Why Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 hard
Microsoft's new operating system, released on July 29, 2015, has been available for nearly five months at the time of writing.
It is offered as a free upgrade on systems running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, and available as a standalone retail copy or installed on retail PCs.
Adoption rates are good but not excellent. Microsoft revealed adoption figures sporadically only, last time in October 2015 during Microsoft's Devices Event when it mentioned that Windows 10 was driving 110 million consumer and Enterprise PCs.
The company has been tight lipped ever since and while that may simply be because of a lack of events where it could reveal new figures to a worldwide audience, it may also be because adoption rates are dropping.
Microsoft's Goal
Microsoft's ambitious goal, announced during the Build 2015 conference, is to have Windows 10 on over 1 billion devices two to three years after the official release of the operating system.
To reach the goal in two years, Microsoft would have to push 1.369 million copies of Windows 10 on devices worldwide, and for the three year goal, it would still be 1.005 million copies each day.
Adoption rates have been good in the first couple of months, thanks to the free offer but adoption seems to slow down if usage stats are anything to go by.
Microsoft mentioned devices and not PCs when it revealed the goal which indicates that Windows 10 on any platform counts towards that goal. Since Windows 10 will be made available for Windows Phone, Microsoft's Xbox One, tablets, and other devices, it makes it more likely that the goal will be reached after all.
There will likely be a big push at the end of the free for a year period as (some) consumers may want to take advantage of the free upgrade offer after all before it expires.
Windows 10 or die
Microsoft is betting big on Windows 10, that it will be a success, and that its one operating system core to fit them all strategy will work out fine.
If Windows 10 fails, Microsoft would be in a terrible position. It could produce Windows 11, even though it announced previously that there would be no such thing, and adjust it accordingly to make it more attractive to consumers and Enterprise customers.
But since everything is entangled now thanks to the one core OS strategy, it would be difficult to change that course especially if time is of the essence.
For Microsoft, Windows 10 must succeed, there is no other option, and that is one of the reasons why the operating system is pushed hard.
Things will heat up in the coming months, and some users are already seeing that in form of new upgrade dialogs that show no "no thanks" option anymore but only options to upgrade to Windows 10.
It is unclear how far Microsoft will go, whether it will push Windows 10 as an important update via its Windows Update service for instance, or if it will refrain from doing so as it would certainly cause backlash.
Now You: How far will Microsoft go to push Windows 10?
I also wonder if another reason for them pushing it hard, is that a Windows 7 licence is relatively easy to move from an older PC to a newer PC. Windows 10 isn’t, so Microsoft could get more sales in the future.
*Retail* licenses of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 can be moved to a new PC, but *OEM* licenses (which are on PCs you buy at retail) cannot.
I have used windows since the DOS/ Windows days over 20 years Windows 10 in my opinion is the biggest Spyware program ever perpetrated on the consumer I have ever seen. Its seems to without your permissions know every key stroke you make. Unless you know how to prevent it from installing it forces you to use it. Trying to go back to any other version of windows they make it very difficult and buggy and after 30 days is up your stuck with it unless you format the hard drive and have the original disks to reinstall to original and when you do updates it trys repeatedly to re install without your knowledge. Every month I have to check every update and weed out the Windows 10 files I NEVER let windows automatically install updates any more. Microsoft has become a malware maker as far as I am concerned.
Edwin is so right windows 10 is a Con Job
Edwin H– Big Bravo from thousands of students.
Thank you, Edwin. This is what I have suspected all along. I, too, have been using Windows since DOS days, but am not a computer expert as you appear to be. But, I consider myself somewhat savvy for 67 years-old and have been very suspicious, ever since Microsoft offered me this for FREE. I was fairly certain that they had a motive, other than just being generous.
Yes. I agree.
Win 10 is like made for Tablet. I tried multiple times. I tried from the preview days to use win 10. But I don’t like it at all. Reasons: 1. forced updates, no option install chosen updates. 2. All bright white theme. 3. BIG element GUI, everything seems IN YOUR FACE type attitude.
I’m using win 8.1 update 1. It’s still better.
I agree this is spyware. should be made open to the public I am for curtain that users of windows 10 do not know the extent of them tracking your every move. and who the hell do they think they are to just decide on there own that it is time for you to have windows 10 and just invade your computer and download it without your permission. this in some way has to be a form of invasion of privacy. I am surprised that there has not been a law firm that has not looked at this and said no way. I am going to drop windows and try a mac I want nothing to do with Microsoft and what they are doing to there customer’s it is beyond wrong and I hope down the line they pay
While you were sleeping, MS implanted tiny transmitters in your teeth as well. I advise you get them all pulled out -__-
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Windows has been one aggravation after another since it abandonned user rights in favor of totalitarian uniformity after Windows 95.
Fortunately, Windows XP, on which code base every other windows after that is based can still be used with some work to the sole benefit of the user (and very securely as a matter of fact) and I’m quite sure that it’ll be as impossible to outlaw as outlawing the Printing Press, Science, fundamental Citizen Rights and the Internet as outlawing breathing, speaking and human genetic diversity that reflect the basic principles of Life in this universe.
you are absolutely right;as another victim i can share your feelings heartily;
The customer has become the commodity…software is cheap when compared to your browsing and shopping habits.
i still love WINDOWS XP wy cant they just improve the program not just write a new one throw it out
and see how it works and use all the users as lab rats.
sampusscat December 9, 2016 at 9:27 pm said:
“i still love WINDOWS XP wy cant they just improve the program not just write a new one throw it out
and see how it works and use all the users as lab rats.”
Great to see this question popping up here that begs an answer as to WHY users are FORCED into these meaningless upgrades: the slow and deliberate intent by Microsoft and probably the power ongers behind them to implement changes bit by bit at every OS upgrade to CURTAIL USER FREEDOMS by making it ever so harder to do things that used to be dead simple as MANAGING YOUR OWN COMPUTER. And before someone answers the canned response – No, having a walled playground is NOT liberty. And for what? Safety and Security? Certainly NOT that of the user as it can EASILY be assured by independent software from companies such as ESET, Malwarebytes and the use of VPNs and other measures that protect user privacy. But that would give too much freedom to users and deprive our glorious ‘Security’ organizations control over the citizenry.
My next computer will be a MAC for sure. I’m sick of microsoft pushing 10 on me. I DO NOT WANT IT NOR DO I TRUST IT. I’m perfectly happy using XP.
Microsoft fails to tell the public that your computer MUST meet certain requirements or your PC will not operate correctly. I upgraded without doing my research (my fault) and it crashed both my desktop and laptop. Lost hundreds of files that can never be recovered. HP put out a bulletin warning customers that if your machine was over 3 years old, not to upgrade. Good Advice. Be very careful when upgrading and make sure your machine is new enough to run Windows 10. Wish they would stop with the constant upgrade push, either people want it or they don’t.
I did not do my homework before buying a new laptop loaded with Microsoft Windows 10. It was difficult to transition from Vista to 10 and difficult is not a satisfactory statement. I also use Google Chrome and Chrome browser. I am in business and my laptop is for professional use, not play. Now I have found Microsoft is a purveyor of malware in fact or by result, you pick. Their team has designed a system in which installation of Google Chrome is defeated at all levels. This insidious but planned attack on Chrome users is reprehensible. As a result I will never purchase another Windows/Microsoft product. Rather than go through gyrations to uninstall/ reinstall “apps” (used to be programs) in order to complete normal day to day business tasks, I will wait while I scour the market for computer products with absolutely no connection to Microsoft. I bet their market share diminishes rather than flourish.
You’re either an ABMer who just hates Microsoft or just an idiot, you might even be a combination of both.
I personally have three machines running W10 and all of them have Chrome up and running and it was installed as easy as pie. Aside from that I am a software developer and heaps of my clients have Chrome on their Windows 10 computers and they installed it without any problems.
I know it is difficult for some people but the way to install Chrome is to download it and then, and here’s the hard part, install it.
