Ask Paul: December 20 (Premium)

With Christmas right around the corner, things are starting to wind down here. But first, a final Ask Paul before the holidays.

Thunderbolt 3 eGPU

vernonlvincent asks:

Maybe I missed it, but have you had a chance to test a Thunderbolt 3 EGPU with your NUC or comparable device?

No, I still haven’t done this, sorry. Part of it is just that my whole Thunderbolt 3/USB-C dock situation has never been as seamless as I’d wanted, and I feel kind of let down by that. I had hoped to arrive at a point where I could swap the PC out and just have that one-cable experience. The other piece is that I want to spend more time gaming on PCs and writing about that, and I do actually have some reasonable gaming-class laptops. So thee issue combined with the lack of need has led to procrastination.

That said, I still would like to do this and still intend to.

The Mandalorian, take 2

SeattleMike asks:

I know you weren’t super enthused about the early episodes of The Mandalorian but has your opinion changed? Also, what are your thoughts on the release of The Rise of Skywalker? And what are your thoughts about the future of the Star Wars franchise with all of the spin-offs and new trilogies DIsney is working on?

It’s gotten a little better, and obviously the addition of “baby Yoda” makes it more enjoyable. But I just feel like it’s too slow-moving, usually, and meandering, and that a lead character you never even get to see is not particularly compelling. And there are way too many insider references to the movies, which I’d like as a fan if it weren’t for the fact that they’re so heavy-handed. (Example: They have an entire galaxy/universe to play with … and they end up on Tatooine somehow? That’s dumb.) It just plays like they’re checking off every single reference they can.

Look, it’s Star Wars. So I’m interested and watching. And I hope they make more TV series. This one is a bit dry.

I haven’t seen Rise of Skywalker yet, but I’ve been immersing myself in spoilers to find out what the story is. (I realize some go in the opposite direction.) I wish the novelization was out first, but it won’t come out until March. Overall, given the constraints of what happened in the previous film, there are some real dead-ends to figure out. But it seems like they’ve done an OK job with it. I feel like it’s time to wind down this big story and go in new directions. But I’m looking forward to seeing it.

I’m all for more Star Wars content of whatever kind. I know there’s an Obi-Wan series in the works, for example. Bring it on.

Accessing a NAS from Windows 10

kevinbouwman asks:

I asked you a number of weeks ago about an issue with getting my Microsoft Account credentialed laptop to work with peer-to-peer network file shares. This is just a vocabulary update. To restate my question using more precise language, “I have an Azure AD joined laptop where I am trying, unsuccessfully, to access folder shares on a Windows 10 workgroup desktop and on a Synology NAS; how do I configure the laptop and/or desktop and/or NAS to permit this?

I’m not aware of any AAD-specific issues that would prevent you from accessing a file share on a NAS from your Windows 10 PC. Did you try the Windows Credentials saved logon thing I suggested? This has worked for me.

FRD holiday schedule

simont asks:

Do you have a schedule for the site/first ring daily when you will be taking time off for the holidays (You are take some time off for the holidays right?)

We’re going to take next week off (December 23 – 27). The following week, we will record at least a few shows. Most likely Monday and Friday.

Happy holidays!

will asks:

“No question for you!”, but wanted to wish you and everyone at Thurrott.com and the Thurrott family a Merry Christmas!

Thank you, and the same to you and to all.

Pixel monthly updates

OldITPro2000 asks:

Paul, I have a Pixel 3 XL and have noticed that the monthly security update lands on my device at different times. Some months it shows up a few days after release while others (like this month) I’m still waiting even after 15 days. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Of course I could manually load the updates, but having them pushed OTA with regularity is one of the selling points of these things. I was wondering if you’ve experienced the same behavior on your Pixel handhelds.

This has been my experience, too, and I find it frustrating. The November update, which was the first big update for Pixel 4, was one I really wanted to get, and I don’t believe it happened until almost the end of the month. It seems like this could be handled better, especially since I’m on Google Fi. And that if you look explicitly for it, and it’s available, you should just get it.

I looked around when this was happening in November and discovered this is a big pain point for a lot of Pixel owners. I don’t understand what the problem is at all. (Also, I just got my first update of December yesterday.)

Happy Holidays to you and your family and all of the crew at Thurrott and Petri!

Thanks! To you as well. And to you all.

Ads in Windows 10 Mail app

SherlockHolmes asks:

Do you have any idea why Microsoft started to push ads in the Windows 10 Mail app? I really find it insulting to people who, like me, have an Office 365 Home subscription and I cant delete that ad. Those ads are so general that they make no sense at all.

Yep. I assume everyone knows my stance on this: Ads are not acceptable anywhere in Windows 10, but if Microsoft does feel the need to put them in some apps (or elsewhere), we should be able to turn them off.

Also, to respond to a common retort: Yes, this is an ad. Anything that directs you to use more products made by the same company is, by definition, an ad, even if some consider such things helpful.

As to the “why” bit, Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela has told us previously on Windows Weekly that Microsoft will never put banner ads in Windows 10, but it reserves the right to display the type of ad you’re referring to because it’s for other Microsoft products or services, and can be helpful to some people. But I’ll refer back to my second point: Let us turn it off. And also note that when you’re paying for an additional service like Office 365, as we both are, that these ads are particularly dumb and even more annoying. We did bring this up again with Chris just this past Wednesday.

Windows 10 Mail is already enough of a compromise as it is. Putting ads in this product, which is inarguably a core part of the Windows 10 experience for many, is just self-defeating on Microsoft’s part. Apple certainly doesn’t put ads in its Mail app on the Mac, for example.

Windows 10X developer story

kshsystems

Any news about the Windows 10x developer story?

Microsoft has basically punted this conversation to 2020, but in late November they did provide some hints. “Developers will be able to use existing investments and tools for Web, UWP, and Win32 on” Windows 10X PCs, Microsoft’s Kevin Gallo wrote at the time, without providing any details. I take that to mean that it will support Win32/Windows Forms (desktop apps), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF, desktop apps), UWP (mobile apps), and a variety of web technologies like PWA and React Native.

That sounds a lot like Windows development today, which makes sense. But Microsoft will need to create new APIs to support what’s unique about Windows 10X, especially dual-screen support (which I take to be an evolution of the Snap capabilities in Windows today). And Gallo said as much, noting that Microsoft would “develop a common model layered onto existing platform-specific tools and frameworks for Windows.”

Right now, this is all in early access only, and it’s so early that interested developers need to email Microsoft to learn more. Microsoft says it will share more details “in early 2020.” I hope that means before Build 2020 (in May). But that is technically early 2020, so maybe not.