Submitted by Choice. After all the software improvements, promotional offers and good intentions, ‘choice’ is the big factor Microsoft forgot to consider with Windows 10. Falling adoption rates have seen the company’s initial smugness evolve into incredulity and increasingly dirty tactics and now Microsoft appears to have forgotten about respecting choice entirely because life for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users is about to get a lot worse…
Over the last week Microsoft has begun to roll out a combination of highly questionable changes to the billion+ users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 and these efforts will intensify into early 2016.
Much like Apple’s recent sleazy tactics of shoving ads into every corner of its operating system to try and suck you deeper and deeper into their labyrinth of lock-in products and services, Microsoft is trying very hard to forcefully push its users to upgrade to Windows 10 – and it’s not eschewing any tactics, no matter how dirty.
The development of operating systems seems to have stagnated considerably, meaning new operating system releases don’t really contain any standout features that draw large masses of users to upgrade. In addition, the differences between the operating systems are pretty moot (especially OS X vs. Windows or iOS vs. Android) these days, and there’s really no clear benefit choosing one over the other.
It should be no surprise, then, that operating system peddlers are exploring other tactics to retain your business.
“Apple’s recent sleazy tactics of shoving ads into every corner of its operating system”. Yes, this is not an exaggeration at all. Every corner of the OS has Apple ads: the home screen, the notification centre, the messages app, the calendar… oh wait, no… there are no ads any where. They added a popup ad in one place, and I believe it’s now been removed.
They installed an unremovable spamware application on your homescreen, pester you with Apple Music and iCloud ads, put fullscreen modal ads in the App Store app… All made worse by Apple’s constant holier-than-thou anti-ad rhetoric.
Sure, no ads anywhere!
Edited 2015-12-17 10:58 UTC
OK, fair enough. I use Apple Music and iCloud, so I guess I’m not seeing those.
Yeah, obviously I’m not gonna drop this.
Don’t forget the U2 Album silent push. I’m actually still dealing with that. I’ve had my iPod 5th gen not connected to Apple’s services for quite some time.
I started playing music one day when I decided to update some apps and what do you know, U2 started playing out of the clear blue.
This is shameful conduct.
cry me a river.
apple looked at me funny. now my feelings are hurt. shameful.
apple does about 1% of what other companies do to insult and/or exploit their users/customers.
even the greatest anti-apple companies come and go, sell their entire user base to someone else.
thom has nightmares about apple and it’s kinda sad, but is entertaining enough to keep me coming back to OSAlert for well over 15 years now.
i assume the nightmares have only gotten worse given apple’s financial success since the 90’s?
Now this I agree with, 110%. That’s not only shady as all get-out, but hypocritical as well. While we’re add it, I’d add the U2 album that we didn’t want into the shady category. I suppose it wasn’t exactly an ad, but still… I don’t even like U2!
Actually, if you disable an android app it does not appear in the app drawer, even better than placing into a folder – but perhaps not as obvious / easy to find.
Sure. I was comparing tactics, not whether you had a way to hide the results of the dirty tactics. On iOS though, a folder it must be.
Where are these ads? I see no ships or rather Adverts on my MBP.
I don’t use Apple Music and have not seen any ads for it whatsoever.
All new OSes have are having lots of goodies for developers.
I dream of the day I WinRT / CoreCLR are current and Win32 legacy.
Similar developer goodies can be described for the other mainstream OSes.
The problem is that no user cares about these features, thus creating a Python 2 / Python 3 kind of scenario.
I like the idea of WinRT/CoreCLR, but dislike the execution. In particular, I dislike the fact that the only way to distribute WinRT app’s is through MS’s Store (except within Corporate networks). That really sucks. It undoes all the good work MS have been doing Open-Sourcing other parts of the platform.
Of course, I have a similar dislike for similar stores.
Now if it was possible to set up trust relationships with repositories, I would have no issues at all, its the monopolisation and vendor lock-in I dislike. I blame Apple for starting this rot, and everyone else for deciding to copy it.
The main problems with the new runtime, are as mentioned the fact you’re forced to use the store. But an even bigger one is that the runtime isn’t available on older Windows versions, where the actual userbase is. I’m not going to develop an application (not app) with the new APIs when it’s going to be unusable by the vast majority of potential users. They really didn’t execute this well. If they want to drive adoption, they need to remove the barriers they put up.
Suppose you’re a platform vendor and you find yourself with a choice.
1. You upgrade people to your latest platform so developers can deploy it. Not every user appreciates the upgrade.
2. You make the upgrade strictly optional. Developers can’t target the platform because it’s not widely enough deployed.
What’s not really an option is to push the changes to an earlier release. The platform comprises a whole lot of things, spanning from kernel changes (think about process supension) to necessary UI changes (think about the way processes are launched vs. activated, or live tile support, etc.) Any attempt to push the platform changes down a release really means attempting to make a whole new release that strives for maximum invisibility – but it’s still a new release that changes almost every component in the system.
With all the choices for Linux and BSD distros, which are capable on PC or Apple, and with the ease of installation most have, there is only one reason to use OSX or Windows: laziness. If you don’t want to put in a minimum amount of effort, then don’t bitch about the crap you have to deal with in exchange.
My income depends on Windows software. There’s nothing lazy about wanting to, you know, not starve.
There’s another reason to, you may actually want to run one or more of the numerous applications, games etc. that only are not available for Linux/BSD – and there are thousands.
Then install Linux, load up VirtualBox, create a clean-slate “development” box, and N number of test images that you can use to test your code on and reset to snapshot after each cycle of testing– that way you’re always testing on a “known good” install. Or if you need to test upgrades, you can keep a snapshot of one of the VM’s with your application installed, and each time you test the upgrade process, you can reset to a known state.
Under linux, you’d probably use vagrant, but the idea of managing windows images with vagrant makes my head hurt.
Further, you can “mount” a drive inside all of the VM’s that points to a common directory on your linux system, so you can always have direct access to the test applications.
*IF* your application is direct3D intensive (ie, gaming), then this might not work–but otherwise, you should be doing all your testing in virtualbox (or VMWare) virtual guests anyway, so really, what difference does your desktop OS make?
…why? Why would I add all kinds of additional possible breaking points, drastically reduce performance, give myself even more things to manage (and possibly pay for), and STILL have to pay for a Windows license, when I can just run Windows as-is and save myself all the trouble, in a set-up I am happy with?
You don’t fuck around with your tools willy-nilly. This isn’t some Friday Distro Night.
I’m suggesting you build a functional workbench and organize your tools.
You’re just throwing your tools under your desk, and calling it organized.
I didn’t know Thom was a developer. I thought he did a lot of document translating, and dealt heavily with Office document format (such that Libre Office won’t cut it).
I’m not a developer. What gave you that idea?
Linux fanboi apparently got that idea. You mentioned applications and that guy jumped to
I guess for him “earning money” equals “developing software”
Apparently that guy also doesn’t realise that Windows supports virtualization in many forms, like HyperV but also VirtualBox and VMWare. VHD-mounting is also just build into the OS.
