Observed Tech PODCAST

This week I am back in the home studio after spending a week in Redmond at the Microsoft campus for the annual MVP Summit. As always, it was a great week with lots of content, friends and learning. It was also a very busy week for Windows Insiders for build releases and progression in the final development stages for the next feature update for Windows 10. We get caught up on all of those details and then talk about plenty of other tech news from this past week. Be sure to listen from start to finish to catch everything!

This episode comes to you from Redmond and just a couple of miles from the Microsoft Campus as we get ready to start the annual MVP Summit. Unfortunately, the awesome summit experience begins on a sad note as we learn that one of our fellow MVP's was killed in the horrific attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand. I share about that and then jump into the weeks the week's tech news which covers our normal range of subjects.

We are still wiping the sleep out of our eyes after we lost an hour overnight thanks to Daylight Savings Time here across much of the United States. Among the news this week we learned that Windows 10 officially crossed the 800 million device threshold, we had another week full of Windows Insider builds for both Fast and Skip Ahead Rings, plus we saw some leaks around Microsoft Edge on Chromium. Of course, the show is littered with headlines around app updates, services, security, social media, Xbox, gaming and a promise for a new privacy focus from Facebook. I catch you up on my latest space news and talk about a scary podcast extortion scam that is happening to some podcasters.

It was another busy week for Windows Insiders as we had a total of five builds for Windows 10 (19H1 and 20H1) see their way to Windows Insiders test machines. The end is closing in quickly for the upcoming April 2019 Update and we will discuss all of those build related activities. I share a little about my quick trip to Cape Canaveral to see SpaceX's launch Crew Dragon, the first crew rated vehicle since Shuttle in 2011, plus I update you on the suspended Twitter account for counting down to Windows 7 end of life cycle support, the remaining days for Microsoft Band and associated services and finally last month's AdDuplex numbers for Windows 10. Of course, we also have HoloLens 2 news from MWC and all kinds of other items throughout the show.

This week was very busy for Windows Insiders as three different builds were released for testers. Two of the builds came from the Fast Ring for Windows 10 (19H1) and the other one was from the new Skip Ahead Ring for Windows 10 (20H1). We talk about those releases, what the name Santorini might be for Windows, the April 2019 Update for Xbox One, hosts of new games for Xbox Game Pass, and all kinds of other tidbits. Stay tuned in from start to finish so you catch everything!

After all the fun and commentary around Episode 300 last week, we get started with the next 300 shows this week and there is plenty to talk about. There are big changes happening in the Windows Insiders program as it relates to changes in Microsoft's approach to developing updates for Windows 10. I dive into the details and offer my observations on where things might be going over the next several months. Of course, we have plenty of other news throughout the show such as the Samsung OneNote UI and Android 9 Pie arriving on T-Mobile's Galaxy S9/S9+, Amazon acquiring eero who builds a very popular Wi-Fi wire mesh system, and Chrome OS might be getting virtual desktops soon. As always enjoy the show and thanks again for listening!

Milestone Reached! Technically it is 301 episodes but I explain why this is the one and true 300th episode in this episode. I decided to mark this 300th show by talking about how an episode of Observed Tech comes together. Ranging from the hardware and software I use each week, the process of selecting what headlines make their way into the show, and some background statistics on the show itself over the last 9 1/2 years including the increased methods and channels for distribution. There are still a solid run of headlines and tidbits after the show background so listen from start tio finish to catch everything! Thanks for 300 episodes!

It is Super Bowl Sunday here in the U.S. and I have a Super edition of Observed Tech for you because there was a lot of news this past week across a broad range of subjects. Windows Insiders received a new Fast Ring build for Windows 10 (19H1) and with the opening of the Skip Ahead ring testers got to opt into the prerelease branch to get the first development build of Windows 10 (19H2). I explain how things will work moving forward with a Fast and Skip Ahead Ring now receiving builds. Of course we also have information about financial results for the latest quarter from Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon and all continue to make progress in their own unique approaches. As always scattered throughout the show is news about apps, services, gaming, and security so stay tuned from start to finish to catch everything.

It was a great time to be a Windows Insider this past week as there were client, server, and development releases for testers. The Windows 10 (19H1) Build 18323 release also marked a significant milestone in the seventh feature updates development cycle and I break that all down for you to start the show off. We then talk about the future of the Windows Insiders Program, including what this upcoming feature update is likely to be called, updates for the retail release of Windows 10, and a rundown of some of the key improvements in the 19H1 update that is expected in April 2019. There are also all kinds of other tidbits scattered through the show so stay tuned in from the start to the finish of the episode so you catch everything.

A busy week begins with news about the end of support for Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 7 which is in December 2019 and January 2020 respectively. We had a new build in the Windows Insider program and it continues the trend over the last few builds of just tweaking the UI and putting some finishing touches on the next feature update for the OS. We have all kinds of other news related to Microsoft, apps, services, gaming, Office Insiders updates, and HoloLens 2. Be sure to stay tuned in from start to finish so you don't miss any of the tidbits we discuss this week.