Ask Paul: February 14 (Premium)

Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy Friday! Here’s a predictably Windows 10X-heavy installment of Ask Paul to wrap up the week.

Windows 10X vs. Windows 10

Dan1986ist asks:

Could we see the changes in Windows 10X come to other versions of Windows 10, if they don’t already exist in those versions in some form?

I feel like this can only go one of two ways: Windows 10X matures and replaces Windows 10 over time, or Windows 10 adopts Windows 10X’s container architecture and user interface, perhaps both as options, and the two continue forward together.

(I hesitate to contemplate the third option, where Windows 10X and/or that container architecture simply fail and we’re left with Windows 10 as-is.)

There’s a lot we don’t know, of course, so speculation is going to be fast and fluid for now. For example, Microsoft showed off a new Intel chipset family with ARM-like cores (two large, two small). Are is that chipset required for Windows 10X or optional? Will it be used for “normal” PCs running Windows 10?

We’ll see. For now, all I can do is repeat the broad strokes of my initial impression, which is that Microsoft intends for Windows 10X to eventually replace Windows 10, just as NT once replaced DOS/Windows. There’s a lot that needs to be happen first. And a lot we don’t know that needs to be communicated. But I feel better about this now than I did last year. It seems like a solid approach to modernizing Windows. Again, given what we know so far.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

wolters asks:

So Paul…are you “Thinking About The Galaxy S20 Ultra?” And are you cautiously optimistic about the camera as I am? I always end up being disappointed with their cameras (Even if the Note 10+ was ALMOST awesome.) I’m worried all of their specs may not live up to the hype.

Yes. And I’m paying attention to what early hands-on reports say about the camera quality. A couple of points…

As you probably know, camera quality is pretty much Job One for me on a phone, so if this thing is materially better than what I already have, I’ll make the switch. That’s a high bar, but it’s certainly possible. There’s a lot to like about Samsung’s phones in general.

And Samsung does offer more than reasonable trade-in value for its previous-generation phones. I probably spent about $1000 on the Note 10+, and they will offer me $700 on trade. So that makes the starting price a lot more palatable.

Google Fi is an issue. But I’ve been considering a switch to Mint Mobile, and just using Google Fi on international trips. It wouldn’t be as convenient. But I’d save hundreds of dollars each year, and it would make it easier to use different phones.

Apple + Panos

Finley asks:

Harping back on now old news which the Panos/Apple rumours. But it would be interesting if it was Apple who approached Panos. Maybe to discuss leading their hardware team as Apple trys to merge macOS/iOS. Maybe to take the iPad Pro line to another level. Is this a more likely scenario given the design issues Apple has as of late?

I don’t know who reached out to who first, and Mary Jo tells me she doesn’t know either.

As you may have heard on last week’s Windows Weekly, I’m a bit concerned at the thought that Panay would even consider working at Apple; running a PC maker’s PC business makes sense, but going to Apple, which refuses to turn iPads into real PCs or add touch to Macs makes no sense to me. You have to think there is some Apple envy on his part though: Certainly, the firm makes good hardware overall, despite some big missteps (the MacBook butterfly keyboard, for example.)

I’ll never understand Apple. But I doubt Panay could have changed the company. They seem hell bent on keeping Mac a non-touch PC-type system and evolving iPad Pro slowly.

Windows Core vs. user experiences

will asks:

With Build coming up, and the news of Panos taking over Windows as well as devices, do you expect that going forward Windows will take a bigger stage at the Microsoft events?

I doubt it. From a developer perspective, there’s really not much to say here: All the existing app frameworks and technologies will work and there’s just a bit of work to do if you want to support dual-screens in some way. If you even need to.

The thing is, the exciting technology behind Windows 10X—the container-based architecture—comes from Jason Zander’s Azure team. What Panay is taking over is the user experiences side, the part that sits on top of the foundation that users interact with. So we should get some good sessions about both sides of that. But I’m not sure it’s going to be much of a step up from previous years. The fact that they had a separate event for it suggests that Build will be more of the same, that is, mostly cloud and non-traditional client stuff like IoT. I hope I’m wrong, of course.

I think what’s changing here is that Panay at a seat at the table where user experience choices were made. But now he’s running it, so he can have the final say.

More on this below…

USB-C vs. Thunderbolt 3 vs. me

JaseCutler asks:

I was curious if you’d given up on the idea of a universal dock for your NUC/test laptops or not.

Yep, pretty much.

Recently The Wirecutter updated their Thunderbolt 3 Dock recommendations  to include the CalDigit USB-C Pro Dock. This dock lists supporting both Thunderbolt 3 devices as well as USB-C. Only caveat seems is you’re not going to get super high refresh rates or some dual monitor configurations over USB-C, but I don’t think that affects your desire for a universal station. I’d be curious both of a review of the device by you (since you likely have so many devices to test this dock with), as well if it could solve your problem.

I will take a look.

