WW 729: Jerry Said It

Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…

What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!

I am so confused by the commentary on this show sometime. How on earth are all 3 hosts implying snapping Windows is difficult (or that it came around in Window 8???) I don’t in any way condone the language people used to Mary Jo with this about a toddler, but I’ve always though the keyboard shortcut for this was the most logical keyboard shortcut of any out there - WIndows key plus the directional arrow for where you want the window? Snap it to the right border, Windows + Right arrow. Super simple and always works!

Many, many people do not use keyboard shortcuts, per Paul’s comment about people being unaware of Alt-Tab.

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Also, it requires two hands to press Windows plus an arrow key, which means you have to take your hand off the mouse to accomplish it. I know the shortcut, but never use the feature, simply because it doesn’t operate logically or consistently. For example, here in this browser window as I type, if I hit Windows plus left arrow it goes to half the screen on the left. And nothing else changes. If I then change my mind and send it to the right with Windows plus right, now all of a sudden I get a new UI (the snap helper.) That’s odd and inconsistent, IMHO. And there is no obvious way to undo the resizing from the keyboard if it was a mistake… you pretty much have to use the mouse to click on the maximize icon.

BTW, barely relatedly, the Windows Powertoys have a Windows key helper utility. If you press and hold Windows key it will pop-up some commonly used Windows key combinations.

I only use a handful of keyboard shortcuts. I know there are many I just don’t need all of them. :slight_smile: But I also tend to be a mouse user myself. I use Windows+Tab for my work machine but rarely use it on my personal laptop.

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I don’t think the point is that snapping is somehow difficult to use, the point is that these features are very poorly advertised to the userbase. Yes, pressing win+[arrow] is simple, but finding out that this key combo exists isn’t trivial for someone who doesn’t spend free time on a PC.

I was certainly using snapping in Windows 7. But I just “threw” the window at the corners, I never used the keyboard shortcut.

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If you are using the keyboard, you need to take your hand away from the home keys and grab the mouse. It works both ways :wink:

I won’t tell you how to operate your computer… but I am pretty adept at using my mouse and one hand typing infrequent commands. If I am typing a message, then obviously I have to use two hands for that… but for “media consumption” I can type a few key presses in the URL bar (frequently just one, like typing ‘t’ will bring up this site as its first choice) to bring up a site, then enter to go there, and use the mouse to navigate, etc.

I use the PC mainly with the keyboard, because I am typing the whole day long.

Currently making a few large spreadsheets with user rights matrices for our ERP system, typing in thousands of numbers. I use the keyboard for hours at a stretch, without touching the mouse.

As I say, the keyboard shortcuts are useful for a heavy keyboard user, the mouse shortcuts for a mouse user. I am glad both are offered.

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I’d agree with that point, but they said a few times how “difficult” it was. I’m a Mac user too, and to me “difficult” is things like Apple’s stupid Command + Option + Shift + F4 to take a screenshot shortcut. Love that there’s one built in, but that’s a lot harder than “Print Screen key” in the newer builds of Win10. Both you have to go hunting for, but one of those you’re going to remember a lot better!

Glad you are like me @big_D and agree just because one works best for me doesn’t mean it’s better for everyone. :slight_smile: I always love seeing others who are open or at least except what I do may not be the best for everyone but I believe it’s the best for my flow.

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How are you confused different people have different opinions? What’s your logic in thinking everyone you don’t know has already learned about keyboard shortcuts? Your post is the most confused thing I’ve read today :joy:

Anecdotally of the ~30 to 40 colleagues I’ve worked with, maybe 1 out of 5 use keyboard shortcuts when snapping windows. Everyone loves just pulling the windows over. That makes me more sense, as it automatically un-maximizes the window and pulls it to the correct direction.

Once you know the keyboard shortcuts, they’re more helpful. But Paul is 100% right: discoverability is just horrific on Windows 10. The number of people that understand you can start typing immediately after pressing the Windows key to search is far less than 100%.

But I’m not confused. It’s not explained anywhere.

In other news, Microsoft has seemingly confirmed “Windows 11” does exist in some way by way of Microsoft Japan filing a DMCA complaint.

You can read the complaint directly yourself,

https://lumendatabase.org/notices/24187552#

Beebom.com’s article is distributing Windows 11 ISO (copyrighted to Microsoft). Please remove their article from the search. It is a leaked copy of the unreleased Windows 11."

This week (or last week?), @MaryJo, @thurrott, and @Leo were speculating what hardware features could be included in upcoming Windows 11 PCs to help OEMs sell the new OS.

Microsoft’s “Pluton Project” could be that hardware feature: the successor to TPM, it will require a new generation of CPUs with on-die secure silicon. Pluton hasn’t come to Windows 10 yet, so maybe it’ll be a launch hardware feature for Windows 11:

As Microsoft shared in Nov. 2020,

Meet the Microsoft Pluton processor – The security chip designed for the future of Windows PCs

The Pluton security processor will provide next generation hardware security protection to Windows PCs through future chips from AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm Technologies.

Also, seemingly the Pluton Project will take over some Windows Update duties,

One of the other major security problems solved by Pluton is keeping the system firmware up to date across the entire PC ecosystem. Today customers receive updates to their security firmware from a variety of different sources than can be difficult to manage, resulting in widespread patching issues. Pluton provides a flexible, updateable platform for running firmware that implements end-to-end security functionality authored, maintained, and updated by Microsoft. Pluton for Windows computers will be integrated with the Windows Update process in the same way that the Azure Sphere Security Service connects to IoT devices.

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hmm. interesting idea/thought… i’ve been thinking there MUST be a security angle to the Win 11 news. Let’s see if you’re right!

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Thank you for the shout-out on the livestream earlier! :blush: Did not expect one, aha.

So far, nothing about Pluton, but Windows 11 will require “TPM 2.0”. Unfortunately, there may be a number of PCs that don’t have this, particularly desktops from a few years ago.

That may be reason the “new” TPM (Pluton) gets integrated onto the CPU, as today it’s hard to know if a PC has TPM 2.0 on a spec sheet.

I’ve found you can check for TPM 2.0 post-purchase via running tpm.msc (in the Run box or via Search). I may have reached the end of this desktop, seemingly:


EDIT: Whoops, never mind. Turns out I have fTPM and it comes embedded in the CPU. Intel calls it their “Platform Trust Technology”. As explained by Dell,

Some Dell systems do not ship with a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) module, and instead, use PTT (Platform Trust Technology). PTT is a lower-cost solution that supports the same functions of the TPM. From an OS perspective, there is very little difference between how TPM and PTT interact with BitLocker.

Turns out, PTT was disabled by default in my motherboard BIOS (ASRock Z370 fatal1ty mini-ITX). After enabling, I’m back in action with TPM 2.0!