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Most Firefox Users Still Running Windows 7 (softpedia.com)

Microsoft is pushing hard for Windows 10 to become the operating system of choice for everyone across the world, but this isn't happening just yet, as Windows 7 keeps dominating the desktop market. From a report on Softpedia: The Firefox Hardware Report published recently by Mozilla shows that Windows 7 is the number one browser for users running the company's browser, with a share of 44.86 percent, followed by Windows 10 with 25.67 percent. Seeing Windows 7 dominating the desktop OS charts is not surprising, but on the other hand, it's living proof that Microsoft will really have a hard time moving users to Windows 10 before 2020 when it reaches end of support. Microsoft's Windows 10, however, already improved substantially since its launch in 2015, mostly thanks to the free upgrade offer targeting Windows 7 and 8.1 users, but this still isn't enough to become the number one choice for PC users.

119 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Missing the point by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft's Windows 10, however, already improved substantially since its launch in 2015, mostly thanks to the free upgrade offer targeting Windows 7 and 8.1 users, but this still isn't enough to become the number one choice for PC users.

    Quality isn't really a problem for Windows 10 as to why people are not upgrading Windows 7. While some drivers will eventually be updated for Windows 10, some of the "features" like telemetry are the problem. That and how MS forced updates on people involving trickery.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:Missing the point by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yep, and the way you never know what sort of OS you'll be running tomorrow.

      MS has given themselves total control over your computer. You have no say in the matter.

      Obviously they're not going to delete all your files, but ... what happens if they push out a bad update and everybody's machine is out of action for a week?

      What happens if they decide a new monthly subscription model is the way forward for Windows "professional" users? Insert credit card...?

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Missing the point by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That and how MS forced updates on people involving trickery.

      Bingo. The flat-out trickery and subterfuge that was used to force the upgrade on people was the most damning indictment of why people shouldn't upgrade.

      If they have to trick you into doing it, chances are it's not in your best interest.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    3. Re:Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      Yeah, the trickery and spying are the problem for me. And I suspect that's probably the case for a lot of Firefox users.

      Look, I use Firefox because I'm generally privacy-conscious. I don't want a browser that phones home to Google all the time. I definitely don't want a broken browser made by Microsoft. I use Firefox because it allows me to (provably) disable third-party communications, I can fine tune which features are enabled and turn off the ones I feel may pose a security threat, and it has a solid base of plugins to help create a more secure environment.

      Shouldn't it stand to reason I'm sticking with Windows 7? In 10, the entire fucking operating system phones home constantly, with god-knows-what contents, and there's no way to disable it entirely. I'll pass.

    4. Re:Missing the point by nnull · · Score: 2

      A lot of PLC software stopped working on Windows 10. Specifically Siemens Step software that just utterly pisses on you for trying (I don't know if they fixed it, I run it in vmware). So there's quite a few reasons why people will not install Windows 10. I've completely moved away from Windows.

    5. Re:Missing the point by TastelessGarbage · · Score: 2
      Excellent points. As a windows user since 3.0, I finally reached my limit and installed Linux Mint on my personal machines. LM has some issues (grumblesoundgrumble), but the overall annoyance level is clearly lower than win10.

      I can see the subscription model for windows up by 2020 - time to get out now.

      --
      That ain't liver; that's beef kidney!
    6. Re:Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Most PLC software is shit. Give up on the COM ports, archaic ARCNet networks, and other stupid shit that shouldn't be tolerated now that the year 1990 has come and gone.

      Most PLC hardware is also shit. RS-232? Really? USB controllers are cheap and easy now. Even hobbyist boards have them. Sure, bitch about reliability, but that's what people pay you for. If your board-designers can't be arsed to use USB and make a reliable driver for it, then you shouldn't be making PLC's. And, no, the answer is not to make a USB-to-serial cable, sell it for $300, and continue making shitty hardware the same way you have since 1987. Move. The. Fuck. On.

      And support for PLC software and hardware is double-shit. Devices that don't have safe or reasonable default configurations? Check. Devices that fall over and brick themselves? Check. Inadequate documentation? Check. Per-incident support fees? Check. A big, fat "fuck you" to all companies that fit this pattern.

      And to top it off, Siemens itself is a shit company. I used to have to deal with their terrible HVAC products. The best quality product I ever bought from them was a control panel. Quite nice. Also, basically impossible to fuck up, since it's a metal box. The hinged door would be the only thing they could possibly have done wrong, but somehow they got that one right. Color me surprised.

      There's just a shit-ton of layers of shit in what you said.

    7. Re:Missing the point by ArhcAngel · · Score: 4, Interesting

      what happens if they push out a bad update and everybody's machine is out of action for a week?

      You mean like last week?
      I was scratching my head for an hour trying to figure out why my wife's laptop showed it connected to the AP but not the internet. I felt really dumb once I figured it out. Then I read this story and got really mad. All the while happily connected to Steam playing games on my Win 7 desktop running Waterfox (64 bit FF fork). And of course since it took out DHCP there's no way for the average person to connect to get the patch!

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    8. Re:Missing the point by ripvlan · · Score: 1

      You have a valid point - I use Win10 at home and I'm not sure what "telemetry" really is (its extent, reach, etc). Win10 seems good to me, fast, it works - my PC was a Free upgrade from Win7. Sure there are a few hiccups here an there - but nothing to the level of say my iPhone which occasionally freezes for 15-30 seconds at a time. Plenty of things to like & dislike such as searching for "Event Viewer" and having Bing results including Plane Ticket to Event.

      Which makes me wonder what the Corporate version is like.

      Win10 hasn't been rolled out yet in the office (coming soon). But what do all of those "features" look like at a corporate level? I assume they are all turned off because we're paying money. We'll all adapt to the new UI - thankfully the Win8 UI has been improved (I have to use Win2012 servers once in awhile and want to shoot myself every time I press the Windows key - yes I know - you can just start typing).

      And the live tiles. Ugh. I like the MS Phone demos of live tiles where they grouped everything by category "Conversations." It is not a feature I appreciate "on a PC."

