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Post by MartinT on Jan 11, 2024 18:10:48 GMT
Finally, I'm on W11 23H2. Weird Feature Update not available in Windows Update. I had been waiting but, on research, was advised to use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant.
That did the job, but it took some time and looked scarily like a fresh install!
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Post by MartinT on Jan 12, 2024 17:43:30 GMT
I've installed the Windows Subsystem for Android after enabling virtualisation in the UEFI.
Sadly, it's not nearly as good as I'd hoped for because the apps available from the Amazon Appstore are, frankly, crap. Just to test it, I have the BBC Sounds app working and that's pretty neat as a concept.
I have to hope the app offerings will improve otherwise it will remain a curiosity and serve no real purpose.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 1, 2024 11:11:38 GMT
Worth knowing if you're retiring soon. If your company is a Microsoft 365 customer, they will automatically have a Workplace Discount Programme running for staff. You can buy your Office 365 subscription (or other products) at 30% discount. According to their description, once signed up this will continue even after you have left the company. The trick is: you will need to sign up before you leave as using your work credentials is part of the process. I have just signed up for 365 Personal for £41.99 per annum (£3.50/mo) for 365 including 1TB of OneDrive space. www.microsoft.com/en-gb/workplace-discount-program?rtc=1&SilentAuth=1 |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 21, 2024 21:48:46 GMT
I've just nabbed a refurbished 13" Lenovo L380 ThinkPad with Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, running Windows 11 Pro. It cost me a total of £129 after a 20% discount and £30 of Nectar points.
I will also get 5x Nectar points back in another special. It's almost as if the planets aligned for me.
Need something good and portable since I'll be handing back my work Surface when I retire.
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Post by Tim on Mar 22, 2024 11:28:43 GMT
Built like tanks those older Lenovo ThinkPad's Martin - I'd say you got a real bargain there, it's less than an official Win 11 Pro licence!
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Post by MartinT on Mar 23, 2024 21:02:32 GMT
Is everyone who uses Windows 11 (and 10) aware of the automated app updater winget? It's the Windows equivalent of the Linux aptget command and updates almost all software installed on your machine.
Try it by running an elevated command (CMD) window. Run the following command to see a list of applications that need updating:
winget upgrade
You will have to agree to the T&Cs the first time you run it.
For fully automated updating of everything that needs it, run this:
winget upgrade --all
I do this once a month or more to keep everything on my machine up to date.
NOTE: this is not a replacement for Settings | Windows Update | Check for Updates that updates the OS and which you should also run monthly.
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Post by Tim on Mar 23, 2024 23:04:38 GMT
Does that update apps you've found and installed yourself Martin or is that just for Windows apps or stuff you've installed from the Windows store. Say for something like dBpoweramp or Eraser?
Just trying to think of apps I installed myself when I used Windows.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 23, 2024 23:15:59 GMT
It updates everything that the software vendors have submitted to Microsoft for the update process, which amounts to almost everything I use from Notepad++ to Adobe software to browsers to Malwarebytes to things that people forget about like security updates for Visual C++ runtime libraries and such. I don't know about dbpoweramp or eraser simply because I don't use them. Here you go: winget.run/ |
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Post by Tim on Mar 23, 2024 23:18:53 GMT
That's pretty neat, quite a task to reach out and update everything. Just for a giggle I thought I'd try running that in a Linux Terminal . . . wondered if it would have some kind of witty response . . . nope, a pretty dull one.  |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 26, 2024 7:31:12 GMT
I've just nabbed a refurbished 13" Lenovo L380 ThinkPad with Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, running Windows 11 Pro. It cost me a total of £129 after a 20% discount and £30 of Nectar points. I'm extremely pleased with this purchase. The L380 is virtually spotless and also has a fingerprint reader, nice for Windows Hello (my work Surface has facial recognition for Windows Hello, brilliant when our session timeout is 5 mins and I'm up and down from my desk all day long). Performance is very decent and I've researched memory options: it has a single SODIMM of 8GB DDR4-2400 so that's going in favour of 16GB of dual channel faster DDR4-3200 Crucial RAM on its way. I had W11 setup in no time and the OS, Office 365, OneDrive, Edge browser and favourite apps are all sync'd up and behaving themselves. This is, at the least, a good demo of how quickly an OS can be setup for seamless continuity. |
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Post by Tim on Apr 1, 2024 20:28:00 GMT
Interesting video and it does seem like Microsoft need to do something to slow that decline and I'm not sure it's Copilot. No idea if that'll work . . . my gut says it'll fail too, but we'll see?
