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Any sufficiently large organization (such as a school district) should have better management of their licenses such that they aren't tied directly to a single piece of hardware.

Schools typically license MS products under the "Education Advantage", where by districts pay about $35/year per user for access to all the latest MS desktop products (mainly, but not exclusively Windows and Office).

The trick about Windows 10 phones is that you can literally plug a keyboard and mouse into them, and use them as a low-powered desktop.

Of course, the real limitation there is software - since it's still an ARM device, it's limited to Windows Store apps only. Although that's still good enough for plain word processing.

The hardware is neat, though of course the price is high. The dial, however, looks like a solution in search of a problem. I don't think it does anything you couldn't do with a gesture -- say, three fingers on the screen in a triangle, and then move them in the same way that you'd turn a dial. Like in Minority Report.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And I would bet that real graphics professionals will still want to use a dedicated graphics tablet, rather than get a bunch of hand-prints all over their screen to use a half-baked built-in digitizer.

You're still missing the point. The singular killer feature is the pressure sensitive pen. It's a Wacom Cintiq with a better screen and computer thrown in for good measure. There is nothing from Apple to directly compete with this unless you tether a $2000+ Cintiq to your Mac (https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Cintiq-27QHD-DTK2700-DTK-2700/dp/B00R7QJBCS).

Maybe it's not a very large niche, but this is quite affordable for what it offers. The Dial accessory seems kind of cool too: https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Of course it can... at least the important parts (aka the GNU side of things if you are Richard Stallman): https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-... ;)

Behold! 2016 is now the year of Linux* on the Desktop!

From the actual article -- "includes a 28" display with 13.5 million pixels at a 4500x3000 resolution"

The standard 4k resolution mentioned was a comparison, not part of the spec of the Surface. As for the price comparison, please add in the cost of a high-definition screen-based digitiser to the Apple iMac spec and get back to us. Oh, the iMacs don't have a built-in screen digitiser as an option? Oops.

Still a significantly less number of pixels than the 5k iMac.

And do we know the resolution of the digitizer? Does it actually meet or exceed the resolution of the display?

And I would bet that real graphics professionals will still want to use a dedicated graphics tablet, rather than get a bunch of hand-prints all over their screen to use a half-baked built-in digitizer.

Oh, and the price of a multi-touch digitizer for a 5k iMac? Howabout $200?

Now I have no idea how good that is; but considering the number of 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon, I would bet that it is at least as good as the typical crap that MS has been building into their other Surface products, like the Surface Pro 4. Which is to say, not so wonderful.

"Would be". Yes.

Try to keep up. These are features of the very phones that everyone is constantly shitting all over without actually trying them out. And the apathy has gotten so bad that the CEO of the company that actually made this work pretty damned well is admitting defeat.

A phone with a docking station so it can be used as a desktop is pretty cool. Except all you biased motherfuckers killed it. It is your fault that we can't have nice things. Fuck you all.

"Would be". Yes.

Try to keep up. These are features of the very phones that everyone is constantly shitting all over without actually trying them out. And the apathy has gotten so bad that the CEO of the company that actually made this work pretty damned well is admitting defeat.

A phone with a docking station so it can be used as a desktop is pretty cool. Except all you biased motherfuckers killed it. It is your fault that we can't have nice things. Fuck you all.

The last driver update seems to have solved the only freeze problem that I've been having with my Surface Pro 4, which was wake from sleep.

https://technet.microsoft.com/...

Looks like we've got major changes coming in this department soon:

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.c...

Their webmail server SSL config is rated F:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltes...

It supports SSL2! SSL2 was replaced by SSL3 a loooong time ago.

Oddly enough, SSL3 is disabled on this server (which is good, since it has many flaws, but not as many as SSL2).

And the ciphers it supports? It will use DES. That's single DES, not triple DES. 3DES replaced DES as a standard since 1999.

Not to mention 40-bit RC4, RC2, and other insecure algorithms.

Microsoft released an update to support AES on win2003 waaay back in 2008: https://support.microsoft.com/...
https://support.microsoft.com/...

Of course, it isn't installed.

Their webmail server SSL config is rated F:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltes...