      Onward and upward.

    9. Re:Missing the point by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      Look, I use Firefox because I'm generally privacy-conscious. I don't want a browser that phones home to Google all the time. I definitely don't want a broken browser made by Microsoft. I use Firefox because it allows me to (provably) disable third-party communications, I can fine tune which features are enabled and turn off the ones I feel may pose a security threat, and it has a solid base of plugins to help create a more secure environment.

      Firefox talks the talk about privacy but makes it virtually impossible to achieve. Sheer volume of "call home" excuses in Firefox is breathtaking. Their own expansive about:config privacy documentation tweak guide is as incomplete as it is ridiculously long and convoluted to follow.

      If they really gave a shit they would provide usable privacy options as in options that mortal people can actually manage.

      Such as:

      "Never call home for any reason".
      "Ask me before calling home"
      "Automatically call home for x class of reasons" ...etc.

      The other major issue with Firefox is relatively poor code quality makes using Firefox more dangerous than other browsers.

    10. Re:Missing the point by hambone142 · · Score: 1

      Given Microsoft's trickery in attempting people to download Win10, I'll stay away from it.

      It's sad. When I go to a store and see the new PCs, part of me wants to buy the latest. However, when I see "Win 10" listed as the OS, there is NO WAY I will buy a PC with that operating system.

      So... I stay with my Win7 systems and have migrated another laptop to Linux Mint, in preparation for completely pulling the plug on Microsoft operating systems once Win7 is no longer usable.

      If Microsoft would keep the UI simple (like Win XP/7) and get rid of the forced updates (I have a 10 GB/month data cap on my satellite internet) as well as eliminating the fucking "telemetry", I might consider a new OS but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

      So... burn in hell, Microsoft. Along with your crappy operating system, you are preventing future hardware sales.

    11. Re:Missing the point by Pentium100 · · Score: 1

      I bought the GPD Win palmtop PC (not for games, really, but there was no alternative with an x86 CPU and this form factor and my Viliv N5 is a bit slow). It came with Windows 10. After failing to make Windows 8 work on it (sound driver didn't work properly and there was no display of remaining battery charge - kinda important for a mobile device) I had to go back to Windows 10 and spend a few days making it not send data to Microsoft and disabling updates (so my settings stay).

      As an OS, Windows 10 is not that bad, though I still hate the UI (for me, Windows 2000/Classic look is the best, followed by XP and Aero), but what makes it awful is the forced updates and the data sharing. "Cloud storage" seems interesting, but only if "the cloud" is my own server.

    12. Re:Missing the point by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Obviously they're not going to delete all your files, but ...

      I don't see how the last part of your statement follows from the "Obviously" part. Please elaborate.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  2. win 10 is still a work in progress by anthony_greer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is far and away better than it was a year and a half ago, but Win 10 still has a ways to go before it is ready for the "it just has to work all the time" workloads of many with demanding workloads. It is stable, but they need to really finish the transition from old to new completely, and add proper GPO management around new features like the Windows Settings app that is replacing control panel a little more with each feature update. Give it another 6 months or so and it will be there I think.

    1. Re:win 10 is still a work in progress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Win10 will always be a work in progress in leu of a finish production ready OS. Microsoft's development methodology has regressed to agile...for an OS! Look at the stuff they keep breaking with each major update[DHCP/wifi/etc]. How in the hell can you ship a patch that breaks DHCP and not see that in QA?

    2. Re:win 10 is still a work in progress by Motherfucking+Shit · · Score: 2

      How in the hell can you ship a patch that breaks DHCP and not see that in QA?

      Easy, lay off all your QA people. The users are QA, now...

      --
      "BSD: Free as in speech. Linux: Free as in beer. Windows 10: Free as in herpes." --Man On Pink Corner in #52607549.
  3. 7 works by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    10 sometimes

  4. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do you complain about people using the wheel that has been around for thousands of years too?

    You're under the assumption that the latest SHINY is worth upgrading to.

    I neither want nor need MS spyware.

  5. Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Spy+Handler · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of my desktops is a Phenom triple-core I built in 2009. It's kinda underpowered for newer Windows versions so I still have XP (service pack 3) running on it.

    It runs like a champ by the way, still quite snappy. I used to run Google Chrome on it, but some time last year it started spamming me with "Upgrade your windows, Chrome no longer blah blah" message so I uninstalled Chrome and put Firefox on it. Runs great, happy with the setup.

    1. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the mention of uMatrix, I wasn't aware of it before but I'm installing it right now. Very useful add-on.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    2. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by I've+Got+Three+Cats · · Score: 1

      Yep. I have XP and Firefox running on a Phenom X4 and it's great for all my legacy needs. I also run a Win7 box with hardware bought in 2007 (Core2Quad) and that runs fine too. By the time Win7 ends it's life I assume there will be free commercial software that no longer supports it, e.g., Skype, Chrome etc, assuming they still exist, but you get the idea. If I need to run something I can't on Win7 because of corporate fuckyouism I'll move to Linux.

    3. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Merk42 · · Score: 2

      What do you use it for? I'm curious why you'd leave a vulnerable OS connected to the Internet rather than using Linux (or some more recent, supported, version of Windows)

    4. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 4, Funny

      I enjoy running your copy of XP too ;). I have to admit - your old machine is a weak link in my botnet though - especially as everyone else likes using it too.

    5. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      WinXP isnt a "vulnerable OS" is you do the wepos registry mod to it. Google is your Friend. essentially the wepos mod makes your xp install look like one of the embedded windows xp installs that are still out there in the wild. think of ATM and other POS uses.There are still regular batches of monthly updates coming out for XP after you make this mod to your system.

    6. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I noticed, lol. I'm finding it may be more trouble than it's worth at this point....we'll see.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    7. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by antdude · · Score: 1

      Does Mozilla still support Windows XP SP3 for its products? I thought they dropped that OS support recently. I used to run an updated 14 years old 32-bit Windows XP Pro SP3 too until my old Seagate SATA HDD died due to its clicks of death back in 10/22/2016 in the early mawning hours. I was forced to get a new SATA HDD and install a new Windows (64-bit 7 HPE SP1 this time). That's OK. It was way overdue to start from scratch especially when I stopped doing backups of everything (only do unrecoverable data files).