He also doesn’t realise that most professional Windows Developers are moving to remote (Azure) based virtuals that Microsoft provides and updates. The big benefit being that developers don’t need to waste time setting up a dev-environment and that if a developer gets sick a coworker can simply logon to that dev-environment and continue the work.
And he also doesn’t realise that Windows has the capability to boot from a VHD-file (native boot, nothing virtualized except the harddisk) which even supports booting from multiple level deep differencing disks (snapshots) that can be created or reset with a simple 1 liner in diskpart.exe or the graphical disk manager.
So of course a professional developer uses virtualization or the more recent and lighterweight containers. But I am pretty sure that a write/translator would be better of to run his work tools inside his main OS that also has his browser, email etc configured.
I’ll be honest… I didn’t even pay attention to who made the first comment I responded to. -5 for situational awareness to me.
I’ve always had the impression you were a graphic design person, even if OSAlert hasn’t yet (thankfully, in my opinion) gone to the new hyper-animated scrolling wall-to-wall graphical format that seems typical of the HTML5 era.
But then your response wasn’t “That’s not what I do, why would I do that?”, it was “that would be a terrible mistake”, followed by several very bad examples of why it would be a mistake.
So, I pointed out how such a system would benefit the (imaginary) person I thought I was originally responding to.
None of what I said was *wrong*, so I stand by it, it’s just not necessarily applicable to you.
I suppose I could comment that Adobe Illustrator gets a “gold” rating under Wine under linux, but honestly, if you had serious interest in linux on your desktop, you’d probably lready know that– You’d probably even know that Wine isn’t an emulation layer as well, so doesn’t suffer performance issues.
Finally… not a linux fanboy, or fanboi, or any other clever variation thereof. Just someone who likes to use the right tool for the right job.
You do realise that Thom’s a translator, not a programmer, right? That his tools are applications that he buys and installs, not things he codes himself (other than some scripting and automation stuff in Office, I’m guessing).
Why go through the bother of spinning up VMs and managing a separate host OS, when all you need to do is run a handful of apps all the time?
There isn’t a single good reason why a person needing to work in a Windows OS environment should add all that extra work and expense (of any kind). Your suggestion comes with an empty pros list and a full cons one.
I disagree. I use this very setup every day.
I’ve never been a fan of Windows, but I do Windows-based development, so I have been forced into that environment.
But a couple of years ago, I installed VirtualBox (under Windows), and began moving all of the functions that don’t specifically require Windows into VMs with other OSes. Then I recreated my Windows development environment in a Windows VM. The final step was to replace the Host OS with a minimalist Linux installation. It was simple to move the VMs into VirtualBox on Linux.
Now I can change my Host OS any time I want to (e.g. I may try a BSD or Genode), and move VMs between hosts at will.
I am much happier with this arrangement than relying completely on Windows or running different physical machines!
Aha! Someone gets it, and has entered the 21st century.
Everyone else apparently still thinks it’s 1995.
It has nothing to do with that at all. It’s completely about a persons needs and wants. Wrapping an OS in a VM in another OS serves no benefit to a person who only uses a single OS. The only thing they get out of it is a decrease in resources and performance. I’m not wrong here. Maybe it would help some of you in disagreement to consider the actual context and use-case being discussed. It’s fine if yours is different, but that’s not what’s being talked about.
Again, if the user is happy with Windows, you are right. But some of Microsoft’s recent moves are causing user discomfort – which I think is what this article was about in the first place.
So the original suggestion was, for someone who was fed up with Microsoft and their tactics for forcing Windows 10 upon unsuspecting users, “Run Linux on your desktop”.
The response was “I make my living off of Windows, why would I do that?”.
Now, in this case, Thom doesn’t do development work– so why his income is dependent on seeing a microsoft logo when his computer starts, I really don’t know. Most people whose income really *does* rely on seeing the Microsoft logo, are developers.
For someone who develops software, or tests software, a virtual environment is a godsend. It saves time, it adds flexibility, and means you can test on far more platforms in far less time, making your product more stable, more available, and therefore more profitable.
If all you do is surf the web and play games, it’s probably meaningless– although at this point, running your web browser with some form of bookmark / history sync, in a VM that resets to a saved state in between sessions is probably the only secure way to surf the web, especially if your primary OS is Windows.
Because the software I require is not available on anything but Windows.
There is one other reason:
Windows is still tied much more closely to the hardware (partly because of licensing) so putting Windows in a VM makes it much easier to recover from failure.
Having to rebuild a development machine can take days if not more work.
Having a VM which you can snapshot and just try a few things and restore to were you were before can safe a whole bunch of time.
It sounds like you’re speaking as someone who needs and/or wants multiple OS environments – you’ve mentioned moving in and out of them. That’s not the context which was previously discussed. For someone who has no use or desire for that, wrapping Windows in a VM, in some other OS, is a waste of time, effort, and resources.
Rubbish. There are plenty of reasons to continue using Windows, like e.g. gaming, or hardware-compatibility. No matter how you spin it Windows is the better platform for gaming for multiple reasons.
Why don’t people put water or electric engines in their cars ? Laziness ? And what about more exotic engines you also require to produce the fuel for ?
I have an electric Motor in my car. 4 to be exact. One for each wheel. I guess I am different then.
Considering the amount of people with an electric car, indeed you are
It’s a climbing percentage.
If I had to buy a car now, my car might not be electric now. But I’m almost a 100% certain the car after that would be electric.
It’s only a matter of time.
Linux and BSD have their place (and I say this as a die hard Slackware and OpenBSD user) but the average consumer will never, ever be satisfied with either platform unless there is broad commercial support. That’s simply not going to happen in our lifetimes.
Linux and BSD have found their niche in the server and embedded spaces, and bastardized Linux (Android) is the reigning king of mobile, but that’s as far as it will ever go. The desktop belongs to Microsoft (and to a lesser extent, Apple), and will for a very long time.
The average consumer is arguably too ignorant to make an informed decision on operating systems.
The average consumer has now realized that the OS is pretty much irrelevant to him. For the average consumer the OS is just an app-launcher/switcher and something that makes the hardware work.
What the average consumer cares about is access to his email. Whether he does that in a commandline/terminal or in a browser, in a dedicated highend client or a simple mail app is all up to what the user wants or gets used to. None of that is influenced by the OS.
It is powerusers and very experienced people that got so good at using this or that OS that they would have a very hard time switching, but the average consumer only needs a big, familiar, EMAIL-icon
The mythical average consumer doesn’t exist. Clearly Thom needs the Office suite, I need my Visual Studio, the artist needs his Photoshop. The 3d model guy needs his 3DS Max or Maya, the engineer Autocad. The project manager needs his Outlook.
The only consumers that fit the “EMAIL-icon” requirement are those that do absolutely nothing in the world except watch TV and surf!
Exactly. If all you do is consume media, then virtually any OS will be suitable.
Tools to create stuff? That puts a lot of limitation on what you can use.
Yeah, reading back I realize that I made it look like the average consumer only needs email, that was not my actual point.
