Ask Paul: October 12 (Premium)

Happy Friday. Here’s another round of questions and answers, many related to Windows 10 software quality issues.

Surface No Go

Simard57 asks:

Since you do not recommend the Surface Go – what would you recommend for a sub 10″ Windows 10 tablet form factor preferably in a 3:2 screen ratio?

I don’t recommend using Windows on PCs with small displays. Right now, I think that 12-inches or so is about the smallest that makes sense … for Windows. Remember that the entire point of Windows on small displays was centered on an apps platform that never materialized in a meaningful way and that we’re returning the sanity of desktop applications. Which don’t work well on smaller displays at all.

I’m not being facetious here: Just get an iPad. They’re relatively inexpensive, have the best apps and media ecosystems, and the performance is excellent. Unlike with Surface Go.

Will they ever get it right?

hrlngrv asks:

What are the odds MSFT will accept the need to make Windows 19H1 the next safe Windows version? If you believe the odds are low, how many more upgrades with serious problems would need to occur before MSFT decided fixing problems should come before adding features?

Aside from some pointed opining in Microsoft Begins the “Re-release” of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, I’ve tried to steer clear of being overly-harsh about this debacle. But it’s become increasingly clear that the system Microsoft uses to test and then deploy Windows upgrades is seriously flawed. And that something needs to change.

During our discussion about this on this week’s Windows Weekly, we collectively arrived at the notion that Microsoft needs to formally halt the development of new features in Windows and basically re-do the Trustworthy Computing Initiative from Windows XP SP2 days. This would be a formal embrace of my “finish the job” ideas, and it would be very welcome.

Tied to this is the notion that Microsoft, like the TSA, is always fighting the last threat. So yeah, 19H1 will be free of the problems from 1809, I’m sure. But it’s the process that is broken. And there is a new problem every release.

Microsoft needs to focus on quality for sure. Will they? I’m pessimistic.

Google’s new

ericmeetsworld asks:

Any update on the new Google USB-C to 3.5mm adapter?

This is a reference to my post from a month ago where I noted that Google had quietly issued a new version of its USB-C headphone adapter that promised improvements over the original. Given my various issues with USB-C on my Pixel 2 XL, I ordered one.

What I haven’t done much is actually use it out in the world: I’m worried about screwing up yet another USB-C port on a Pixel 2 XL before I have to trade it in for its replacement Pixel 3. So I will keep using other devices for audio, for the most part, until that happens. (I actually did use the new Pixel USB-C earbuds this morning with the Pixel 2 XL on my walk, and they worked wonderfully.)

I have tested the new Google USB-C Digital to 3.5 mm headphone adapter (great name), however. It seems to minimize the “pop” that occurs when you manually switch between songs in Google Play Music, but I’m not sure about the touted playback time and latency improvements, sorry.

Office 365 Personal to Home

Sprtfan asks:

I bought a laptop that came with 1 year of Office 365 personal. I know you used to be able to activate it and then upgrade it to Office 365 Home. I think I read on the forums at some point that you can no longer do this and wanted to see if this is still an option.

That’s not exactly right. If you already have an Office 365 Home subscription and get an Office 365 Personal “key” as part of a new PC purchase, you could instead convert that to 9 more months of your existing Office 365 Home subscription. The issue is that you can only have one Office 365 subscription associated with your Microsoft account, so this was always a neat perk when you did get a new PC. (Microsoft would also let you convert your Home subscription to a Personal subscription during this process. For obvious reasons, no one should ever do that.)

In any event, yes, this still works, according to Microsoft. “If you want to stay with Office 365 Home, you can still use the free offer to extend your current subscription for an additional 9 months.”

Gmail vs. Outlook.com

simont asks:

Interface aside. Which email provider do you think is better. Outlook.com or Gmail/GApps

In using both side-by-side over the past few weeks, I think they’re at rough parity. “Better” is in the eyes of the beholder, I guess: I do happen to prefer the Outlook.com UI to that of Gmail, but I’ve always felt like the Gmail service is fast and reliable. I don’t think you could go wrong with either. (And there’s nothing particularly advantageous to leaving one service for the other.)

Outlook as a service

SherlockHolmes asks:

Do you have any idea of Outlook 2016 or 2019 will ever be able to do Toast notifications when closed? This would be a great new feature to Outlook.

I agree. For all its inadequacies, one of the best features of Mail in Windows 10 is that it works like a mobile app and can receive new mail without the app UI open, triggering notifications as they come in.

That said, I don’t know of any plans to add this to Outlook 2016/2019, which are more traditional desktop applications. I will ask.

Why?

harmjr asks:

Do you have any idea why Logitech has not released a USB C unifying receiver? And why aren’t Tech Bloggers/Reporters dinging them for it? Considering all the dings we throw and Microsoft for not updating Surface Pro with USB-C somewhat seems unfair.

“Why” questions are kind of tough: I’d imagine they would pull a Microsoft and claim that it’s because they don’t see the demand from users, etc. But … yeah. Obviously, they need to get on this.

Ray Ozzie

sabertooth920 asks:

Eight years after his departure from Microsoft, do you agree that Ray Ozzie looks a lot smarter now, than we gave him credit for, at the time?

For sure. I’ve always really admired Ray Ozzie, and will point you to this 2013 editorial I wrote on this topic.

