Forum Discussion
Stable Release
"What confusion do you have about it?"
I assume that the "it" is the planned rollout process beginning January 15 and how that will work. If that is the case, the following are among** my questions with respect to consumer-side Windows 10*** rollout:
(1) Will the rollout process will take place in a single Windows Update that will be issued to all consumer-side Windows 10 users at one time (as is typical of a maintenance update), or will the rollout will be "phased" (as is typical of a "features" update), initially rolling out to a relatively small number and then adding others over time as bugs in the process are discovered and corrected?
(2) If "phased", how long is the rollout process expected to take? A week or two, a month or two, or longer?
(3) If "phased", what will be the criteria for determining which users are in the initial phase and which are in subsequent phases?
(4) If "phased", can users expect that all Windows 10 computers linked to a single MSA for syncing purposes will be updated contemporaneously (that is, simultaneously or within a short period of time, say 24 hours)?
(5) If "phased" and users cannot expect that all Windows 10 computers linked to a single MSA for syncing purposes will be updated contemporaneously, what workaround does Microsoft recommend to keep the two datasets (LegacyEdge-side server dataset and NewEdge-side server dataset) in sync during the period before all of the computers linked to a single MSA for syncing purposes are updated?
(6) Will the Windows 10 "temporarily pause updates" feature, if currently set by the user in "Settings, Update", apply to the NewEdge update or will the NewEdge update override "temporarily pause updates" and install without regard to the user-specified "pause"? [Note that "temporarily pause updates" is not the Microsoft "blocking tool", but distinct.]
(7) Will users be able to "rollback" the update if something goes wrong, as users can do with normal updates?
(8) What information/notice(s), if any, will be given to non-technical users**** before the update? Will users know that the update is about to occur, when the update is likely to occur, and what to expect during the update?
(9) What information, if any, will non-technical users**** be given during and after the update process (e.g. about the various formatting options from which the user must chose during the installation process, and the functional/UI differences between LegacyEdge and NewEdge)?
(10) Will the update initially be "optional" (as was the case in the 1909 rollout) or "mandatory"?
(11) If the update is initially "optional", does Microsoft plan to change that to "mandatory", and if so, when?
(12) Will manual update links be provided to Windows 10 users?
(13) Has Microsoft solved the "duplicate/triplicate" Favorites import problem at this point, or is the behavior described in "Deployment - Fonts, Favorites, Sync" (comment 6) "normal" and expected behavior (comment 7)?
(14) If Microsoft has not solved the "duplicate/triplicate" Favorites import problem at this point, what workaround does Microsoft recommend to to users in order to resolve the issue?
I'm hoping that some/most/all of these questions (as well as questions related to Windows 7/8, Android and Mac/iOS rollouts) will be answered in the "more information" documentation that Microsoft says that it will release on January 15.
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** Obviously, given the limited information Microsoft has distributed so far and the many possible deployment variables, this list is not intended to be either definitive or complete.
*** The questions are applicable to consumer-side Windows 10 users only. A separate set of questions (some duplicative) apply to Windows 7 and 8 users, as well as Android and Mac/iOS users. None of the questions are applicable to Enterprise or Education Windows 10 users, or to Windows 10 users getting updates through business-related update channels.
**** I'm thinking, in this instance, about my friend Gary M, who although intelligent and educated, doesn't follow the Windows trade press and is probably not aware that NewEdge is coming except in the vaguest terms, and almost certainly not aware that the rollout begins two days from now.