Microsoft Is Opening Windows Update To Third-Party Apps (theregister.com)
- Reference: 0177839433
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/28/2232237/microsoft-is-opening-windows-update-to-third-party-apps
- Source link: https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/28/microsoft_update_backup/
> On Tuesday, Redmond announced it's allowing a select group of developers and product teams to hook into the Windows 11 update framework. The system doesn't push updates itself but allows apps to register their own update logic via WinRT APIs and PowerShell, enabling centralized scheduling, logging, and policy enforcement. "Updates across the Windows ecosystem can feel like a fragmented experience," wrote Angie Chen, a product manager at the Borg, in a [2]blog post . "To solve this, we're building a vision for a unified, intelligent update orchestration platform capable of supporting any update (apps, drivers, etc.) to be orchestrated alongside Windows updates."
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> As with other Windows updates, the end user or admin will be able to benefit from intelligent scheduling, with updates deferred based on user activity, system performance, AC power status, and other environmental factors. For example, updates may install when the device is idle or plugged in, to minimize disruption. All update actions will be logged and surfaced through a unified diagnostic system, helping streamline troubleshooting. Microsoft says the platform will support MSIX/APPX apps, as well as Win32 apps that include custom installation logic, provided developers integrate with the offered Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs and PowerShell commands. At the moment, the orchestration platform is available only as a private preview. Developers must contact unifiedorchestrator@service.microsoft.com to request access. Redmond is taking a cautious approach, given the risk of update conflicts, but may broaden availability depending on how the preview performs.
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> Meanwhile, Windows Backup for Organizations, first unveiled at Microsoft Ignite in November 2024, has entered limited public preview. Redmond touts the service as a way to back up Windows 10 and 11 devices and restore them with the same settings in place. It's saying it'll be a big help in migrating systems to the more recent operating systems after Windows 10 goes end of life in October. "With Windows Backup for Organizations, get your users up and running as quickly as possible with their familiar Windows settings already in place," Redmond wrote in a [3]blog post on Tuesday. "It doesn't matter if they're experiencing a device reimage or reset."
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/28/microsoft_update_backup/
[2] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/introducing-a-unified-future-for-app-updates-on-windows/4416354
[3] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/announcing-windows-backup-for-organizations/4416659
will they add more control to end users? (Score:2)
will they add more control to end users?
Fer cryin' out loud (Score:2)
Just get winget working reliably and not have to do stupid stuff to kick start it on the first installation. Gee whillickers, it's not as if MS doesn't own freakin' GIT HUB!
Been working for two years with a pro bono team to get a simple code base share for windows to work without needed the user to do more than just breathe.
Because - users. It works sometimes. Most of the time there's something going with the winget server side and it breaks horribly. Bleeding bits splattered all over the bus. Oh, the human
You do you Microsoft (Score:2)
It was a good run I guess. DOS 2.11 all the way up to DOS 6.22 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11, then Windows 98SE, onto Windows 2000 (my favorite), next to Windows XP, and finally to Windows 7. I've since moved on from your now relentless pursuit of over-reach.
Re: (Score:2)
So...do you have app auto-updates enabled on your iPhone or Android device? How is this any different?
Re: (Score:2)
Nope, I don't install apps on my phone. I use my phone to make phone calls and text.
Re: You do you Microsoft (Score:1)
I had to fix a 40 year old faucet today. I have no plumbing experience. An ai correctly identified the faucet and the steps to repair it from photos taken on my phone. While I admire your relentless pursuit of privacy, I choose knowledge.
Re: (Score:2)
As a former plumber, you're not wrong. Aside from confusing PEX and PVC, there's very little to know about plumbing to make it work unless you just feel the need to learn to solder copper pipe. The only slightly complex bits are knowing the relevant building codes if you're going to have to get it inspected. You'd have to be pretty fucking retarded to not be able to figure a sink repair out on your own.
Re: (Score:2)
> The "I choose knowledge" bit is quite the cherry on top.
The GP didn't know how to do something and used a tool that showed him the steps and method of doing it, successfully did it, and learned something in the process. Say what you want about their lack of knowledge in the first place, but they seem to have far more functioning braincells than you, who doesn't realise that doing and following instructions is literally the way we obtain knowledge as a species.
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You needed an AI to identify the faucet? Most five-year-olds can manage that...
So how do I ... (Score:1)
opt out of this 'feature'?
Re: (Score:2)
Install Linux?
Wow! (Score:3)
This is pretty impressive. I hope Ubuntu and Red Hat and Fedora and Debian and Gentoo and Arch consider allowing third party apps on their OS to be packaged and updates automatically ... ;-D
Thirty Fucking Years Late (Score:3)
Congratulations, you feckless imbeciles. You've "innovated" general software package management a mere three $(GOD)-damned decades after Redhat and Debian did it.
