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Ask Slashdot: Would You Recommend Updating To Windows 10?
Plenty of users are skeptical about upgrading to Windows 10. While they understand that Microsoft's newest desktop operating system comes with a range of interesting features, they are paranoid about the repeated update fiascos that have spoiled the experience for many users. Reader Quantus347 writes: Whenever I think of Windows 10 these days I, like so many others out there, immediately feel a swell of rage over the heavy-handed way the "upgrade" has been forced on me and so many others. I had to downgrade one of my computers that installed windows 10 over a weekend I was away, and as a result, I have been fending off the update ever since. I find myself wondering if Windows 10 is actually that bad. With the end of the "free" upgrade period quickly coming to an end, my fiscally conservative side is starting to overwhelm my fear and distrust of all things new, and I'm wondering if it's time to take the leap. I've been burned too many times for being an early adopter of something that proved to be an underdeveloped product, but Windows 10 has been around for long enough that I'm wondering if it might have it's kinks worked out.
So I ask you, Slashdot, what are your experiences with Windows 10 itself, aside from the auto-upgrade nonsense? How does it measure up to its predecessors, and is it a worthwhile OS in its own right?
So I ask you, Slashdot, what are your experiences with Windows 10 itself, aside from the auto-upgrade nonsense? How does it measure up to its predecessors, and is it a worthwhile OS in its own right?
I wouldn't. The UI is a mess in many places, and many programs that ran well under Windows 7, don't under 10. Especially games. 10 offers very few benefit at all.
It hosed my Win7 machine. YMMV
A better answer to your question is that I haven't found any features of Windows 10 that would warrant my updating from Windows 7.
In fact, prepare for nothing useful.
That pretty much sums up your entire post.
Let's ignore all the under-the-hood badness of Windows 10. Here are the reasons to stick with Win7:
It's like Microsoft fired their (formerly excellent) user interface and usability personnel, and hired a college grad hell-bent on design. Windows 10 may be good under the hood, but the spyware and shitty UI make everyday use a constant irritation.
When I downgraded my workstation from Win10 to Win7 I felt like I went forward in technology. It's uncanny that Microsoft would screw the pooch so bad.
I tried upgrading on my secondary laptop as an experiment.
"All your files are right where you left them!"
Nope. I was assigned a "temporary account" when I tried to login and all my files had vanished. Luckily the process for going back to Windows 7 seems to work.
Next: I go on the net and read about how Microsoft is busy turning the start menu into a big advertising platform. How you can't turn off automatic updates. etc., etc.
I can't wait to see what Windows looks like six months from now after the free upgrade period is over and Microsoft starts doing all that _other_ stuff they have planned. Stuff they're holding off on at the moment because nobody would ever upgrade if they knew the truth.
By that time Microsoft will own your PC. You won't be able to turn off the updates, it'll be too late to go back to Windows 7.
Suckers!
Me? I'll give it a miss. Windows 7 is working just fine.
No sig today...
...Yes the HARDCORE FOLKS will cry "SECURITY! MALWARE! INVASION OF PRIVACY!!11!" and more nonsense. The average person who asks me if they should upgrade I say yes....
When I have been asked by "average persons" about the upgrade, I explain the data harvesting that Microsoft will be doing to them and their family. These are not the HARDCORE FOLKS you seem to look down upon, but regular computer users. I showed them Microsoft's comments on the data that are being harvested. I did not add my opinion, I just showed them what Microsoft was saying about the data harvesting.
.
So far, not one has said they wanted to go forward with the Windows 10 installation.
It's not "nonsense. The auto-upgrade is, at best, a breach of trust, at worst an unethical upgrade to a customer's system.
It'll be a while before games fully take advantage of it. But that's probably the only one.
Compared to Win7, everything else Microsoft considers a "Feature" requires more phoning home, more data harvesting, and frankly -- Cortana is an ad for the ads on Bing, Live Tiles are just ads for the MS App Store, and whatever That Cloud Shit is called this year is just someone else's computer: for my use case, they're antifeatures and I'd disable them even if they didn't require a MS Account..
The problem is people THINK their data is safe and secure. Almost sounds better to have an XBox or Valve Linux box. you KNOW a corporation is accessing your data and act accordingly. Windows 10 is a wolf in sheep clothing.even if you are strictly using it for gaming. I wouldn't be surprised is MS starting installing sniffers to get data from other (potentially work related) computers on your network and sending that to MS as well. Since MS has demonstrated the ability and willingness to add/disable feature according to their profit/political agenda, anything is possible with a system with shown to add radical "ad injectors" or disable the ability to turn off data collectors you could before.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
> will cry "SECURITY! MALWARE! INVASION OF PRIVACY!!11!" and more nonsense.