He needs email, and about 10 other icons (browser, favorite game, a few hobby apps, camera, a few work related things, etc)
My point was that he doesn’t care at all about the OS and all the features that it has, only about starting apps and switching to other apps. This is why most of the consumption is now done on smartphones/tablets. For real productivity we might need complicated OS’s but a whole bunch more simple stuff gets uploaded and consumed to FaceBook-and-friends by consumers than gets created by professionals.
Well, they do care whether the OS in question supports/runs the apps they want. That is the point of the OS, afterall: to run the apps you want to use.
There’s no point in switching my Mom over to a Linux setup because she has 40-odd years of muscle memory and ability with WordPerfect, not to mention all her files in .wpd format. Until Corel releases an updated version of WP for Linux, she’ll continue to use Windows. (Don’t bother mentioning WP support in LibreOffice; if it doesn’t have Reveal Codes, she won’t use it!)
There’s no point in switching my wife over to a Linux setup as all of her couponing websites use horrible “Coupon” printer extensions to Firefox that only run on Windows. Or they use horrible Java applets that hook into the Windows printer dialog (and won’t run on non-Windows versions of Java). Or they do weird things using Adobe Acrobat DC scripting that requires Windows version of Adobe Acrobat DC. (We run Linux stations at work, and she’s constantly grumbling about this as she can’t print off 30+ copies of a coupon in the lab.)
Yes, the OS doesn’t matter if you are using cross-platform or web-based applications. But the OS most certainly matters once you run into OS-specific applications that you absolutely have to use.
Edited 2015-12-21 22:06 UTC
Thom is a business users (he works from home), not the average home user.
That’s pretty much my point. Until someone successfully commercializes Linux or BSD and makes it compelling enough for both power users to ask for it and PC vendors to market it, the average Joe will just use the same old crap their computer has installed from the factory.
And yes, I know “OS X is BSD”, but it doesn’t count in this instance because Apple will likely never allow it to be factory installed on a computer they don’t sell.
Most people only user their desktop OS for browsing email etc. They could easily use KDE Plasma 5.
Windows 10 is nice but the whole activation thing is a pain. you never know if a hardware change is going to change your activation status.
Steam is changing the Linux acceptance factor, I have never seen so many new games supporting Linux, it might take awhile but I think SteamOS is going to make a difference.
I support a few normal every day home users (some are on Linux).
What do they need ? And could they use a Linux distribution:
– web-browser: duh, no problems there
– an office product (libreoffice might do, web-based like google docs or office 365 might). For many this is a solved problem
– email: webbased or thunderbird might be fine
– media players: vlc works
– Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts -> at least 2 are already web-based
– printer drivers: CUPS works.
– Chrome browser made Netflix available on Linux with HTML5.
Their is just one type of power user which might need Windows -> Games.
Yes, games is a power user. But many Linux users I know just buy a console. And also Valve is working on getting more games on Linux and I do believe that is starting to work.
Did you notice in very little categories there were any commercial players involved ?
So what commercial programs do home users use ?
At least 2 out of 3 Windows home users I support could switch to Linux today. The switch would probably be easier than Windows 7 to Windows 8 or 10.
Edited 2015-12-20 10:54 UTC
Yeah, I’m lazy because there’s a lot of software I want to use that only runs on Windows. That must be it.
I’ve been there, for a time in my life: avid linux user, ready to preach the good word at any given opportunity.
Then I got better as I realized people don’t want to hear that what they’re used to use sucks for a number of reasons (technical, philosophical etc). Really, I should have got it 20 years ago when, in the workplace I spent a few month in, I realized a secretary stubbornly refused to make the switch in her file naming scheme. Despite now using windows 95, she named everything with the 8.3 characters. Of course, that meant she also had to maintain a separate notebook on which she wrote what was what.
Nowadays, when I hear such stories (or anything related to virus), I commiserate, may drop a hint that I’m happily free from all that garbage, and go on my way. People who know me also know they can ask me, if they decide to take the plunge, to help them switch to linux (both installation and usage woes). They usually don’t look back.
Trenien,
I agree, people don’t like change without a justifiable benefit. And while switching to linux can have some justifiable benefit, it’s often said without any respect for the user’s needs. This needs to change. Some people are willing to update their skills to become Linux users, but not everyone is.
If Linux wants more Windows converts, it needs to serve the needs of windows users as well as and better than windows can. I actually think that’s attainable, but I’m not so sure that it’s what the linux community wants. Some would rather distance Linux from Windows than to improve the integration, and yet this very attitude is responsible for a wide gap that users need to cross to become productive on linux. Many users are understandably reluctant to make the transition if it means they have to leave behind what they’re already familiar with and invested in.
The irony here is that some of Redmond’s own forced changes to windows are more frustrating and alien to windows users than a Linux desktop would be. Those are opportunities for linux, but we need to shrink the gaps (both real and perceived) to become a substitute for windows and it’s status as a defacto standard for commercial software.
Let’s do a bit of reality check, here: linux has been, usabilitywise, at least as good as windows for a significant number of years. The things lacking for the average user are:
– the usual suspects as pertain to software. Hardly the fault of the system if the editors refuse to make a linux version. I remember Gate asserting that Microsoft would make an MSOffice version for any system that had more than 1 or 10 million users. Linux has passed that point a long time ago, but don’t hold your breath. I personally don’t care about the aforementioned office suite, but some people are picky.
– Full hardware compatibility with everything. I do have to do my homework before I buy any new material. In most cases, if there is a linux driver, it only is some half-baked one (or inferior in some way to the windows one). Curiously, the people criticizing linux for that problem never consider that the hardware manufacturer may be the one at fault.
– It (very) rarely comes preinstalled. Never mind an easy install process, I’ve stopped counting the number of person I’ve met who buy a new computer because the one they have is too old (hint: it simply is chocking under the weight of malware and a simple reinstall would get rid of the problem but even that is too much to do).
– It’s not windows, i.e. it is (even if only slightly) different to what they’re used at a time when nothing is forcing them to change (a decision coming from microsoft is seen as something akin to a natural disaster that they can do nothing about but accept).
The first two points might be a real issue for some. It isn’t for the majority of users. The third is extremely hard to break through, but more than that it illustrates that trying to force or push anyone to shift is useless and counterproductive: it’s only when people are willing to make an effort that a switch may be successful.
Trenien,
It’s extremely important not to presume their needs are already covered by Linux. Even my family, who’s needs are quite modest, expect that when they buy software that it will run on their computer. Unfortunately this is not usually the case with linux. Software that’s not in the repos can be difficult to install, if it’s available at all. Even for myself I find that windows support is way ahead of linux for things like tax accounting software unless I convert to a web version, which goes against my own personal preferences. We don’t like to admit it, but the truth is that for normal users, switching to linux requires some sacrifices when they can’t carry over their existing software tools.
Predictably, Linux promoters counter with the fact that Linux comes with many of these tools natively, which is often true but misses the point that they’re not the same tools. They’re moving from a platform that they are comfortable and experienced in, to one where they are complete novices again. This is not ideal.