Aggressive tactics were what pushed a vast majority away from Windows to begin with, you’d think they might’ve learned not to let history repeat itself just to ensure that they could deliver on lofty promises.
Learn? They forgot. Microsoft has been taken over by an aggressive, arrogant Indian tech culture. It will drive them into the ground and ruin them as a company.
Darf March 15, 2016 at 1:29 am #
While you were sleeping, MS implanted tiny transmitters in your teeth as well. I advise you get them all pulled out -__-
***Which is why I keep my teeth wrapped in aluminum foil at night…***
Here’s a thought. Coca-Cola syndrome. ” So! We lead the World in sales. Lets Also become the #2, in leading
the World, simply by changing the formula with matching sales . What have we got to lose?”
Windows 10 is like “New Coke” Not everybody likes it. I wonder how many Former Hackers or, in fairness, Convicted Hackers are coming up with this stuff at Microsoft?
I did upgrade on my desktop and on a laptop. I did not like the interface, I liked Win7 better, but I could live with it… Trouble was that it crashed so badly on my desktop after a few months, that I had to reinstall it all over again in order to get my PC working again. It turned out to be a “known issue”, but I will not upgrade to Win10 again, ever.
Same boat, I prefer the Win7 interface b/c I could care less about the touch apps. However I could live with Windows 10 if it wasn’t full of technical problems. They rushed it for sure to try to mitigate the damage Windows 8 did.
The most pressing issue is that I noticed the autoupdate mechanism is wonky and sometimes updates will just refuse to update and go into a loop. I had to run diagnostic and Windows system file integrity tests several times since Windows 10 was released just to get it working properly again. I never had to do that for Windows 7 or Windows 8 ever.
They could have left well enough alone, the Windows 7 and by extension Windows 8/8.1 update mechanism as been around for so long that all the bugs been troubleshooted but they had to recode it for Windows 10 to make it mandatory and thus make it unreliable.
“Couldn’t care less” is what you meant to say, right?
To snarky:
You must not be a native speaker of English—of American English, anyway. “I could care less” is definitely American English idiom (I don’t know about other versions of the language), and it means exactly the same as “I couldn’t care less”. The quirky irregularity of omitting the very significant word “not” may add a slightly more ironic tone to the statement, but the basic meaning is the same.
@Jim
Justifying American stupidity is adorable. Do you also think “irregardless” is a valid expression?
@ snarky and Grammar:
Sorry, snarky and Grammar, but I’m pretty sure Jim is correct: “I could care less” is an established American idiom, albeit one of relatively recent vintage (ca. 1955), and idioms don’t have to make strict grammatical sense. (“Irregardless” has been around for at least 200 years but is still considered incorrect or nonstandard.) Besides, this is a tech blog, not a language or law blog, and when a commenter’s meaning is clear, as it was in this case, linguistic nitpicking amounts to trolling. There’s a story that Winston Churchill once got back a manuscript from an editor with a sentence mangled by mindless application of the archaic rule that one should avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. Churchill is said to have written back, “This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put.” Hear, hear.
Martin and Jim. It is interesting that you both are so sure that your take on the English usage is correct. Yes Churchill was wrong in that it was not the preferred usage. Your representation of his response however is also incorrect. And wrong grammar does not become correct simply because someone uses the language incorrectly. “I could care less” means “I DO CARE” although the implication is supposedly a minor amount Whereas, “I could not care less” clearly implies “I don’t care at all.”
@ Ancora Imparo
Oh, for crying out loud:
Akira Okrent, “In defense of I Could Care Less,” Lexicon Valley, A blog about language, Slate, 18 March 2014
Randall Munroe, “I could care less,” XKCD # 1576
The Winston Churchill preposition story seems to be apocryphal, like the story about his saying that Americans always end up doing the right thing after first trying everything else. There’s another preposition story that might do service in its stead:
A student from a state university was visiting Harvard and stopped a Harvard student to ask, “Excuse me, could you please tell me where the library’s at?” The Harvard student replied, “At Harvard, they teach us not to end sentences with prepositions.” The state university student said, “Okay. Could you please tell me where the library’s at, @sshole?”
A person “couldn’t care less” because they care so little it’s impossible to care “less”. They COULD NOT care less that they already do. A person who “could care less” has still room and space to care less. It makes sense to say ….”couldn’t care less”. BUT both are easily understood. Some people just have the kind of brains that can’t seem to get past a gramatical error. It’s just that sort of brain.
I’ve upgraded a few elderly clients who got a computer with Windows 8.
Having everything in one screen, vs swapping between two just to do some basic things, made things easier for them.
Also since it was similar to Windows 7/Vista/XP start menu, it made it a bit easier for them to transit over.
Personally, I think they want to get as many people on Windows 10 as possible for cost effectiveness. They would no longer have to have someone examine security problems or patches for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows 8/8.1 in addition to Windows 10, which is a good strategy. The problem is, for many businesses, the software they use can only support Either Windows 7 or 8.1, Windows 10 makes it run funky.
There is also a bandwidth ease, since Windows 10 sets up torrenting for their updates by default. They also get revenue for the pre-opt-in advertisement (along with any other privacy bs they’re logging).
“They would no longer have to have someone examine security problems or patches for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows 8/8.1”
Of course they have to. Especially business-contracts don’t vanish just because Microsoft would like them to.
Vista – 2017
Win7 – 2020
Win8.1 – 2023
My point is, if they get them all to switch over, they wouldn’t have a need to keep doing as much research.
1billion devices running Windows 10, pretty sure that would cover 99% of all computers using those OS.
1 billion wouldn’t even be half, either way even if all but one person switched to Windows 10 it wouldn’t save Microsoft a penny, EOS for older versions of Windows are set in stone so no matter how many people are still using them Microsoft has to support them or face a legal battle.
It would only be cost effective though if they ended support for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows 8/8.1
I am not be the brightest bulb in the box but They gave free upgrades to windows 81 but Microsoft never forced people to take it. There is some thing very strange about Windows 10 in that they still had to pay every one who worked on it. Still had to pay techs to test it and work the bugs out and then Gave Millions of copies free to every nation on earth FREE Lost sales revenue in the Billions of Dollars, and they have done every thing they can to Force it on Every one with a windows 7,8,8.1 PC without making a cent on any of those copies ( that we know of ) and repeatedly keep keep sending out updates with windows 10 files to people who do not want it and trying to install it without the knowledge its being installed automatically with out their permission. Also Making it so it can not be reversed after 30 days and the back up for that 30 days is filled with widows 10 files included. All without making any Know revenue. And you don’t find that even a tiny suspicious ?
I sure hope Ford Motor Company follows up on that Idea, oh wait that would bankrupt Mexico and if General motors Did that it would put 600,000 Canadians out of work. Hmmm Maybe The US Government is covering Microsoft with our Tax money to spy on US and the rest of the world. No that sounds like a Conspiracy Theory.
Removing media centre from my prospective was a bad move. I don’t really want a Xbox one to manage my tv recordings. Give my media centre back and trying to give my hand m$.
“How far will Microsoft go to push Windows 10?”
I hear their going to let the Microsoft elves lose on the internet next year, they’ll crawl down the wires and wait until everyone’s sleeping before carrying out the upgrade.
I was last Saturday in a famous media store here, went to the computers’ department and had a look at what was being presented. PCs, laptops with Windows 10, not more expensive than by the past, rather less (considering obvious improvements, inflation, comparison to other products, price trend is down). And that media store is far from being the cheapest (FNAC, to name it).
Windows 7 remains valid for another five years I think, by then I’ll need a new computer. As I see it I’ll keep my configuration PC/Win7 until I buy a new PC with Win10. I’d hesitate if I was convinced that, besides being a free upgrade, Win10 had an added value : not only am I not, I am rather convinced that I have but advantages to keep Win7 now, within its lifetime validity, and move on to Win10 when it’ll be the OS of my next PC.
