As Windows 10 v1909 reaches end of life on May 11th 2021 the latest incarnation V21H1 is ready for launch. Customers still running v1909 will be seeing messages asking them to update or they will no longer be supported and this process needs to be carried out during the next month.
On the face of it this will be a very short blog as almost all of the major changes have been put back to the 2nd Half update v21H2. When people started to detect a pattern of a major update in the Spring and a minor update in the Autumn Microsoft said this wouldn't always be the case and this time they have proved it with one minor update immediately followed by another. If you like a fast update process then this is a bonus but if you wanted lots of new features then you will be left waiting until the Autumn. This update will be delivered in a similar way to the monthly security updates and will be applied at a similar speed rather than the lengthy process that often occurs when manually choosing a new Feature Update. However, this is only true if you are running Windows 10 v2004 or Windows 10 v20H2. If you are updating from an older version of Windows 10 like the outgoing v1909 then the update process will still be the lengthy experience that you are used to.
Now for the new features or lack of. The first update is likely to be the only one of any interest to most customers. Windows Hello (the sign in process) has been updated so that you can choose an external webcam as your default camera. Customers that have added an extra higher spec camera have been frustrated in that they have been forced to use the built in camera as the default when signing in. The frustration often stemming from the fact that the external camera has been positioned over the top of the built in one.
Windows Defender Application Guard has received a performance boost to speed up document opening times. This update really only applies to administrators who have configured applications to run in a virtualised container for security reasons. It therefore isn't going to be a major benefit to most home users.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Group Policy Service (GPSVC) has received a performance improvement to support Remote Work Scenarios. The fact that an update has been delivered to improve remote working is no surprise after a year of COVID-19 and working from home, but again this is only something that is likely to be of interest to administrators in a workplace environment rather than the average home user.
That really is it folks!! A smaller update means much a lower risk of bugs and in fact the main aim of the update is fixing bugs that were already there. If you are one of the many people running Windows 10 v1909 and are receiving the message that you need to update by May 11th 2021 but aren't sure what to do then why not give me a call to discuss your options. Just call Mark on 07557 483438, e-mail mark@churchdowncomputers.co.uk or fill out the form at the bottom of theContact page.