I say this not to discourage linux adoption, but in the hopes that we can recognize this as a problem and do something to make windows users more comfortable. If existing windows applications could work flawlessly under linux, then I’m sure we could mount a pretty good campaign to convince users to transition windows 7->linux instead of windows 7->windows 10. But I feel it’s detrimental to say that Linux is already good enough, because that limits the uptake by users who would switch if linux were better for them.
I’ll answer by first quoting myself :
There is simply nothing to recognize on the linux users or developers’ side. Unless you somehow think some almighty person in the active community (Linus ?) has the power to force editors to publish a linux version of whatever software someone might want (but they have decided not to use that power).
If you think the existing software, which in most cases can be installed with much less hassle, does not meet your need, what can the community do?
That’s what I mean when I insist with the need for someone to willingly go into it when making the switch. In any other case, people will bitch at anything and everything, from having to use a differently named software to wherever a button may be located. It has nothing to do with a soft being better or worse and everything with it being different. the possibility that the change may bring some improvement or ease of use doesn’t come into the picture (see my remark about the secretary with the 8.3 naming scheme).
Trenien,
As I said before I generally agree with what you are saying (other than the implication that we can’t do any better).
This is sort of self evident, but I think it’s worth saying explicitly: Linux wouldn’t have a desktop software problem (or hardware for that matter) if Linux had more desktop market share. You are right we can’t force publishers to invest in linux desktop software development, they’ll only do that on their own once linux has enough market share to cover their efforts and expenses. Until then it doesn’t make much financial sense. This is the reality in which we find ourselves, it’s a classic catch-22. If linux is going to attract users, it’s going to have to do so without the benefit of windows software publishers helping us.
The thing is, people are frustrated with where windows is going, but to turn that into action we need to step up with solutions that give windows users some continuity on linux, that’s something Linux is missing today. We need existing software need to run seamlessly on linux. A “liveCD” that runs all the windows software on the host would be a fantastic way to demonstrate that linux can completely replace windows out of the box. If that’s too problematic then build a new mechanism to run windows inside a VM while rendering applications onto the linux desktop (ala accelerated RDP terminal services). By offering solutions that allow users to transition at their own pace, we’d be able to cater to businesses and users who would otherwise never be willing or able to switch to linux in one fell swoop.
Edited 2015-12-19 01:05 UTC
You forget that to do such a thing (be it some kind of WINE container or a virtual machine), you need to have the licence from the editors. Otherwise, it can’t be done officially and as such isn’t available to most.
Again, I insist, not something the linux community can do much about.
Trenien,
Changing windows software licensing should be a non-goal anyways. If you have an objection to having proprietary software on linux as a matter of principal, then I won’t try to change your mind. I do understand the ideology, but unfortunately it increases the barriers to adoption.
I like your approach.
But there’s very little software that people go and buy at the store these days. Most needs are covered natively in Linux and with open source solutions. The average user could get by with a web browser and libre office.
You refer to when a family member needs to install software. When does that happen exactly? What software is the issue? You mention accounting software and you are against web solutions. Have you looked at gnucash?
My point is just do it. Just switch to Linux. There will be growing pains, yes. But there are tremendous benefits of liberty awaiting you. Just because something may be hard doesn’t mean there isn’t value in doing it.
In many cases, you could also use stuff like crossover office, wine, etc. to run software that’s truly windows only.
Microsoft and Apple are steering things the way Richard Stallman has long predicted. We all support our own demise by supporting these corporations. Voting with your wallet no longer works when they’re giving away Windows 10 for free.
Imagine if most of us had switched to Linux 10 years ago? We wouldn’t be in this mess and we’d all be past the learning curve.
Proprietary operating systems are being used to monitor and control us. Eventually this will be common knowledge. For now many of you cling to your ways.
There are the software developers who want to continue to earn in the Windows area. To them I recommend focusing on becoming cross platform if they are not already.
icicle,
Hmm, I should have mentioned this, I’m already a linux user and my criticisms of it are meant to be constructive. I’m still dependent on windows for work, and my next contract is windows work. If I could be well paid with linux-only gigs, I would do it.
I’ll just leave these here..
http://betanews.com/2015/02/22/os-x-ios-and-linux-have-more-vulnera…
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/6229
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2015/01/27/Linux-Ghost…
Hmmm, somebody trolling on behalf of Redmond. What to do..?
Ok, I’ll bite.
First of all, no system is invulnerable. Only idiots who believe Redmond’s crap think they’re running a system that is 100% proof from being compromised. That said, your links are ridiculous.
In order:
– I’m not even going to have a long demonstration about MS vulnerabilities that are not reported here (because MS hopes nobody will see them). I’ll just note that, in the case of high vulnerabilities, linux and the various windows appear to be in the same ballpark (24 for linux, between 22 and 26 for windows). But wait a second, on the one hand you have “linux kernel” (no version specified), on the other the various windows version (vista, 8, RT etc). So I’m sorry, but with no further info, I’m going to add up the numbers for every windows (I’ll skip RT). And, ‘lo and behold, we then compare : linux 24, windows 146
– Let’s see, an article that was made in 2009, with this particular gem :
I don’t use either of these bloated lump and never recommend them. Furthermore, the majority of linux users are on Ubuntu, with the Unity environment (that’s especially true for non technical users). So, fail.
– Ooooh, vulnerabilities. See my first point. But, oh wait, it’s for glibc below 2.18. Let me check…
You’re right, Ubuntu was affected (I’m going for the largest numbers, here). Well, quite serious, isn’t it. But wait a minute, your link reports it Jan 27th, 2015, and it was patched early December 2014. Moreover, although problematic, the problem allowed somebody to cause crash (not to take control).
Really, do we need such attempt to spread FUD? Of course, the numbers make it more interesting for various groups to exploit windows vulnerabilities. However, do you really believe that a userbase numbering in millions is all that uninteresting, especially when none of them (with very few exception) use anything like an anti-virus?
If you believe so, you’re delusional.
But I quite like Windows 10. There, I said it, and this is from a die hard Linux advocate. It just works in a way that WinXP/Vista/Win8 does not. I’ve not personally used Win7, so I can’t comment, but moving from Win8 to Win10 is better than sex. I just wish Vista was included in the upgrade:(
And as the hardware requirements for Win10 are no more onerous than Win7, why not upgrade? If it’s easier to support with everyone on the same OS, then I say upgrade. If it helps kill the botnets, so much the better.
We just need to make sure people don’t skip the privacy settings!
why not upgrade? maybe you don’t want the intrusive “telemetry” that comes with Windows 10. or maybe you have some old software which does not work well with a newer Windows. or maybe you have some odd hardware devices with no new drivers. or maybe you do really like Windows 7. there are plenty of solid reasons.
Or maybe the fact that the UI in Windows 10 is flat-out ugly (the operative word being “flat”), and there’s nothing you can do about it, because it’s the least customizable version of Windows ever.
My current computer came with Windows 8, and knowing what I know now, I wish I’d bought Windows 7 to replace it. I upgraded to Windows 10, which is slightly less awful than 8, but I still prefer Windows 7.
Actually, I’ve been considering downgrading to Windows 7 (still available at Amazon) because that would be cheaper than upgrading all the third party software that no longer works on Windows 10.
