Scampering through spring fields, or a cautious dribble seeping under the bathroom door?
After a lengthy gestation in the Insider Program, the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (aka 2004, aka 20H1) has arrived, replete with a Linux kernel in the form of the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL).
Squeaking in at the end of May, 2004 is one of Microsoft’s « big » Windows updates, following the jumped-up patch that was delivered in the form of 1909 last year. While it lacks the keynote-pleasing fluffware of yesteryear (such as Timeline and its ilk), the custom Linux kernel of WSL (a considerable improvement over the original WSL translation layer) will raise a developer eyebrow or two.
Linux loving aside, the release also brings a swathe of features aimed at making the venerable OS work just a little bit better. Bluetooth pairing is marginally less painful now and those with the necessary hardware can opt to go passwordless. Those who have discovered the Virtual Desktop feature can give them names more helpful than « Desktop 1 » and « Desktop 2 », while changes to memory management means that enabled Win32 apps (such as Edge) should burn through less.
The update also sees the final wrenching of Microsoft’s unloved assistant, Cortana, from the OS, with the poor thing sheared of much of its original functionality and reduced to the status of a chatbot. Everyone is being terribly brave about it, but the move from being an Alexa or Google Assistant rival to something that is very much a tentacle of Microsoft 365 appears complete.
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USA — software Linux-loving Windows 10 May 2020 Update squeaks in with days to spare...