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Win10 1903 Stuff

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Win10 1903 Stuff
I rarely re-post Windows changes and known issues. Microsoft posts this and we’re all most of us are literate adults. As such you don’t need me or anyone else regurgitating this for you.
Windows 10 release information: has “Known issues and notifications” and “Resolved issues” of every Win10 version.

Features removed or planned for replacement starting with Windows 10, version 1903

How to get the Windows 10 May 2019 Update
Get the Windows 10 May 2019 Update

What’s new in Windows 10, version 1903 IT Pro content

Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 update history

What’s new in recent Windows 10 updates

Windows lifecycle fact sheet – “The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it’s no longer supported.”

Windows 10 and reserved storage
“Starting with the next major update we’re making a few changes to how Windows 10 manages disk space. Through reserved storage, some disk space will be set aside to be used by updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches. Our goal is to improve the day-to-day function of your PC by ensuring critical OS functions always have access to disk space. Without reserved storage, if a user almost fills up her or his storage, several Windows and application scenarios become unreliable.”

Improving the Windows 10 update experience with control, quality and transparency

Patch Tuesday

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Windows 7-10 updated.
This may or may not be the last update before the May 2018 feature update.

Windows 7
May 14, 2019—KB4499175 (Security-only update)
May 14, 2019—KB4499164 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 8.1
May 14, 2019—KB4499165 (Security-only update)
May 14, 2019—KB4499151 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 10
1809 – May 14, 2019—KB4494441 (OS Build 17763.503)
1803 – May 14, 2019—KB4499167 (OS Build 17134.765)
1709 – May 14, 2019—KB4499179 (OS Build 16299.1146)

Other Software:

Audacity 2.3.2
Download | Release Notes | Home Page

CCleaner 5.57
A whole lotta ‘meh’. I’d skip it.
Download (I use portable) | Release Announcement
See also: Blocking A Programs Internet Access Via The Windows Firewall

Adobe Reader Updated
Download en-US | All Downloads | Security Bulletin | Release Notes

Win10 1903, Are You Ready?

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Windows 10 May 2019 Update
Win10 1903 brings several changes, most of which the average user won’t care about. Two changes of note are supposed increased performance and improved control of Windows Update. The best breakdown I’ve seen to date is:
Neowin – The Windows 10 May 2019 Update is coming – here’s what’s new

Release Date
– “Official” date unknown at this time. “End of May” often quoted. Expect it somewhere between tomorrow and hell freezing over.
– ISOs are floating around now

Blocking 1903
– Easy way: Use O&O ShutUp10
See also: Windows Update section of the Tweak Guide.
(1903 will bring major changes to this.)

Preparing for 1903
– Update all your apps and drivers.
– Backup everything. Make a system image. I use the free Macrium Reflect. This is also a good time to backup everything else.
See also: Windows 10 Backup And Recovery Options

My Recommendation
– Put off installing 1903 at least one month.
– Better safe than sorry. Microsoft will, at some point, state that 1903 is “safe for business”. The October 2018 Update was declared safe on March 28th, 2019.

Tweaking Windows 10
It will be at least a month after release before the Win10 Tweak Guide is updated.

Patch Tuesday

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Updates available for all supported versions of Windows.
Office updates available too. (how to check for Office updates)

Win10 1809 – February 12, 2019—KB4487044 (OS Build 17763.316)
Win10 1803 – February 12, 2019—KB4487017 (OS Build 17134.590)
Win10 1709 – February 12, 2019—KB4486996 (OS Build 16299.967)

Windows 8.1 – February 12, 2019—KB4487028 (Security-only update)

Windows 7 – Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 update history

Office 365 11231.20174 and other versions

Note from Microsoft:
February 11, 2019 12:45 PM PST
Windows Update customers were recently affected by a network infrastructure event caused by an external DNS service provider’s global outage. A software update to the external provider’s DNS servers resulted in the distribution of corrupted DNS records that affected connectivity to the Windows Update service. The DNS records were restored by January 30, 2019 (00:10 UTC), but downstream effects continued. We believe the issue to be fully mitigated because the majority of local Internet Service Providers (ISP) have refreshed their DNS servers and customer services have been restored. If you are still encountering download failures, please contact your local ISP.
While this was not an issue with Microsoft’s services, we take any service disruption for our customers seriously. We will work with partners to better understand this so we can provide higher quality service in the future even across diverse global network providers.