Well, you can install which Windows version you want on your PC/laptop. Here I could buy my laptop without Windows (I had to choose between no Windows, W7 or W8). Not only that, but it’s cheaper as well. I mean you’re not bound to use the version the machine comes with. Given how things are, I don’t see myself switching from W7 any time soon.
I’m aware of that, Yuliya. The idea was not to complain about Windows 10 being the OS delivered with all new laptops/PCs (if it had been your remark would have corresponded to my thoughts) but to point out that, should I opt for Windows 10 then, considering it is now the default OS on computers “for the masses”, then I might as well consider installing it with a new computer (inevitable within 5 years) rather than upgrading to it from Win7 at this time.
Otherwise, indeed, I could consider forgetting Microsoft, buy a new computer either “naked” either including another OS. I could but since I’m not a geek I admit hesitating to start the knowledge odyssey meant by running Linux for instance. It’s a matter of balance between ease of use but being tributary to Microsoft verses a new OS environment but a relative new freedom. I have time but not excessively to choose.
@Tom: Linux is a lot easier than you think. Assuming you get a popular distribution known for ease of use, you will be up and running in less than 30 minutes. Hardware problems have largely been solved for years now. The only major reason why someone might want to avoid Linux now is software. It’s not an absence of quality software, but an absence of Windows software! That is, if you really *must have* a certain piece of Windows-only software, then you should use Windows. Unfortunately some people (mostly hardcore gamers and people with specialized business apps) fall into that category and cannot cut the umbilical cord to Microsoft. But let me tell you, the Linux forums I visit are full of new Linux users, so clearly some people are taking the plunge.
I honestly believe that 95% of the hesitation to adopt Linux is psychological. For example, my parents will need a new operating system in the coming months as one of their computers runs Vista, and this is near end-of-life. I am trying to coax them into Linux, showing them how easy (and familiar) it can be. But I encounter a weird mental resistance that would make Microsoft executives jump with joy. The conversation goes like this:
-You mean it’s not Microsoft?
-No, dad, it’s not. It’s based on Linux.
-But everyone uses Microsoft.
-You don’t. You’ve been using Linux on your phone for years.
-I am? I thought this was Android.
-It’s based on Linux.
-But this is a phone, not a computer.
-Yes, and you got used to it, didn’t you? Even though it’s more different from Windows than a Linux desktop would be.
-Yeah… but is this Linux thing any good? I’ve always used Microsoft.
~face plant~
@Jason, thanks for those “chin up” words.
“I honestly believe that 95% of the hesitation to adopt Linux is psychological.” : I can admit this quite easily.
As you mentioned it, hardware. I read “Hardware problems have largely been solved for years now.”. I knew of the hardware issues but I ignored it was a story of the past. That’s good, incentive news.
Unrelated but disturbing at first view is the feeling I have that much with Linux has to do with the user coding here and there, sort of manipulating macro-commands otherwise ready to use, integrated into Windows.
I admit also apprehension when it comes to anti-malware, the whole system’s security on Linux.
Last but not least, the software area. I guess that as far as i’m concerned that wouldn’t be too much of a problem generally speaking. But it’s always the same thing : even if you don’t run much software the day one application misses it becomes annoying. Perhaps alternatives would be found; I also believe more and more software companies take into consideration other platforms than Microsoft’s OSs, and I see quite often Linux mentioned.
So, maybe! Comments like yours are appreciated. I guess I have to start moving around, or at least think about it intensively, remembering that perhaps “95% of the hesitation to adopt Linux is psychological.” : that statement “didn’t come in the ear of a deaf” as we say in French :)
Windows 7 SP1 support ends in January 2020. That’s more like 4 years from now since we’re near the end of 2015.
I’m glad my comments are helping to alleviate some fear. :) Some follow-ups from your post:
1. Hardware problems: I should clarify, because I don’t want to give you the idea that there are “no” hardware problems.. What I meant to say is that Linux will almost always “just work” on most computers without having to do any manual configuration of the hardware. This is a big difference from 10 years ago. And the problems today – when they exist – are caused by the hardware manufacturers themselves not supplying good drivers for Linux, rather than by something faulty with the Linux code. The nice thing today is that many popular Linux distributions can be run off a USB stick without installation, so that you can see if all the hardware is functioning properly before you install.
2. User coding/manipulation: Well, yes and no. Most of the time, the terminal commands that you see posted on Linux forums let you fix problems faster than you can do with the graphical interface. You don’t actually have to do things that way, but if you spend some time with Linux, you’ll probably learn to appreciate that option. Also, keep in mind that Linux is far more customizable than Windows, but the most advanced customizations come at the expense of needing to edit some config files or type some terminal commands. Again, you don’t *have* to do this if you are happy to use a more standard installation.
3. Anti-malware: This is the one place I don’t completely follow you. Linux-based systems are in less danger of malware than Windows systems, not the other way around. I think I’ve read that there are over 100.000 items of Windows malware, but fewer than 50 Linux malware (which are patched upstream by the Linux Foundation). This is why basically no one uses antivirus/antispyware/antiwhatever software on Linux PCs. I know it causes some apprehension at first, but you learn eventually to feel comfortable with this approach, once you figure out which things REALLY protect you in Linux (e.g. hardened administrative rights, sandboxing, open source code, carefully reviewed software repositories, etc.)
Anyway, I’m not looking to convert you overnight! It took me a while to get my head around all these things too!
Well, thanks again Jason for your comment on Linux, as such and as compared to Windows.
I don’t feel tied to Windows as if it was a religion, hence it’s more an internal debate between me and myself than an ideological defense of Windows. I read you carefully, I am interested.
Concerning security of Linux environments, I hadn’t in mind they’d be more vulnerable but that I ignored the context, the applications applicable to that context, moreover because I have all to learn with Linux. I read you when you state that ” Linux-based systems are in less danger of malware than Windows systems,” and, as I understand it, because Linux is in essence less vulnerable than Windows. Together with the Linux hardware myth (even if there may be handicaps here and there but on the account more of developers than of Linux’s “architecture), this is good news for me.
Also, dealing with the terminal commands appears to be more of a shortcut than of an obligation. Checked.
Well, this most interesting approach, be thanked, is definitely an incentive for me. The idea of switching to Linux managed itself an area in my brains. I am interested.
Last Saturday, I visited Currys / PC World. This is the biggest consumer goods chain in Britain. It was full of people looking for electronic products.
The company sells thousands of laptops, notebooks, etc. every week with Win 10 installed.
Despite this, I was astounded to find that the in-house stock control, pricing and customer invoicing software is running on Win XP !!!
The sales person in the computer department was extolling the virtues of Win 10 to me. When I pointed out that his desktop was running XP, he got very embarrassed !!! :) LOL
Now that is definitely a surprise. Windows XP as invoicing software! Here at the FNAC not one XP nor Windows 7, nor 8, nor 8.1 … Windows 10 on each and every screen. And the latest laptops/PCs are so beautiful, powerful, I thought I’d stay in the store until it closed hadn’t it been the crowd…
But, Gary D, don’t tell me the latest computers over at Currys are sold with “XP inside”!
Unfortunately not Tom. However, if you wish to buy a laptop with Windows 7 OEM pre-installed, you can represent yourself as a business (e.g. self employed bottle washer :D) and can buy it for your “business” and get Win 7 Professional OEM on it. N.B. not all laptop manufacturers do this. I bought a Fujitsu i5 in this way because I was ADAMANT that I did not want Win 8 /10.
To clarify my last post it was the Currys in-house desk tops using XP not the retail stock.
Wait for the Customer Records Stolen announcement from Curry’s then.
No corporate customer should still be running XP – Windows 7 was great and Windows 10 is even more secure. Let’s hope they have an upgrade plan in place sooner rather than later.
My guess is they run XP because the inventory software only works on XP, and being proprietary they’d likely have to pay that company’s engineers enormous sums to migrate it to another OS. A lot of critical software only works in earlier versions of Windows. Orly airport, in Paris, is still running some stuff on Windows 3.1.
Here in the US, I can visit Microcenter, and the machines they use seem to be running a form of DOS. So XP isn’t really that bad in perspective.