Not sure I can justify it however, since all my other systems are Linux-based and I only intermittently use the Windows machine for speciality software – like taxes.
Windows 10 has been more a negative than a positive. I don’t want to spend $ on software that’s no longer compatible.
I’d be very surprised if software which works on Windows 7/8 doesn’t also work on Windows 10 without change. Of course, that is no guarantee.
I understand the drivers are also compatible with Windows 7/8. I certainly installed Windows 10 preview on a nettop using essentially Windows 7 display drivers for the NVidia ION GPU, and have since upgraded to full Windows 10 with no problems.
I’d expect drivers written with the “Windows Driver Frameworks” to work unchanged across Windows versions back to Windows XP. Again, YMMV.
I’m lucky in that Windows plays a bit part in my life. My work is Linux based, I don’t use any esoteric hardware, and a limited amount of software, basically, Steam games and bzflag, and office software (MS and LibreOffice) for my wife, so I should certainly stand down on my assertion that people should just upgrade.
Well.. I use some sound equipment that not very cheap to say the least. Replacing it is simply out of the question for now. This hardware only has Windows 7 drivers that are dependent on the Firewire legacy Windows drivers. The hardware itself is considered legacy also, so no more driver updates.
These Firewire drivers are not the same in Windows 8 and 10. As a result this hardware will not function under Windows 8 or 10.
If I would get a Windows 10 update that I have not asked for, you can be certain I will be furious, because this would cost me a big amount of money. I am not even sure if I can roll back that update. If not – and I have to do a “fresh” install of Windows 7 (if possible, because of license changes), I have to install over a hundred Gigabytes of VST instrument library’s. Also – a change of Windows can affect the license of my VST instruments, so I have to mail all suppliers and hoping they will give me a renewed license. In short – It would be a costly and time consuming disaster. Thanks, but no thanks..
So that’s why I hate these kind of practices. I want to update or “upgrade” when I want to, and not because some company forces the update with shady practices.
Highly modified boxes and stacks are expensive pieces of equipment. Nothing to have connected to wild, wild Internet.
Leave this ‘extreme sport’ to the those who HAVE TO, like Server Masters.
This is true for any OS.
Are you replying to me? If so I am afraid you have the wrong picture here.
The computer that is working with named hardware is only “streamlined” in the sense that it is able to give the lowest possible latency that is needed for sound/music producing. In other aspects it is just an normal computer with expensive hardware connected to it.
As I collaborate with musicians locally and over the world (using the VST Connect SE 3 available in Cubase 8 Pro), disconnecting from the internet is simply no option.
And I am certainly not the only one doing this, so an forced update to Windows 10 will without doubt affect far more people than only those with “exotic” configurations and stuff.
And I am not even talking about people that have a download limit and have to pay extra if the amount of data download exceeds their monthly limit. Especially if this is an massive download that they have not asked for in the first place. I am lucky to be not one of those, but I know a few.
So – my point still stands..
Thinking of ways to protect you from worst outcomes, only.
Ask someone to make an image of your rig.
Easiest way is to simply ‘clone’ your disk.
Well – I certainly make back ups if that is what you mean (and yes – I also have a cloned HD image).
But it is completely insane I have to protect myself from Microsoft!! They should not force an complete OS version number update upon me in the first place.
I said NO to the question if I want to update and they should respect that. I have my reasons, but I do not even have to explain that reasons. In this respect Microsoft is becoming even worse than malware, because they can misuse the update system to sneak in unwanted OS version upgrades that are hidden behind some uninformative KB number. At the end I am forced to closely examine every update to make sure they do not try to shove in the OS version update without me noticing it.
I know you want to give good advise, but it infuriates me that this advise is necessary to protect me from Microsoft’s shady buisness.
Edited 2015-12-19 07:59 UTC
My understanding is you can avoid telemetry in Windows 7, by accepting only selected updates or stop all updates.
Mainstream software and new/common hardware will probably be just fine, but for very specific software or exotic hardware, any Windows version change has its share of victims.
People *bought* a version of Windows of their choice. Is their right to stay with it or update. Is their choice.
The same can be said of any platform. When Apple moved OS X 10.11 to a rootless design, it broke a lot of low level third party functionality, and affected app developers. Apple didn’t care because it supposedly made their OS more secure; “fuck the developers” was their attitude about it. When most Linux distributions started adopting (or being forced to adopt in a few cases) the controversial systemd behemoth, it broke a lot of systems and made life much more difficult for users and sysadmins. The devs didn’t care, because it made life easier on them. “Fuck the users” was Poettering’s and other developers’ attitude about it. Google removed mass storage support from their OS a while back, making it difficult to impossible for users to have full access to their own files without rooting their devices, and simultaneously giving hardware manufacturers an excuse to drop SD card support. Google didn’t care; “fuck the users” was their attitude about it.
Morgan,
Can’t vote, but +1 from me.
My desktop is running an out-of-support Fedora 21, precisely because I don’t want more Potterisation. Nobody is forcing me to upgrade, I will do it when I will feel the need (this means when there will be out a compelling update for some of the apps I rely on for day to day work).
There’s no need to run an out of date, vulnerable OS to avoid systemd. Slackware is an obvious alternative, as is PCLinuxOS, and of course the BSDs. I’ve found FreeBSD to be the best performance-wise as well as for hardware support, with OpenBSD the easiest to install and maintain (and my personal favorite). You can also choose OpenRC when installing Gentoo, but the project as a whole is actually pro-systemd, so that distro may not be a viable long term solution.
All that said, if Fedora is where you are most comfortable, then I do understand your position. Just know that there will be alternatives for a while to come, especially if you’re comfortable stepping out of the Linux ecosystem and exploring the wonderful world of BSD.
I am perfectly aware of the alternatives
The argument stands for Windows too: if you secure it by eternal means (firewall, safe browser, install from secure sources), then you are OK with using an not up to date version,
What about the native DVD data/video burning capabilities of Windows 7 ? Still present in Windows 10 without having to use a paying third party product ?
CDBurnerXP and VLC….both excellent, small, free programs that are way better than what was built into Windows. (and of course there are dozens of others. Have a look here for free, safe and easy installations: https://ninite.com/
(google the reliability of that site if you don’t trust helpful strangers like me posting random links)
I use Infrarecorder myself, as CDBurnerXP wouldn’t work with my hardware for some reason. I dunno if it does video though.
Is there a reason you decided to put telemetry in scare quotes?
Its telemetry, not “telemetry”.
And, I’d say it’s hardly intrusive. They want to know about my filesystem layout, and only in an obfuscated way that doesn’t reveal actual file/folder names? Go for it.
They want to know how many times I launch from the start menu, versus the desktop icons or task bar? Sweet. I want them to know that.
Software crashes due to a bug they can fix? AWESOME!!! Even though it’s scrubbed for personal data, its only accessed by automated tools anyways.
yes, is “telemetry” in quotes since it really is spying. real telemetry is like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemetry
So, anonymized data scrubbed of personally identifiable information (using multiple techniques) is spying?
when is done in our personal files, can’t be audited and can’t be disabled, it is.
We know _something_ gets sent to microsoft.
