4 ms·

Microsoft has gotten really bad about describing what it is doing and planning on doing with the Windows 10 generation. They've been called out on it before, b

by mey 10y ago

Microsoft has gotten really bad about describing what it is doing and planning on doing with the Windows 10 generation. They've been called out on it before, but I haven't seen much from them in a formal way over the last year. Individual teams in the company may do an excellent job, but overall the bar is low.

ersii 10y ago
Were they really any better prior to Windows 10 though? I remember trying to read the Windows 7 updates, but they were always seemed very... light on material.
- mey 10y ago
  There at least existed KB articles with patch details ahead of a patch being dropped. I've routinely tried to dig up a newly deployed Windows bundle at home on a machine not running the Insider Program and hit 404s pulling up the KB number.
  - ethbro 10y ago
    In a surprising development today, Microsoft was accused of moving too fast and bre^H^H^H failing to document things. HN commenters expressed nostalgia for the MS patch days of yore.
    - userbinator 10y ago
      "At least we had MSFT" was the sentiment before Win10. For many, they were one of the few remaining companies that weren't "moving too fast". It was a great time, when people could actually use more of their time on computers for doing other things besides chasing the update/upgrade treadmill.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      It still takes them a long time to make patches; there's plenty of time to write notes. Releasing on a different schedule does not make it harder to document. You're implying it's a tradeoff, and it's not. They just dropped the ball.
  - stryk 10y ago
    I've been getting a recommended driver update for the Broadcom Bluetooth driver used by a little ASUS USB Bluetooth dongle I use (very common BT chipset), yet I cannot find any information about any driver updates on ASUS' nor Broadcom's websites. And the "More information" link in the Windows Update dialog just points to a page that only says "Driver Information: Coming Soon <br> Thank you for using Windows Update. The More Information feature is not available yet. We apologize blah blah yadda yadda" (last sentence paraphrased). Why the hell would I install a driver for which I can find no information about? That's nuts. This isn't the first time I've ran into this situation with Windows Update and driver "update" recommendations, either.
    - voltagex_ 10y ago
      For the Bluetooth driver specifically, you may be able to to pull it down via the Windows Update Catalog and inspect it that way. It may just be an OEM version of Bluesoleil or similar.
    - Semaphor 10y ago
      I recently got an update for my Microsoft LifeCam Studio. There is zilch to find online about the update. No KB article, the LifeCam Studio website still hasn't heard anything about a windows version after 7, nothing. Yay.
ladzoppelin 10y ago
IMO, I think its a security problem. People run diffs on the updates and use the detailed bug fixes to uncover exploits faster than most can patch. It could also be MS ending the era of "admin approved updates". Google started it and now MS competes with Google and even Apple in the the School market so it makes sense in a way.
- shostack 10y ago
  It's clear they are boiling the frog prepping for Windows as a service. And on a SaaS model you have to take that control away to keep costs down. Obfuscating the full extent of the changes is just part of "making sure you have the latest and greatest"and why many apps for example have stopped including actual release notes in app stores. Scary release notes and the opportunity for users to say no are bad for business.

by mey 10y ago

ersii 10y ago

Were they really any better prior to Windows 10 though? I remember trying to read the Windows 7 updates, but they were always seemed very... light on material.

mey 10y ago
There at least existed KB articles with patch details ahead of a patch being dropped. I've routinely tried to dig up a newly deployed Windows bundle at home on a machine not running the Insider Program and hit 404s pulling up the KB number.
- ethbro 10y ago
  In a surprising development today, Microsoft was accused of moving too fast and bre^H^H^H failing to document things. HN commenters expressed nostalgia for the MS patch days of yore.
  - userbinator 10y ago
    "At least we had MSFT" was the sentiment before Win10. For many, they were one of the few remaining companies that weren't "moving too fast". It was a great time, when people could actually use more of their time on computers for doing other things besides chasing the update/upgrade treadmill.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    It still takes them a long time to make patches; there's plenty of time to write notes. Releasing on a different schedule does not make it harder to document. You're implying it's a tradeoff, and it's not. They just dropped the ball.
- stryk 10y ago
  I've been getting a recommended driver update for the Broadcom Bluetooth driver used by a little ASUS USB Bluetooth dongle I use (very common BT chipset), yet I cannot find any information about any driver updates on ASUS' nor Broadcom's websites. And the "More information" link in the Windows Update dialog just points to a page that only says "Driver Information: Coming Soon <br> Thank you for using Windows Update. The More Information feature is not available yet. We apologize blah blah yadda yadda" (last sentence paraphrased). Why the hell would I install a driver for which I can find no information about? That's nuts. This isn't the first time I've ran into this situation with Windows Update and driver "update" recommendations, either.
  - voltagex_ 10y ago
    For the Bluetooth driver specifically, you may be able to to pull it down via the Windows Update Catalog and inspect it that way. It may just be an OEM version of Bluesoleil or similar.
  - Semaphor 10y ago
    I recently got an update for my Microsoft LifeCam Studio. There is zilch to find online about the update. No KB article, the LifeCam Studio website still hasn't heard anything about a windows version after 7, nothing. Yay.

ladzoppelin 10y ago

IMO, I think its a security problem. People run diffs on the updates and use the detailed bug fixes to uncover exploits faster than most can patch. It could also be MS ending the era of "admin approved updates". Google started it and now MS competes with Google and even Apple in the the School market so it makes sense in a way.

shostack 10y ago
It's clear they are boiling the frog prepping for Windows as a service. And on a SaaS model you have to take that control away to keep costs down. Obfuscating the full extent of the changes is just part of "making sure you have the latest and greatest"and why many apps for example have stopped including actual release notes in app stores. Scary release notes and the opportunity for users to say no are bad for business.