Linux love hits Windows 10 19H1 amid a second round of zombie slaying

In a busy week for Windows Insiders, Fast-Ring fans got a fresh build of Windows last night, hot on the heels of a new preview of the Windows Admin Center.

You say 19H1, I say 20H1, let's call the whole thing off

Having sent Skip-Ahead testers into the future with a 20H1 build of Windows 10, Microsoft has now shared the Linux love with those remaining on the Fast Ring and testing 19H1.

The accessing of files lurking in distros running Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) without fear of corruption and data loss is a neat feature and, while still a little clunky, it's good to see it making its way into 19H1 – although it's a little worrying such changes are still happening so late in the process.

19H1 (also referred to 1903 by some within Microsoft) is due to make an appearance around April, going by past performance. Following the problems of 1803 and the fiasco of 1809, this next release will be under even closer scrutiny than usual.

Other than the arrival of the WSL changes, build 18342 continues the tradition of, er, fixing stuff as release nears, with a worryingly large number of those fixes aimed at one of the other hero features of the upcoming release, Windows Sandbox.

The mysterious gaming technology introduced in Windows 10 also received a nod as the gang has reopened sign-up for users willing to take zombie apocalypse adventure State of Decay out for a spin to see if "everything still works". Fixes to parental controls get a particular call-out.

Insiders wondering where their copy of the new build has got to have been directed to check their CPUs by the team. Machines with Intel64 Family 6 Model 142 and Intel64 Family 6 Model 158 chippery are not on the invitation list due to a problem with Connected Standby.

As for what Skip-Ahead users expected to receive (but now will not), 19H2, there remains no word. And Slow Ring testers lurking in the kitchen and hoping to join the 19H1 party? "Soon."

Lucky, lucky Windows Server Insiders get an Admin Center preview

Shortly before the new Windows 10 build dropped, Microsoft released a fresh preview version of the product formerly known as Project Honolulu, Windows Admin Center (WAC).

The preview, numbered 1902, follows January's 1812 update and brings new toys to the browser-based Windows manager.

In preview form, at least.

Windows Server Insider testers can now enjoy shared connections, with a single connection list shared across all users of a WAC gateway, saving every admin in an organisation having to configure that list separately.

Software-defined networking (SDN) has also received some attention. Access Control Lists (ACL) can be used to manage traffic and be applied virtual subnets, a new tool to manage Gateway Connections in the SDN environment also makes an appearance, as well as a management tool to deal with Logical networks.

Microsoft does, however, warn there are some problems. When adding a new VHD to a VM, and selecting the option to add a new, empty disk, changes cant be saved, and the Network Gateway Address for an Azure Network Adaptor is invalid.

But hey, this is preview code after all. ®