Is the data really anonymised? Is it really void of personally identifiable information?
Prove it.
Until proof is given, we must assume the worst.
You mean, like the data that gets sent to Apple / Google / Amazon etc. etc.?
Prove it too (*). Until then, we must be equally suspicious of any other subject that handles your data. No one is explicitly better than others in this sense – unless of course you decide to run some rarity OS, or “Just A Brick”! (TM)
(*) nah, don’t even try – simply no one can do that in an absolute sense, like I pointed out before in another thread.
All the better to stop using cloud services or any other online service from one of the giants that would very much like to profile you as best as they can.
I have been contemplating on moving away from anything Google on my Android phone for a long time. Currently I’m in the middle of a migration where I use google services less and less: I host my own caldav, carddav and file-cloud services from my own home, I use the e-mail address from my rented domain instead of gmail, I avoid using gmaps, etc.
The more people shift away from using these services, the better, because the realisation that actually it’s not free, not _really_. You pay for it with your soul instead of real money. The worst part of this is that people don’t care about that. As long as they don’t have to fork over those real dineros.
Absolutely agree. IMHO, ‘to use or not use them / which ones / how much’ is a matter of choice, that everybody should make by taking into account the point you’ve stated above. I am personally confident – to a moderate extent – that heavily differentiating between service providers is a good first step.
Because there aren’t drivers for everything yet.
We’ve had several teachers do the “free” upgrade to Windows 10 on their laptops, and then not be able to connect to SmartBoards, or play DVDs, or be able to connect various devices, all of which impact their day job. These tend to be personal laptops, so we can’t lock them down to prevent the upgrades (the district-owned laptops are locked down more), but we get called to support them. Which wastes our time, their time, and the students’ time (hence the quotes around “free”).
Not every device that is supported under Windows 7 will be supported under Windows 10. And not every device can be replaced to get Windows 10 support. So why should every Windows 7 device be upgraded to Windows 10? Why go through the hassle when what’s installed currently works perfectly?
The only thing that tells me is that you only have had really bad sex in your life.
Two reasons to not upgrade:
1) upgraded my mother’s PC and the Intel video driver is not supported, so the result is that all the system text and in MS Edge quickly gets scrambled until it is looks like an alien language. I thought it might be some other setting or cause, but was able to trace it to the video driver that Intel dropped support few years ago, yet it runs fine in Windows 7.
2) Upgraded a Intel Atom Acer 1 netbook with 1GiB of Ram and it was completely un-usable because of how slow it was, until the Fall update loaded, and was highly tweaked that most people would not know to do. Yet, MS said it would work fine out of the box by upgrading. The plus side, is it freed up about 15GiB and is now running faster then Windows 7, despite OneDrive turning on after disabling it in the Registry or no official way to remove Cortana, since it runs even when you tell it not too, but maybe the system index is now labeled under that service.
Intel doesn’t provide a Windows 10 graphics driver for their Sandy Bridge CPUs, which are hardly that old! The Windows 8 driver mostly works, but certainly doesn’t work flawlessly, causing some applications to crash. By contrast, Nvidia does support their GPUs from the same timeframe. +1 for Nvidia, -10 for Intel.
It may not be the most popular opinion, especially in light of the “privacy concerns” (privacy / data protection is certainly an issue in general, but most of the complaints are overblown), but…
Windows 10 is easily the best, most stable Windows that has been released.
Given how many people are holding out on Windows XP / 7 because they (with a certain amount of justification) didn’t want to go to 8, they would be far better served in the long run getting on to Windows 10.
Wow, I hope you got paid well for that comment.
He got a free upgrade. =)
Ouch. Sounds like he got the raw end of the deal then.
It probably will become but it is not the most stable right now. There are things breaking here and there and many annoying things in the path, like forcing users to use Bing and go through WStore to install things that used to come with Windows.
I despise also the forceful ads and the telemetry. Went back to Win7 and have a hope that the anti-intrusion measures people are working on will pay out.
I have customers complaining and asking directions to revert to previous versions and to block new unrequested onslaughts.
I’ve been using Windows 10 on a handful of machines since it was available, and the only stability issue I have run into was caused by a broken DIMM.
Although, it does sometimes like to think something is preventing the machine from sleeping from time to time, which can be a bit annoying. But at least it can sleep / hibernate and wake up without breaking, which isn’t always true of previous releases.
“Forced to use Bing” is a bit laughable – the taskbar search only uses Bing, and whilst you can’t change the search provider, you can turn web searches off. Browsers, etc, are entirely down to your configuration.
Installing things from the Store that used to come with Windows is – generally speaking – a GOOD thing. Why do you want an OS burdened with a bunch of apps that you don’t use or might want to replace, when it can be stripped back and you have the choice to install from the store or find another alternative?
But I do agree about some of the problems with the way it has been pushed on to people. Especially the forced download of Windows 10 just in case you want to install it – you should never take up a person’s bandwidth or hard drive space unless they specifically agree to it. That was an atrocious decision by MS, and frankly I think the EU should have taken them to task for doing it.
But it’s unfortunate, because the operating system itself is better than the PR that it has attracted; primarily through things that have nothing to do with actually using it.
If I were a Windows user I’d not upgrade on sheer principal. You do not resort to malware tactics–and no matter how you try to justify it, these are malware tactics–and expect that I will reward you so that you feel you have a right to do it to me again. Never. Microsoft has done more to insure that people don’t want Windows 10 than any so-called overblown complaints.
I never jump on new OS releases because they always come with problems. I gladly wait for the dust to settle before I commit any of my boxes to an OS “upgrade”. With all the scummy and sleazy crap Microsoft is pulling now, Windows 10 has zero chance of winding up on my machines. In addition, I now have to monitor every single update to the Windows 7 boxes. It’s not as if I had oodles of trust for Microsoft (or any for-profit company) to begin with, but rest assured there’s far less of it now.
Drive the users to chromeos. Google hasn’t screwed it up….yet… and yes, you can develop for chromeos, but it hasn’t been a popular app target as of yet.
MS definitely feels like they have the market locked up to the point they can abuse anyone as much as they like.
So either shut up about it or start moving to another viable option.
And Google seems to have zero interest in advocating for developers either. It is unfortunate, as I do think the platform has a great deal of unrealized promise if Google would get behind it full force.
Sometimes there just isn’t one. If you are dependent on software that only runs on one platfor,m you are tied to said platform. And sometimes switching software just isn’t cost-effective.
ChromeOS where everything is a web app, which updates whenever the app developer wants to update it? Which removes ALL control of your data and applications? Which web apps often use telemetry javascript to track EVERY SINGLE MOUSE MOVEMENT?
If the update to Windows 10 bothers people, going to ChromeOS is exactly the wrong way to fix it.
Think of this update as a massive Service pack for Windows 7 + 8.
I know on OSAlert this isn’t oven the popular view, but Windows 7 is out of mainstream support and how many times over the years have you been asked to fix a relatives’ virus strewn machine that could have mostly been avoided by installing the latest security updates. In my view users should be forced to update their systems with the latest security patches available for that system. Business (who invariably have IT staff) an choose to delay this. That’s what Windows 10 is.
