This Windows 10 version is officially dead – and Microsoft is now forcing upgrades

Windows 10 version 21H2 is no longer officially supported by Microsoft, so those still running that incarnation of the operating system need to act now.

As of yesterday, the last security update was released for Windows 10 21H2, namely the June cumulative update.

That’s the final bunch of fixes for vulnerabilities that’ll be provided to users still on 21H2, hence the need to upgrade in the next few weeks, before July’s round of patching happens (and you miss out if still on 21H2).

In a release health update, Microsoft informed us: “On June 13, 2023, Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations editions of Windows 10, version 21H2 will reach end of servicing. The upcoming June 2023 security update, to be released on June 13, 2023, will be the last update available for this version.”

At this point, PCs still running Windows 10 21H2 will have a forced update initiated before too long.

Microsoft explained: “Windows Update will automatically initiate a feature update for Windows 10 consumer devices and non-managed business devices that are at, or within several months of reaching end of servicing.”


Analysis: Enforced upgrades are a necessary evil

That forced update will push users to Windows 10 version 22H2, but of course, that has to happen. When the rug is pulled for support on an older version of Windows, and security updates are no longer provided, you shouldn’t keep the OS on your PC (unless you’re not going to connect to the internet at all).

Staying online with vulnerabilities present on your system (which is bound to happen in time, as new security flaws are discovered and not patched) is a foolish thing to do.

So, your choice is an upgrade to 22H2, or as Microsoft would prefer, you could make the leap to Windows 11. If, of course, your PC is capable of running Windows 11, which it may not be (if you have an older CPU, or your computer lacks TPM support – there may be ways around these problems, but such hardware upgrades can be fiddly, naturally).

As you may be aware, Windows 10 will not get any new features going forward – Microsoft is only supplying security updates now (and maybe the odd very minor feature tweak here and there, but nothing of any substance). All of this is part of Microsoft’s not-so-subtle pushing to get you to upgrade to Windows 11, an OS which has struggled with its pace of adoption compared to Windows 10.

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Zendesk’s plan to acquire SurveyMonkey is officially dead

Zendesk's billion-dollar plan to acquire Momentive, which runs the popular SurveyMonkey tool, has failed after its own shareholders rejected the proposal. 

The deal was worth around $ 4.1 billion, with the news coming just days after the CRM giant turned down a $ 16 billion offer to be acquired by a consortium of private equity firms. 

“While we were excited by the potential of this transaction to transform the customer experience and create stockholder value, we respect and appreciate the perspectives of our stockholders,” said Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svanek. 

Foiled bid

In a blog post, Svanek explained a little more about what made Momentive an attractive target and Zendesk's future plans. Zendesk's business is sound, he said, but could've been augmented by Momentive. 

“We planned to acquire Momentive as a way to accelerate our ability to deliver the future of customer intelligence,” he wrote. “While we will not be moving forward with that acquisition, we remain as committed as ever to helping our customers get more value out of their data.” 

Investor hostility 

The deal was sunk largely by activist shareholders who opposed it. The Wall Street Journal reported that Jana Partners, which owns 3%, and Janus Henderson, which owns 5%, both opposed the deal. Jana called it a “reactive and impulsive decision”. 

Faced with scepticism from its own shareholders, spending $ 4.1 billion is an impossible ask. Shareholders voted against the deal on February 25. 

For Momentive, the decision is not ideal. “While we are disappointed that Zendesk stockholders did not vote to approve the transaction, we are confident in our go-forward strategy,” said Monentive CEO Zander Laurie. 

It remains to be seen what direction the two companies take but with intense pressure in the CRM market, Zendesk needs to find a bold new plan. 

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Google Chat will officially replace Hangouts within weeks

Google has finally confirmed the date when it will be closing its Hangouts instant messaging service for good.

The company has revealed that enterprise and business users on “Classic Hangouts” will be upgraded to the new Google Chat service by March 22, 2022.

