I've been refraining lately from quickly updating my laptop due to some incompatibilities I've run into but with that said, I decided to update my Razer from 1904 to the October update 20h2 I actually had some Nvidia device driver issues with that came along with 2004, and I had to roll back to my default factory image, and then go forward to 1904.
With 20H2, things seem to be running better and there's small tweaks like the start menu being enhanced visually
What's new in Windows 10 version 20H2
This update appears to be mostly bug fixes and some under the hood changes, though what has changed is the system control panel Its now part of the UWP settings app and not a win32 app. Perhaps its part of the long and slow march to finally get rid of the control panel
Overall it seems to be a solid update but right now its a bit early to tell. I'll need to use it a bit more before offering my thumbs up or not.
I have it on one of my PCs. I think it's stable enough for me to start replacing it on my others as my default Windows 10 version. I just haven't gotten around to it.
It's an OK update. I'm just curious what their big problem is with the Control Panel switch. When something is switched it doesn't duplicate all functions. With the more advanced functions still opening a traditional Control Panel window.
The transition is designed to not disturb older apps that still need Control Panel functionality. Microsoft has a WAY larger user-base and way larger app ecosystem than macOS will likely ever have at this point. So, it's gotta be done slowly and in phases.
That said, do a search for what you need in either one's search function and if it's in the other app, you're automatically redirected. It's initially confusing but, in practice, it's not all that bad.
I understand the importance of backwards compatibility, but as an occasional user of Windows, I find this so confusing. Settings and Control Panel; Edge and Internet Explorer; Windows Media Player, Groove Music, Movies & TV; and until recently, Windows OneNote and Office OneNote.
The two versions of OneNote, I'll totally grant you as being needless and needlessly confusing (especially since the Windows 10 supplied OneNote still doesn't hold a candle to the features provided by the Office supplied version of OneNote). But Edge and Internet Explorer is done for legacy websites (and, honestly, is only really necessary in business settings; Microsoft could've totally removed it from Windows 10 Home and made it exclusive to Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise and no one would have issues with it) as there are still plenty of them out there that HAVE to run in Internet Exploder. Many programs still have hooks in Windows Media Player and leverage it for embedded media functions in ways that won't be done with either Groove Music or the Movies & TV app (which honestly is Apples and Oranges compared to Windows Media Player).
These things are not immediately obvious, but there are reasons for them existing that way that DO make sense at the end of the day, despite entailing initial confusion.
For sure, this is useful for power users. But it would be a lot easier if all these legacy options would be optional downloads, so the average consumer wouldn't have to bother with it.
Again, I'll agree with you as far as Internet Exploder is concerned. Also, that the Windows 10 OneNote needs to start adopting features from its Office counterpart in order to justify itself. But everything else makes perfect sense, even for standard users. Would you rather not have Windows Media Player and then have to install it on demand when you have to run a training app that leverages it? Or just have it there so you don't have to even think about it?
(I'm not going to start even about 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.)
So, as far as Windows 10 is concerned, most consumer grade systems only have driver support for the 64-bit version of Windows 10. Same goes for hardware components for desktop PCs that one would build themselves.
Unless you're going with a business class system (think something like a Dell Latitude/OptiPlex/Precision, an HP Elite/Z system, or any Lenovo Think branded systems), you shouldn't even be running 32-bit Windows 10 because drivers for at least most of your hardware components won't exist. Those business class systems are an exception, but only because the average consumer really doesn't need 32-bit Windows 10 for anything. That's how 32-bit x86 Windows is slowly being phased out in favor of 64-bit x86/x64/x86-64/AMD64/whateveryouwanttocallit Windows.
Admittedly, in the Windows 8.1 and earlier days, this was much sillier. But now, this is becoming a non-issue. I would imagine that at the one of the next few LTSC release intervals, Microsoft will probably declare that corresponding version of 32-bit x86 Windows to be the last one and give it a long period of extended support while otherwise continuing on with development of the 64-bit versions.
Windows Server has been exclusively 64-bit since Windows Server 2008 R2 (the contemporary Server release to Windows 7) if not earlier.
No question, its long over due and should have been done even before windows 10 was rolled out. I give apple a lot of credit for UI/UX consistancy.
Windows is a much larger OS with many more user-facing UI elements as a result. That makes it much easier for Apple to wholesale update the UI of their OSes (though they have been known to leave a few things behind from time to time).
That said, nixing the Control Panel entirely in favor of the Settings app really can't be done overnight as the number of apps that it would break that are mission critical for businesses would be way larger than that of any change that Apple has ever made for macOS, including the current Apple Silicon transition (as well as the immediately preceding push to deprecate 32-bit Intel app support).
It HAS to be done in phases. But it's definitely happening more and more. The removal of the "System" page in Control Panel is a (I'd argue mostly symbolic) change towards that. We're going to slowly see more and more of that happen over time. But, in the meantime, the idea is that if you need a function that's in one app, but not the other, redirection between the two is still pretty seamless, even if it is confusing initially.
