Ask Paul: August 23 (Premium) (Updated)

UPDATE: The Microsoft Authenticator question has an updated answer. –Paul

Happy Friday! Here’s a late summer edition of Ask Paul to kick off another weekend.

Programming Windows

Dan1986ist asks

Any plans to eventually turn your Programming Windows series of articles into a book?

Yes. We were just discussing that last week, actually. No word yet on timing, since it’s ongoing series and I’m probably not even to the halfway point yet. Given the expected length, it could possibly be split into two versions (I’m guessing the arrival of .NET will be roughly right in the middle). Or maybe it could be like the Windows 10 Field Guide where I’ll just add to the book as it goes. We’ll see.

On a related note, I’ve also decided to give the current version of the Windows 10 Field Guide (covering versions 1903 and 19H2) away for free to Thurrott Premium members. I’ll let you know when that is happening, as we have a few details to work out.

MarkWibaux adds:

Could we get a link under the “Premium Content” menu that took you to a page with all the links to the articles, as that would make things a little simpler to find them all. Like the “Beneath a Surface Commentary” link.

Yes. Great idea, thanks.

There is now a Programming Windows link under Premium Content and a Programming Windows (Premium) link under Windows 10 in the site menu.

Windows product vision

will asks:

After the FRD earlier this week when there was a spirited editorial on the Windows icons with Windows 10 it got me thinking about a meeting I was in recently. It was a leadership discussion and topic of vision came up, specifically that if have not communicated vision to those that follow you, you are not a leader. You may have great ideas, or even goals, but if you do not communicate those to others that follow you how do you expect them to support where you are going? I think this applies to Microsoft and specifically Windows. Does anyone really have any idea where they are going? We only find out when something gets discovered in a build or if they post something.

There is no leadership of Windows at all now. This is the problem with the post-Terry Microsoft, where responsibility for the product is split between two groups that couldn’t be further apart: Azure, which oversees the kernel/foundation/technical stuff and a user experience team under Microsoft 365 that adds/refines features. This tells us that there will be no fundamental changes to Windows at all, which is fine, as it’s a mature product, etc.

But the user experience team is a huge problem. It’s comprised of B-teamers, some of the same people who were responsible for all the nonsense features that marred previous Windows 10 upgrades. Everything that is wrong with Windows 10—the haphazard application of Fluent design and icons, and so on—comes from this team and their demented view of how to move Windows forward.

As for the communication issue you raise, I’ve been beating that drum for years. These people cannot communicate effectively at all. There’s just not much to say here other than that the Insider blog posts, in particular, are routinely unprofessional and poorly written, and don’t do a thing to explain why Microsoft is doing what it’s doing. Some kind of vision post for Windows 10 would be nice. And should happen regularly.

These things bother me a lot. As I think I explained on that FRD episode you referenced, I still very much care more about Microsoft than I do about any other tech companies. And I likewise still very much care more about Windows than I do about anything else the company sells. I wish Microsoft would show this product the respect and care it deserves. Even Apple handles macOS better than Microsoft handles Windows, and Apple is routinely criticized for ignoring the Mac. I wish that’s all we had to worry about.

Outside of that we have no idea what the next releases of Windows will bring or what they have a vision for. Interestingly the only part of Microsoft that I know of that seems to communicate any sort of vision is the Xbox group. Phil and company give us an idea of what they are looking to do, even with future hardware. The Windows team is all crickets.

I agree with this, and Xbox is a shining star right now. That said, the Xbox Insider Program is even more screwed up than the Windows Insider Program. It’s so screwed up, they just had to re-explain their needlessly complex Preview Rings system. But I wish the magic happening in Xbox would rub off on Windows.

Microsoft Authenticator and Note 10+

MartinusV2 asks:

I too will switch to the new Samsung Note 10+. But I am trying to find any information on how to migrate my Microsoft Authentication App accounts to the new phone. I am moving from S9+. I find information on how to use backup/restore but it involves iOS only. What is the best way to proceed?

I’ve never really needed to manage this per se, but then I only have a few accounts in there and mostly use it for my Microsoft account. Generally speaking, most accounts that use 2FA provide a second way to authenticate (text message perhaps) and/or allow you to have two or more authenticator apps configured. When I switch phones, which I do pretty often, I just manually recreate all the non-MSAs.

It’s curious that backup/restore is not available on Android.

UPDATE: Based on this tweet, cloud backup/restore is coming to Microsoft Authenticator on Android. —Paul

What screen protector / case did you buy for your phone?

I prefer leather cases, so I ordered a Galaxy Note10+ Leather Back Cover.

Google Stadia

MartinusV2 asks:

Lately when I visit Google search page, I get an ad about Stadia. I was curious and went to see when it would be available. At my surprise, it will be this November the service will be active and they have some support from game makers already. Do you think Microsoft will be late again to market with xCloud? Does Google able to pull the rug under Microsoft feet again by having the gaming service before Microsoft?

I don’t think so. By the time Stadia arrives, you’ll be able to use xCloud as well, at least in preview. I’m very interested in Google’s service, but remember that there is nothing it can do that Microsoft can’t do as well. Meanwhile, Microsoft has meaningful advantages over Google, including decades of experience partnering with game studios on Xbox. This market is all-new for Google. (And no, I don’t think the Play Store in any way prepped Google for the gaming market.)