It supports SSL2! SSL2 was replaced by SSL3 a loooong time ago.

Oddly enough, SSL3 is disabled on this server (which is good, since it has many flaws, but not as many as SSL2).

And the ciphers it supports? It will use DES. That's single DES, not triple DES. 3DES replaced DES as a standard since 1999.

Not to mention 40-bit RC4, RC2, and other insecure algorithms.

Microsoft released an update to support AES on win2003 waaay back in 2008: https://support.microsoft.com/...
https://support.microsoft.com/...

Of course, it isn't installed.

Ya know what? Lets just ignore the spying for a moment, all the nasty hidden shit that requires 41 pages of switches, GPOs, and reg hacks to get rid of not to mention that most of which will ONLY work on Win 10 Enterprise, AKA "the one you have to rent for all eternity", lets just pretend all of that doesn't exist,mmmkay?

What I want to know is this.....WHAT MORON THOUGHT BSODs NEEDED TO MAKE A COMEBACK!?

When people came to me to get rid of Windows 8 it was strictly because of the UI and when I showed most of them classic shell? They were happy, but Windows 10? People are coming to me saying "OMFG this thing just keeps crashing GET THIS THING OFF MY PC!!!", I swear I haven't seen so many hangs, crashes, and outright BSODs since Windows 95! I know 90s nostalgia is a thing but I seriously doubt anybody was saying "Ya know what I miss? I miss my PC just throwing a BSOD at random intervals"

Can we get Bill Gates back PLEASE? They replaced a moron whose idea of running the company was "Hey lets just ape Apple without knowing why people like Apple" with a complete dipshit who thinks moving the company forward is "hey lets just ape Google without knowing why people like Google, oh and lets take out flagship product and make it so fucking buggy and crashy it gives people Windows 3.1 flashbacks, yeah thats the ticket"....Say what you will about Bill Gates, he may have been a douchebag but he was a douchebag that had focus, and he sure as hell didn't put out 3 stinkers in a row!

I'd never really given a thought as to _why_ Synaptics and friends required their touchpads to have a full-blown application and a driver installed to have full gesture functionality...but I do know it's another pain in the butt step that has to be automated when a laptop is deployed in order to have a common Windows image. I didn't even know there was a standard. Now I know why - you learn something new every day.

Microsoft does have info on how to implement their standard here but I wonder if Linux hardware drivers can implement the same spec, or if there will always be a "legacy fallback mode" so the touchpad can be used in situations like navigating the UEFI, which has gotten very GUI-like lately.

Why don't you pay attention for a change? Times have changed. No small business has an excuse not to know how to delay or avoid a fatal update. If the computer is critical to their operations, they should either know how to maintain it or hire someone who does. Same as if they're dependent on a truck to make deliveries - better hire someone who knows how to drive and make sure that routine maintenance is done.

And you're so full of shit about fortune 1000 companies - why do you think that corporate users have the option to postpone the upgrade? Only a complete incompetent would allow such an upgrade without lots of testing in such an environment.

Microsoft refused to give a direct answer as to whether Windows 10 was HIPAA compliant. There's no guarantee, even with the Enterprise edition, that things you locked down will stay locked down forever, and this doesn't protect from human error. Even a dentist's office using Windows 10 can easily fall afoul of the law. The EULA clearly violates HIPAA.

Something as simple as turning on Cortana is a serious violation. How many people are aware of that when they bring home work from the office?

I find it offensive that the submitter and editors emphasized that the software is made in Serbia and highlighted it in the title. They could have said "outside USA" but I guess when you say "Serbia" it sounds a lot more serious. Looking at some of the posts here I see that for some of you it actually does.

Crooked software is made in many countries. Perhaps the choice of the company wasn't really based on where the company was based but the quality of service. There are many excellent software companies in Serbia. Just check this out. And this, and this...

I get the point that voting software is too sensitive to be outsourced but if you're going to outsource it then software company based in Serbia is probably one of the better choices.

It works surprisingly well. Recognizes me with or without a full beard, with or without glasses, with bed head, in pitch dark, etc. The feature depends on a dedicated camera and projector to do near IR mapping of facial features: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/mt450467(v=vs.85).aspx

To add to that, those M$ SOBs went as far as switching the order of the buttons to make you press it by mistake! http://fud.community.services....

