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Windows 10 Now a 'Recommended Update' For Windows 7 and 8.1 Users (betanews.com)

Mark Wilson writes: Microsoft has been accused of pushing Windows 10 rather aggressively, and the company's latest move is going to do nothing to silence these accusations. For Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, Windows 10 just became a 'recommended update' in Windows Update.

This is a change from the previous categorization of the upgrade as an 'optional update' and it means that there is renewed potential for unwanted installations. After the launch of Windows 10, there were numerous reports of not only the automatic download of OS installation files, but also unrequested upgrades. The changed status of the update means that, on some machines, the installation of Windows 10 could start automatically.

9 of 581 comments (clear)

  1. MS Wants to Own Your Machine for Good by Kunedog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Microsoft is sick and tired of customers resisting their latest shiny upgrade, and downright pissed off when they resist successfully, as with Vista and 8. So they are going all-in on establishing the capability to push any and all code/UI they want, for any purpose they want (DRM/adware/spyware/forced account login/whatever), to your machine at any time. If the current Windows 10 updates are this evil, imagine what they'll be like when users have no alternative.

    1. Re:MS Wants to Own Your Machine for Good by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If the current Windows 10 updates are this evil, imagine what they'll be like when users have no alternative.

      No need to imagine, just look at iOS. Updates are pushed quite forcefully on users, and within a few months more than 90% will upgrade. New "features" include more ways to give Apple money, extra DRM, closing any holes that let you take control of your device. And after a few years, the updates slow your system down so much you are either forced to run an old, unsupported and insecure version or buy new hardware.

      --
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  2. Family member's WIN computer got locked out by Trachman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Rather than fiddling with keys and password recoveries, we have just installed Linux Mint.

    No complains or further questions. People use computer for browsing mostly.

  3. As someone who "upgraded" to Win10 by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let me just say, "don't".

    Never mind the spyware. I had Win8.1 for 18 months before I "upgraded" to Win10. Since the upgrade I've had:
    1) ctl + left mouse to move a window. Release the wrong button first and the window goes full screen instead.
    2) Random mouse locations when clicking left button. Ex: in a web browser hit the back button, it goes full screen. In a web browser click a bookmark group, it minimizes. etc etc etc
    3) Close laptop, go to bed. Get up in the morning, laptop has installed updates and rebooted, wants your permission to continue.
    4) Default app behaviours change suddenly. Just this morning I opened a pdf on my hard drive and Edge opened it,, not the pdf file viewer I've used for the last few years.
    5) Uptime seems to be a week. If it's not updating then when you open your laptop it just doesn't respond.

    I bought this laptop November 2013, it came with Win 8.0 and I immediately upgraded to 8.1. Had no issues. Mistakenly "upgraded" to Win10 last summer, all the above issues have plagued me since. If I had to do it all over again I would, in order, stay 8.1 (I'm a gamer, need Windows), go Linux, go Mac, go Win10.

  4. Make sure Windows 10 does what you need it to do.. by mykepredko · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just in case you're looking for another reason not to switch.

    I put this conversation up as a discussion topic here on /. - http://answers.microsoft.com/e...

    Com port management has never been great in Windows and in Win 10, if you are doing device development work or working with different devices which allocate com ports, you may find yourself running out of them and/or applications no longer working because the allocated port number is higher than the range the application handles.

    Very disappointing non-response by Microsoft and their employees.

  5. Re:But why? by SeaFox · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why does MS feel its so important for us to upgrade?
    I don't understand why MS feels they have to force Win 10 on us when many are perfectly happy with the Win we have.

    Because Microsoft wants to spy on you for financial gain.
    People running 7 and 8.1 can avoid the updates that add the spying to them, but since it's baked into Win10 you can't avoid it so easily then, so the obvious course for Microsoft is to trick people into upgrading to 10.

    Given the overwhelming majority of people are on Windows -- I kinda wonder if Microsoft is really the only one doing the collection of data off of it.

  6. "Free from Microsoft" is an oxymoron by shanen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been posing (and pondering) this question ever since I was convinced that Microsoft was not charging money for the upgrade to Windows 10:

    Why?

    One of the major business model innovations underlying Microsoft's "success" is ignoring the end user. Microsoft has increasingly focused on selling to the makers and the end users are basically forced to go along. Yeah, Apple survived (after a near death experience), but I'm still doubtful that the most creative accountants can show profits from the OS side of their business model. Linux remains a niche player for lack of any good business models, but MS got fat from the manufacturers.

    Now Microsoft suddenly bites the hands that have been feeding it? Actually, more like gnawing off the arms at the elbows. The makers are in a commodity business of the nastiest, lowest-profits sort, and many of them can't afford to skip the new-box sales for a year or so, just because so many older machines suddenly become like-new again.

    MS has plenty of cash in the bank. "Honey badger don't care" which makers survive. There will be at least a couple of makers around to sell new computers, and Microsoft will just pick up where it left off. However, it has also become pretty clear they are trying to muscle in on part of Apple's business model, and maybe the google's, as well.

    Evidently all the makers can say is "That hurts."

    --
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  7. Re:Farewell to the soulskill and samzenpus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    soulskill's profile says "former editor" when before it had some info on it. The foss article was updated with this:

    All this goodwill towards the user community might be coming at a cost, however. I’ve heard reports from credible sources of layoffs at Slashdot, with many longtime employees being shown the door, with their jobs either eliminated or handed over to less costly and relatively inexperienced staff. Goodwill or no, this can’t have a positive effect on the site’s users’ experience. We can expect that the same cost cutting is probably happening at SourceForge, which is already struggling.

  8. Re:"Close laptop..." OMG!!! by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I had one worse than that. Playing Fallout 4, not triggered an autosave in a while, hit esc so its paused while I have dinner, come back to my linux log in screen. Windows had decided to reboot my machine for updates WHILE a full screen program was running. Brilliant.

    This technology was pioneered by Microsoft waaayyyyyy
    back in Windows 95. LAN game, midnight hits, all the Windows PCs drop to the desktop and show a dialog saying that Windows is about to be rebooted for daylight savings time. All the windows users scream, all the DOS users laugh and laugh, and those of us familiar with Unix as well point and laugh, because a system that needs to reboot because the clock needs to change is beyond hilarious.

    Microsoft is the retard in the room. They are completely beyond incompetence, technically. If it weren't for their illegal anticompetitive behavior under Bill Gates, Career Criminal, today it would be "Microsoft who?"

    --
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