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    8. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Spy+Handler · · Score: 1

      XP (all versions) are supported until 2018. After that I may retire the machine from internet duty and relegate it to a file server or something.

    9. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by antdude · · Score: 1

      Supported? Where do you see that? I know embedded XP is supported which I don't use.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    10. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by Spy+Handler · · Score: 1
    11. Re:Still proudly running XP and Firefox! by antdude · · Score: 1

      Ahh. You were talking about Firefox. I thought you meant the OS. :)

      It looks like Mozilla will end Windows XP support in March 2017 according to quick Google searches: http://www.google.com/search?q... ...

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  6. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by ckatko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's kind of stupid. Windows 8 and 10 offer "almost" no useful features over Windows 7 and have a much less power-user friendly GUI. Every GUI dialog takes twice as long to display, and twice as many clicks to accomplish.

    The ONLY feature of Windows 8/10 that I've noticed I'm missing? Desktop Duplication API which allows fast, user-mode, desktop capture. Why isn't it in Windows 7? Because Microsoft arbitrarily decided to remove it from that version of DirectX/DXGI for Windows 7.

    Great folks.

    And some psychopath backported it to Windows 7.

    https://github.com/rgcjonas/dd...

    And I work in IT and software development, supporting hundreds of Microsoft desktops and servers from XP (and Win server 2003, ugh.) to Windows 10 and use them all regularly. So I'm talking from a position of experience, and not willful blindness.

  7. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Joce640k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He also assumes that our printers, etc., will have drivers available and we won't need to spend $1000 for the privilage of junking them.

    And ... that all our documents and data files will still be there after an "upgrade". Mine certainly weren't when I tried it. Luckily for me the rollback to Win7 worked or I'd have lost everything.

    (yes, I had a backup, I'm not that stupid)

    --
    No sig today...
  8. But of course! by Type44Q · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...shows that Windows 7 is the number one browser

    Sure thing, Manesh.

    1. Re:But of course! by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Worse - it's in the cited article as well. Didn't the submitter (msmash) bother to read it first, or is this just karma whoring.

      The Firefox Hardware Report published recently by Mozilla shows that Windows 7 is the number one browser for users running the company’s browser, with a share of 44.86 percent, followed by Windows 10 with 25.67 percent.

      How hard would it have been to link to the actual report, which doesn't claim that Windows 7 is a browser?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  9. Just because by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just because I am running your software, does not mean you own my computer. You do not seem to understand this concept.

    When 7 gets a critical hole that can't be secured without updating, I'll be moving to whatever *nix os seems like the best option.
    The only reason I didn't switch when I assembled my current rig was due to a driver issue, which has probably been patched by now anyway.

  10. I do too by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    I run Firefox on Win7 at work and home. Use Android for the mobile though.

  11. Telemetry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    https://metrics.mozilla.com/firefox-hardware-report/#goto-os-and-architecture

    "The data for this report comes from Firefox’s built-in Telemetry data system. Firefox automatically collects information about desktop hardware and operating system configurations and sends this to Mozilla roughly daily, unless users disable this collection."

    Wonderful.

    1. Re:Telemetry by narcc · · Score: 1

      The difference between FF and Chrome, of course, is that FF actively notifies you (allowing you to immediately change those settings) and doesn't sell your info to anyone with a few bucks to spare.

      Disabling Chromes telemetry takes a bit of doing, and more technical knowledge and skill than the average user can manage. (Assuming that it can actually be completely disabled, of course.) They also don't tell you about it, preferring to keep their invasive data collection and sale as secret as possible.

  12. Poor 3rd party link by marcle · · Score: 4, Informative

    This link is to a badly written Softpedia article, which has the link to the actual Mozilla report.
    Why couldn 't Slashdot link to the original report? It's very informative.
    The Softpedia article adds no information, and sounds like the writer is a non-native English speaker.

  13. Free Upgrade Offer by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny

    Windows 10: Do not want

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  14. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I do not want to let go of the glorious present in which my still-adequate hardware works, and updates only happen when I allow them to happen.

  15. 2020 by thundercattt · · Score: 1

    Considering most laptops have a 3 year life span because people buy the cheapest one on the market IE HP/Compaq. They'll be forced to buy a Win10 laptop anyway. Either use it or move to Linux.

    1. Re:2020 by I've+Got+Three+Cats · · Score: 1

      But won't MS have released their next version by then? I assume by 2020 we'll have Windows 11 to buy on those new laptops. Woot!

  16. Strange, it's as if they had Free Will by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Just because your corporate greed needs you to junk stuff to force people to pay you on a continuing subscription basis, doesn't mean we see any point in "upgrading".

    Most of our machines are Linux btw. They don't show up in your metrics, because we don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for each machine, but only thousands, and they do about 100 times more actual work.

    Enjoy failure.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  17. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    On my desktop box I use Win 7 and FF, and they work just fine for me; I see no compelling reason to upgrade or change.

    I use Linux Mint and FF on my laptop and also see no reason to change anything there.

    Not all of us want to spend our lives upgrading stuff or chasing the release or gadget or whatever. Some of us just want to find something that works and use it.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  18. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by thechemic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I couldn't have stated it better than you have here. Windows 10 offers little to no feature, function, or benefit that would motivate Windows 7 users to switch. The only thing I can think of is arguably a better interface for touch screen users. Windows 10 is crippling from an efficiency-of-use perspective. Want to update your system? Try hitting the start button in Windows 10 and type "Windows Update". The search results are ridiculous and there are literally 100s (perhaps 1000s?) of examples of clunky experiences just like this one. Getting Windows 10 to behave properly in an enterprise environment is also a nightmare. We spent weeks tinkering with Group Policies in an effort to make Windows 10 stop spying on the agency, and to stop terrorizing our end-users with frivolous prompts squirting out of every orifice in the user interface.