Not updating your systems is just asking for it to become part of a botnet. Have a look at the number of Metasploit vulnerabilities that take advantage of old windows versions if you question this.
There are more exploits for Windows 7/8 because they have been around a lot longer then 10. #facepalm Those vulnerabilities also get patched as Windows 7/8 still gets security updates.
Edited 2015-12-17 17:10 UTC
Exactly. Thats my point. #facepalm
Leaving people on versions of software with known and well documented exploits is actually irresponsible.
My view is windows 10 should be considered like any other security update where the majority are forcefully updated.
The last time I applied one, service packs didn’t radically alter my user interface or break drivers upon which I depended.
If you like Windows 7 or 8.1 do two things. First, open Windows Update and uncheck Recommended updates. Second, download and run GWX Control Panel from Ultimate Outsider at http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
Our shop has been taking these two steps on customer’s PC’s where the customer doesn’t want to change their PC in any way. It works well. Turn on GWX Control Panel’s Monitoring mode to have it watch for more sneak attacks from Microsoft as they ever aggressively go forth to get Windows 10 onto one billion computers ASAP.
I guess you didn’t read the Forbes article so here’s the relevant part for you…
A perfect example of how Microsoft is no longer respecting user choice comes via revelations that it is silently changing Windows 7 and Windows 8 user preferences without warning. Speaking to ComputerWorld, Josh Mayfield ^aEUR“ the software engineer behind the popular ^aEUR~GWX Control Panel^aEURTM app which works to stop Windows 10 upgrades ^aEUR“ explained:
^aEURoeOver Thanksgiving weekend I started getting reports that the Windows Update ^aEUR~AllowOSUpgrade^aEURTM setting was getting flipped back on on a number of people^aEURTMs PCs, and it keeps re-setting itself at least once a day if they switch it back off^aEUR|This is new behavior, and it does leave your PC vulnerable to unwanted Windows 10 upgrade behavior.^aEUR
In other words: even if you state you do not want Windows 10 and even if you have installed the GWX Control Panel to forcibly stop future upgrade prompts, Microsoft^aEURTMs latest updates will circumvent them. In fact Mayfield admitted right now he has yet to find a method which can stop the prompts re-appearing over and over again.
Only one word: Linux! If it weren’t bad enough that Microsoft is brazenly stealing its users usage data, now it’s forcing it’s bloatware down users’ throats! Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I believe this is being done for the simple reason that there is a back door built into Windows that will give the government unfettered access to any Windows user’s private data. That’s also why so called “cloud” services are being shoved down users’ throats (the slow demise of smart phone memory expansion slots on new smart phone models anyone?) Clouds are warm and fuzzy but cloud services couldn’t be more ominous with regards to security and easy access.
The simple solution is to switch to the free and open source Linux operating system which has become so easy to install and use that practically anyone can manage to do it (Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Mageia are all beginner-friendly distros.) Linux is a UNIX clone and it was designed from the very start to be rock solid and secure. Updates are frequent and with nearly 100,000 free and open source software in its repositories, there’s a free alternative to practically any purchased proprietary software package. Failing that, with a clever bit of software called WINE, thousands of proprietary Windows software like Office can be installed natively in Linux. Codeweaver’s makes this super easy with Crossover Linux.
Stop drinking the coolaid folks. Microsoft and Apple are lining their pockets by taking control of your own hardware, removing your free will to choose their software updates or not and forcing you to look at ads which are targeted at you by the illicit collection and use of your own personal data!! I wouldn’t touch these operating systems with a ten foot pole!
Can we please shut these annoying Linux fantrolls up? There are ample explanations why switching to that buggy thing on your desktop is not viable for most people, posted in this thread no less. You people are getting really annoying.
Support of PC components has greatly improved for Linux over the last few years. Still, many distros have serious problems with the most basic computer outputs, namely sound and graphics.
Meanwhile Linux support of pc-connected devices remains abysmal. Cameras, phones, calculators, telescopes, GPSes, guitar amps, mp3 players, fitness watches…
Fender, Nikon, Canon, Garmin, Texas Instruments, Samsung, Apple… Although some of these are getting better at supporting Mac, NONE of them include Linux software in the box with their products.
And commercial software? Forget about it.
Okay, I will call you a conspiracy theorist.
First of off, which governement gets access to that data? And why would they need Windows 10 for that, most people update their OS at least sometimes, so if Microsoft had no backdoor in Windows 7 but wanted to add it that would require just a tiny Windows Update that nobody pays attention to instead of Windows 10.
Microsoft is big on cloud services and very succesful with them. They also provide memory expansion slots (SD Cards) in their latest 3 phones and many other ones before them. (but they are not very succesful with them). So this is where your theory pretty much falls flat on its face when you look at facts.
If Microsoft was so interested in collecting all your data, then why did they have that whole OneDrive mess where they reduced the storage limits and got attacked and hated all over the internet?
The Linux coolaid is pretty sweet but somehow most people seem to choose another OS, or at least another stack on top of Linux (Android) for a whole bunch of good and horrible reasons. Microsoft went WAY too far with this push for people to update to Windows 10. Apple has done a few similar things. Are these companies doing that to screw users? Of course not. They genuinely believe their latest OS is the be-all and-all of coolness and want everyone to move their as soon as possible, moving tech forward. And while tech is moving forward these companies will earn money and have happy shareholders and employess. Once tech is at a standstill they lose their reason to exist.
You’re a conspiracy theorist. I should’ve bought stock in Reynolds Wrap. I would’ve made a fortune off you.
Really?
My 2009 13in MB is still running 10.10.3. I’m not being nagged about upgrades. I will stay on that version because there is some software that does not play nicely with 10.11 When that gets updated then I might update to 10.11 but it is my choice.
If I don’t sign on to the App Store then how does my computer know about the updates? Answer, it does not.
I do use windows 10 for my Steam Box that I built myself, the big problems is M$ has it tightly tied to the hardware, so if I want to update the MB or hard drive bla bla there is a good chance it will not register again and then it’s a huge hassle.
I would run the Linux SteamOS if more games ran under it that I own.
Linux is so much better than windows now because of all the registration and Genuine Windows crap.
We really should support Valve and the SteamOS. Next time I update my hardware I think I will just user SteamOS and have a single windows PC that I can stream those windows only games from.
If you update the motherboard…yes. But if you update the hard drive…no. It also wouldn’t be a huge hassle, just a phone call that takes a few minutes (I have had to do it a few times during rebuilds). Having 150 updates that take 2 hours to download and install…that is a huge hassle. Finding the right drivers…another hassle. Registration and Genuine Windows crap…just a few minutes
Just a phone call, really, and only if you change the MB.
Of all the other updating, reinstallation, reconfiguration, etc etc, dealing with authorizing a new copy of Windows is the easiest part.
Even if you have to call to re-authorize Server versions, its a breeze, and I’ve had to do that a few times…
I used to rely on Microsofts own article about controlling the Windows 10 Update: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351.
But this seems to violate what was written in this article.
