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Microsoft's Problem Isn't How Often it Updates Windows -- It's How It Develops It (arstechnica.com)
Ever since Microsoft settled on a cadence of two feature updates a year -- one in April, one in October -- the quality of its operating system (taking into consideration the volume of bugs that emerge every few days) has deteriorated, writes Peter Bright of ArsTechnica. From the story: The problem with Windows as a Service is quality. Previous issues with the feature and security updates have already shaken confidence in Microsoft's updating policy for Windows 10. While data is notably lacking, there is at the very least a popular perception that the quality of the monthly security updates has taken a dive with Windows 10 and that installation of the twice-annual feature updates as soon as they're available is madness. These complaints are long-standing, too. The unreliable updates have been a cause for concern since shortly after Windows 10's release.
The latest problem has brought this to a head, with commentators saying that two feature updates a year is too many and Redmond should cut back to one, and that Microsoft needs to stop developing new features and just fix bugs. Some worry that the company is dangerously close to a serious loss of trust over updates, and for some Windows users, that trust may already have been broken. These are not the first calls for Microsoft to slow down with its feature updates -- there have been concerns that there's too much churn for both IT and consumer audiences alike to handle -- but with the obvious problems of the latest update, the calls take on a new urgency.
The latest problem has brought this to a head, with commentators saying that two feature updates a year is too many and Redmond should cut back to one, and that Microsoft needs to stop developing new features and just fix bugs. Some worry that the company is dangerously close to a serious loss of trust over updates, and for some Windows users, that trust may already have been broken. These are not the first calls for Microsoft to slow down with its feature updates -- there have been concerns that there's too much churn for both IT and consumer audiences alike to handle -- but with the obvious problems of the latest update, the calls take on a new urgency.
If Microsoft Windows was only bought based on its quality and reliability there wouldn't have been a Windows 3, and if there had then ME would have killed it off, and of not then Vista would have, and if not then Windows 10... and so it goes one. Windows has never really been ready for the desktop - it's still unbearably bad/slow at even simple file handling.
Microsoft have zero incentive to do things better because the market never punishes them for their mistakes. They just shrug their shoulders and carry on regardless.
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
"Microsoft needs to stop developing new features and just fix bugs."
Generally true, but what does Microsoft do about core features that are so intensely buggy that they are literally unsalvageable?
Computer over. Virus = very yes.
No, he's right, because what you're describing is what Microsoft is doing by accident, whereas what he's describing is the experience Microsoft intends you to have. We've gone from Windows 7, which, while not rock solid, could have uptimes measured in years and had a consistent, obvious, user interface, to Windows 10 which intentionally crashes (sorry, "updates") once a week, and which has UI changes that are mandatory every six months that result in users having to relearn basics like "Where in the settings do I change this?"
That's ignoring the bugs. Your files being deleted? That's an accident. Everything above, that's on purpose. That's already terrible and Microsoft needs to stop it.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.