Critical security updates have made system restarts unavoidable. Though many hardcore PC users abhor the act, ("What if it doesn't turn back on?!") it's become a necessity. But that doesn't mean it needs to be an annoyance.
Microsoft went back to the drawing board on how automatic restarts and updates will work in its next big OS, explained Steven Sinofsky, Windows Live president. Ironically, the company learned the hard way how annoying those unyielding messages are after fielding countless complaints.
"When it comes to Windows Update, one of the most discussed topics is the disruptiveness of restarts in the course of automatic updating. And for good reason - restarts can interrupt you right in the middle of something important," said Farzana Rahman, Windows Update group program manager.
To counter those criticisms, Microsoft focused on improving several aspects of the update and restart process. Windows 8 will minimize restarts, better explain important security issues and tweak how WU delivers restart notices, Rahman promised.
"Your PC will only restart when security updates are installed and require a restart," she said. "Since security updates are released in a single batch on the second Tuesday of every month, you are then getting essentially one restart a month."
Rather than the pesky box that counts down time until a forced restart, Windows 8 will alert users of a mandatory reboot three days in advance on the log-in screen. If you don't manually update by the end of those 72 hours, WU will do it for you.
"The use of the log-in screen has become ubiquitous even in home environments, as more and more machines become portable," said Rahman. "You will no longer see any pop-up notifications or dialogs about pending restarts."
Microsoft's goal, she explained, is to keep the technical aspects hidden and let users do work, watch videos or play games without interruption.
Touching on support for both free and paid applications in the Windows Store as well as third-party drivers, Rahman confirmed that an opt-in update feature should protect users from accidentally exposing their systems through constant manual updates.
"All of these updates are carefully screened, and must adhere to the Windows conventions for updates regarding rollback and recovery, and overall system impact," she said. (via Building Windows 8)
Let us know what you think of these changes in the comment section.