While you're at it, why don't you "invent" a tiling window manager that can be driven entirely from the keyboard... [1]Oh, [i3wm.org] [2]wait... [hyprland.org]
Honestly... Why is anyone still voluntarily giving money to these chowderheads?
[1] https://i3wm.org/
[2] https://hyprland.org/
Re: (Score:2)
> While you're at it, why don't you "invent" a tiling window manager
They did: [1]Windows 1.0 [wikipedia.org] from 1983 (or 1985, depending on how you count) until 1987 (or 2001, again depending on how you count) was a tiling window manager.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_1.0
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No they didn't. This is an update broker, and has nothing to do with software package management. Fundamentally it is different from what Redhat and Debain offer. This is like the equivalent of you installing some binaries from a completely external source, and it requesting RPM to send it updates going forward (something that doesn't happen because RPM doesn't know what to manage unless it's installed through RPM.
Now if you actually knew what you were talking about you may make a comparison to Winget, whic
Re: (Score:2)
This is the most hilariously poor anti-MS rant yet.
Gud jerb. Make MS responsible for cruddy patching methodooligies of random devlopers who have *nothing* to do with MS. Gud jerb.
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That's not what this is. Microsoft already has a package managed called winget that is more similar to what Linux distros use.
This is about delivering security updates to the majority of users who wouldn't bother updating at all if they were not prompted to do it. In fact even promoting isn't enough, which is why by default Windows just installs updates and force-reboots the computer.
HOORAY! (Score:2)
Now EVERYONE can play after the sale games with the things you own! YAY! /Sarc Off...
NEW* (Score:1)
Microsoft releases newbuilt in backup solution, after previous new built in backup solution broke the existing new built in backup solutions.
Seamless notepad++ updates? (Score:2)
Holy shit can I finally get seamless, invisible, automatic notepad++ updates?
Replaces all those system widgets? (Score:2)
Replacing all those widgets in my system tray with a Windows Update related process certainly seems to reduce attack vectors significantly, though I guess it will depend on where the update is stored - if they still point at some random URL I'd be quite disappointed.
Managed desktop admins should be able to curate what's updated and when, and this may also help with those annoying times where the manufacturer wants to use their "just compiled overnight' version for in-house training and expect it to be inst
Possibly positive (Score:4, Insightful)
The *concept* sounds interesting (allowing 3rd parties to no longer have to have their own background updater running in the background could be a net positive). I want to know more about the details.
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> allowing 3rd parties to no longer have to have their own background updater running in the background could be a net positive
3rd parties didn't need permission for that. There's no reason an update can't be downloaded and installed by the application running in the foreground. There's countless applications out there that maintain themselves up to date without some background service. Fuck Adobe and Google for normalising yet more shit running when not needed.
Yay (Score:4, Insightful)
The reliability and speed of the windows updater with the security of third parties.
What could possibly go wrong.
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Question, what problem do you have with the reliability and speed of windows updater? It downloads updates as soon as they are available, and installs them basically without fail. Now what may fail is an individual update, that's ultimately a problem with the update package itself, not windows update.
The system itself is actually quite robust.
Re: (Score:2)
Hopefully what an update can do is restricted. It's never happened with apt, touch wood, but imagine if someone put rm -rf /* in an installer script in some third party repo.
The Criticality of Auto-Update (Score:2)
Every auto-update process is going to become absolutely critical in the future as we rely more on the growing capability of AI to protect our devices in damn near real-time. We’re talking about AI-controlled defense mechanisms responding automatically to the next-gen zero-hour attack by writing patches/updates and then subsequently auto-updating those patches as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is all done in minutes or even seconds instead of hours.
If we think we won’t need to respon
thats not going to open up any issues.... (Score:2)
will it....
will MS test each and every update?
Re: (Score:2)
Microsoft ? *TEST* updates ????
Have I missed something ? Microsoft just push any old "updates" for "users" to beta test their "new & improved" crapware. (e.g. try and put band aids over the pile of crap they originally shipped) I don't think Micosoft have properly tested anything since possibly Windows 2000.
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It's no different that app auto-update on your iPhone or Android phone.
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It's looking to resolve the current issue where the user fails to apply latest updates to every piece of garbage they've grabbed from random places around the internets.
This is the far better option. Unless your argument is everything is better/safer through not patching?
Re: (Score:2)
This is the age of enshitification, where a lot of updates just push anti-features like data harvesting and advertising. You can't just assume that a newer version will be better/safer.