migration Archives

AppWizard

May 5, 2025

Microsoft shuts down Skype — messenger worked for over 20 years

The Skype app officially ceased operations on May 5. Microsoft announced that all Skype accounts and users' chat histories will be transitioned to the Microsoft Teams app. Skype users can upgrade to the complimentary version of Microsoft Teams, which retains most of Skype's features and introduces new functionalities. Users can sign in to Microsoft Teams Free using their existing Skype credentials, with contacts and chat histories automatically transferred. A notification will guide users through the migration process. Users who do not adopt Microsoft Teams Free can save their Skype data. Skype was launched in 2003 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for .5 billion. Microsoft introduced Teams in 2017 as a collaboration platform based on Skype.

Winsage

May 4, 2025

Microsoft explains why Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs are way better than old Windows 10 ones

Microsoft is encouraging users to transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, especially as support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. Upgrading to Windows 11 on new devices, such as the Surface Copilot+ PCs, can enhance productivity, with workflows reportedly running up to 50% faster compared to older devices. Organizations using Windows 11 Pro have experienced a 62% reduction in security incidents, and features like Secure Boot can reduce firmware attacks by three times. Additionally, deployment of these systems is approximately 25% faster, aiding IT teams in transitioning users efficiently.

Winsage

April 29, 2025

New Windows 11 beta brings more changes to Control Panel settings

Microsoft is transitioning away from the traditional Windows Control Panel, moving settings to the Windows 11 "Settings" app. Recent updates have relocated keyboard character repeat delay and repeat rate options to the Accessibility > Keyboard section in the Settings app, although these changes are currently hidden and require manual activation by users. Additionally, all remaining options from the mouse properties dialog box have also been transferred to the Settings app. Despite these updates, keyboard options still exist in the traditional Control Panel. Microsoft began this transition in 2020 and plans to retire the Control Panel entirely, but the process is progressing slowly, with remnants of the Control Panel still present in Windows 10 and 11.

Winsage

April 29, 2025

Microsoft could be getting rid of more of the ancient Control Panel, shifting keyboard options across to Windows 11’s Settings app

Microsoft is transitioning features from the Control Panel to the Settings app in Windows 11, focusing on keyboard accessibility settings such as character repeat delay and repeat rate. This change has been detected in recent Windows 11 preview builds in the Dev and Beta channels, but has not yet been officially implemented. Microsoft is also moving mouse options from the Control Panel to the Settings app, aiming to consolidate commonly used settings for a better user experience. The timeline for completing this migration is uncertain and may extend into the next version of Windows.

Winsage

April 27, 2025

Microsoft continues to dismantle the Control Panel as another feature migrates to Settings

Microsoft is migrating features from the Control Panel to the Settings panel, with keyboard repetition settings being the latest to transition. This change is part of a broader initiative to phase out the Control Panel, which was announced in August 2024. Currently, these keyboard settings are hidden in testing builds and have not yet been rolled out to the live version of Windows. Other settings, such as mouse trails and options to hide the cursor while typing, have already made the transition. Users are generally finding the Settings panel to be a suitable replacement for the Control Panel.

Winsage

April 23, 2025

Microsoft just broke another essential Start menu feature on Windows 10, and we aren’t even surprised

Microsoft's Windows 10 update KB5055518 has disrupted the Jump Lists feature in the Start menu, which allows users to access recently opened files by right-clicking app icons. Users report that Jump Lists were functioning properly before the update, and the feature remains enabled in system settings. However, the "Recent" header in Jump Lists is missing. While Jump Lists still work for pinned applications on the taskbar, the disruption in the Start menu is significant. This change follows a pattern of Microsoft removing features from Windows 10, potentially to encourage users to upgrade to Windows 11, especially as support for Windows 10 is nearing its end.