As a sidenote to pushing windows 10: I have a let’s say “internet” version of windows 7 that has been running for few months now. And just this weekend I noticed a popup that “this os in not genuine etc bla bla bla…”. I’ve check update logs and see genuine windows sth nowhere. So, it was slipped somewhere inside critical updates, as these are the only ones I’ve allowed to install.
Well, I know this could happen when I decided for such windows “version”. And I even understand MS to use such hidden technique to reveal pirated os. Let me just invite everyone who has enough of MS, going through KB every month, applying countermeasures to MS software to join to PC-BSD user base. I strongly believe this one will surpass general linux users in few years from now.
I had the same thing happen on my Windows 7 Pro, just came up with the message that it wasn’t genuine (which it was) and said that they were going to install monitoring software to ensure genuine software (I’m not joking).
I just reregistered the genuine Windows 7 Pro with its real key AGAIN and the problem went away.
update KB 971033- remove &download & apply wat
Absolutely update KB971033 is the culprit. There is also a Remove WAT program out there on the internet that is good.
Update KB971033 Uninstall.
I have a HP All in One Touch screen computer that is less than a year old. I upgraded and within minutes I had to uninstall. As soon as it upgraded I lost control of my computer. The screen had circles all over it and it was opening and closing programs faster than I could get the mouse to close them. Using my laptop I was able to find out on their forum this is an known issue with my computer. It took me 30 minutes to uninstall. And there is no way I am going to reinstall it. When I uninstalled it I was told that if I reinstalled there would be no way to remove it again. So my computers will not be upgraded. In my opinion if there is a known issue that should be fixed prior to them allowing customers with that program or computer to install the upgrade. I mean they do have all of the specs for each computer on their roll. So they knew.
I haven’t had any of the problems that I have read about in this forum. I installed windows 10 as an update and it has performed very well. I have had minor issue with edge not compatible with some websites. I was running windows 7 on my desktop, that I built myself (ASUS am3+mobo) and windows 8.1 (factory installed) hpg7 laptop, they both work fine with windows 10. I just received my second update/upgrade to windows and it added new features to the os and to edge, I’m still not having the problems with windows that you guys seem to have. My old programs that was on both computers work well with the os. During the original installation of windows 10 I was prompted as to which programs or device drivers I would need to re-install after the upgrade, and I did re-install them. So far only minor issues.
They could go as far as they like, I won’t install that crap OS on my computer.
What’s to prevent users from reverting to Windows 7 or 8.1 come July 30, 2016? Is Microsoft going to stop users from running Windows 7/8.1? Is Microsoft going to renege and not support those systems to 2020/2023?
I think I recall reading that if you opt for the free upgrade, your previous Windows license (for Windows 7, 8, or 8.1) expires at the end of a one-month trial period.
Your previous Windows 7 or 8.1 license never expires. You can reinstall it at any time. Windows 10 upgraded from 7 or 8.1 uses what MS calls “digital entitlement” licensing that’s stored on their servers based on your PC’s motherboard component ID’s.
A bunch of interesting comments here, but so far it looks like the primary reasons “why Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 hard” were not yet mentioned.
Windows 10 is specifically designed to give Microsoft a much wider and much tighter grip on consumers. Consider elements such as its integration with the Windows Store (and the insertion of ads even in Microsoft’s own game apps). Or consider its push towards getting people to register with an online Microsoft account instead of using a local account. Or consider its forced updates for most ordinary home computers, leaving users with less control. Or consider its much, much more intensive use of “telemetry” to give Microsoft all kinds of user behavior feedback. And so on.
The deeper “why” here is obviously a triple goal, and it all comes down to profit. With Windows 10, the three main goals are:
(1) create a better platform for more intensive (and harder-to-avoid) forms of online advertising as a new source of income for Microsoft;
(2) create a better instrument for continuously harvesting more detailed and valuable user data, which (in the end) can also contribute to new sources of income for Microsoft;
(3) create a platform that will gradually force all users to switch (for important software functions) to the SaaS model, where people will have to pay annual fees not just for services such as Word and Excel, but for many more services that are gradually being moved to the cloud. This could guarantee another, and in the long term more durable and profitable, source of income for Microsoft.
In short, Microsoft wants to to turn the Windows user into a Windows consumer. This may be profitable to Microsoft, but I think that most certainly the net result will not be in our own interest.
This is why I will not install Windows 10, not now and not next year. I do not want to be used.
Oh, and let me give you a prediction. Next spring, when the “only this year free upgrade” Windows 10 offer expires, Microsoft will surprise us by extending their generous offer for yet another year. We will get a “one more year last-chance free upgrade” offer pushed towards us. Why? Because that’s in Microsoft’s own interest.
Henk van Setten said…”In short, Microsoft wants to to turn the Windows user into a Windows consumer. This may be profitable to Microsoft, but I think that most certainly the net result will not be in our own interest.”
That pretty much sums up the why, but to elaborate it’s probably also why they have proclaimed “1 billion devices two to three years” if they don’t reach that Windows 10 probably won’t be profitable for them, the actual number is probably lower but make no mistake Microsoft have already calculated the costs involved and the number of customers they need to make this new way of doing business turn a profit.
The question is what happens if, despite all of Microsoft’s efforts, customers resoundingly reject being turned into little more than opportunities for Microsoft to sell to the highest bidder.
Exactly!
“Oh, and let me give you a prediction. Next spring, when the “only this year free upgrade” Windows 10 offer expires, Microsoft will surprise us by extending their generous offer for yet another year. ”
Yep, I’ve said this a number of times. Unless by some miracle MS reaches their goal, this offer will be extended (and likely pushed even harder).
Excellently expressed. I couldn’t agree more.
“Microsoft wants to to turn the Windows user into a Windows consumer.” is the perfect resume of your comment.
The free upgrade offer expires in July 2016, not in the spring.
Corky said: “The question is what happens if, despite all of Microsoft’s efforts, customers resoundingly reject being turned into little more than opportunities for Microsoft to sell to the highest bidder.”
The problem is, we can see on this forum right now that many people have moved to Windows 10 already, without a care in the world about spyware or forced updates or “operating system as a service” (and the annual subscriptions that it will eventually entail). In other words, Microsoft is winning this fight, even if it loses a bunch of users in the process.
Somewhere in this mess is a cogent observation about society, for those who wish to look.
@Jason, Have you even read the article that you’re commenting on? Many people are not moving to Windows 10, despite all of Microsoft’s efforts adoption rate of Windows 10 are falling each month.
Yes, I’ve read the article. I’ve also read the comments here, which you may not have done. My own comment was based on the evidence from those other user comments.
@Jason, Basing an opinion on nothing more than hearsay probably isn’t the best way to judge an adoption rate of an operating system though, that’s why statistics are used as they give us the facts.
I have my Windows 7 PC’s set to “check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them.” Last Tuesday, KB3035583 showed up again as an “Important” update despite having hid it multiple times previously. I became immediately angry and thought to myself: “I’d really like to punch Satya Nadella in the face.”
I don’t like that this is my reaction to Microsoft these days.
“KB3035583 showed up again as an “Important” update despite having hid it multiple times previously. ”
It reminds me of spammers avoiding spam filters by using bypass tactics, such as
“Ch34P C.A..N..A.D..I..A.N DRUG$… l00K h3R3!!!”
The person has stated they don’t want to see this update again, and yet they flagrantly disregard the users wishes. And I’ve never heard of them doing this with any other “important” hidden update except for GWX.
Yeah, KB3035583 tried to crash my last Patch Tuesday update party — again — with a fake “Important” invite, and I had to 86 it — again. As Irish lawyer and politician John Philpot Curran said back in 1790, “The condition upon which Microsoft hath given liberty to Windows 7 licensees is eternal vigilance.â€
Pushing so hard… Wait until next year when MS is really going for it. Ofcourse they need to fire people to keep wall street happy so the more people are moving to 10 the cheaper it is for MS. Just a pity that consumers are more savy these days, don’t like spying, forced updates….in effect becoming part of an MS “botnet”. I believe MS miscalculated the interest. People have moved on to mobile for many things.