    --
    Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.
  19. Lowest Common Denominator by emil · · Score: 4, Informative

    Microsoft removed the cheesy Aero interface for one reason only: mobile devices could not run it efficiently.

    As Microsoft's mobile strategy has utterly failed, Windows 8 and 10 users are forced into a mobile-friendly UI for no purpose whatsoever.

    The market objects.

    1. Re:Lowest Common Denominator by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Microsoft removed the cheesy Aero interface for one reason only: mobile devices could not run it efficiently.

      It's almost as if you of abstraction layers. There's no reason it can use Aero on the desktop and something different on a mobile device.

      They could even let the user choose what they want!

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Lowest Common Denominator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They could even let the user choose what they want!

      That's pre-1995 thinking, User. Why do you think the Windows icon is called "My Computer"? It's not your computer, it's Satya Nadella's. You are allowed to operate it at his pleasure.

  20. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

    They better not upgrade to the newest CPUs that will require Windows 10 (or Linux).

    http://www.techrepublic.com/article/windows-10-the-10-biggest-controversies-and-surprises-in-2016/

  21. windows 10, hmm by FudRucker · · Score: 1

    just think, in 85 more releases they will be back up to windows 95, i will wait for windows 95 to be released before i buy another windows OS

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  22. Only 77% have Flash? by gQuigs · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My biggest surprise is that only 77% have Flash installed. That either means users don't need Flash any more on the desktop or Mozilla has a bigger mobile usage than I think... Either way I think it's good.

    https://metrics.mozilla.com/fi...

    1. Re:Only 77% have Flash? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Desktop only.

      "The Firefox Hardware Report is a public monthly report of the hardware used by a representative sample of the population from Firefox's release channel on desktop."

    2. Re:Only 77% have Flash? by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure how you concluded that 77% = nobody.

      Sounds like just about every telemetry report companies use to "prove" that useful features need to be removed by force.

    3. Re:Only 77% have Flash? by gQuigs · · Score: 1

      The conventional wisdom (that I've been exposed to) would say that on desktops the Flash marketshare would be >95%. Most of that "wisdom" may have come from Adobe itself: https://www.adobe.com/mena_en/... (2011 time frame too).

      I knew that Flash was being used less, I just didn't realize a substantial install base didn't have it. Or in other words 23% != nobody.

    4. Re:Only 77% have Flash? by toddestan · · Score: 1

      I don't have Flash installed. I noticed that on Linux where I never bothered with Adobe's crappy Flash plug-in, pretty much anything I that I wanted to do that you would think I would need Flash for has started to work without it over the past year or so thanks to HTML5. So I uninstalled it on Windows, and haven't looked back.

      The only slightly tricky thing is that you also have to uninstall FlashBlock (as FlashBlock will fool websites into thinking you have Flash installed so they'll send you Flash stuff instead of HTML5), and you'll also want to install some kind of click-to-play for HTML5 content for all the stupid sites that still have auto-playing videos.

  23. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by mlw4428 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    MS Spyware, Google Analytics, Alexa, and a billion other pieces of tracking out there. Face it, unless you're running everything through a VPN, through TOR, run NoScript, run an adblocker or two, never use any web features that require Javascript, and never reuse usernames then you're being tracked by some entity somewhere. And even TOR isn't a guarantee these days. You don't have privacy on the internet. You never will have privacy on the internet UNLESS you're willing to give up quite a bit of functionality. And honestly, you shouldn't really expect it. The internet isn't some bastion of freedom. It's a series of highly commercial entities who are providing stuff for you in exchange for their being able to market to you OR sell your information to someone else. It's not even about what's fair and equitable - this is simply about capitalism in its finest, unhindered state. You, the end-user, aren't usually the customer - rather you're the resource. You're going to be harvested regardless of your wishes or desires. Meanwhile you stay on an insecure OS and you make it possible for your machine to become a zombie and interrupt MY experience. Don't like it? Well set aside those Libertarian ideas that \. loves so much, boys, only regulation will fix this kind of crap.

  24. Interesting, but not unexpected by Thyamine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People running Firefox are users who are more aware than standard users. They have gone out and downloaded a non-standard (for not tech people) browser and are using it. It makes sense that they are more likely aware of their OS, and what they would want or not want; as well as able to avoid the forced Windows 10 upgrade many techies were forced into.

    --
    I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
  25. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Joce640k · · Score: 2

    You took your machine to a computer store for idiots to mess with and you didn't make a backup first? Pot, meet kettle.

    I wish I still had Vista.

    No you don't. Trust me on this one.

    --
    No sig today...
  26. No No No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The reason that people are NOT upgrading to Windows 10 especially from Windows 7 are many. It is a multifaceted whole.

    • - There's no need. Windows 7 suites their needs just fine and they have no need to replace their OS until they buy a new machine.
    • - Windows 10 now costs a non-trivial amount to upgrade an existing machine.
    • - Upon purchasing a new machine, people do not like the new look, which goes way beyond just the Start Menu. Literally everything has been moved/re-arranged and it is beyond cumbersome to find relocated settings and applications.
    • - People do not like having to through out their applications and perfectly HARDWARE like printers and scanners, because they are not supported under Windows 10. I've literally had to trash two year old $1,000 Xerox/Fujitsu scanners after moving a user to Windows 10, because there is no Windows 10 support, nor will there be. Perfectly good OKI color laser printer, albeit a few years old.Push it into the trash as there's no driver.
    • - Windows 10 Metro Apps are a massive ball ache.
    • - Windows desktop advertising, from Candy Crush and constant attempts to get users to sign up for and buy Microsoft cloud services, especially OneDrive and O365.
    • - Telemetry, forced updates that break things like DHCP clients(last week) or remove previously present features or options(Anniversary Update).

    All this while still taking an Intel i7-6700 processor and making it perform at the same overall user experience level that Windows 2000 provided on a Pentium II processor.

    Don't get me wrong. There are many nice features and advantages to Windows 10. I'm particularly impressed with its seemingly low RAM usage. But I shouldn't have to put an NVMe SSD into an i7-6700 to get the same performance I got years ago.