Little known fact: You can block any update on ANY version of windows 10. Microsoft don't advertise this of course, but even they aren't stupid enough to paint themselves into a corner without workarounds in place. The tool you want is called wushowhide.

Nope. Windows 10 has a specific EOL according to Microsoft. Mainstream support ends in 2020, extended support (security patches only for desktop systems) is 2025.

Their next OS will be Internet-based. No net connection, no workie. You'll buy an annual, non-transferable, non-portable license tied to the hardware. Enjoy, or switch to something better. There are a few free options out there, you know.

Nope. Windows 10 has a specific EOL according to Microsoft. Mainstream support ends in 2020, extended support (security patches only for desktop systems) is 2025.

Their next OS will be Internet-based. No net connection, no workie. You'll buy an annual, non-transferable, non-portable license tied to the hardware. Enjoy, or switch to something better. There are a few free options out there, you know.

Microsoft is supporting it to 2019. People have reported, and Microsoft has confimed ta registry hack that lets regular XP and XP Professional also get support by pretending to be Windows Embedded Stardard 2009.

Just try to do no updates if you are using Windows 10 Home or Pro version (without pulling the network connection obviously)...

Good luck with that...

or you could you know hide the update until they fix that shit!
with that wee app you can hide any update that doesn't play well until micrsoshite fix their crap. it used to be built in built now it's not

https://www.microsoft.com/en-c...

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.c... is a useful resource, that includes "Unfortunately, this approach does not always work."

No, no it doesn't.

I lost patience with the NAT approach. I'm not a Windows admin, a network specialist or a virtualisation expert so I decided to defer the day or two of learning and experimentation for when I have energy and time.

Or Microsoft could fix the shitty hypervisor. Seriously, when it's easier to download software from Oracle you know there's something broken.

Damn. Missed this bit of good news in the blog in my previous post:

Microsoft Update Catalog
The Microsoft Update Catalog website is being updated to remove the ActiveX requirement so it can work with any browser. Currently, Microsoft Update Catalog still requires that you use Internet Explorer. We are working to remove the ActiveX control requirement, and expect to launch the updated site soon.

No, it doesn't. Windows XP support ended in 2014, and not even security patches are provided by Microsoft any more.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Yes, you can shoehorn Windows Embedded Industry updates into XP, but that's only going to patch anything which was shared between the two. If a bug or exploit was specific to XP, it won't be patched. And there's no guarantee this trick will continue working next week, never mind a year or two from now -- Microsoft can close the loophole any time they want to.

In addition, from the same blog post:

Over time, Windows will also proactively add patches to the Monthly Rollup that have been released in the past.

Probably meaning telemetry and all the other things people have explicitly not installed (like Silverlight - for which "patches" appear in WU, even though I don't have it installed).

...Are we going to download the entirety of updates that have ever been released for Windows every month? ...

If you update online you get just the changes. If you download and install you get the whole thing.

Microsoft answered this and many other concerns on their blog last month. Your particular answer can be found in the comments.....

Nathan Mercer
September 15, 2016 at 8:37 am

... Monthly rollup will grow to be about the same size as Convenience rollup update. If you install via WU or WSUS you can take advantage of the Express feature to just have deltas going across the network. Security-only update will obviously be much smaller.

Have a few Win7 installs that I use rarely, so I tried to download it on Linux.

https://support.microsoft.com/...

sends you to

http://catalog.update.microsof...

which says

This website does not offer updates for the operating system on this computer. [no shit, Sherlock]
This website only provides updates for computers running Windows 2000 Sp3, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and later. If you prefer to use a different Windows operating system, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center."

So I click the link for the download center ...

go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10678

And from there

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And then the link labelled "Microsoft Update"

http://www.update.microsoft.co...

Thanks for your interest in getting updates from us.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. [...]

I do indeed prefer to use a different web browser. So I click the link and it takes me to

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Think I've been there before.

