Microsoft puts ‘Patch Tuesday’ out to pasture, promises quicker security updates

At this rate, we may not even recognize Windows in the next few years.

Among the many announcements which are heralding fundamental changes in the way Windows 10 will operate compared to its predecessors, perhaps none are as important as Microsoft’s announcement that the company will finally be doing away with the controversial “Patch Tuesday” update schedule.

Marked on the calendars of every security analyst and hacker alike for nearly all the years it’s been part of industry practice, Patch Tuesday was held on the second Tuesday of each month. It was the day Microsoft would roll out a flurry of patches for all of its flagship products including the Windows OS, Internet Explorer, and its enterprise applications.

Related: New file encryption method sparks interest at Microsoft Ignite

Now, according to a presentation from the company’s own Terry Myerson, the release of Windows 10 will usher in a much more consistent update schedule, one which adapts to threats as they happen in the moment, rather than waiting 30 days every time an issue needs to be addressed.

The update schedule won’t just apply to desktops, either, covering tablets and phones installed with the upcoming OS just as equally as their larger, heavier cousins.

Because Ignite is all about enterprise customers, Myers also previewed a new feature for the business set that the company calls “Advanced Threat Analytics,” or ATA. This program will give IT administrators tighter, more streamlined control over their servers, as well as an increased capacity for threat detection that “monitors malware in realtime.”

Related: Microsoft opens up the Office 2016 preview for everyone, shows off new collaboration and search features

The system works by taking constant snapshots of how your servers function while healthy, and then pitting those images against any irregularities in applications or functions that might pop up during an attack.

Myers believes ATA could take much of the guesswork in diagnosing bugs out of a company’s hands, and instead give Microsoft both greater control over mitigating an infection, as well as a better understanding of how to avoid similar problems from happening again down the road.

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Microsoft launches the Surface 3 at $499, debuts trade-in program for older models

Microsoft’s latest version of the Surface tablet, the Surface 3, is now officially for sale in multiple countries, including the U.S. The company made the announcement on its blog on May 5, specifying that the Surface 3 will initially debut in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. On May 7, its availability will expand to countries including Spain, Finland, France, Denmark and the U.K.

The Surface 3 was originally announced back in March 2015 on the Surface blog. At the time, the company said that it wanted consumers to be able to replace even the most high-end laptops with the product. Microsoft also revealed the starting price point of $499.

Related: Microsoft offering 2,000 Bing Rewards points on Surface 3 preorders

At just 1.37 pounds and 8.7mm thick, the Surface 3 is Microsoft’s thinnest, most lightweight tablet to date. It runs 64-bit Windows 8.1 and has an Intel Atom x7-Z8700 Cherry Trail processor. The Surface 3 also includes a full-sized USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Mini DisplayPort and a microSD card reader. An optional Docking Station adds even more ports, though it costs $200.

In terms of functionality, Microsoft is marketing the Surface 3 for both work and play. It includes front- and rear-facing cameras that can capture 1080p video, and a battery that lasts up to 10 hours. The basic edition of the Surface has 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but you can pay $100 more for an edition with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Related: Watch out, Chromebooks: Microsoft’s Surface 3 takes aim at the education market

The Surface has a 10.8-inch, 1,920 x 1,280 pixel touch screen display, while the Pro has a 12-inch display with a 2,160 x 1,440 resolution. Both editions have 256 levels of pressure sensitivity for accuracy and detail while using the Surface Pen.

When it comes to freebies, the Surface 3 provides a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, as well as 1TB of OneDrive storage.

Related: Madman cuts open Surface 3 Pro to install new 1TB solid state drive

“Surface 3 is a labor of love for us, built from years of learning in the lab and on the feedback and insights we’ve heard from our customers,” wrote Brian Hall, general manager of the Microsoft Surface team, in the blog post.

The Surface 3 will not only be available on the Microsoft website, but also from retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. Buyers who go through Microsoft’s trade-in program can earn credit for up to $150 off the new model by trading in an old Surface 2 or Surface RT. Old Surface Pro models aren’t part of the program. The trade-in offer runs until May 31st, and the coupon earned from will be valid until June 2015.

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Lumia fans, get ready: Microsoft reportedly plans to unveil two flagship phones this year

It’s been a while since Microsoft last released a flagship Lumia phone, but the wait may have finally ended. According to twin reports from the Verge and Unleash the Phones, the company is set to unveil two high-end devices, codenamed Cityman and Talkman, to showcase the headlining features of Windows Phone 10.

Unleash the Phones disclosed the internals of each handset, and they’re competitive. Cityman packs an unspecified Qualcomm octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a MicroSD card slot. Talkman drops the processor core count down to six, but retains the 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with MicroSD card slot.

Related: Best Windows Phones

The displays are close in terms of resolution (Quad HD 2,560 x 1,440 pixels) but apart in size: Cityman’s measures 5.7 inches, while Talkman’s is the smaller of the two at 5.2 inches. They both sport 20-megapixel rear-facing cameras, 5-megapixel front-facing cameras, and batteries of nearly identical capacity — 3,300mAh in Cityman and 3,000mAh in Talkman.

That may all sound rather mundane, but Microsoft’s got a few tricks up its sleeve. Cityman and Talkman are equipped with “triple-LED” flash for more “natural colors,” for one, and will also come with proprietary components that enable Windows 10’s Continuum for phones. The feature — which Microsoft recently demoed at its annual BUILD conference in Redmond, Washington — transforms the mobile interface into a full integrated Windows desktop. You can use the Edge browser and Office apps with an attached keyboard and mouse, but also receive SMS and place calls.

Related: Windows 10 can almost run Android and iPhone apps

The delay of Windows 10 for phones reportedly won’t impact the release date of the Cityman and Walkman. Microsoft is shooting to ship “later this year,” but specifics beyond that vague estimate aren’t forthcoming.

Windows Phone’s app ecosystem is still weaker than the competition’s, but Microsoft’s made strides in courting developers. It introduced tools at BUILD to easily port apps written for iOS and Android to Windows Phone, and added support for carrier billing, in-app purchases, and corporate environments to the Windows Store. Whether these efforts will increase the number of apps in the store and the number of Windows Phone users remains to be seen.

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