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Windows App Essentials 21.11, important notice on end of support for Windows 10 Version 20H2 from the add-on #addonrelease

Brian Vogel
 

On Thu, Nov 4, 2021 at 04:25 PM, Joseph Lee wrote:
I strongly urge people to upgrade to at least Windows 10 Version 21H1
-
And I can state with quite a bit of assurance that 21H1 is a perfectly stable (or as perfectly as Windows gets) version of Windows 10.

I have not, as yet, seen Windows 10 Version 21H2 offered yet, but since it is a minor feature update, that's one I'd not hesitate to accept once offered unless the very earliest adopters find something really, really wrong, which isn't likely.
--

Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H1, Build 19043  

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

         ~ John F. Kennedy

 
Joseph Lee
 

Hi all,

As folks are discovering NVDA 2021.3 beta 2, I’m delighted to announce the immediate release of Windows App Essentials 21.11 (stable channel). This add-on release includes improvements to Windows 11 support and localization updates. Highlights include:

  • You do not have to enable “report position information” from NVDA’s object presentation settings to hear NVDA announce search suggestions count in apps such as Settings and Microsoft Store. This is applicable on both Windows 10 and 11 and is designed to smooth the transition to NVDA 2021.3 (NVDA 2021.3 includes suggestions count feature, something that was part of Windows App Essentials add-on for a long time).
  • In Windows 11, NVDA will no longer announce hardware input suggestions and IME candidates twice.
  • Internal add-on code updates and localization updates from translators.

 

As always, Windows App Essentials 21.11 can be found through Add-on Updater. Note that Windows App Essentials now require NVDA 2021.2 or later and Windows 10 Version 20H2 (October 2020 update) or later and is compatible with Windows 11.

 

Speaking of Windows 10 Version 20H2, an important end of support notice: Windows App Essentials will end support for Windows 10 October 2020 Update (Version 20H2/build 19042) in 2022, tentatively by March. This is to keep up with Windows as a Service (WaaS) policy: Windows App Essentials add-on supports a given Windows feature update for a limited time (12 months for Windows 10 feature updates, 18 months for Windows 11 updates). End of support for Version 20H2 will happen in stages:

  • December 2021: people using development builds of the add-on will be asked to use Version 21H1 (May 2021 Update/build 19043) or later.
  • Around March 2022: people using stable versions of Windows App Essentials will be asked to migrate to Windows 10 Version 21H1 (May 2021 Update/build 19043) or later, preferably upgrading to November 2021 Update (Version 21H2/build 19044).

 

One more thing: speaking of end of support for Windows 10 feature updates, later in 2022 Windows App Essentials will end support for Windows 10 Version 21H1 (May 2021 Update). In summary, if you haven’t, I strongly urge people to upgrade to at least Windows 10 Version 21H1 (May 2021 Update), or when it is ready for you, November 2021 Update (Version 21H2) as soon as possible. It is up to you as to whether or not you would like to upgrade to Windows 11 on supported systems – Windows App Essentials supports Windows 11.

Cheers,

Joseph
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