  27. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So after running Vista (wtf1), when you finally decided it's time to an "upgrade", you hand your computer to the idiots at "the computer store" (wtf2) to have them install W10 (wtf3) for you, because what, is it difficult? You didn't back up your files (wtf4) beforehands, or at all in the last 20 years, i suppose.

    I know /. is mainstream theses days, but WTF are you doing here?

  28. "Free upgrade offer" by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

    Right. "Free upgrade offer".

    I'll have to remember that phrase next time I want to forcibly coerce someone to do something that they don't want.

  29. The Fuckery Never Ends by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's a lot that I like in Windows 10 but there's SO MUCH MORE ASININE FUCKERY that you can't get rid of that just makes it teeth-gratingly irritating to use

    Case in point: There's this insidious piece of trash called the Windows Game Bar, fine, cool... cool... how do I rid myself of this unwanted plague? Oh well, simply LOG IN to the Microsoft XBox app and disable it ...but what if you don't have an account? Then make one and log in and then disable it. Riiiiiight

    OKAY well lookie here there are some powershell commands you can run to uninstall it, great works, until I plug in my XBox controller or let Windows update run and well ... fuck it's back

    OKAY well here's some registry hacking you can do that gets rid of it, nope, keeps coming back.

    Just like Cortana - just like a lot of other garbage I don't need nor want.

    "So don't run Windows 10" you say... well... you're right. This is how you push a long time Windows fanboy off the cliff you fuckwits. I'm sick of this garbage. I'm sick of not having even the level of control I had with lame duck 8.x (and that's saying something)

    Microsoft doesn't understand its consumer-level customers at a fundamental level and that is going to cost them in the long run

  30. MS Windows Users Should... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Demand Microsoft either update 7, adding any new device support such as USB-C it may be lacking, etc., even if that means putting another $79 box on store shelves labeled "Microsoft Windows 7.1" or "MS Windows 7, Long Term Support Edition," and let it be updated for security purposes and to support new devices like I said, with a legally enforceable commitment to support it through something like 2035, offering full refunds to anyone who buys it if they don't, and putting the money to fund that into a trust or escrow account with, for example, the US Department of Justice which they only get to have if they COMPLY, with that and every other court-ordered measure they have EVER been slapped with for anticompetitive behavior.

    Should they fail to do this, as Microsoft deliberately and intentionally makes using Windows 7 THAT PEOPLE PAID FOR THE RIGHT TO USE, either directly or indirectly, they should respond not only by NOT knuckling under to Microsofts demands for more money for their buggy, non-securable, defective-by-design, doomed to require upgrading again, BY DESIGN by Microsoft crappy software of crap, and instead UPGRADE to GNU/Linux, and send screenshots or photos of their computers during the upgrade process, and of people throwing their Microsoft discs and manuals IN THE GARBAGE, accompanied by messages like, "This is a what I think of your insistence that I pay you AGAIN for the same thing I already fucking paid you for, over and over again."

    "You have no legal right to cripple my computer, nor legal claim on MY MONEY; in short, you assholes go fuck yourselves with a broken whiskey bottle dipped in shit."

    Or something like that. Get creative. Learn to use a real, grown-up operating system, not a junky toy like the trash Microsoft sells and tells you it's gold. It's not. It's gold-painted garbage that will rot and stink up your house and anything it touches.

    GNU/Linux is built from the ground up to FREE YOU and let you do what you want with your computer; Microsoft Windows is kludged together from old parts never intended to work at all, let alone together, to make you a SLAVE to Microsoft and make you pay them an illegal TAX to use your own computer that you PAID FOR; they tried, (and for a long time were succeeding at,) making it impossible for you to get a computer that DIDN'T have their useless "operating system" on it, and which is and always has been a vector for computer virus, worm, Trojan and other malware infection and dissemination.

    GNU/Linux is the future because it is maintained and developed by people whose motivation is that they want to use it and make it the best it can be.

    Microsoft will ONLY continue to support and develop Windows as long as they think there's enough money in it for them to make it worth their time; as more and more people switch to REAL operating systems, the pool of people still trapped in the cycle of paying Microsoft over and over again for the same thing grows smaller, and as a result, each individual will bear a larger and larger, ever-growing proportion of the financial burden of maintaining an OS that by design will ALWAYS need maintenance, for that is the underpinning of Microsoft's theft ... er... business model.

    Don't be a Microsoft sucker for even one more day. Start using the superior GNU/Linux operating system OF YOUR CHOICE TODAY, and choose FREEDOM over SLAVERY.

    1. Re:MS Windows Users Should... by Pentium100 · · Score: 1

      Linux is great. I use it in my servers and in my desktop PC in the office. It works great, for desktop use LXDE does not take a lot of resources and looks good. KDE also looks good even though it uses more resources. I also am an admin for a lot of Linux servers and they all work great.

      However, I also have problems with desktop Linux at home:
      1. Most video games do not run on it (yes, there are Linux compatible games, but they are a subset of Windows-compatible games).
      2. A lot of software I want to use (NI Multisim for example) does not run on Linux.
      3. Mobile PCs (like my Viliv N5) have problems supporting Linux and I cannot exactly buy one that supports Linux, because there are very few options available and they all use some weird hardware that require special drivers. I am not that good a programmer to patch the kernel or write the drivers myself.

      Because of these reasons I have to use Windows on my desktop PCs at home and even some servers.

  31. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    this
    if my currnet Windows XP notebook bites the dust, I'm going Mac or whatever. Windows spyware version will never be installed.

  32. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by tendrousbeastie · · Score: 1

    " Try hitting the start button in Windows 10 and type "Windows Update"

    I've just done so. The first result is "Check for System Updates", the second "Windows Update Settings". Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

  33. Lets hope they fail. by a_n_d_e_r_s · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is pushing hard for Windows 10 to become the operating system of choice for everyone across the world

    I wanna continue to run Linux.

