Ramblings of an old Doc
Seriously, MS is getting weirder and weirder...
Published on December 13, 2018 By DrJBHL In Personal Computing

Image result for abbott and costello who's on first

It goes like this...

B Updates: They're the Patch Tuesday Updates. 

"The big updates most people are familiar with come out on “Patch Tuesday,” the second Tuesday of the month. These are called “B” updates because they’re released in the second week of the month. That explains why there are no “A” updates, as Microsoft doesn’t generally release updates in the first week of the month.

B updates are the most important updates, featuring new security fixes. They also contain previously released security fixes from prior B updates and previously released bug fixes from prior C and D updates.

They’re the main, most important type of Windows Update. They’re also predictable for system administrators, who know when to expect them."

C and D Updates: 

“C” and “D” updates are released in the third and fourth weeks of the month, respectively. These do not include any new security updates.

These updates just include new bug fixes and improvements for other non-security issues. Microsoft says C and D updates are “optional,” and Windows Update won’t automatically install them on your PC.

According to Microsoft, “D” updates typically include the majority of non-security updates. This gives people a few weeks to test them before those non-security fixes are released to everyone in the next B update. Microsoft sometimes releases “C” updates in the third week of the month for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and older versions of Windows 10, which gives people more time to test them."

 

What really matters is when and how you update!

Windows Update doesn’t automatically install C and D updates on most PCs. However, it does install C and D updates when you head to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click “Check for Updates.” In Microsoft’s world, this makes you a “seeker” who wants to test these updates before most Windows users get them. Microsoft disclosed this in a recent blog post.

So, if you click “Check for Updates” in the third, fourth, or first week of a month before the next B update has been released, you’ll probably get a C or D update installed on your system. If you never click “Check for Updates,” you’ll stick with the better-tested B updates.

 

All of the above is true. So help me. We've stepped through the mirror for sure, this time.

Sooo...now you know. B's on first, C and D are on third and fourth but only before B.

Sort of like "i" and "e" before "c"... but then, that's a different "c".

And with that I'll just say...

Related image

 

Oh yes...and if you have questions, refer to the article linked above.

 

Source:

https://www.howtogeek.com/398226/now-windows-10-has-c-b-and-d-updates.-what-is-microsoft-smoking/

 

 


Comments (Page 2)
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on Dec 15, 2018

starkers

Thinking about it, surely MS is breaking the law by not disclosing important information such as users getting pretty much untested updates, like it or not, if they perform a Windows Updates search. 

I'm sure the lawyers put appropriate disclaimers in their TOU, Mark.

on Dec 15, 2018

DrJBHL


Quoting starkers,

Thinking about it, surely MS is breaking the law by not disclosing important information such as users getting pretty much untested updates, like it or not, if they perform a Windows Updates search. 



I'm sure the lawyers put appropriate disclaimers in their TOU, Mark.

That's the problem, MS adds the appropriate disclaimers, then goes ahead and breaks the law anyway.  It's no different to me running somebody over and killing them while driving without a license... I  knew that I  was doing the wrong thing but did it anyway.  A disclaimer means nothing if the party of the first part deliberately does wrong after the fact.

on Dec 15, 2018

sure, the lack of upfront info is an issue.

thing is, inexperienced users won't get hit by this as inexperienced users generally don't touch check for update and let it all be done automatically (as ms intends). the only people screwed by this are those who know just enough to play blocking or modding stuff but not enough to know how to fix things.

and as i said, i don't think it says anywhere that this supersedes the insider program. i'm thinking this is a second layer of testing on top of insider.

not sure what law it's breaking. some sort of etiquette / social contract probably. law? unlikely.

on Dec 15, 2018

alaknebs

sure, the lack of upfront info is an issue.

Sure is!  Just like when MS downloaded and installed Win 10 over a previous OS without warning or consent.  Even when users blocked it via normal means, MS went ahead and installed it via Scheduled Maintenance in the middle of the night, like it did to me.  Sneaky, underhanded and downright dishonest.

alaknebs

thing is, inexperienced users won't get hit by this as inexperienced users generally don't touch check for update and let it all be done automatically (as ms intends). the only people screwed by this are those who know just enough to play blocking or modding stuff but not enough to know how to fix things.

No, inexperienced users do check for updates, my sister being one of them.  So yeah, they too get screwed by this bullshit.

alaknebs

and as i said, i don't think it says anywhere that this supersedes the insider program. i'm thinking this is a second layer of testing on top of insider.

Second layer or not, it is sneaky and underhanded.  Insiders sign up for early releases and they know the risks, but adding update searches to that program is completely wrong, especially when there is little to no warning users will get untried, untested software/patches installed on their machines.

alaknebs

not sure what law it's breaking. some sort of etiquette / social contract probably. law? unlikely.

