Ask Paul: April 17 (Premium)

Happy Friday! And yes, while the days all do blend together, it is Friday. Here’s the latest installment of Ask Paul to start the weekend...
Windows 10 version 2004
simont asks:

What do you think the chances are that Microsoft could release 2004 as an optional update (for seekers only) for now and then push it out to all machines at a later date?

Based on last night’s announcement, it appears that Microsoft is instead going to release it normally, albeit later than expected and in an even more measured way than they had done in the past. Windows 10 version 1903 was most notable for its steady, slow deployment to the public, but with this new version, Microsoft is applying that methodology to the Windows Insider program too. Not only did it arrive late to both the Slow ring and the Release Preview ring, but they are taking the unprecedented step of pushing it out to only a subset of Release Preview testers too.

I’m not entirely sure what all the caution is about, given the success it had last year. But Microsoft knows how few people are actually active in the Insider program, and how little feedback they explicitly provide. And I suspect that is the root cause for this.

I wonder if your question is related to this note in the Microsoft post:

Please note that the May 2020 Update will only get pushed automatically to a subset of Windows Insiders in the Release Preview ring at first. Everyone else can manually go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and manually check for updates and choose to install the May 2020 Update.

That is, that they might take a similar approach with the public release? Honestly, it’s probably the reverse: As annoying as this is to Insiders, this system mimics how things already work in the real world where a subset of users gets the release at first, and they must manually choose to install feature updates anyway.

Anyway, that’s my guess. We’ll see what happens.
Binge-watching in the apocalypse
Simard57 asks:

What are you binge watching while being stay-at-home?

We watched the latest seasons of Narcos and Ozark recently on Netflix, and both of those are excellent. When we finished those, we signed up for Showtime Now to watch the last seasons of both The Affair (which is honestly pretty bad) and Homeland. They have a 30 day trial, so we probably will just cancel and never pay. We’re kind of going back and forth between those right now, but when we’re done, we will likely move on to HBO whatever to watch the current season of Westworld.

Between this, we’re watching more movies than usual, maybe 2-3 a week, and my daughter joins us for that. We’ve watched some that we’ve seen in the past and liked that we think she’d like as well, like A Fish Called Wanda, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Amelie, and The Thomas Crown Affair (the more recent version), plus Doctor Sleep, because our daughter liked The Shining.
Surface Laptop 3 screen cracking
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