So this means you have to connect the unpatched install to the internet to download the patches while just hoping you don't get hacked? Sheer genius. I mean, it would be absolute madness to download a patch on one machine to use on another (or several others).

Have a few Win7 installs that I use rarely, so I tried to download it on Linux.

https://support.microsoft.com/...

sends you to

http://catalog.update.microsof...

which says

This website does not offer updates for the operating system on this computer. [no shit, Sherlock]
This website only provides updates for computers running Windows 2000 Sp3, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and later. If you prefer to use a different Windows operating system, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center."

So I click the link for the download center ...

go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10678

And from there

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And then the link labelled "Microsoft Update"

http://www.update.microsoft.co...

Thanks for your interest in getting updates from us.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. [...]

I do indeed prefer to use a different web browser. So I click the link and it takes me to

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Think I've been there before.

So this means you have to connect the unpatched install to the internet to download the patches while just hoping you don't get hacked? Sheer genius. I mean, it would be absolute madness to download a patch on one machine to use on another (or several others).

Have a few Win7 installs that I use rarely, so I tried to download it on Linux.

https://support.microsoft.com/...

sends you to

http://catalog.update.microsof...

which says

This website does not offer updates for the operating system on this computer. [no shit, Sherlock]
This website only provides updates for computers running Windows 2000 Sp3, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and later. If you prefer to use a different Windows operating system, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center."

So I click the link for the download center ...

go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10678

And from there

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And then the link labelled "Microsoft Update"

http://www.update.microsoft.co...

Thanks for your interest in getting updates from us.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. [...]

I do indeed prefer to use a different web browser. So I click the link and it takes me to

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Think I've been there before.

So this means you have to connect the unpatched install to the internet to download the patches while just hoping you don't get hacked? Sheer genius. I mean, it would be absolute madness to download a patch on one machine to use on another (or several others).

Have a few Win7 installs that I use rarely, so I tried to download it on Linux.

https://support.microsoft.com/...

sends you to

http://catalog.update.microsof...

which says

This website does not offer updates for the operating system on this computer. [no shit, Sherlock]
This website only provides updates for computers running Windows 2000 Sp3, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and later. If you prefer to use a different Windows operating system, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center."

So I click the link for the download center ...

go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10678

And from there

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And then the link labelled "Microsoft Update"

http://www.update.microsoft.co...

Thanks for your interest in getting updates from us.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. [...]

I do indeed prefer to use a different web browser. So I click the link and it takes me to

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Think I've been there before.

So this means you have to connect the unpatched install to the internet to download the patches while just hoping you don't get hacked? Sheer genius. I mean, it would be absolute madness to download a patch on one machine to use on another (or several others).

Have a few Win7 installs that I use rarely, so I tried to download it on Linux.

https://support.microsoft.com/...

sends you to

http://catalog.update.microsof...

which says

This website does not offer updates for the operating system on this computer. [no shit, Sherlock]
This website only provides updates for computers running Windows 2000 Sp3, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and later. If you prefer to use a different Windows operating system, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center."

So I click the link for the download center ...

go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10678

And from there

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

And then the link labelled "Microsoft Update"

http://www.update.microsoft.co...

Thanks for your interest in getting updates from us.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. [...]

I do indeed prefer to use a different web browser. So I click the link and it takes me to

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

Think I've been there before.

So this means you have to connect the unpatched install to the internet to download the patches while just hoping you don't get hacked? Sheer genius. I mean, it would be absolute madness to download a patch on one machine to use on another (or several others).

Can we get something like windows 10.01 10.02?

Or Windows 7 sp2 or SP1.5

Windows 8.2 or 8.1.5?

Sure. It's already there. Just gotta understand how Microsoft versions Windows now.