I wrote about this topic back in March. Long story short, I don’t see Microsoft losing to Google here. And there is certainly room in the market for both (and for others).

A/B testing in the Insider Program

Lewk asks:

Would you happen to have any knowledge, insight, or have spoken to the Insider team as to why the Windows Insider program no longer ships new features to everyone?

I feel like I’ve sort of championed this topic, in that I’ve communicated to them repeatedly that people who join the Insider Program explicitly want to test new versions of Windows and that by denying them that, they’re making the program less useful, which ultimately harms Windows. This should be opt-in, not a secret decision made for you.

This complaint has fallen on deaf ears, sorry. If anything, they’ve escalated this behavior for some reason.

Also, I’ve asked in two other Ask Paul’s spanning the past two years about the Australian Language pack issue and you said to email you and you would follow up with Microsoft about it. I guess you’re not getting my emails as I haven’t heard back from you about it?

Sorry. I will ask Microsoft. I do see a May 2018 mention of this, but what is the exact issue?

Future of OneNote

AnOldAmigaUser asks:

Since UWP is dead, do you have any knowledge of what direction OneNote will be going in. It was clearly the Office application that got furthest along in going to UWP, but it is nowhere near feature parity with OneNote 2016. Any chance they will give up and go back to developing the full Office app or are they just going to chug along with less capable UWP/Office Store version of the app. If so, is there any development going on with it at all? It seems that neither version is getting any attention at all.

Another reader noted that I answered this question previously, but I was curious to see how I answered it then, since I happen to have some insider info about that part of the business.

This part of my answer is most pertinent:

“It’s worth pointing out that the person in charge of OneNote (and To-Do and Sticky Notes) just left the company and that the development of this app now falls under the user experience team that’s part of Windows. Which means that the most likely outcome is that there are no architectural changes at all and that this app will languish with largely meaningless upgrades going forward. I hope not. But I’m worried about it.”

And… yep. That’s exactly where my head was at when I read your question. Because the OneNote app in Windows 10 is part of Windows and not part of Office, it is most likely that nothing will change, and that the app will be updated on an ever-slowing schedule only. I don’t see this one ending well, sorry, unless there is a change where someone important becomes a patron for the app inside of Microsoft.

20H1

madthinus asks:

Where is the big stuff for 20h1? The things that needed 12 months worth of testing?

I ask myself this question all the time. Every build, I think, this could be the one. And … nothing yet.

I have no idea, sorry.

The golden age of Windows

AliMaggs asks:

I was listening to the conversation between Mary Jo and yourself on Windows Weekly, both discussing your fears/concerns about covering Microsoft as a career at various points in recent years and really enjoyed hearing your insights, especially as you focus on the consumer side of Microsoft. I was wondering what era, for you, was the “golden age” of covering Microsoft to date?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I’ve been revisiting the past in the Programming Windows series. Obviously, Windows 95 was the true high point of Windows in the sense that it was a worldwide phenomenon, and because it brought a real refinement to a product that, frankly, had been something of a technical embarrassment to the company.

Before writing this series, I would have pointed to that moment in October 2003 when Microsoft announced Longhorn at PDC as my personal high point. It seemed like Microsoft was going to change the world, and that it was all a lie—the demos were all fake—almost makes it an even better story. (Microsoft showed this video at PDC, but set to the song Horndog by Overseer. It still gives me chills. And this may literally mark the only time, ever, that Microsoft was actually cool.)

But now, I’m not so sure. Revisiting so many older Windows versions and other products, I’m struck by how good so much of it was. Windows 98/SE/ME and 2000 all had wonderfully refined and polished versions of the Windows 95 user interface that still looks great today. There’s an incredible story about how Microsoft very much sought to kill both Netscape Navigator and Java but then created products (IE 4 with its desktop integration and Visual J++) that actually outperformed those rivals in significant ways and were themselves excellent. Windows NT. I mean, are you kidding me? That NT even happened is a miracle. That it replaced Windows is amazing.

So … I don’t know. I’ve tried to fight my nostalgic instincts, but working on this series has only heightened my appreciation for the past. Not just how things happened, but why. It’s been very rewarding.

Pixel 3a, 3, or 4?

yoshi asks:

With the price drop on the Pixel 3 lineup, do you think it’s a better purchase than the Pixel 3a lineup? Or do you think the 3a is still the better buy? Currently the Pixel 3 starts at $499 and the 3 XL starts at $599. I’m still in a return period for the 3a XL and I’ve been debating bumping it up to the 3 XL.

And EricGriffith asks:

I have the same question as Yoshi. Pixel 3 or 3a at the current price point, or hang on for the 4 in October?

I can’t recommend the Pixel 3 XL. And even though the Pixel 3a XL has some issues (performance, lack of storage options, etc.), the good stuff—the camera, the polycarbonate body, the headphone jack, etc.—outweighs the bad. It’s important to know what you’re getting into with the 3a XL (which I assume you do, you have one) but overall, I prefer it to the 3 XL.

Regarding the Pixel 4/4 XL, it’s a bit hard to say yet. I assume they’ll misprice these handsets yet again. Reliability is always a concern. They’re moving to a multi-lens rear camera system for the first time, which should be great … but it’s a first for Google, so it could be problematic too.

But since we are only two months away, I’d wait, see what the Pixel 4 is all about, and then decide between that and the 3a/3a XL at that point.