I get the impression that the update to Windows 10 isn’t going as well as Microsoft hoped and that they are starting to push harder before the “year-of-free-upgrades” finishes. Actually WAY to hard for my taste which makes them seem desperate.
In the past they said they sold 200-300 million pc’s per year with the latest version of Windows. If they are now 5 months in that would mean about 100 million new pc’s were sold with Win10. That makes the 150 million or so Win10 pc’s that are out there a much less impressive number than it seems, especially given enthusiast like me that upgrade their pc’s “on day one”, or actually a few weeks before that.
It will be interesting to see what business is going to do in the next few months. Win10 had its first “Service Pack”, the general impression seems that everything works equal or better and they already have the license through their Enterprise Agreements and Software Assurance. Will they now start to upgrade as well? Will they wait until Server 2016 is out and deployed? Or will they just not bother and keep good-old-Windows7?
Recommended, not Mandatory. Considering this is the OS version which is going to receive the most attention / support / new features from now on, the fact that they classify it as “Recommended” makes sense to me.
…
Congrats to the story author. He managed to make a piece out of nothing…
MrHood,
On the contrary, it’s not nothing. It’s designed to be exploitative and manipulative. Obviously it’s not going to trick many of us here in IT, but we really aren’t the target. People like my parents are. Already I used to get frustrated calls from my dad asking how he’s supposed to know what to click on when popups come up. He wants a simple answer like “always do X”, but I haven’t been able to give him one.
What MS is doing here is eliminating informed consent by intentionally making it appear as though there is no choice. In some cases they even discard the user’s choice when it was “no”. I feel this is a new low for microsoft. They always used to strong-arm the industry behind the scenes, but “modern” MS is applying these antics to their own customers. Instead of focusing on user needs and making Windows more desirable, MS has been focusing with more and more aggression on forcing things onto our computers that we didn’t ask for.
If there was another 100% compatible alternative, MS wouldn’t be able to run it’s own customers through the coals like this. Most companies can’t get away with it, but I guess that’s a big perk when you control most of the market.
Edited 2015-12-18 13:43 UTC
This whole brouhaha points out the possibility of some serious problems behind the scenes, for Microsoft, if they’re forced to pull out these tactics.
Can you link to something other than Forbes? I’m not turning off my ad blocker.
Windows 10: Microsoft hits new low with ‘Upgrade Now’ or ‘Upgrade Tonight’ pop-up (The Inquirer)
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2439446/windows-10-microso…
As far as development goes, if you use something like Lazarus and FPC you can easily compile win32 and win64 apps on linux.
So start using SteamOS for gaming and Lazarus and FPC for develpment and screw windows.
we really don’t need it…..
One group does NOT get the nagware… 8.1 Enterprise.
The most commonly installed version that’s “pirated”?
8.1 Enterprise.
It almost reeks of the same idiocy as “DRM that only penalizes legitimate owners” like that in some games… where false positives for piracy happen to legitimate owners when after a week not one pirate will ever see the problem… typically after the company in question sank a small fortune into DRM that didn’t work.
Despite owning legitimate copies of 8.1, 8, and 7, Since you can’t even buy a laptop or prebuilt desktop without them, I’ve moved all my systems to 8.1 Enterprise using KMSPico (and of course classic shell to tell that metro crap to go plow itself) because the only reason I’m even running Winblows is something 10 broke a lot of…
Games. See how Microshaft broke BOTH suck-u-rom AND the cracks for it in one fell swoop.
Wanna play Fallout 3 or the original Dead Space? Good luck with that.
Laughably, many older games that didn’t work right in 7 work BETTER in 8.1 — the original F.E.A.R. doesn’t have the logitech mouse driver woes dropping you to 10fps regardless of the settings, 90% of the KoToR and KoToR 2 bugs have disappeared… Saints Row 2 no longer crashes to desktop…
Making all the fact that all those and many others won’t even RUN under windows ten just another head scratcher.
Much less their ALLEGED attempts at “improving” the OS from a usability and accessibility standpoint is a giant **** you to users; see how they utterly banjaxed font scaling. (Bad enough they made IE do zoom instead of font scaling as default, another reason NOT to use their browsers — as if there weren’t enough of those!)
It just seems that M$ is SO desperate to break into new markets, they’re willing to flip a double bird at the market they effectively have dominance of. Yeah, that’s a sound business strategy; It’s like they WANT to fail at this point!
I tell ya, if video wasn’t like downgrading two generations of hardware, if more than two channel audio wasn’t a pipe-dream unless you have that magical perfect chipset, if people were actually making mainstream game releases for it, if there wasn’t a dearth of quality application software for the platform, and if freetype didn’t kern text like a sweetly retarded rhesus monkey on meth, I’d have switched to Linux on the desktop ages ago.
Admittedly, I have many of the same complaints about OSX, and that’s BEFORE we talk about the overpriced previous generation hardware masquerading under shiny veneers like second rate Ikea products.
Linsux, Winblows, OSuX, iSpy and gimboid — they all inhale upon the proverbial equine of short stature — just in different ways and at different things.
My video and surround audio work fine in Linux – no magical chipset required. Was your Linux rant a copy & paste from years past or something?
Edited 2015-12-20 16:58 UTC
Two things forces me to use Windows:
– Autocad, and have been this way for many years. I ever tried BricsCAD and Dassault DraftSight, both good, but they are not Autocad, and Autocad does not work properly under Wine;
– I also work with support for Windows servers and stations.
From my point of view KDE is the best DE around, even though it is, once again, in the middle of a transition. This time I have been conservative and stood away from the newer version.
There are many reason I like KDE, like its file manager, its document viewer, the window manager and some other niceties but the main reason is that I can created customized “Activities” (virtual desktops, on steroids), name them, open some files I’m working in with Kate, open documentation for the project on Okular and some other applications, close the whole thing because I need to go and when I am back I just open the named activity again and everything will open exactly like I left, even the things being displayed and cursor positions (if they are KDE apps), and it is fast. It does exactly what I need and I can customize the aspects I want. Is there any one other DE that can do it without a third party tool?
You may be right that the graphics/audio stack is better on Windows, but I have not had any problems with them in years. Granted, I don’t play games (well, except chess) and I am not an audiophile (even though I like music and have a background on acoustics, thanks to a graduation on mechanical engineering and, yes, I am saying this to mock a little bit the self-professed ones). I concede, though, that it may present a suboptimal situation if you subscribe to the activities related to games and audio.
Edited 2015-12-21 14:16 UTC
I get where they’re coming from: they’re attempting to prevent the Windows XP situation all over again with 7, but they are going about it the wrong way.
Maybe when 7 hits the EOL they can pull shit like this, and that is maybe, but not right now.
Not the same environment. Maybe MS doesn’t have all the time [and resources] now. Keeping several generations alive is costly, and risky at the end.
Huge effort and resources should go into Virtualizing and Sandboxing those old software/drivers.
I really like where they were going with Windows 7 Pro and the built-in support for XPMode. I was really hoping they were going to use that as the basis for “legacy” win32 app support during the migration to the Windows RunTime … and they dropped it completely in Windows 8.
To me, that was truly a missed opportunity.