Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18894 with File Explorer and Accessibility improvements
Windows 10 19H1 -- aka the May 2019 Update -- is currently undergoing testing in the Release Preview ring, with the aim being to start rolling it out to all by the end of the month.
In the meantime, the software giant is working on builds from the 20H1 branch, the feature update set to be released a whole year from now.
PowerToys are back! Microsoft reboots the utilities as an open source project for Windows 10
Microsoft is bringing back PowerToys for Windows 10 -- and this time it is open source. If the name doesn't mean anything to you, you probably weren't a Windows 95 user, but if this was your computing era, you'll remember tinkering with the likes of TweakUI, Send to X, QuickRes and numerous other delightful utilities.
Now the collection of utilities is back, rebooted for Windows 10 and due to be released as an open source project. At the moment, there are two tools being worked on -- Maximize to new desktop widget, and the Windows key shortcut guide -- but ten more are under consideration and due for release this summer.
Windows Terminal is a new Linux-inspired command line app for Windows 10
Microsoft’s developer conference Build 2019 is underway, and one of the things that the software giant announced today is a new app for command-line users.
The Windows Terminal is an update of the existing Command Prompt/PowerShell apps and is expected to arrive in the middle of June.
Watch Microsoft's Build 2019 keynote here
Today is a big day for Microsoft as Build 2019 kicks off with a keynote from CEO Satya Nadella.
There likely won’t be too much to excite consumers, as the event is aimed squarely at developers, but as usual there will be some interesting news coming out of the event in Seattle, including more information about the next version of Microsoft Edge.
Is it game over for the Microsoft Store? (And if not, why not?)
Microsoft’s app store came into being at the same time as Windows 8. It was, as I said at the time, part of an attempt to copy Apple's successful model. I think most people expected the Store to be a bit rubbish, but it turned out to be even worse than that. Seven years on and it’s wasteland full of knock offs and junk apps. It hasn’t fallen on hard times, it’s always been that bad.
Part of the problem is there’s no longer a need for the Store, or the apps that it offers. If you want a piece of software to run on your PC, or your Windows tablet, you can download it from a wide range of sources, and the versions you’ll find elsewhere -- programs, legacy apps, whatever you want to call them -- tend to be superior to the crippled and/or packaged apps Microsoft is offering. So what’s the point of the Store?
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-thirty-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.
The next feature update for Windows 10, the May 2019 Update, is less than a month away. While that is the case, the last Windows 10 feature update, Windows 10 version 1809, is not performing particularly well in regards to adoption rates.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18890 to the Fast ring
Windows 10 19H1 -- the May 2019 Update -- is currently undergoing additional testing in the Release Preview ring to try and solve a number of upgrade blocks, including one which prevents the update from installing if you have a USB drive or SD card plugged in.
Microsoft is still working on future releases though, and today pushes out Build 18890 to Insiders on the Fast ring (and those who had previously opted to Skip Ahead).
Windows 7 users not rushing to upgrade to Windows 10
It took a very long time for Windows 10 to finally overtake Windows 7, but the new OS finally achieved that feat four months ago, according to figures from NetMarketShare.
In March, Windows 10 made large share gains, while Windows 7 declined significantly, and that is a picture one would have expected to see continue in April, especially now that Microsoft has started alerting Windows 7 users to the impending end of life of their chosen OS. However, that has proven not to be the case. Despite the warning, it seems Windows 7 users aren’t in a rush to upgrade anytime soon.
These are the current upgrade blocks for the Windows 10 May 2019 Update
After the disaster that was the buggy October 2018 Update, which most Windows 10 users have avoided like the plague, Microsoft has taken the wise step of introducing additional testing.
The next big feature update is expected to roll out to all by the end of May, but for the moment it’s undergoing extended analysis in the Release Preview ring.
Windows 10 users still avoiding the October 2018 Update like the plague
The Windows 10 May 2019 Update is currently undergoing testing in the Release Preview ring to ensure it should be relatively bug free when it finally rolls out to all (in theory at least).
Microsoft has already identified an issue that prevents the OS update from installing on systems with a USB flash drive or SD card connected.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-thirty-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.
Lots of news this week: Microsoft Paint lives on, at least for now, Sets may be dead, and admins who upgrade devices to the May 2019 Update should make sure they unplug external USB drives or SD cards before doing so.
Windows 10 May 2019 Update needs more space than ever before
With the release of the May 2019 Update, Windows 10 is becoming more space-hungry than ever. For both the 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 10 version 1903, Microsoft has increased the minimum storage requirements to 32GB.
For 32-bit users the new requirement is double what it used to be, while for 64-bit users there is a 12GB increase from the previous minimum of 20GB.
Microsoft drops password expiration policies from Windows 10 1903 security baseline
In new draft security baseline documentation, Microsoft has scrapped the policy that requires users to change their passwords on a regular basis.
The new security settings apply to Windows 10 version 1903 and Windows Server version 1903, and the change sees Microsoft conceding that its policy of forcing periodic password changes is "an ancient and obsolete mitigation of very low value". The company has a series of suggestions for how to better improve password security.
Microsoft will block the Windows 10 May 2019 Update if you have a USB drive or SD card connected
If you have external storage attached to your computer, you may well find that you're unable to install the Windows 10 May 2019 Update when it is released next month.
Out of an apparent abundance of precaution, Microsoft is opting to block the installation of the update if a computer has an external USB drive or SD card plugged in. The block is being introduced because of fears that drive letters might be inappropriately reassigned during the installation.
Microsoft decides to keep Paint in Windows 10... for now
For all of its simplicity and limitations, there are still a lot of people who -- for some reason best known to themselves -- love Microsoft Paint.
As such, when it was announced a while back that Microsoft intended to strip the utility from Windows 10 and replace it with Paint 3D -- an altogether different beast -- there was a collective wailing and gnashing of teeth. But now it seems that Paint has been given a stay of execution.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.