Ashton Technology Solutions Blog To Patch, or Not to Patch...

... that is the QuestionMicrosoft is making a game changer! Well, not for most people. Actually no one but us tech nerds really care about this. In the past, Microsoft's "Patch Tuesdays". (on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, and sometimes the 4th, in the event of a security exploit that needs immediate attention), released the latest updates, patches and fixes. From the start of time, or at least the start of the integrated internet updates, Microsoft made each update it's on "KB" (Knowledge Base) and gave it a unique number. Let's say that Microsoft released eight KB's for your version of Windows last month and one of those broke something. You could un-install just that one KB and life was good again.From this point forward, Microsoft will take the Patch Tuesdays patches and roll them into one large update. If the update breaks something, then the only choice will be to un-install the "one large" update. This means that the seven other helpful updates will now be removed also, just to roll back the one part of the update that broke something.I understand where Microsoft is coming from; for them it has to be much easier to manage one update, rather than eight individual updates.This change to the way Microsoft is now patching is one of the things I have noticed, as they attempt to be more progressive. In my view, Microsoft has in the past shown more concern for the ability for users to be able to run legacy software and hardware. In fact, there are still some functions in Windows 10 that go all the way back to Windows 98. However, I have also been noticing some slight changes in my perception of the Microsoft business model. For years it seems as if Microsoft would build in and allow for legacy software and hardware. And when I say 'legacy', I mean legacy as in crap from 10 years ago that should have been put out to the pasture eight years ago.With the newest flavor of Windows, Windows 10, Microsoft seems to take on more of a mindset of "We are moving forward with newer and better technology. If you want to come along for the ride, that's great, but you need to keep up with the ever changing brave new world. Just make sure you plan for it." We are going to find that hardware will become outdated much faster, if this methodology continues on.No one does this better than Apple- it seems as if they plan on when and how the old products (both hardware and software) are to become obsolete. You want the new features? Great, then you have to get new hardware to go along with that, which keeps them moving forward. This also allows for the old legacy hardware and software to stay in the past, where they belong. They're not saying you have to give up on new technology, but you do have to leave the old tech where it is. What are your thoughts on this? Is Microsoft going about this the right way, or are they just making things more difficult for all involved? Give me a call if you'd like to discuss.