• - Think of "Windows 10" as a brand name, like "Mac OS X", instead of "the tenth version of Windows".
• - Run this from Powershell: get-item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\' and you will see values like CurrentVersion (6.3), ReleaseId (1507, 1511 or 1607), CurrentBuild (10240, 10586 or 14393), and UBR (17113, 589 or 189 if you're fully patched)
• - You can also see those numbers by typing "winver".
• - ReleaseId and CurrentBuild will always be matched in any OS release. ReleaseId is the year/month; CurrentBuild is from their build system.
• - UBR is short for UpdateBuildRevision and it generally refers to the number of bugfixes applied on top of CurrentBuild. It jumps by a bunch every time a cumulative updated is released.
• - The CurrentVersion value of "6.3" might make you think that this is the fourth version based on the Windows Vista (6.0) kernel, but the reality is that they found a lot of software refuses to install if they try to increment it past 6, even if the software itself works perfectly on the newer version of Windows. So they deprecated this value in Windows 8.1 and it will always be 6.3.

(TL;DR: Mac OS X 10.11.6 == Windows 10 10.10586.589.)

Microsoft publishes a list of the cumulative fixes for Windows 10 and their Build/UBR numbers on their web site. They've never done this kind of a list for previous versions of Windows.

No, that's specifically what the recovery key is for. Your password won't work on another computer, because of TPM - but the recovery key is intended for situations like this.

See: System Recovery details here.

OK, so my information is a little out of date, but it's still not news. Microsoft's NVMe drivers have actually been in-box since WS2012 and Windows 8.1: Working with NVMe drives

Are you sure? https://blogs.technet.microsof...

But... I thought "Microsoft Loves Linux"? https://blogs.technet.microsof...

They do, it's just that they would love it to be dead. :-)

But... I thought "Microsoft Loves Linux"? https://blogs.technet.microsof...

Check the specs first. It only supports GSM network: 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, which neither AT&T nor T-Mobile currently use in the US.

Obviously a phone that is only going to be sold in developing markets.

They boast Internet connectivity with the Opera web browser but the phone has no wi-fi or even 3G connectivity, let alone 4G/LTE.
Specs page here, only shows GSM 900 and 1800 mhz band. Does not support AT&T legacy 850 or T-Mobile 1900 and isn't even reaching over a quarter megabit on EGPRS data rate.

Everything you said is perfectly true but you totally didn't address my actual point, which is the question why Dell are charging an extra $150 more (my mistake not $200) for a laptop with a literally free operating system, than an identical one with an OS they have to buy a licence for.

It is very difficult to say why Dell is doing that although I am quite sure they can spin it in a way that makes them the good guys instead of saying things like "We just want to rip you off so you will feel obliged to purchase one of our laptops with a Microsoft OS on it". :-)

I am pretty sure Dell pulled something along the same stunt a few years ago. See the following (2010) although don't bother to try and follow the links since they conveniently don't exist anymore.

I do think, like it or not, if you get a laptop it is cheaper to just get one with Windows installed and pay the Microsoft tax then wipe it and put on your preferred Linux distro (obviously check you can do this before your buy). You should also get the Widows 10 ISO file (4.2GB) from here and keep it so if you ever wish to sell your laptop you can sell it with a legitimate fresh install of Windows 10 without the bloatware (takes about 10 to 30 minutes) to the Windows brainwashed.

In fact, I would actually recommend getting the ISO and do a fresh install on the default Windows 10 (don't do the quick setup) even if you were not going to install a Linux distribution.

Why is the Linux version $200 more than the Windows 10 version? This is seriously just taking the piss.

Basically, any Linux user will buy the Windows version then effectively wipe it and replace it with the Linux distribution of their choice. The problem with this and you can't blame the Linux user is that Microsoft can then rightly claim that they have shipped another Windows machine (ie. the Microsoft tax). Even if that Linux user returned the Windows license for a refund they would only get the OEM price if they were lucky and Microsoft would still claim a Windows shipment.

At least if you build you own machine or even get it assembled Microsoft get nothing. Unfortunately, laptops nearly always come with Microsoft Windows (and bloatware) and even if you download the Windows ISO from here and customise your own Windows 10 install (it's stupidly easy although I do advise the customise feature) you have still paid the Microsoft Tax.

Just by going to Microsoft site and download the update, I did it, it works fine. A quick google search gives me:

https://support.microsoft.com/...

Nah. Windows 3x has a global win.ini file. All apps used that. It. Was. A. Mess. It was because of that the WinNT got what Windows has now.

Windows 3.1 Resource Kit WIN.INI Section Settings:

https://support.microsoft.com/...

