options for other digital platforms.”

So… Maybe?

Cord-cutting update

spacecamel asks:

Any update on your cord cutting experience?

This is overdue, sorry. I will write this up soon, but I was waiting for an internal audit (e.g. my wife and I sitting down to go over what we’re paying for and why) to see how it all settles out.

Long story short, we’re currently paying for both YouTube TV and SlingTV for live/recorded TV, and I feel like we should be able to get down to just one service eventually. We also pay for Netflix and Hulu, and will temporarily pay for Showtime (for “Homeland”) and HBO (“Game of Thrones,” etc.) when needed. We also pay for MLB.TV so we can watch live baseball.

Add that all up and it’s more than I like paying. So we’re going to look at it. But we are absolutely fine with where we are from a service/need perspective. That is, we don’t miss cable TV at all and will never go back.

More soon.

Thurrott merchandise

MichaelEPS5 asks:

Brad mentioned on the Sams report a few weeks back that the Thurrott Mugs and such were a hassle for shipping and such and that there were no plans to make them available again anytime soon. Is there a chance that more Thurrott merchandise (of that type or others) could be introduced in the future?

When we first started Thurrott.com, I didn’t see a need for this kind of thing. But then we came up with the logo and we collectively thought a merchandise store would be cool and easy to do. That it’s not is confusing and aggravating.

So … I will bring this up at next week’s team meeting. I’d love to make this stuff more readily available. I still don’t understand why this isn’t a no-brainer.

Windows 10 version 1830 quality

MartinusV2 asks:

Is RS5 better than Win10 1803 right now?

Not from what I can see: I brought the Surface Book 2 to Chicago last week, and that PC is running Redstone 5. (And, if I remember correctly, got a new build while we were away.) I’ve had tons of problems. To be clear, this is to be expected, and I’m not complaining. But for this trip to Boston, I brought the Huawei MateBook X Pro (which I’m using to write this post) and the Lenovo Flex 6 (14″) (which I used to write the recent State of Decay 2 post) and the quality is much, much better.

Speaking of which, the Flex 6 is the first PC I’ve received for review that came preinstalled out of the box with 1803.

How to get Microsoft’s attention

Lewk asks:

Do you have any advice on how to get Microsoft’s attention on a major issue with Windows 10? Specifically how they completely broke the Australian Language pack with the original Creators Update 1703. The issues of which are still present with every version of Windows 10 through to the present RS5 builds. And Microsoft won’t even reply to any inquiries about it.

Aside from the normal channels—the Feedback Hub, of course, but I’d also hit up the appropriate teams on Twitter—not really, sorry. What I can do, however, is forward this query to someone from PR and see if they can get an answer. Which I’ve done.

Will let you know what I find out. Remember that we’re on the cusp of a long weekend here in the U.S., though.

Happy holidays if you’re celebrating,

Paul