Buying Github was a smart move though as was buying Minecraft, two massive resources there, especially Github.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 1, 2024 20:43:28 GMT
I suspect the measurement is slanted due to the slow take-up of W11 by corporates. I see no signs of a mass exodus towards Linux or, even less likely, MacOS. The October 2025 deadline for loss of support for W10 will focus minds and things may speed up considerably soon. Indeed, we have been doing little but W11 migrations this Easter break and will be doing so over the summer break and into next year.
No, I don't think CoPilot is the answer unless businesses start to see it as more than a gimmick.
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Post by Tim on Apr 1, 2024 20:53:36 GMT
Definitely won't be a big exodus to Linux, can't see that ever getting much above 5%, if that - people have the wrong impression of Linux and that will be very hard to shift for the average Joe . . . I think MacOS will continue nibbling away and W10 support expiring is going to be very interesting.
Can't really comment on W11 as I've never actually used it, other than installing it, having a poke around for a few hours and then wiping it!
What pissed me off the most about them is forcing people into having a Microsoft Account - I understand why they've' done it, but that was game over for me . . . oh, Microsoft Edge too.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 1, 2024 21:15:37 GMT
MacOS in a corporate network environment is absolutely horrible. We have two suites, for Music and Art, and they are a real pain when it comes to playing nice with network logins, printing, cloud storage and permissions in general.
As for Linux, look at Munich City's u-turn back to Windows as an example of how hard it is to move away from Windows in a corporate workplace.
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Post by Tim on Apr 1, 2024 21:20:50 GMT
. . . . an example of how hard it is to move away from Windows in a corporate workplace. Well, you have to want to switch from Windows for it to work and trying to teach a workforce how to ride a bike differently was never going to be easy. |
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Post by MartinT on Apr 2, 2024 4:36:19 GMT
Microsoft knows where the investment should go, and it's not in Windows which is just an enabler. Oh, and MS encouraging an MS account is no different from Apple. Try doing anything much with a Mac without an Apple account.  |
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Post by Tim on Apr 2, 2024 8:00:43 GMT
Martin your loyalty to that organisation is admirable, how long did it take to find that graph? But I'm not talking about that area of their business, I'm commenting on what they're doing for an average home user of Windows.
As for MS 'encouraging' you to have a MS Account . . . . hmm, have you tried installing W11 without one? I'm a bit surprised you've used Apple as a defence for Microsoft's current aggressive stance too, as that was normally why people chose Microsoft, because they weren't like Apple!
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Post by MartinT on Apr 2, 2024 8:51:33 GMT
It's not loyalty, I use and support Windows, Android, MacOS and iPadOS at work. We are a 365 school so I'm knee deep in Azure and know what it can do.
I know what I like and don't like through raw experience.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 2, 2024 8:57:21 GMT
What I'm saying - repeated again - is that Windows is an enabler for cloud services. Corporates are not shedding Windows but take-up of W11 is slow due to the hardware platform requirements. We have the same issue and will have to dump around 200 machines by 2026.
The graph in the YouTube doesn't properly account for that. The Azure growth graph, though, is real and it's common knowledge that Azure is the fastest growing cloud service. Amazon and Azure now dominate.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 5, 2024 8:59:27 GMT
it has a single SODIMM of 8GB DDR4-2400 so that's going in favour of 16GB of dual channel faster DDR4-3200 Crucial RAM on its way. Well, that was one of those strange orders on Amazon that went wrong (I think at Crucial's end) and they offered me a refund before I seriously wondered what had happened to it. Since I didn't want it to happen again, I've now ordered some Kingston Fury 2 x 8GB instead. I have Fury in my Minisforum desktop and know it's good and fast. |
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