You are an absolute idiot.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
For us running Cygwin that's hardly a motive to transit to Windows 10.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Do you also tell these average persons about the data harvesting that Facebook, and Google do, and convince them to not use Android devices?
this, exactly. most of the differences between Windows 7 and Windows 10 are anti-features that don't stop bugging you to use them.
i could live a little longer in this prison
Gee, you'd almost think there was a difference between the operating system on my computer and a third-party website I don't have to use.
To be fair, you're replying to an AC, so "nothing useful" should be the expected norm. That said, his point over "concerns" seems valid. I've certainly seen people complain that they can't see the contents of the telemetry because it's all sent over secure connections. Of course, if it was sent in the clear, these same people would complain about that, so...
Do you not think it ridiculous that you have to play guessing games as to what of your personal information is being transmitted to the 107 domains that Windows 10 connects to whenever you do anything?
Instead of dismissing the people concerned about spyware by saying 'nothing will please the complainers', why don't you take note of the fact that millions of people use FOSS every day because they DON'T want to be spied on? The fact that Microsoft's clients and subsidiaries are getting their surveillance over a secure connection does nothing to sway us.
There are absolutely no tiles in my Windows 10 start menu.
You ARE aware there's a text menu to the left of the tiles, and you can right-click the tiles and Unpin them and they go away, leaving you with just an old-style all-text-with-little-icons Start Menu, right?
There are some things about 10's start menu that I don't like, but 'huge colorful tiles instead of a list of programs' is absolutely invalid.
A friend's Dell that uses bluetooth for everything was hosed beyond repair, because it killed the keyboard and mouse functionality even in the bios. He closed the popup for weeks and was caught by the latest "update" that made the red X mean "yes, please fubar my box."
Telemetry? Canonical, Redhat and others have been collecting telemetry on various issues for years. However, Microsoft is a closed box - so you really believe telemetry data from a corporation that is opaque and has already agreed to aid law enforcement by essentially fishing for untoward activities, is not a big deal? This is literally allowing LEA an open window into your home.
How's that for FUD? Facts, Uncertainty, and a Dubious product.
When I have been asked by "average persons" about the upgrade, I explain the data harvesting that Microsoft will be doing to them and their family.
And depending on how you ask this question, the answer will be what YOU want it to be. The "data harvesting" is well documented and is on the same level as Facebook, Google, DuckDuckGo, etc. This telemetry has been common place in software since XP (at least). Any "user experience" reporting, crash feedback, or online knowledge base/help system is gathering the same data that Windows 10 is.
You seem to be a little misinformed. DuckDuckGo advertises itself as "The search engine that doesn't track you. Learn More."
Telemetry may be common, but not by an Operating System. Users can easily choose not to use Facebook or Google. Choosing a different operating system, however, is much more complex.
For a fair comparison you need to reinstall a fresh copy of Windows 7.
Your Windows 10 installation will slow down over time, just like every other version of Windows. Guaranteed.
No sig today...
A more insightful question is one you should ask yourself: "With a company almost as anti-consumer as Sony, why are you still doing business with them?"
A better question regarding windows 10 is: "If I have to learn all this technical crap just to retain some privacy, perhaps I should look at an alternative OS. I've heard about Macs and Linux, maybe they aren't so bad".
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
I don't mean this to troll; I am simply curious: why not use Linux?
"That shouldn't happen often, are you not leaving it plugged in over night once a week to let it update?"
It should happen NEVER. Its frustrating as hell to be presenting to a client on my Surface and we have to wait for it to update. Its MY machine, it should update when I say, but because we allowed morons to operate computers for 2 decades, now everything is force fed to us and locked down.
Good-bye
make sure to select a custom installation and uncheck all the defaulted check marks of SEVERAL PAGES of privacy-breaking agreements and spyware permissions (some of which are downright chilling to read)..
That this sentence is even conceivable in a functioning society is downright chilling. The above cautionary statement, delivered so calmly, is warning of a full-throated attack on our civilization.
And the fact that the automated installation of personal surveillance apparatus is discussed as some kind of 'upgrade' shows how fast the water has already boiled around us.
"if you need to run windows on new hardware (Kaby Lake processors and later), you will have to install Windows 10"
Yep think about that, an operating system still in it's supported lifecycle can no longer be used on new hardware, not for any technical reasons but because Microsoft wants to make more money by having your OS serve you ads.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
So... upgrade to operating systems that lack functionality (major games, major software packages, etc) or are grossly unstable (Never had good luck with Linux Desktop, personally...)... and then you have to relearn how to use less features and less stable features...
Yeah... that's a winning combination...
If you are going to stay stuck in the past, at least stay on Windows 7 with GWX Control Panel or Never10 installed.
...assuming anyone uses any of those either.
Office in particular is also something that legacy users like to hold onto.
Plus two of those are just more Microsoft. So you're argument basically comes down to "Microsoft is going to abuse you anyways, so you might as well think happy thoughts and pull your pants down".