And the free update will continue for as long as it takes because paying for the pleasure will slow down the upgrade rate even more.
Continued due to enormous “success”…..
When MS delivers a consumer oriented OS I might consider but W7 is the better option as it stands
MS trying to win with Windows Phone OS in the mobile world vs android and iOS is like trying break apart an iceberg with a butter knife. They are sinking billions into a fight they can’t win.
This morning I got an “important” update. It was the dreaded KB 3035583 (installs get Windows 10 app). Naturally I have set update only to notify.
Sneaks they are. Pushing hard indeed.
One thing that would help adoption of Win10 would be if it were also free for current users of Windows XP. I know I’ve got a bunch of PCs running XP lying around that would run Win10 just fine but I’m not going to pay anything to upgrade them. I would do it for free, though.
I believe the thinking there is that vista and XP users have old computers and MS expects them to upgrade and buy a new one. And when the person does this, MS sells an OEM license, rather than give the OS away free. They know that Win 7 PC’s are past the hardware threshold that’s “good enough”, and people are much less likely to upgrade.
I can understand Microsoft wanting to sell an OEM license, but they also want to promote Windows 10. Many XP machines (>= Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, integrated video) run Windows 10 just fine. I know this because I’m doing it. In any case, Microsoft would have nothing to loose, except the possible OEM licenses you mention, and a lot to gain if they expanded the free Win10 offer to include previous XP computers.
I think MS wanted to change the update process and force all updates to be installed to make trouble shooting easier. With windows 7 and 8, you can pick and choose the updates you can install. This leads to millions of slightly different versions of windows to debug when problems are found and fixed, as my version of windows likely has different version of OS files then yours. With their nee model everyone should be running the exact same version of Windows which in theory should make windows more stable and reliable for all users.
Except that typically it is only power users that pick & choose upgrades to install and reject. The vast majority of noob users will have upgrades turned on and include optionals. So it is pretty much just power users they are hurting with forced upgrades.
Besides that, forcing all upgrades on everyone, despite hardware and software variations, creates its own nightmares at times, breaking the OS for the user in some cases.
The bottom line is there is no excuse for preventing users from denying OPTIONALS. They could have forced only criticals or even critical and important, but that’s not what they’ve done. They’ve forced them all, including optionals, on everyone. This is just a case of MS removing control from the end user and giving it to themselves, very likely for marketing and spying (“telemetry”) reasons.
I have Windows 10 on all computers except one. And since Windows 10 does not support media center which is the way we watch and record Time Warner Cable, I will NEVER upgrade, EVER, no matter if Microsoft paid me $1000 I still would not upgrade. Develop Windows 10 so I won’t LOSE what I have paid a lot to get, then I might.
Henk Van Setten,
Finally someone hits the nail on the head. I’d add that they’re desperate to build a user base for their Windows App Store. They believe developers will flock to building UWP apps for Windows once there is 1 billion users to target. Problem is that there is no incentive for most companies to build UWP apps when their pre-existing website works just fine on the desktop. The only reason to build UWP apps is to reach Windows Mobile users except that the very small user base removes that incentive as well.
I’d upgrade to 10 if they backed off the mandatory driver updates. I don’t mind them pushing security updates, I get that. But driver updates are where problems are introduced. I don’t have time to unexpectedly take a day off and fix an upgraded but broken computer.
looks like windows 10 or apple
Older Windows are less secure than Windows 10 so there are good reasons for people to move up. Also Windows 10 is faster on the same hardware. And has more features and will be the path to receiving all new goodies down the road.
Let’s face it, with every major generation step in great Windows versions (98->XP->7->10) there have been those people who holdout on the older version, but when we jump forward 5 years and look back we don’t know how we managed with that ‘great’ older version… People will move forward eventually. History shows they will. But they’ll complain for a while until they eventually do move on and appreciate all the benefits of the new version. In the meanwhile everyone else will enjoy using Windows 10.
There is also good reason not to move up. All my computers are on Windows 10 except one. My media center. I have a Ceton card plugged into the computer where I watch and record Time Warner Cable TV. Windows 10 does not support this. I have 4 TVs with Ceton Extenders throughout the house. If I upgrade to Windows 10, I have no more TV on any of them. This is pretty good reason not to upgrade to Windows 10.
“Older Windows are less secure than Windows 10″
I do not believe this. What are you basing this on? This might be true for XP, but that is not an OS included in the free upgrade path.
” Also Windows 10 is faster on the same hardware.”
Perhaps, if you wish to measure in milliseconds.
” And has more features….”
Yes, Cortana – which most people aren’t using, and what else? Win 10 also removed several important features that a lot of people loved, and introduced far more spying (so called ‘telemetry’) and removed important controls from the users, such as the ability to reject unwanted updates.
“People will move forward eventually. History shows they will.”
XP and Win 7 both still have huge market shares. In fact, they dwarf 8.1 and 10. This illustrates that a huge number of people actually are *not* moving “forward”.
“In the meanwhile everyone else will enjoy using Windows 10.”
Everyone. Ok. Except for the people who don’t, which you conveniently didn’t mention. There are people in this very thread who said they tried it and regretted it. I’m happy that you like your OS, but you seem to be saying “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” … and that’s no way to protest something you don’t like.
There are no benefits in Windows 10 that I can’t get in Win 7. At least not any that I’d give the slightest flip about. Many simply don’t see them as benefits at all. Who really benefits from Win 10 is Microsoft.
Older version of Windows are not less secure, that’s a logical fallacy (argument from ignorance), yes newer versions have more security features but they also have more new code that can be exploited, older versions have less security features but have a more mature code base and most security vulnerabilities have been discovered and patched.
Also Windows 10 isn’t faster, in most benchmarks it ends up having about the same overall performance as Windows 7/8, Windows 10 wins some, Windows 7/9 wins others, overall there about the same.
While history does indeed show people holdout on the older version that doesn’t mean that will always be true, Linux has come a long way in recent years and there are fewer and fewer reasons to use Windows.
C’mon Corky.
‘Also Windows 10 isn’t faster, in most benchmarks it ends up having about the same overall performance as Windows 7/8, Windows 10 wins some, Windows 7/9 wins others, overall there about the same.’
Give us some links to prove this statement please.
@GaryOC, What you can’t use a search engine?
http://www.techspot.com/review/1042-windows-10-vs-windows-8-vs-windows-7/page2.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2949894/windows/windows-10-vs-windows-8-performance-benchmarks-show-a-close-battle-for-fastest.html
http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1460&page=14
Those are the first three articles i found using Google, i think it’s safe to say overall the three versions of Windows offer the same overall performance.
Thank you Corky.
It is just that you made some claims and it is normal that the person making claims should leave links to qualify those claims.
It seems that, going on those links, you were right and Windows 10 comes out about even with W7 and W8.1. Mind you, I can see why you might not really have wanted to leave the links because none of them refer to the current version of Windows 10 in fact one of your references is from September 2014. Wow, that was a test on a pre-release version and the other two were from July and August 2015.
A lot has happened since then and a new set of benchmarks would be really interesting but it appears no one has done a recent test even though we all know that Windows 10 is performing better now than ever.
It would certainly be interesting to see if things he changed.
@GaryOC, Apologises i wasn’t paying attention to the dates, sadly most sites benchmarked Windows 10 around the time it was released and few have revisited those tests, i think it’s safe to say though that probably not much has changed performance wise since release, at least not in a major way as essential Microsoft have been using the same underlying infrastructure for the last six years.
Although you may be right I’m not sure that your statement……
‘i think it’s safe to say though that probably not much has changed performance wise since release’
…is at all valid. A whole lot has changed since these tests were done and I feel, and Microsoft assures us, that Windows 10 is working way better than it was in those early days.
Whether that means faster or not I have no idea but new tests may show that Windows 10 is faster now than it was before the myriad of fixes that have happened since its introduction and at the very least they would sure be interesting to compare with the earlier ones.