But the issue is that I had hoped using some kind of a dock would enable me to more easily use any PC at my home office desk, and that that would help me use review PCs more frequently. But every dock I tried was either too unreliable for this usage or didn’t work at all, depending on the USB/TB compatibility.

Windows Core vs. user experiences, part 2

seabass722 asks:

Something I’ve been curious about for a while and reminded of given the recent changes with Windows leadership. As I understand it Windows core development happens under the Azure group while the windows experience development will now be under Panos Panay with the Windows and Devices group. How dependent are these two “sides” of Windows development on each other? I imagine the client side experience would be more dependent on the core capabilities versus the other way around. Could this division of core and experience development be why we’re seeing less features in the last few Windows feature upgrades? Also given the focus on containerization with Windows 10X could these two sides become less dependent on each other moving forward? I imagine there is a lot that can be said here but I would find any insight very interesting, thanks.

So, in addition to what I wrote above about how the responsibilities for Windows are split, I’ll add that I don’t think this split is the reason why we see fewer new features. It’s because Windows doesn’t really need major new features. This is a mature, decades-old operating system, and previous attempts to feign excitement around “creator” updates were misguided. In my opinion, Windows should be stripped down, like a web browser, allowing the user to add-on as needed. MacOS is a bit like that.

Viability of Brave

Vladimir asks:

I am thinking more and more about switching to Brave as my main browser. My problem is that in the end, what happens to your data, is a matter of trust. I don’t completely trust Brave because their business model is not clear to me and it looks not sustainable. That leads to the question about how they are making (going to make) money. I would be very curious to know your perspective on this

I’m not sure how viable the business model is per se, but I do think you can trust them. If you look at the privacy and security section of their Brave features page, you’ll find out that “[their] servers neither see nor store your browsing data – it stays private, on your devices, until you delete it. Which means [they] won’t ever sell your data to third parties.” Likewise, Brave sync in encrypted and Brave doesn’t have the decryption keys.

I find it pretty easy to switch between browsers, and especially between Chromium-based browsers, so if it doesn’t work out, you can pretty easily switch back.

As an aside, I had an episode yesterday where I browsed to a sneaker maker’s website in the new Edge and then started seeing ads for those sneakers all over the web. I’m not sure what that says about Edge’s tracking protection capabilities, but I’m looking into it. And it’s fair to say I wondered whether Brave would have had the same issue. I doubt it.

Windows 10X

AnOldAmigaUser asks:

From the article Windows 10 is the Next NT, it is clear that you were as surprised as any of us with how ambitious the redesign of Windows 10X actually is? Are you surprised that a change of this magnitude was kept under wraps so well despite the fact that everyone knew something was coming? Would you credit this to Panos, who has been able to surprise on a few occasions, or the Azure engineering team being quiet professionals? It seems to me that they are applying what they have learned about servers at scale in the cloud, to the desktop. I assume this is why the core development has moved to the Azure group.

Yes, I was surprised (and pleasantly). I had expected that the containers I knew were coming in Windows 10X were only for legacy Win23 desktop apps, and not for other app types. But instead, the entire platform is “containerized,” and seems more sophisticated as a result. We’ll have to see what the real-world implications are there—the current emulator is horribly slow, for example—but it seems like a solid way forward.

I’ve long felt that while Microsoft needed a new NT, which is to say a platform mulligan or do-over, that that ship had sailed because it would never undertake the cost and time needed to create a new platform. But Windows 10X neatly solves that problem by taking the existing platform assets and modernizing them. It really shows how that NT codebase was created so correctly that it has staying power.

As for where the credit is due, definitely the latter: This was all about the Azure guys and how they do things. There are adults in charge over there.

Post-Microsoft consumer tech

AnOldAmigaUser asks:

In your email on “Focus” you indicated a growing unease with the post-Microsoft world of personal tech. Has it been the constant drumbeat of news lately, or something more specific that brought on this feeling? I ask as someone who worries that we may have already reached the tipping point towards a dystopian future (Just because I am paranoid, does not mean the world is not out to get me.) I have never been entirely comfortable with the level of tracking that goes on, though I understand that the data does make things work better, like traffic in Maps. Last year, I read The Surveillance Economy, which cemented those concerns. Right now, I am reading Don’t be Evil, and it is even more concerning in a way. I think I may need to lighten up my reading list.

It’s something that’s been growing for a while. There have been certain Microsoft messaging campaigns over the years—“Windows is for doers,” for example—that really resonated with me, while consumer tech like chat apps and emojis, and people zoning out with their phones and not paying attention to each other has always just rubbed me the wrong way. With so much Big Tech doing wrong these days—the abuses of power at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, especially, really bother me—I just find myself tuning out. We can’t go back to the old days, of course, and I don’t really want to. But it seems like my time would be better spent—for me and for others—if I spend less time on the superfluous and more on what I do think matters.

Honestly, Microsoft not having much of a voice on the consumer side may be for the best. But the productivity-focused products and services it makes for individuals are of a lot of interest. I feel like that’s a good focus for me.