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Apple treats people like shit.
Apples is the least open and least compatible, even failing to work with earlier versions of products they made.
If you want openness, use Linux. Fedora, CentOS and Ubuntu are great.
If you want an OS that is most compatible with hardware and software, use Windows.
If you want to "feel cool" while paying a premium, then buy Apple.
Respect the Constitution
Linux and OS X are "grossly unstable" ? Is this a joke? There are certainly lots of problems with Linux, but as soon as you call it unstable we all just snicker at you and stop reading.
"if you need to run windows on new hardware (Kaby Lake processors and later), you will have to install Windows 10" Yep think about that, an operating system still in it's supported lifecycle can no longer be used on new hardware, not for any technical reasons but because Microsoft wants to make more money by having your OS serve you ads.
Microsoft has to do this. Not to make "more money" but to make money at all.
Being the PC OS maker has been Microsoft's bread and butter from day one. It's how they got their start in the DOS era, and Windows has carried them through the rest of it. They've had some other profitable products, but everything else has been a sideshow... and most of those sideshows (e.g. Office) have been built on the back of that OS engine. They've made their money by selling copies of Windows to OEMs.
This was possible, and very lucrative, because as the dominant PC OS maker, Microsoft Windows was the platform targeted by all of the app developers, which meant that everyone had to run Windows, which meant that hardware manufacturers had to ship their machines with Windows, which they could only get by paying Microsoft. But most applications today live on the web. ChromeOS has become a perfectly reasonable substitute for the majority of users, and the pain involved in switching to an alternative like OS X has largely evaporated. Windows still has some of its lock-in power left, but not much. In the consumer space, the one remaining bastion has been gaming... but it's clear that SteamOS is going to take that away. The enterprise space has lots of tie-ins with Active Directory and other services, but Microsoft needs more.
So, they realize that their business model is rapidly heading towards obsolescence. Their lock-in is moribund and their competition is all free. The only way to compete with free, in the long run, is also to be free, so Windows has to be free. But how do you make money with free? It's possible to do it with support and services, but not on anything remotely like the scale Microsoft needs. That route means taking a massive revenue cut. Plus, Microsoft is already exploiting the available revenue there; it's in the enterprise space.
What else works? Well, Apple makes lots of money selling hardware, but Microsoft doesn't really do hardware and the only place to make really big money in hardware is in the premium niche. Below that, hardware is already commoditized. Margins are razor thin and competition is fierce. And the premium segment isalso tough to break into, and Apple has most of it sewn up.
What's left? Advertising. There are lots and lots of billions in advertising, and it is and has always been the way to make money on the creation of mass market free content.
Windows 10 is Microsoft's first big step towards an advertising-based business model for Windows. Will it piss people off? Sure, some of them. Will it work? That's hard to say. But the alternative isn't to continue business as usual, the alternative is to cease to exist, mostly. The alternative is to gradually lose market share to Linux (including ChromeOS) from the bottom and OS X from the top.
So Microsoft can't care if it loses 10% (to pick a number without any basis) of its user base because it pisses them off by forcing an "upgrade" to an ad-supported model, because it's going to lose users by not forcing an upgrade. Different users, perhaps, and maybe a bit slower, but it's going to lose that 10% and more if it continues business as usual.
By switching to a model that is services-supported for enterprise operations and advertising-supported for consumer operations, Microsoft Windows has a future. Without that switch, it doesn't. So, they're going to take their lumps and do it.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
A person does not have to be a shill to simply have a rational look at an OS and see that a whole lot of the bullshit being spread around the internet about it is just nonsense. Also, spouting away about shills every time you see somebody say "hey windows 10 is ok", makes you look a little silly.
My desk at home is crowded with my windows 10 PC, a Linux box and a FreeBSD system. I expect that quite a few ./ people (the older and experienced portion maybe) have more than one operating system in use in their daily lives, and are not scared of experimenting and trying things out. These people are quite capable of comparing Gnome 3 with Windows 10 and saying what they think. Stop wanking away about "shills" every time you see a statement you don't like on here.
If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.
Every time I read a comment like this on Slashdot I take a little step closer to never coming back. Anyone that doesn't blindly and irrationally hate Microsoft must be a shill, because hey, "if someone thinks differently from me, they must be paid to do so or stupid". Yes. Because only your opinion is valid. All other opinions must be wrong, because, after all, they're not your opinion. And that's all that matters.
Fortunately, I occasionally remember despite the large number of comments like this, here, individuals don't really represent the group.
Linux is way more stable than windows on my laptop, for any purpose.
Yeah, my iPad is way more stable than windows too.
But I still use Windows on my Laptop, because iOS, just like Linux, is totally useless for doing any real work.
https://pics.onsizzle.com/yes-...