@GaryOC, Of course you’re free to disagree but if there’s been little change in the last six years and between three different versions of Windows what leads you to believe the performance has changed significantly in four months?
“Also Windows 10 is faster on the same hardware”
I have a laptop that is just a hair more than a year old ( I bought it Oct of 2014). I tried out win 10 and had to revert because it literally doubled the time to load of ALL my commonly and frequently used software, as well as took nearly twice as long to boot up. I was willing to work through some of the software issues and allow for a little extra loading time until I turned off as much telemetry data I could on my system and watched via my firewall that all of the telemetry I had turned off, was sent to Microsoft anyway. That was when I reverted back to win 8.1, and as soon as the warranty on this laptop expires (10 more months), I’ll be wiping the drive and going to win 7.
I do most of my computer work via KALI Linux anyway (except my gaming, and I only use windows really, for that as most MMO’s don’t run well via LINUX w/o a good bit of tweaking). Windows 10 is massively intrusive, and even though they ‘claim’ shutting down most of the telemetry turns that off, it’s an outright lie. So yeah. Been there, Tried that… not going to go there and frankly, you’re wrong where speed improvements are concerned, at least for my Toshiba anyway.
Nadella’s expertise is in the “Cloud.†It’s easier to harvest user data from the cloud.
I think Nadella is desperate to make his time as MS’s CEO a financial success. The fastest and easiest road to that success would be by selling user data to the commercial sector. However, to make that strategy work he has to have the data to sell. Enter a “free†OS on a “billion devicesâ€. If that is what Nadella is trying to accomplish and he doesn’t, then he is toast. Wall Street is eating it up right now, but it looks like desperation to me.
This was posted as a reply to a post about using Linux. Somewhere along the way the webpage interface completely changed and the post didn’t wind up where I wanted it to be.
It’s still a pain in the ass to setup most printers on Linux. Otherwise, distributions like Zorin (Ubuntu fork) look so much like Windows that most people would adapt easily to it. It also has a Mac setting. Out of all the ones I’ve tested It’s the easiest to setup and use. With over 1000 distros you gotta start somewhere when it comes to Linux. Also, with an Office 365 subscription you can use Office online. Nice.
I’m a 69 year old drunk and don’t know much about computers.But would it be nice if all cars were either left hand drive or right hand drive. History is a great teacher.
Cheers.
Just disable the Windows 10 upgrade and hide the WinGet10 app.
support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351
They want as much personal data as possible.
1st, Windows 10 has been known as one of best OS by MS by far. Meantime, Win 10 has the ability to save, boost even expand the company’s whole sales, from marketing its App Store to gaining consumers – almost everything that matters MS.
2ndly, we could still be able to read complaints from regular users. For example, some just could not use or log on the new 10 after upgrading 7 to 10 directly – the PW the one saved or created previously did not work anymore due to some reason. More, some can just use the Internet w/ Edge browser only. Using 10 on a VM machine is kindly recommended.
3rdly, starters had better learn how to adjust or custom Win 10 manually, e.g., getting rid of some unused/unwanted apps that have been installed without one’s permission, which would also help secure one’s privacy, improve computer performance and alike.
Good luck, 10 fans :)
Says someone whose blog depends on Microsoft and Windows.
Why do i get the feeling most positive comments about Windows 10 are either shills or from people that directly benefit from Microsoft and windows, it seems some peoples opinion is based more on self preservation than anything.
hahahh…yes, corky, i was just thinking exactly that and scrolled down to the next post, yours, read, and laughed…spot on!!
lots of talk about linux. i have been trying mint…was easy to set up, get to net and mail..but the filing system has me baffled and i use mine on win7 a lot… old dogs and new tricks, ya know. so i will muddle along on 7, updates off and sandboxed… let others try updates before me and post their experiences. was slammed once by an update and never again. not having control of updates is unthinkable to me. even the cloud is unthinkable to me. put all my stuff on someone elses computer…i think not. safe?? only until its hacked. cant be hacked? get serious. once i put my “stuff” into the cloud, they have all the time in the world to get to it. i figure there are two types of computer users: most are people who have just a tiny inkling of what they are doing…then the rest who make it their business to search and learn and make it the best it can be for them….like most on this forum. good luck to all…love your posts.
Seems to me this Windows 10 is an Abomination that slaps our constitutional rights to smithereens. We have a right to be safe and secure in our possessions and property. I’m surprised no one is talking about getting an injunction to stop Microsoft from this bully behavior, or filing a class action lawsuit to stop this insanity. This is the kind of crappy King George III was pushing on American Colonists which eventually ending in a firefight on Lexington Green (They fired the first shot).
I’m thinking I’d rather switch (OS) than fight. I’ve also considered going back to snail mail.
Steve.
There are already lawyers in the USA who are touting for people to join a class action against MS. I’m not sure on what grounds because I can’t find the website I read it on about 9 days ago. As these lawyers work on a contingency basis ( no gain no pain ), it could start to gain momentum after the holidays.
INAL but IIRC when you install Windows 10 you sign the licenses agreement that says you agree not to bring a class action law suit against Microsoft.
I’ve been using Microsoft for 14+ years and each time I have upgraded to a new MS OS, I have been as the proverbial dog, learning new tricks. I have read through every reply in this forum, pertaining to “Why Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 hard,” and am yet to hear any comments requarding what “forced updates” have done to programs within Win7. Much of my work (as a self-titled historian) pertains to consistent addition of newfound data to old. Four months ago, this action was a breeze, as I could open any file, anywhere in my PC and instantly view all previous data. During these past 4 months, as a result of many forced updates, this option is no longer available to me. I consistently receive the infuriating comment “Not Responding,” leaving me reciting the tune “The wheels on the bus…,” as I wait for the program to decide if it wants to fix itself. I am in no way a computer geek, however I am savy enough to refuse to be one in a grouping of sheep. I have all new updates set for auto upload to my PC, but I choose when or if I wish to install them. Before I update, I do my best to find out what is really necessary and what isn’t. During these past months, what with being pressed to update to Win10, I have been keeping track of current problems within this new system and in reading MS fineprint for “important updates,” I have frustratingly learned that manual updates was/is being taken out of my hands. The fine print basically states, that if I do not wish to update recommended updates, MS reserves the right to update whatever they deem necessary. AM I ALONE in that my Files are not responding? AM I ALONE in that my word docs are not opening? As I said before, I am not a computer geek; I am, however, fast approaching my mid-60s and at the point of desperation as to whether I should completely reinstall the factory installed Win7 in my HP PC (to rid myself of all previous forced updates) or just to go ahead (ignoring all of the valued ”don’t install” comments above) and upload Win10, hoping that access to my programs will be returned to me.
** PS Gary D RE: There are already lawyers in the USA who are touting for people to join a class action against MS. … are one of these post the post you could not find?
http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/11/windows-10-class-action-microsoft/
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/upgrade-10-class-action-lawsuit/cd4bfca3-e297-479a-a7fd-94bdf765dcc9?tab=question&status=AllReplies#tabs
Why MS is pushing Windows 10 to Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 free and not pushing it free for O S Windows XP and Windows Vista free. Those who had buy their OS in past are also should have chance to have free upgrade to Windows 10
Yes, Linux will hopefully always be there as insurance for the day MS goes one step to far for many of us out there. I’ve used many versions of Linux and love it, the only reason I stay with Windows now is program/games compatibility. However, if pushed far enough I could work around this.
I WAS SHOCKED !! my mother came to me and ask me to install Linux Ubuntu on all of her Pc . So i did what she ask and after several weeks she loves it . She ask me why hasn’t she done this years ago . There was not even a mention of it to her she wanted this all her own . she does not play anything game wise except for Facebook games they all work fine so far she is happy .
Her windows 10 upgrades did crash her machines and cause a major loss of her data pictures/etc… now the migration begins she is all but convinced the aunts and granny’s in her circle Linux is the best thing since ice cream was invented the entire senior inn has the Linux buzz . Microsoft quality is it’s own worst enemy it seems.