While Ray Ozzie’s time at Microsoft is widely regarded with disinterest by those Windows watchers who even remember him, it’s clear now that the erstwhile Chief Software Architect was simply rowing against a tide of internal calcification. And if you look at Microsoft’s belated move into devices and services with any sense of perspective at all, one fact becomes clear: This is the path the Ray Ozzie first pleaded Microsoft to take almost a decade ago. And the company’s senior leadership simply ignored him.
…
In 2005, Ozzie saw the services revolution and in 2010 he saw the devices revolution. In 2012, almost two years after he left the company, Microsoft declared that it would focus on devices and services going forward. Amazing.
…
Ray Ozzie was right. And Microsoft’s senior leadership did not listen, certainly not at the time, and perhaps not until it was too late.

I feel like someone owes that guy a beer.

Surface Studio 2

sabertooth920 asks:

Any idea why premium Surface Studio sports generation 7 processors?

“Why” questions are kind of tough, as noted above. 🙂

But each of the new Surface revisions has been bumped to a newer-generation processor family. The Surface Pro and Laptop both went from 7th-gen to 8th-gen, and Surface Studio went from 6th-gen to 7th-gen.

I can only guess, but my feeling is that this was an “S year” for Surface hardware and that Microsoft wanted to make the shift as inexpensive and non-disruptive as possible. And that the next generation versions of each product will be significantly different/improved.

What I use

RawkFox asks:

I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a “What I Use” article from you regarding your typical daily workflow (but then again a quick search shows me your last one was December 2017, so maybe I just enjoy these articles way too much). Nonetheless, it seems like you’ve circulated through quite a few new gadgets since last year. Any plans to provide an update in the near future?

Yes, and sorry for the delays on this. I do the occasional What I Use post when I travel, but I’ve not done one for my normal day-to-day setup in a while. I will do so after the next trip. (I’m traveling Saturday through Thursday.)

Microsoft QA

Daekar asks:

I was reading Mary Jo’s article about the accidental deletion problems with the October Windows Update, and she mentioned in passing that Microsoft had let go their team of QA testers back in 2014. To somebody who works in the Quality side of manufacturing and sees all the benefits of a functioning quality management system, that seems bat-shit crazy. They surely don’t release software without testing it… so what do they do if they don’t have a QA team?

Mary Jo and I are on the same page when it comes to Microsoft’s need to improve software quality, and I wrote a bit on this topic earlier in this post. Many have pointed to this 2014 firing of Windows testers as the moment in time in which quality went downhill, but I’m not so sure these things are as related as you might think. I don’t believe Microsoft is so cynical to think than an un-tested (as of then) Insider program could do the work of paid employees.

As Mary Jo wrote back in 2014, “the changes around test were not completely sudden, I hear. A few months ago, Microsoft changed the job of the OSG test organization, renaming it ‘Quality,’ and refocusing the team from writing tests to ‘measuring quality.’ That meant the job of writing tests was already moved to the dev team, leaving many of those in the Quality team with less to do — and clearing the way for the tester cuts.”

That said, yes, quality is absolutely an issue. And the Insider Program and Microsoft’s telemetry-based feedback triaging system are not working.

Windows 10 feature updates

davidD asks:

Would it be possible, rather than 2 feature updates a year, for the “features” to be included in the relevant Patch Tuesday update when ready and for each update to be named yymm, ie October Patch Tuesday would be Windows version 1810 (like how Office updates work). Or is there a simple engineering reason my non-engineering mind cannot understand as to why this can’t happen? To me, this would make the Windows-as-a-service moniker more true and make it not so urgent if a feature does not meet a specific deadline.

It’s perhaps not surprising that so many of this week’s questions are basically about Windows 10 software quality. Windows as a Service does not work and the very notion of upgrading to a new Windows version every six months is ludicrous.

Mary Jo suggested on a previous Windows Weekly that Microsoft should move to an R2-type model where one update each year was a new version and the second was just fixes and fine-tuning. But I don’t see why we need so many upgrades. A single major upgrade every year is enough. It’s enough for macOS. For iOS. And for Android. Only Chrome OS is updated more quickly, and that is a much simpler platform than Windows. It’s time to stop this insanity.

Steven Sinofsky was only right about one thing when it came to Windows: Regarding new versions of the product, he said that “every three years seems about right.”

Hard stop on Microsoft

StevenLayton asks:

With Microsoft continuing to move into the areas of Technology that you have less interest in, do you have any red lines in terms of when you’d stop covering them, and focus solely on other companies?

I have absolutely considered my exit plan. 🙂 But I don’t think I’ll need to pull the trigger on this, as I don’t see Microsoft going in this direction anytime soon. And that is, to formally exit the consumer market and stop pretending that it can make a difference where it cannot.

Since coming to Thurrott.com, I’ve certainly written more about Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and other companies than I did in the past. But this is more about a desire to be relevant within a wider market for personal technology, and not because of my worries about Microsoft’s potential irrelevance.

Office 365

wright_is asks:

You said a couple of weeks ago, that you cancelled your Office 365 business account. Does that mean that Microsoft Office doesn’t feature at all in your business workflow? You said you still have your private Office 365 Home subscription, so I assume you still keep up some practice with Office, even if you can’t use it for business purposes. Do you use Google’s GSuite at BWW, or what do you use instead of Office 365.

For several years, I paid for both Office 365 Home ($100 per year) and Office 365 Business Premium ($150 per year). I did let my Office 365 Business Premium subscription run out this year, mostly because I never needed or used it. But I still use Office 365 on all of my PCs, via the Home subscription.

I guess the way to think about this is that I cover personal technology, and the business-only features in the commercial versions of Office 365 just aren’t interesting or relevant to me.

We do use G Suite at BWW Media. But I only use this for email (Gmail) and calendar (Google Calendar). I don’t use any of Google’s productivity services or whatever, or Drive. I do use Google Photos (and OneDrive) for photo backup/management.