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Slashdot Asks: Free Upgrade To Windows 10 Ends Today: What's Your Thought On This?

Posted by msmash on from the moral-dilemma dept.

Exactly one year ago, Microsoft released Windows 10 to the general public. The latest version of company's desktop operating system brought with it Cortana, and Windows Hello among other features. While users have lauded Windows 10 for performance improvements, the Redmond-based company's aggressive upgrade tactics have spoiled the experience for many. Whether it was installing Windows 10 on computers without users' consent, or eating up tons of bandwidth for users who couldn't afford it, or whether it was deceptive dialog boxes, Microsoft definitely deserves a lot of blame -- and rightfully, a bunch of lawsuits. But many of these things, hopefully, will end today -- July 29, 2016 (or to be exact, Saturday morning 5:59am EDT / 2:59am PDT) Today is officially the last day when eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers could be upgraded to Windows 10 for free of charge. After this, an upgrade to Windows 10 will set you back by at least $119.
We asked you a couple of weeks ago whether or not would you recommend someone to update their computer to Windows 10, and the vast majority of you insisted against it. What's your thought on this now? Those who opt out of updating to Windows 10 will also miss the Anniversary Update -- and its features -- which Microsoft plans to release on August 2 for free of charge.

8 of 503 comments (clear)

  1. Dont care by Ubi_NL · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I moved to osx (with all its own flaws) and linux when windows 8 was introduced. As long as my employer is slow in adapting windows 10, and as i have no control that except quitting, i just simply cannot be bothered.

    --

    If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.
    1. Re:Dont care by _xeno_ · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In short, yes.

      If you read through their privacy stuff you'll notice they talk mostly about how they encrypt all the data they collect on you and how they try and keep it "secure" - but they still collect a ton of data on you. iOS was known to gather your location, OS X has been sending all the wifi passwords you connect to back to iCloud for several versions (yet no one cared until Windows 10 did the same thing then everyone got mad), iTunes sends back information about what music is on your Mac, and who knows what else since I'm not about to dig through their excessively long privacy policy to find what they gather on you.

      In short: yes, OS X collects a shit load of info about what you're doing and then sends it back to Cupertino. But they "encrypt" it so I guess it's OK.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
  2. All the stories I'm seen look horrifying by Sowelu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They keep removing management features, they keep forcing weird searches on users, they are slowly crippling Steam in favor of their app store -- am I really just seeing the negative stuff when it's not so bad, or is there some major Stockholm Syndrome going on? I'm pretty happy with Windows 7 on my nine-year-old gaming laptop that's slowly flaking out and has finally stopped keeping up with new releases.

    I've heard you can activate your old license key for Windows 10 without upgrading your machine...is that viable if you want to apply it to a new computer, or is it tied to the hardware like Win 7 licenses?

  3. Re:Windows 10, Windows 10, Windows 10! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Appgrade to Appows 10 NOW or else you're a dirty LUDDITE. Appdows 10 lets you app apps while apping other apps! LUDDITE software can't do that!

    Apps!

  4. Re:A no-brainer... by LVSlushdat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    MY "hardware driver requirements" are VERY specific.. Such that NO MS product will EVER touch MY hardware ever again.. I supported/used MS products from 1991 to 2010, at which time I retired.. At that time, all of my home systems were moved to Linux.. and thats where they'll stay...

    --
    THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  5. Re:Same As Before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    19% market share for an OS that has been free for a year is fucking pathetic.

    so tru :-D.

    same can be sed about da market share of linux on the desk, free for 25 years.. 2% share.. lmfao.

    Win7 4 life

  6. Re:Relief! by SeaFox · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, I think that's forever ruined.
    They can't install Windows 10, but they can add all sorts of spyware to what you have via system updates, and they have already tried.
    So from now of you will need to have automatic updates off and actually check up on each update before installing.

    I have about a half-dozen I'm preventing from installing now because one of them causes my Firefox to crash all the time. Not sure which one, most of them are security-related regarding graphics drivers or something like that. All I know is, Firefox stayed running before I installed them and once it started crashing uninstalling them fixed it.

    I might say something to Microsoft, but their response it either going to be blaming Firefox or saying I have to update to Windows 10 to fix it.

  7. Re:Same As Before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Speaking as small tech support shop, I've had non-technical people willing to pay me to go back to whatever they had before. And I'm not counting the ones that had genuine problems with Win10 (Sound/USB/Networking not working, program incompatibility, etc). Fortunately the rollback feature usually works and most people got the computer to me within the month, so only a few customers actually had to pay full repair rates.

    TL;DR - people will pay to NOT have Windows 10