Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Asked To Compensate After Windows 10 Update Bricked PCs (www.bgr.in)
Microsoft has been asked to pay compensation to customers who suffered malfunctions on their PCs when upgrading to Windows 10. Several customers have complained in the past one year about issues such as their computer upgrading to Windows 10 without their consent, and high-data usage due to automatic downloads of Windows 10 installation files in the background. The consumer watchdog has told Microsoft to "honor consumers' rights" and compensate those who have faced issues because of Windows 10. From a report:"Many people are having issues with Windows 10 and we believe Microsoft should be doing more to fix the problem," said Alex Neill, director of policy at Which? Of 2,500 people surveyed, who had upgraded to Windows 10, more than 12 percent said they ended up rolling back to their previous version of the operating system. More than half stated that this was because the upgrade had adversely affected their PC. "We rely heavily on our computers to carry out daily activities so, when they stop working, it is frustrating and stressful," Alex Neill, Director of Campaigns and Policy, was quoted as saying.
The consumers were already compensated. They received a FREE upgrade to Windows 10
Yeah but many (most?) users didn't want this upgrade, even for free.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
On behalf of Microsoft, I sincerely apologize for your inconveniences and troubles. In return, please accept a free upgrade to Windows 10.
I'm hinting sarcasm, but sometimes it's hard to tell on the interwebs, so just in case you're serious...
The consumers were already compensated. They received a FREE upgrade to Windows 10, the most powerful and secure windows Ever, a 119.99 value!
Businesses that lost revenue due to shady Windows 10 upgrade practices should most definitely be compensated for said lost revenue.
Consumers could decline the upgrade, or if already upgraded, pay for a new copy of Windows 7 with selective downgrade rights.
Or ya know.. Microsoft could just stop aggressive malware tactics that forced Windows 10 onto their customers. You have to be out of your mind if you think it's fair to make a consumer pay for a windows 7 license that THEY ALREADY HAD in order to use it again.
Which? is a well known (in the UK) consumer advocacy magazine that does product comparisons. It's better for "vendor X sucks for warranty repair on their washing machine".
It's newsworthy in the sense that the BBC has a technology site and they have to put some stuff there. /. is a different issue.
Why one would take a report from an Indian site and run it on
The problem is not unclear. It is, however, non-specific other than innumerable issues were caused by Windows 10 upgrades where drivers weren't available or worse. Our shop estimated that about ten percent of our income for the past year was Windows 10 related, most were problems. One was quite serious when a Microsoft GWX notification came up and informed a local Township treasurer than her Dell XPS Windows 7 laptop was compatible with Windows 10 and was ready to be upgraded. It was not compatible, as she painfully learned. The Windows 10 Pro installation prevented booting due to a fingerprint reader driver not being updated by Dell, and Microsoft did not design Windows 10 to automatically install the existing driver in such cases We did a clean install of Windows 7 to get her up and running again. Dell's website clearly stated that her XPS model should not be updated to Windows 10. And yet somehow Microsoft did not get the message, or simply didn't care to check with all OEM databases for compatibility. There must be many thousands of stories like this one where a properly functioning PC was rendered unusable thanks to Microsoft's lack of quality assurance with Windows 10.
I'm surprised this isn't getting more traction. A manufacturing facility not far from me is heavily reliant on Telepacific (If anyone knows, they have lousy expensive service and mostly the only choice in industrial areas), had all his PC's downloading the Windows 10 upgrade on a T1. Suffice to say, his network was dead slow for over a week until I came in and just pretty much blocked Microsoft completely on his firewall. Not a good solution, but it kept his business from going under because they couldn't reply to emails.
Worst of all, that still didn't stop some PC's finding a way around it. The whole Windows 10 upgrade was like a virus trying to find a way to download itself. Unfortunately I can't move him to Linux like I did my facility since he would need a competent IT guy there (Even though half his work is done through a putty console, yeah) and the current IT guy there is barely competent in anything Windows.
That wasn't the only woes I've seen. I've seen a multi-million dollar bottling machine grind to a halt because of the Windows 10 upgrade (To my amusement in front of me) and I've seen a CNC machine just stop working requiring a complete software overhaul because of the Windows 10 upgrade (Which wasn't so amusing because I needed the parts). Perhaps it's the manufacturers and the owners fault for using/requesting Windows in the first place (I've made my agreements force manufacturers to use Linux, or no deal, I don't know why people are afraid of doing this), but Microsoft should definitely be liable for this.
I haven't heard of Win10 bricking any computer. If it can be restored from a backup, it's not bricked. If you can only use it as a door stop, then it's bricked. If you don't have a backup to restore from, you just might be a brick.
Okay, I'm fine with giving people kiddie porn, atomic waste, and poisoned water, but giving people Windows phones? Doesn't that fall under the "cruel and unusual" clause or something??
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
i am just looking for 3.50
True, but don't underestimate the power of Which?. They have a high profile, and when these guys speak, the media pays attention. This could bring an ugly issue for Microsoft to much wider public and therefore political awareness than any number of geeks calling Microsoft out for it in their geeky online forums.
Also, it's not token compensation Microsoft has to worry about in this situation, even though such compensation might wind up outweighing any near-future benefits from the big GWX campaign financially. The real problem they're going to have is if someone wins a suit against them for consequential losses and whatever weasel words they have in their legalese don't get them out of it, opening the floodgates to thousands or even millions or similar claims. Well, that or actual criminal charges for unauthorised access to computer systems, given that clearly a lot of people believed they had declined the update but then had it installed anyway. Given that we have quite strong consumer protection laws here in the UK, I wouldn't consider either of those possibilities out of the question unless a real lawyer can explain why those rules clearly couldn't apply here.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
God Damn Loch Ness Monsta! I Ain't givin' you no Tree Fidy!
Unless when his video card CATOD it weakened the power supply (overheated the voltage regulators, pulled excessive current, etc.) and it was just dying a slow death after that.
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like