    --
    Just saying it like it are.
  34. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Anomalyst · · Score: 2

    Any chance you could publish those policies to github or googledocs?

    --
    There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
  35. MIcrosoft has a plan by taustin · · Score: 1

    to "convince" the hold-outs.

    Anybody who knows Windows at all knows you have to periodically reinstall the operating system, and you really don't want to skip the security updates.

    As best I can tell, it is now impossible to reinstall 32 bit Windows updates, because the first time you run it, the master list of all updates exceeds the maximum possible memory for 32 bit operating systems. It might still be possible to - slowly - get through it with automatic updates every night for a week, but I wouldn't bet on it.

    Meanwhile, I just reinstalled 64 bit Windows on a box here at work. The first round of updates took three days to process the list, before I could even begin to actually install any updates.

    So treasure your Win 7 installs, and take good care of them. If you bork it up, odds are, you won't be able to reinstall.

    1. Re:MIcrosoft has a plan by AVryhof · · Score: 2

      Get this, and keep it on your NAS.

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

    2. Re:MIcrosoft has a plan by taustin · · Score: 1

      Nice theory, but in reality, when you have 100+ computers, and the OS install isn't static, hardly practical.

    3. Re:MIcrosoft has a plan by taustin · · Score: 1

      I have no troubles with my own computers, at home or at work. But when talking about an admin, you're talking about computers used by other people, hundreds of other people, in my case, many of whom are not the most computer literate in the world. You, of course, apparently have zero experience with being an admin, will suggest those people should be fired, proving you also have zero experience with business management, as well.

      So, how's the burger flipping business these days?

    4. Re:MIcrosoft has a plan by taustin · · Score: 1

      I'll take another look at it. I haven't have all that much success with convenience roll-ups in the past. I firmly believe this is intentional on Microsoft's part.

  36. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Calydor · · Score: 1

    ... said a random anonymous coward while providing zero examples.

    Great post, would read again.

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  37. Re:Of course Firefox users like yesteryear tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    6. People who like to customize their browser's UI.
    7. People who like to use neat features such as vertical tabs.
    8. People who like it when all addons are free and none of them require the user to pay to unlock full features (TabOutliner being an example).
    9. People who use session managers that work properly on that browser, while the best equivalent on Chrome (SessionBuddy) is worthless because Chrome lacks tab lazy loading, and each session load risks freezing the system.
    10. People who prefer a browser that doesn't nag them or troll them any time they use certain addons that make Google butthurt because they improve some of Google's services.
    11. People who want a browser that will allow them to unlock or enable certain functionality if they can afford, or have a way around, security trade-off. Case in point: Opening online videos and streams via external application (any installed player of choice).
    12. People who don't mind a slower browser if it will give them freedom of choice and functionality.

    I could keep going.

  38. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by harvey+the+nerd · · Score: 2

    ...except for being MS's ad engine

  39. "..improved substantially.." by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

    Microsoft's Windows 10, however, already improved substantially since its launch in 2015..

    'Improved' for the user, or have they just 'improved' their spyware/adware/malware/surveillance/privacy-invasion software? I'll never use it willingly until it's 100% free of all the above. I'd rather use some flavor of Linux, even if that means I lose access to some software and some functionality. Fascism is a real thing, and even a corporation can be Fascist in how they conduct themselves; this does not however mean that we end-users must put up with corporate Fascism.

  40. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by TWX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yep. I don't need a desktop operating system that serves ads to me. It's bad enough that I get ads served by the default applications that were preloaded on my smartphone, I don't need my computer now doing the same thing.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  41. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

    I bet you are not using the same thousand year old donkey cart.

    I'm using Donkey Cart 987.4 and it works fine. It may have been a mistake to add nitrous as we gain no extra velocity and the donkey weaves around a bit... but he seems happy so I give him a whiff every once in a while. I have found load balancing to be important, but other than that no complaints.

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  42. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Lord+Kano · · Score: 2

    My migration from Mac to Windows happened because Apple depricated all of my SCSI, ADB and serial peripherals at the same time and if I had to buy all new stuff, it wasn't going to be for a clear plastic Mac.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  43. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by thechemic · · Score: 1

    It works after Windows 10 has spent hours/days indexing the start menu items. However, it does not work correctly on a fresh install of Windows 10 which has booted up for the first time. You know... the most likely time you would want to manually check for updates.

    --
    Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.
  44. End Automatic Updates by lorien420 · · Score: 2

    Windows 10 won't be popular until it stops restarting without asking users.

    --
    "[We'll be] really getting inside your head and making it an unpleasant place to be" -- Trent Reznor
  45. Malware is unacceptable by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Win10 is not even on my radar. As long as it is loaded with malware and forced updates feature set is irrelevant.

    1. Re:Malware is unacceptable by cerberusss · · Score: 1

      Win10 is not even on my radar. As long as it is loaded with malware and forced updates feature set is irrelevant.

      I don't think the phoning home is ever going to stop. So I wonder what you are going to do when the security updates for Windows 7 finally stop.

      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    2. Re:Malware is unacceptable by toddestan · · Score: 1

      Anyone who doesn't want Microsoft's telemetry has already stopped updating Windows 7 (and 8.1) when Microsoft introduced the new update rollup system last October which made updates an all-or-nothing affair which meant you can no longer block the telemetry updates while still installing the security patches.

  46. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by atrex · · Score: 2

    Yes, the internet is everything you describe it as being. However, consumers have the right to opt out of that kind of invasion being done at the OS level of their own computer (particularly if they pay for a license instead of accepting one of MS's first year "beta-ware" freebies). Granted, they'd be better off doing so by not using Windows at all.

  47. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by hoggoth · · Score: 1

    > the idiots at the computer store erased [...] 20 years worth of files...

    I feel your pain! I lent my car to a friend with the only copies of 20 years of precious family photos in the back and he lost them. Haha just kidding, I wouldn't do something so careless, and if I did I wouldn't blame my friend I would blame myself.