I’ve had a few minor issues with Windows 10, nothing major at all. I haven’t had any of the problems you all have discussed, my computer is a two year old Lenovo desktop. I like Windows 10, I’ll keep using it. Actually, I’m enjoying it much better that Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
The main reason why people (including I) feel so sluggish to upgrade their machine to Windows 10 is because they find it extremely difficult to to see the difference between the old and the new in some aspects. Not all are techy. As long as Windows 7 can do more than half (or more than three-quarter) of what Windows 10 does, people will have no reason to upgrade. Besides some changes in GUI and slight boost in functionality, i see no changes. And with technical errors and crash reports flying around, i doubt if people will embrace the change. As far as am concerned, Windows 7 still remains the best for non-touch PCs.
Caleb, a well-written and thought out comment. i second for sure.
Why not have the best of both worlds? I updated to Windows 10. Fiddled with the start menu. Decided I did not like it, and went to Stardock and downloaded Start10. Set it up exactly like Windows 7. It even had the rounded corners of Windows 7. It cost $5.00. That is the price of a coffee. Now I feel comfortable, my interface is familiar. I am happy. Windows 10 is a perfectly good operating system. I do have a problem with Edge. So Chrome is my browser of choice, as it was with Windows 7. Cortana? I have never used it. I fiddled with multiple desktops. I use duel monitors so I do not use multiple desktops. I do use DisplayFusion for duel monitors and flick from one monitor to the other with ease. Which is exactly how my Window 7 machine was configured. So you can see I am right at home with Windows 10. It looks and feels just like Windows 7. A couple of utilities Windows 10 removed but newer versions were already available. Compatibility issues.
One old Steam game will not run. No big deal. I am glad I did the upgrade. I do have a confession. I run XP on an old machine in my shed. No internet. Yes it works fine.
Some years ago, when DRM first was being pushed, I read an actual quote from, or one attributed to, Bill Gates or other bigwig at Microsoft, that Microsoft s goal had become to get people to give up _buying_ software, and, instead, only _rent_ it. Note that in IBM s heyday, getting rent payments from computer-users was IBM s big income. The acronym FUD, for fear, uncertainty, & doubt, was made up for the tactic of instilling renters with the feeling that if they _buy_ the computer they will soon be left behind–upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
My Nokia Lumia 630 is Working Smoother after Insider Windows 10 Update
I upgraded to Windows 10 on my potato, and sadly, it died after one day. It was such a sweet potato :( Microsoft will go to hell!
Let’s not lose sight of the reason Microsoft are aggressively pushing Win 10.
They obviously have hidden plans to start charging for all things related to the operating system once all the fish have taken the bait and are hooked.
They aren’t giving you Win 10 because they like you.
Watch this space.
I used Win XP for its whole 13 yr-life span. The day after EOL, I switched to Linux. I didn’t dual-boot, or gradually change. I downloaded Ubuntu 14.04 ‘Trusty’, & wiped M$ out of my life with one key stroke.
I’d heard lots about Linux and, in one way or another have used just about every OS on the market since the late 70’s. Yes, it was a somewhat steep learning curve…..but having tried it back in the mid-90’s (when it was a nightmare to set up), I very quickly realised that it had come on a long, long way in that time. With a few exceptions, I had the system up & running in a matter of hours…..and those exceptions were sorted out in less than a week.
Since then, I’ve been through my ‘distro-hopping’ phase, and have settled down with the most amazing OS in the Linux world…..Puppy Linux. Afficionados of the major distros like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, et al sneer at it for being like a toy, and not being a ‘proper’ OS at all. I couldn’t care less. It does everything I could possibly want (or need) it to do; quickly, without fuss, with minimal hardware usage, and with a very small footprint. My 13 yr old Dell Inspiron laptop is running way better now than it ever did, brand new, with Win XP. And it’ll give my mate’s Win 8.1 laptop a damn good run for its money.
Here’s one user who couldn’t care less about the Microsoft ‘band-wagon’..!
Linux is CL, GUI for Linux is abomination.
Keep your hands off my beautiful black terminal!
One word:
LINUX
Three are versions that look very similar to Windows minus the BS.
I just read that the US Department of Defense announced that it is going to “standardize on” Windows 10. I don’t know whether to be terrified or feel envious of whatever hackproof, non-borking, non-spyware version of Windows Enterprise they’re getting.
I always love the comments. I believe the people here are mostly more savvy than the run-of-the-mill, everyday Windows users. We care about our computers and our privacy on them and consider it an intrusion when BigOldCompanies decide that they can take our data without asking and if you dont like it, well, tough. So thats why I, a 70 year-old guy with a bit of time invested in Windows 95, XP, and 7, decided to do a tad of research and give Linux Mint a try. I did a bit of looking and found plenty of great tutorials and set up a dual-boot system…win7 and linux mint…it was easy. then a bit of playing and i got Palemoon, my browser of choice, working perfectly along with a bunch of addons that I like. All my bookmarks imported easily. password safe was next and now done and works just fine. I imported a few Microsoft fonts to make Mint look familiar and that was a snap…so easy it was almost funny. Now my win7 and linux look almost identical and i use mint some each day and am amazed at how i can transfer files to and from 7 while being in mint…what a hoot! i have found that mint is faster than 7 but not by much. there are a few programs I dont have yet but no hurry and I am learning and its refreshing! the internet and mail and other stuff is all the same.. when 7 dies, I will easily use linux full time. if my computer dies, then I will get another, pull the ssd from the old and put in the new and be back in business with linux and all my win7 files.. Microsoft has thrown the glove down and I have picked it up. its my computer and my data and I will do what I can to make it stay that way.
Hi Class of 56; I loved your response we have a lot in common Would like to become a friend online. I am doing almost the same identical thing. I have a comment above I hope you will read it. I am 71 years old and long time Widows user started with a 386 DX home buit Computer about 1989. Dos/ win set up.
I just ordered a dual disk set of Linux Mint as there was a problem with the download being hacked and corrupted So ordered a set of disks with both 64 bit and 32 bit. I have 3 desktops and a 17″ laptop I eventually want to convert to Mint after I know what I am doing and do away with windows completely before Microsoft requires windows 10 on every pc after next year even Cpu’s and Motherboards will only work with windows 10 I read on a reputable tech site. I am not Taking the mark of the beast smile Or going to windows 10 I gave it an honest try and like the system But I do not like Microsoft forcing it on me. and especially the amount of privacy
intrusions. I have 8.1 64 bit on 2 desktops and the laptop, but I keep one windows 7 ultimate 32bit for one program I have had in Dos for many years and I will not give it up its an old Artificial Intelligence program called Billy I can still run on windows 7 smile and Mint 32bit will still run that program. thank you for the above experience, It helped me make up my mind for Linux Mint. Ed
hi Ed, i appreciate the nice comments. would love to yak with you about martins topics which always stir the pot..haha i think microsoft will go to any lengths to push win10 to everyone. the few that resist will be assimilated….hahah yes, i have found linux to be a little different but put out by a group of computer users that want to be safe, have fun and learn. thats all i want also.
hi Ed, thanks for the nice comment. i tried to put my email in this but it did not post, guess thats the deal here. maybe another way? yes, linux is not the weird, off-the-wall, unuseable system so many people seem to think. actually, its pretty easy and very customizable….but a little different. just a group of people who want to make computing safe and secure and be able to have a burger done your way…..hahah the more i read about microsoft’s silly, take over the world attitude, the less respect i have for them. i continue to also use win7 as i think its a good product….made during a time when good products were appreciated.
It’s very strange to me why they are attempting pushing this malware onto peoples Personal machines without their consent it just doesn’t add up, in part because it’s free,
Thoughts like this run though my head, why is it free and for how long,? Then there is the questions about it’s violation of privacy due to all it’s telemetry and other data harvesting (key-logging) are they selling this data to third parties ?