Tech Optimizer

April 21, 2025

Best practices to handle AWS DMS tasks during PostgreSQL upgrades

The AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) provides a managed solution for migrating and replicating databases to AWS, supporting both homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations. It allows seamless data migration from PostgreSQL databases to any supported target and vice versa. Open-source PostgreSQL regularly releases new versions, and Amazon RDS aims to support these within five months. Upgrading PostgreSQL instances is essential for security and compliance. Minor version upgrades focus on security and bug fixes without adding new functionalities, while major upgrades can change system tables and data formats. AWS DMS tasks require careful management during PostgreSQL upgrades. For minor upgrades, ongoing DMS tasks should be stopped and then resumed post-upgrade. For major upgrades, replication slots must be dropped before the upgrade, which will invalidate ongoing DMS tasks. After the upgrade, a new CDC-only task should be created to resume data migration. Minor version upgrades of the target PostgreSQL database do not affect AWS DMS CDC tasks, but major upgrades require stopping the DMS task, performing the upgrade, and ensuring compatibility with the replication instance before resuming the task.

Winsage

April 18, 2025

Microsoft still has a massive Windows 10 problem – and there’s no easy way out

Microsoft's Windows 10 will reach its end-of-support date on October 14, 2025, after a standard 10-year support lifecycle. Most editions, including Home, Pro, and Enterprise, will stop receiving updates, although PCs running Windows 10 will continue to function without updates. Windows 10 Enterprise Long Term Servicing editions have different end dates, with some extending support until 2029. Current data indicates that approximately 1.6% of Windows 10 PCs are replaced by Windows 11 each month, suggesting that around 35% of the 1.4 billion Windows devices will still be using Windows 10 by the end-of-support date, equating to over 500 million PCs potentially vulnerable to cyber threats. As of April 2025, about 54% of PCs globally are still running Windows 10. Users likely to remain on Windows 10 include those with incompatible hardware, corporate environments that have standardized on Windows 10, and users resistant to upgrading due to dissatisfaction with Windows 11. Microsoft faces challenges related to a significant number of unsupported PCs, and while extended support options exist for enterprise customers, consumer adoption is expected to be low. Users unable or unwilling to upgrade may consider non-Microsoft operating systems or continue using Windows 10 without official support, which poses security risks.

Tech Optimizer

April 16, 2025

Transition a pivot query that includes dynamic columns from SQL Server to PostgreSQL

The text discusses the process of migrating workloads from SQL Server to PostgreSQL, specifically focusing on the implementation of the PIVOT function. It highlights the limitations of using CASE WHEN statements in SQL Server for dynamic reports and introduces the crosstab function from PostgreSQL’s tablefunc extension as a more flexible alternative. The solution involves creating a PostgreSQL function called get_dynamic_pivot_data that utilizes crosstab to dynamically generate columns based on query results. To test the function, users need to provision either Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL or Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and install a PostgreSQL client tool. For those using C#, .NET SDK 8 and Visual Studio Code must be installed. The text provides detailed steps for creating sample tables and stored procedures in SQL Server, along with the equivalent setup in PostgreSQL, including the use of the crosstab function and cursor management. It emphasizes the need for security measures, such as storing database credentials in AWS Secrets Manager. The author encourages sharing experiences related to implementing PIVOT functionality in PostgreSQL.

Winsage

April 15, 2025

OneDrive clients for Windows, Mac still broken 10 months on

In June 2024, OneDrive users for macOS and Windows reported that shared folders on their local drives had disappeared, replaced by .url files linking to OneDrive's web interface. This issue has persisted for ten months without a concrete solution from Microsoft, which has acknowledged it as a known bug under investigation. Users are frustrated by the lack of offline access and syncing capabilities, with complaints continuing in community forums. The problem is linked to a new "shortcut" model for shared folders, resulting from an ongoing backend migration. Small business users feel particularly abandoned, while enterprise users seem largely unaffected. Various proposed workarounds have had limited success. Microsoft has not provided further clarification beyond initial statements.