Not too sure, either, but other companies HAD to disclose what was included in bundled software downloads so that users were aware of added extras to the software they actually wanted.  This is pretty much the same thing.  Users may go looking for drivers or something and get a load of stuff they neither wanted or asked for.  The same rules should apply to MS as those other companies.

 

 

on Dec 15, 2018

alaknebs

the only people screwed by this are those who know just enough to play blocking or modding stuff but not enough to know how to fix things.

"Checking for updates" is not blocking or modding stuff.  It also isn't volunteering to test updates which are less tested than what they're pushing down.  Anyone who wants to test can be on the insider ring.

on Dec 15, 2018

Am I the only one that feels that it's not just Microsoft, but the whole word that is slowly going insane?

The amount of blind stupidity and, most of all, arrogance in what Microsoft has been doing since Windows 8.x is - at least to me - simply mind blowing.

It's not that Microsoft wasn't always evil - everyone who ever got into bed with them ended up regretting it deeply later - but this is a whole new level of evil. I think even Stardock very nearly found this out with XP and UxTheme, although it was saved by Microsoft deciding to close the theme format at the last minute - but ONLY because badly made themes could crash the OS, not because they cared that such a thing would have essentially killed WindowBlinds.

on Dec 15, 2018

 Jorge, perhaps you need to go to Microsoft and teach them how to put in a little checkbox that says "Notify me of beta (test) versions"   

on Dec 15, 2018

DaveRI
Jorge, perhaps you need to go to Microsoft and teach them how to put in a little checkbox that says "Notify me of beta (test) versions"   

LOL. They would do that and then completely ignore whatever the user set it to and start shoving alphas down our throats.

Oh wait. They already do that.  

on Dec 16, 2018

JcRabbit

LOL. They would do that and then completely ignore whatever the user set it to and start shoving alphas down our throats.

Not sure, but it's a pretty safe bet that it would be "checked" by default, and probably buried in some other screen.

on Dec 16, 2018

DaveRI


Quoting alaknebs,

the only people screwed by this are those who know just enough to play blocking or modding stuff but not enough to know how to fix things.



"Checking for updates" is not blocking or modding stuff.  It also isn't volunteering to test updates which are less tested than what they're pushing down.  Anyone who wants to test can be on the insider ring.

Exactly, Dave, users NOT on the Insider Program should NOT have to deal with alpha or beta software simply because they checked for updates.  I certainly won't ever be checking again, I'm not willing to take the risk of something dubious from MS messing my machine up.

To put it bluntly, MS has become the epithomy of evil. Whatever trust and respect it may have had, well that's been lost as millions of users worldwide feel betrayed and let down by it.... Satya Nadella in particular.

JcRabbit

It's not that Microsoft wasn't always evil - everyone who ever got into bed with them ended up regretting it deeply later - but this is a whole new level of evil.

Not to mention the whole new level of contempt and arrogance it shows to users, customers and partners alike.  Nobody is exempt from it unless they use a Mac or Linux.

on Dec 16, 2018

JcRabbit

Am I the only one that feels that it's not just Microsoft, but the whole word that is slowly going insane?

Slowly? I'd settle for slowly. To me it looks like transwarp drive, my friend.

Warpnuts 10.

on Dec 16, 2018

DrJBHL

Warpnuts 10

 How appropriate.

on Dec 16, 2018

On another note is http://www.reactos.org/ any good for non-64 bit stuff.

on Dec 16, 2018

DrJBHL


Quoting JcRabbit,

Am I the only one that feels that it's not just Microsoft, but the whole word that is slowly going insane?



Slowly? I'd settle for slowly. To me it looks like transwarp drive, my friend.

Warpnuts 10.

Yup, the whole world is going to Hell in a hand basket at Warpnuts 10.1 

I say 10.1 because Micronut is likely to add a .1 when it builds a new OS but doesn't want to backtrack on Win 10 being the last.  I can see it now.  Like Windows 8, when it got a .1 added instead of being named Win 9 after it went through a major overhaul because users rejected 8 in droves.

If only users rejected Win 10 in the same numbers.....

ForesterGC

On another note is http://www.reactos.org/ any good for non-64 bit stuff.

I'm going to give ReactOS a try to see what it's like.  Good thing is that users can download a LiveCD version so it doesn't need to be installed on the computer.  There's also a bootable version for those who have a spare partition.

on Dec 17, 2018

starkers
Not to mention the whole new level of contempt and arrogance it shows to users, customers and partners alike.  Nobody is exempt from it unless they use a Mac or Linux.

Mac user's aren't much better than us - but at least they're used to it, it's what they signed up for. When I chose Windows I didn't sign up for any of this.

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