In a blog post, the company added that the move will ensure all Google Workspace customers will be using the same platform, with anyone trying to access Hangouts being redirected across to Google Chat.

Farewell Google Hangouts

The news brings an end to a rather protracted saga for Google that saw it extend the deadline for Hangouts' retirement several times.

News of a move first emerged in October 2019, with Hangouts officially rebranded as Google Chat for what was then G Suite enterprise users back in November 2020, and user migration over to the new service beginning the following month.

The news came as Google also revealed it would rebrand its video conferencing service (then Hangouts Meet) to Google Meet.

Now, the “final phase” of the migration will be complete within weeks, with Google noting that “it is not possible to opt out of this change”, and that all classic Hangouts applications will also be disabled, including the Android and iOS apps.

However, users will be able to export their historic Hangouts and Chat data using a special Google tool.

The change will not affect Hangouts users with only personal Google accounts, but it's likely that they will see a similar change soon.

For now, if your organization’s Google Workspace Admin console setting is set to “Chat and classic Hangouts,” the automatic upgrade to the new platform will occur “over the course of three weeks starting March 22, 2022.”

Customers with the “Classic Hangouts only” setting will be upgraded over the course of five weeks, starting April 4, 2022. 

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Microsoft .NET is officially 20 years old

Microsoft is celebrating 20 years of .NET, its open source framework popular among developers of all stripes. 

“Today marks 20 years since Visual Studio .NET launched and the first version of the .NET platform was released (or should I say, unleashed) to the world,” said Microsoft's Beth Massi in a blog post

According to Microsoft, over five million developers use .NET globally, and it was voted as the most loved framework on Stack Overflow in 2019, 2020, and 2021, which is quite an achievement for two decade old software. 

An open source friend

Building on .NET Framework, which was originally Windows-only, Microsoft expanded .NET over the years to include tools for developing apps on macOS and Linux. The company also led the way on open sourcing the project, resulting in an open source version on Github in 2014. 

The company is hosting some cool content and events at www.dot.net (a very charming domain), so make sure to check those out if you're a fan. 

Microsoft has famously had some issues with open source software, especially during the 2000s, and many were worried during its Github acquisition that the company wasn't operating on the level. 

Over time, however, Microsoft has proven itself to be a welcome contributor to the open source community and .NET is a fantastic example of why: cross-platform tools beloved by developers. 

“.NET has come a long way in 20 years but the original vision to change developers’ lives still holds true,” says Massi. 

“You can build any type of app, for any operating system, with great performance. From high-throughput, cloud-scale services to the smallest microcontrollers .NET is there, and the community has made this platform and its large ecosystem a huge success.” 

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone officially revealed in commercial during the Oscars

While many pundits (us included) were expecting Samsung to reveal its much-rumored foldable clamshell device, the Galaxy Z Flip, at its Unpacked 2020 event on February 11, the Korean company has jumped the gun by fully revealing the device in a commercial aired during tonight's Oscars broadcast.

The commercial was spotted by The Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, who managed to capture the TV spot and post it on his Twitter page – you can check the commercial below.

In the video, the Galaxy Z Flip is mostly shown sitting on a table and folded at a 90-degree angle, allowing users to easily video chat and also view themselves, hands-free. 

We'd previously heard reports that the device would be targeted at a younger female audience, and this commercial seems to back that up, particularly in the way it presents the phone in a similar fashion to the clamshell-style powder compact cases that reportedly inspired its design.

As pointed out by The Verge, small print is displayed during the commercial informing viewers that they “may notice a small crease in the center of the main screen, which is a natural characteristic of the screen.”

During its brief 30-second runtime, the ad also offers a look at the Galaxy Z Flip's small outer touch display, which sits next to the device's dual camera and shows an incoming call which can be interacted with directly. We presume notifications will also be shown on this smaller screen. 

While pricing and availability information wasn't revealed during the TV spot, it does end with the suggestion that – as expected – all will be revealed during Samsung's Unpacked 2020 event. 

As always, we'll keep you updated with any new Galaxy Z Flip developments as they happen.

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