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  48. Common sense issues apply by Targon · · Score: 1

    There will always be people running old computers that should NOT run a new OS. Many, if not most of you don't remember when low end computers had 128MB or 256MB of RAM when Windows XP was first released. Needless to say, Windows XP was painfully slow for those who decided to pay to upgrade their computers to XP back in 2001-2002. When faced with "too little RAM" as the reason for the performance issues with XP, you had people who either stuck with Windows 98 or ME, or they upgraded their computers, either replacing them, or adding RAM.

    Windows 10 feels a bit sluggish with less than 4GB of RAM, and that, or problems with a lack of drivers, will be good reasons to hold people back. Many didn't care for Windows 8 for a number of reasons, and some people don't realize that Windows 10 fixed many design issues introduced with Windows 8.

    And then, of course, you have those who don't like Windows 10 for various issues, paranoid about security and what may be shared, and waiting to see if there will be fixes for the complaints they personally may have. There were also the initial problems that have scared people off, where they tried to upgrade to Windows 10 and something happened to break Windows for them in a way that wouldn't let them recover on their own.

  49. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by nukenerd · · Score: 2

    And what idiot entrusts a computer store with sensitive data?

    Garry Glitter

  50. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by cfalcon · · Score: 2

    > You don't have privacy on the internet.

    YOU don't have privacy on the internet. People who want it, do. More importantly, the fact that privacy on the internet is harder to come by than it should be, does not in ANY way give justification to Windows 10, which makes you not have privacy on your DESKTOP.

    > Well set aside those Libertarian ideas that \. loves so much, boys, only regulation will fix this kind of crap.

    Install Linux, problem solved :/

  51. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    > The only thing I can think of is arguably a better interface for touch screen users.

    I don't want a non-touchscreen device to have an OS that was designed with ANY consideration for touchscreen users. All that does is hurt the usability on the device I'm using it on. The touchscreen device should have an OS, or at least a UI, that is entirely designed around them. A hybrid approach sucks for everyone.

  52. Really, people? Windows? by hackel · · Score: 1

    It's 2016. Why is anyone still running *any* version of Windows outside of some backward, locked-down corporate environment? I know there are little gamer kiddies that are desperate for compatibility with their proprietary software, but outside of that, I honestly don't understand. I don't know anyone who uses Windows myself. The people I know who refuse to use some variant of Linux (including Chrome OS and Android, of course), all use Mac OS. I can only assume this is *still* due to Microsoft's unethical, monopolistic business practises that multiple lawsuits have still failed to put an end to. How much longer are we expected to put up with this?

  53. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by jeff.langemeier · · Score: 1

    Where's the Files?

  54. Re:Really, people? Windows? by kimvette · · Score: 1

    Why?
    Because various gadgets' software often require Windows or a Mac to function. If they subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud, they'll be on Windows or a Mac (gimp is NOT a Photoshop replacement, and there is no F/OSS photo processing/lightroom software as good and easy to use as Lightroom). If they're into 3D gaming (3D Vision) they'll be running Windows. If they're running $GameNotOnSteam, they'll be running on Windows rather than mess with Linux + Crossover Office and find it doesn't work out of the box.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  55. Re:Really, people? Windows? by Pentium100 · · Score: 1

    1. Games (I may not be a "gamer", but I like to play games once in a while)
    2. Windows-only software. I use Multisim for drawing circuit diagrams. It does not work on Linux.
    3. Hardware compatibility. Find me a clamshell UMPC with x86 CPU (so I can use Wine) that completely supports Linux. I have a Viliv N5 with 1GB RAM and Windows XP (too little RAM for newer Windows). I tried installing Linux on it, but I could not get it to be stable.

  56. Firefox users vs. Chrome users by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

    Does this study say something about Firefox users, or does it say something about Windows users?

    Maybe Firefox users are more likely to use Windows 7, but that doesn't mean that Chrome users are likewise inclined.

    A person's browser choice says something about them.
    - Edge - probably a person who doesn't know how to switch to a different browser, or doesn't know why one would want to.
    - IE - probably a similar person, who is using an older computer.
    - Firefox - probably more security-conscious than most
    - Chrome - probably hooked into the Google ecosystem

    Of course, this is not complete, and there are other reasons to pick a browser. But it seems like a leap to extrapolate a lack of Windows 10 adoption from the subset of users who use Firefox.

  57. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    That's not quite right. You can run Windows 7 on Skylake and Kabylake just fine. What you don't get is support for any new features specific to those processors. You still gain in IPC and/or clock speed as per normal, and you can still run them just fine.

  58. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    My migration from Mac to Windows happened because Apple depricated all of my SCSI, ADB and serial peripherals at the same time and if I had to buy all new stuff, it wasn't going to be for a clear plastic Mac.

    LK

    As long as you are happy, that's all you need.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  59. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    Meanwhile you stay on an insecure OS and you make it possible for your machine to become a zombie and interrupt MY experience. Don't like it? Well set aside those Libertarian ideas that \. loves so much, boys, only regulation will fix this kind of crap.

    Well, Einstein, you just made millions of people revert to Windows 95 in the hope that they can be owned, and absolutely ruin your experience.

    Too much coffee today, or just a natural rager?

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  60. Yeah, but look at the bugs M$ ADMITS to... by CAOgdin · · Score: 1

    ...notably excluding the one's they DON'T:
    https://blogs.windows.com/wind...
    Scroll down to "Known Issues."

    Whatever happened to the concept of "testing" and "fixing" defects ("bugs") in code. Apparently, end-users are not as eager to be willing to be guinea pigs for untested code, not that they have to PAY for this kind of punishment.

    Remember: If the product is claimed to be "Free," YOU are the product!

  61. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    On my desktop box I use Win 7 and FF, and they work just fine for me; I see no compelling reason to upgrade or change.

    I use Linux Mint and FF on my laptop and also see no reason to change anything there.

    Not all of us want to spend our lives upgrading stuff or chasing the release or gadget or whatever. Some of us just want to find something that works and use it.

    That's because we are actually doing things, and not just trying to get the operating system to work.