Wednesday Morning Random Stuff…

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Win10 1809 Updated
19 “addresses an issue” and 1 driver, for a tape drive. I swear I didn’t know tape drives were still use in but I reckon they are.
January 22, 2019—KB4476976 (OS Build 17763.292)

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus (250GB, 1TB) NVMe SSD Review: 96-Layer 3D NAND
With Samsung launching the 970 EVO Plus at the same prices as the 970 EVO, they’re taking one of the fastest TLC drives and making it a slightly better deal…For most purposes, the 970 EVO Plus can now be regarded as Samsung’s flagship consumer SSD, and it deserves that title.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/970evoplus/
Not showing up at Amazon, Microcenter, Frys, or Best Buy (as of this writing).

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Google Maps will now display speed limits for its Android and iOS apps
displays the posted speed limit on roads in the corner of the app, and also introduces an icon to denote the location of speed cameras
Thats good news. For the past few years I’ve bounced back and forth between Google Maps and Waze. Waze is great for getting you out of a fix and for letting your know where “emergency vehicles” are. However it’s directions have gotten weirder over time.

Tim Cook pretends to care about privacy in Time op-ed
If Tim Cook and Apple really cared about privacy, they wouldn’t have thrown 1.2 billion Chinese under the bus by handing over iCloud data to the Chinese government, and by sheepishly refusing to even mention “China” when it comes to Apple’s thin veneer of “privacy first”.
Apple’s complete cooperation with the Chinese government makes it very clear that Apple is all too eager to roll over and disregard its privacy chest-thumping the second their own bottom line is at risk. And lest we forget – China is a totalitarian, repressive regime that doesn’t shy away from torture and concentration camps.

Geolocation Data Could Get Privacy Protection Under New ADD Act
The bill uses as its framework the Privacy Act of 1974, which governs how federal agencies handle and protect records about individuals. Under the 1974 Act the government cannot (with some exceptions) share data about someone without their prior permission and must allow a person to see, get a copy of and correct records about themselves. The government can be sued for violating the Act.

Gap between rich and poor growing, fuelling global anger
A new billionaire was created every two days last year, just as the poorest half of the world’s population saw their wealth decline by 11 percent
World’s 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%
The growing concentration of the world’s wealth has been highlighted by a report showing that the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population.
Make No Mistake, Davos, the Fat Cat Backlash Is Coming
There has always been a whiff of hypocrisy at Davos, where elites expand their carbon footprint, eat $43 hot dogs and throw lavish parties in the name of making the world a better place. “Fat cats in the snow,” the regular attendee Bono once called it (and he should know). But given the rapid advances of populist politics, it’s remarkable that in 2019, those felines are looking better-fed than ever. The past decade and a half has seen U.S. corporate profits outgrow employee compensation at an unprecedented pace, according to the St. Louis Fed. A Bloomberg News analysis of the fortunes of a dozen Davos attendees found that they soared by a combined $175 billion since 2009.

***Aspirin lowers heart attack risk but raises risk of dangerous bleeding
Big warnings floating around this week over this news. Be sure to actually read what the article/study says and talk to your doctor before buying into these hyped up articles. Doctors have long recommended low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Bayer, Walgreens, CVS, Equate, Kirkland, St. Joseph and a host of other brands of  low dose aspirin are 81mg. The study claims increased risk but they measured doses as large as high as 500mg.
Doctors today typically don’t prescribe doses higher than 100 mg.
Still, the results reinforce the need for doctors and patients to have a thoughtful discussion of the benefits and harms of aspirin for primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, Dr. Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston writes in an accompanying editorial.
The study page (account needed for full access, sorry fellow peons):
Association of Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention With Cardiovascular Events and Bleeding Events

Saints Fans Are Suing The NFL Over A Blown Call And It’s The Legal Equivalent Of A Hail Mary
&
Second Saints fan lawsuit names NFL, individual refs over pivotal ‘no-call’ in NFC title game
There was one BS call after another this season. There were missed calls everywhere too. The NFL has become a farce. But, these lawsuits will fail.