Says there that sys.ini was also a thing.

Apps don't need to use the registry. None of my apps do by their accord. Life is good. You may kiss my ass if you don't like my correction.

It hasn't been a cake-walk converting Zoom Player (http://zoomplayer.com) to the AppX model.

The 'Desktop Bridge' conversion tool breaks the Executable/AppData folder model introduced in Windows Vista and is completely incompatible with the Windows XP admin access model.

By this I mean that the app can't write any file to the installation folder.
And any files installed to the local AppData folder by the Win32 installer are non-accessible after the conversion to AppX (they are installed in a read-only folder where no API can be used to find the folder's path).
The work-around is to install everything to a single folder and then copy the required files to the local AppData folder on the initial run.

There are other issues dealing with the App's icon in various places, it seems they changed the model and it's impossible (as far as I can tell and as far as my questions get non-answers on the microsoft UWP forum) to present the same icon as a desktop app on the start menu, task bar and elsewhere.

I also found that some 3rd party components (DirectShow filters) don't always work in the virtualized environment, but it's something I'm trying to resolve with the authors.

And finally, there is no clear process to get a store listing for the App.
We filled in the form, got no reply that it was even received, later follow-ups on the MS forum resulting in this:
https://social.msdn.microsoft....

Hopefully they will streamline the process soon.

Because they are transitioning from being a software company to being a data company. That's why Windows 10 is free* and they grab so much (and push so much) data on customers in W10.

* If you thought Windows 10 was no longer free, see https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...

No they will not fully support Windows 7 until the advertised EOL. At least not on Kaby Lake processors, which are due out in a few months. Windows 7 will not be officially supported on Kaby Lake at all. Windows 7 is only supported to the advertised EOL if you continue to run it on pre-Kaby-Lake CPUs.

Thus many corporates have had to adjust their plans to keep running Windows 7.

I run the latest Skylake chipset and my Z170 motherboard only supports Windows 8.and 10 as well as "other OS" which works fine with my Linux (Fedora 23 and now 24) distribution. Even Mint works flawlessly in a virtual machine. I also have Windows 10 genuine malware edition which you can get here also in a virtual machine, however I don't like the way it likes to talk on the internet (Wireshark is your friend here) even though I have locked down the system, hence I don't run it.

Can you provide a link or photo or any proof at all that demonstrates this? I'm not doubting you, it's just that this would be a good tool for showing people that MS operating systems can be a very bad choice.

I'm not the GP, but:

Feedback, diagnostics, and privacy in Windows 10

- Basic (mandatory): all the hardware connected to your computer, all the software you use and when you use it, all the networks you connect to and details about these connections.

- Enhanced (default): what you do on your software ("how often you use certain features").

- Full (recommended, in bold): memory state in case of crash ("which may unintentionally include parts of a document you were using when a problem occurred"), "to gather the data needed to diagnose and fix the problem (including user content that may have triggered the issue)".

There was a more complete document about these settings, for enterprise clients, that I read around September 2015, on Microsoft.com. In it, they were saying that with the 'Full' setting, they were authorizing themselves to remotely connect to your computer, "to help diagnose issues". Considering the context, it clearly wasn't linked to any support requests, but simply "if there are issues with your computer or software"... I think I remember that is this paragraph, they weren't even talking about crashes anymore, just "issues"... (but who never has had a crash anyway...? I installed Windows 10 just to get the free upgrade, before removing it all, in case I really need it later, and it crashed twice during setup because I hadn't disabled my secondary HDD with GNU/Linux on it...).

Well anyway, in this document at least, you sure could partially avoid the most intrusive parts (random MS tech guys reading your electronic diary or watching photos of your wife and kids), but anyone following the 'recommendations' is pretty much allowing MS to do everything they want with their computer and personal files. And even the mandatory 'Basic' level is pretty scary in some cases.

And then there is Cortana and the general Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program, which by default authorize Microsoft to "gather voice and text samples"...

There are tons of settings everywhere, and many things you cannot disable, particularly if you're not an enterprise client... You just cannot trust such a system... They clearly want you to miss and leave some doors open... And well, it's Microsoft, they never can be trusted anyway...