    So odd to see these shills yapping about how awesome W10 is, and that no one should mind the telemetry because other stuff has it, when at base, Updates break your system. Then again, some as swipe said we're just supposed to avoid buying things that Windows 10 breaks.

    The shills are getting rather psychotic these days.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  62. Windows 7 was the last great MS OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It has been all down hill after Windows peaked at version 7. Until there is a Windows 7 version 2, I will not be running other Microsoft Operating Systems. The spyware filled crap that is post 7 will not be on my machines. I deliberately blocked the MS installs of Telemetry, and have other preventative measures in place to block Telemetry. Microsoft failed their customer base miserably.

  63. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You can run Windows 7 on Skylake and Kabylake just fine.

    From what I read elsewhere, it's the next gen processors that will require Windows 10 or Linux.

  64. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    The only thing I can think of is arguably a better interface for touch screen users

    I've got an MS Win7 tablet I use to run some camera software. It's far more simple and easier to use as a touch screen than MS Win10. The clutter and shifting shit means MS Win10 does not even win that category IMHO.

  65. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 1

    What percent of users do you think did what you did? I'm guessing less than 5%.

    Given NINETY-FIVE PERCENT ACCEPTANCE rate, MS will no doubt disable your ability to turn them off before too long.

    --
    People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  66. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by exomondo · · Score: 1

    What percent of users do you think did what you did? I'm guessing less than 5%.

    Well firstly your "guess" is completely unsubstantiated but wouldn't that be all the more reason to spread the solution? Unless of course you want it to be accepted to the point where it can't be turned off, if that's your agenda then by all means continue trying to suppress that knowledge.

    Given NINETY-FIVE PERCENT ACCEPTANCE rate, MS will no doubt disable your ability to turn them off before too long.

    But there isn't a 95% acceptance rate, that's something you just made up out of nothing. I'm telling you the solution to the problem and your response is to whine about your made up fantasy future where that solution might not exist. What's your solution then? Or are you just knuckling under.

  67. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 1

    You are correct, 72.6 percent of all numbers on the internet are made up.

    You missed the point though

    MS can look at 5/10/15 percent of people to take the time to do something and 'claim' 95/90/85 percent LOVE IT the way it is just fine and proceed to use their own 'assumptions' to further goals the OP was saying didn't matter because he could turn it off currently.

    --
    People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  68. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Vista wound up being fairly decent. It sure didn't start that way, and 7 was a very definite improvement, but I was reasonably happy with it shortly before moving to 7.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  69. Re: Kind of consistent, isn't it? by exomondo · · Score: 1

    MS can look at 5/10/15 percent of people to take the time to do something and 'claim' 95/90/85 percent LOVE IT

    They can claim whatever they want to but really its effectiveness is measured in how many people actually click-through, even if you don't opt-out it's completely ineffective if you don't click on it. But all the more reason to take my advice and turn it off rather than pretending everything's hopeless and continuing your agenda to try and get people to leave it on.

    to further goals the OP was saying didn't matter because he could turn it off currently.

    It's one line of text in the start menu, which you can turn off and if your workflow is to launch programs through one of the other many means of doing so you wouldn't even see it anyway or failing that you could install a start menu replacement or failing that you could even install a different shell. There are so many solutions to this very minor issue (remember, it's one line of text) so why are you being such a defeatist about it?

  70. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by armanox · · Score: 1

    Goodness, that was before the big jump to OS X happened!

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  71. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by armanox · · Score: 1

    I feel like W10 has a better on screen keyboard then W10, but that might be about it. However, my W10 tablet no longer works at all (WinBook, won't boot except to the "Rescue"screen that won't allow me to boot to any rescue media even though it claims to be trying to do that...), so that really isn't a concern for me any longer. Shame, because I almost liked the little tablet (save for the abysmal battery life - with an Intel Atom in it I got at most two hours of life out of it, and it died after a day on standby, compared to my 2012 MBP with roughly 6 hours and my Precision M4500 with four hours (i7 and Quadro FX GPU - it's a power hog of a laptop, but it's powerful as can be iwth 16GB of RRAM and two SSD. My current work laptop (M4800) gets at least 4 hours of battery life as well, depending on what I am doing).

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  72. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

    Yes. It was about a year before OS X and about a year after they discontinued the Beige G3.

    By the time OS X was released, I was already gone.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  73. shiny? by mcswell · · Score: 1

    But the funny thing is that Win7 is "shinier" than Win10. Do a web search for "Windows 10 ugly", for example. On another /. topic, I've said that if Windows was Indiana Jones, then Win7 would star Harrison Ford, and Win10 would star Lego actors.

    1. Re:shiny? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      On another /. topic, I've said that if Windows was Indiana Jones, then Win7 would star Harrison Ford, and Win10 would star Lego actors.

      From what I've heard the Lego movies are pretty entertaining, and I know the games are, if Windows was Indiana Jones, Windows 10 would nuke the fridge and have a third act that looks like watching someone else playing a video game.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  74. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

    Wait, Backslashdot likes libertarian ideas? I guess I'm on the wrong website then.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  75. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

    I've seen more weird bugs on Windows 10 than any version of Windows in a long time, and the "flat UI" look is stupid and ugly. Some pajama boy threw out all the major R&D and UI advances that Microsoft was at the forefront of in the 80s and 90s just so he could foist his minimalist aesthetic in a place where it does absolutely no good. I know I'm personifying what is surely many, many people, but the effect is the same... throwing out 30 years of hard-won UX knowhow to turn the desktop into someone's vanity art project.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  76. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

    The shills are getting rather psychotic these days.

    They gotta do something now that Correct The Record has laid them all off.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  77. Re:Kind of consistent, isn't it? by toddestan · · Score: 1

    Not only that, but Microsoft never bothered to back-port the telemetry crap back to Vista, so at least for a few more months you can have version of Windows where you can install the updates without worrying as much about what data your OS is sending back to the mothership.

    On the other hand, a lot of vendors have dropped their Vista support and list Windows 7 as the minimum version. But my guess is just like 2000 was to XP, most anything that will run on 7 will run just fine on Vista even if it's not officially supported.