The GUI sucks in a big way imo in both win 10 and 8.1 , there’s no option to permanently disable all that bloat-ware or better still perform a custom install (as per slipstreaming the o/s) Plus Win 10 there is little control over windows updates
So until they change all of that I wont be up err downgrading to win 8 or 10, currently using Win7 on my newly built top end PC ,no telemetry is running and it is free of Win 10 Bloatware /malware Microsoft need to start listening to their customers ,
That’s make it easier for them to hack your teeth. Plastic to go my friend. It ain’t a conductor of any sort.
BTW, I am installing Windows 10… but, I’ll be controlling what goes in and out of my PC through Netlimiter. I’ll be restricting the data collection too. Just a bit of play with the reg file and I should be ok.
‘Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.’ Joseph Heller (author of Catch 22).
Naive…they can get into your PC an control it…..
Guys, so i gave another try to Windows 10 and since last night, I have been clicking “Deny” on my NetLimiter app to restrict the access. Microsoft is trying really hard to get into my pants :'( Save me…. help me…. pray for me…. Microsoft is literally raping me with collecting my bytes and data :'(
Sometimes, I just wish to go back to GW Basics, or Windows 95 :(
The same happened to me…then I THINK, I TRICKED THEM,…by going to a CONTACT US… FOR CONTRACT CLAIMS….
They answered, and a guy…asked me to give him my permit to intervene my PC…. As an experiment…I AGREED…
I GAVE IT TO HIM…I could see the pointer travelling as he was performing actions….finally, the DREADUFUL WINDOWS 10 ADD, dissappeared…THEN I SAW AND ADD…
THE PERMISSION OF THE OWNER TO CONTROL HIS PC…IS BEING CANCELLED.
FRIEND…DO YOU THINK..THIS IS TRUE?
THEY CAN CONTROL EVERYTHING IN HIDDEN CODES SINCE YOU INSTAL THEIR SHITTY MICROSOFT PROGRAMS.
I HAVE RECENTLY PUBLISHED MY COMPLAINT…
JUST TWO HOURS AGO…REALLY I DONT THINK THEY WILL PUBLISH IT,,,BUT IF IT APPEARS, READ IT, PLEASE AND COMMENT ME BACK
Isn’t this CRIMINAL…BILL GATES OF HELL…rich enough?
He pressed US, ALL USERS, to move from XP…to w7…now he wants w10, because in the matrix of this program, HE FORCES US, to BUY ON HIS ONLINE STORE.
THIS BASTARD IS NOT RICH ENOUGH?
WITH ALL HIS WEALTH HE IS FINANCING PROGRAMS TO DEPOPULATE THE WORLD, TO KILL PEOPLE, BABIES, OLD PEOPLE…
I THINK WE HAVE TO STAND AGAINST THIS BASTARD AND SWITCH TO UBUNTU.
HE IS A NEW WORLD ORDER CRIMINAL, AND SHOULD BE ARRESTED AND EXECUTED…. BY HANGING…THE TEXAS LYNCH LAW…
HE ALSO SPIES ON OUR PRIVATE INFORMATION, HE IS…A FILTHY DEMON…. NO MODERATION…I CAN SEE HIS FORCED WINDOW…IN THE SPACE WHERE I MUST CLICK ..ENTER…TO MAKE ME FALL IN HIS TRAP.
THIS IS BEING FORCED ON ME BY BILL GATES, HE IS VIOLATING MY RIGHTS…I MUST SAY, EXPRESS MY FEELINGS WITHOUT MODERATION AGAINST THIS NWO CRIMINAL, A RUTHLESS, AMBITIOUS, EGOTISTIC CRIMINAL….WHO STARTED ON A GARAGE…HOW WONDERFULLU HE HAS EVOLVED, TO CLAIM THE EARTH’S OXYGEN AS HIS….AMERICA, STAND UP…!!!
please/// I kindly ask you… eliminate that dial box, program. Update urging from my pc////;
i DON’T LIKE WINDOWS 10….
AS A MATTER OF FACT… I LOVED ……….. XP……………
I HAVE WINDOW 7 …AND IT’ OK WITH ME…
LET US HAVE THE PARTY IN ..P E A C E …OK?
Microsoft tried to sneak-update Win10 on me yesterday evening.
I would give you my opinion of Microsoft, but then your site would likely end up on all the government watch lists.
I am so pissed at these arrogant little bastards that I can’t see straight.
I’ve changed my Control Panel settings to “Manual” updates, and I’m seriously considering putting microsoft.com into the firewall as a verboten site.
Truly.
P.S.: Note that this latest round of sneak updating comes on a holiday weekend where most folks who aren’t technically oriented have no access to tech support.
I think companies should put a sign up outside their doors that says, “If you’re from Microsoft, eat shit and die.”
Update: Setting updates to “Manual” does not prevent the sneak-downloading of Win10 files in anticipation of the upgrade. I bit the bullet and d/l’d & installed GWX Control Panel from the developer’s direct site. I did run ZA at it to check for viruses before firing it up, but it was a leap of faith. On the other hand, who did I trust least? Microsoft, patently untrustworthy, or the GWXCP guy, trustworthiness unknown?
Un-freaking-believable.
Update: among other KB’s, KB3123862 is also suspicious.
My computer an Acer was captured by windows 10 during the night while I was asleep. When I awoke and turned on my computer, the message came Ready for Upgrade. My answer is I will empty the memory and reload Windows 7 Prem. that I already was using almost happily, Not only that to add icing to the cake they stole content from the system. None of my preloaded games have all been stolen from me. Provided by Acer. Also I do not have a smartphone have no intentions of getting one I live in a blackout area. No signal here. My NY attitude would like to go into Microsoft with a special delivery of millions of useless computers delivered all on the same day. UPS signature required. Delivery to Bill Gates desk. Worth $800. for my piece of shit. Make him personally correct each and every one to restore or replace. This Windows 10 gives off a smell called Windows 95 not even as good as 98.
Hahahahahaha… the way you described it, it sounded like the history, something like this: U.S.A captured and invaded Indians, next morning we woke up, there’s was a welcoming message: Welcome to America! :D
Nothing is free and I believe homeland security have a better plan for windows 10.
Leaving a window of opportunity to easily see what we are doing and eventually it will be windows 10 or nothing
I had a DELL desktop, Vista OS. It started going to sleep and after awhile it wouldn’t wake up at all. A friend gave me this laptop, an old Levono Think Pad. The OS was 7 I think, but it was corrupted. I started checking for a fix to change it to something I could use. Wow, Windows 10 was a free download! Problem solved !! Not so much. It downloaded and installed just fine and then when I started looking for familiar things, they weren’t there. I hate it!! I have suffered with this thorn in my side for over 2 years. I truly hate, loathe, and detest W10. Lack of disposable money keeps me from buying a new computer and go shopping, there it is again! I can’t find one that has anything other than Windows 10 operating system. I need a solution, please help me.
@Rita Atteberry:
To make Windows 10’s interface more like Vista’s and 7’s, install OpenShell.
To limit limit how much Microsoft spies on you, install and periodically run a privacy utility like Windows Privacy Dashboard aka WPD. (There are other utilities that might be better than WPD. I remember that Martin reviewed several of them here at gHacks a while back. I run Windows 7 and WPD was the only one that worked with Windows 7, so WPD is the only one I’m familiar with and whose name I remember.)
Depending on how technically proficient you are, you may also be able to exercise more control over whether and when Microsoft forcibly updates and upgrades your Windows 10 system. I can’t help you much here, as the only Windows 10 system I work with (“home-administer,” really) is a Windows 10 Enterprise computer that the licensing institution configured to receive major semi-annual upgrades after a six-month delay. There might be some utilities that make controlling updates and upgrades on non-Enterprise systems easier, but other readers will have to chime in with recommendations.
If you’re interested in a more radical solution, old ThinkPads tend to run Linux pretty well. If you’re not being held hostage by Windows-only applications (e.g., many games, locally installed MS Office, Photoshop), Linux could be a viable (and free) option.
For an easier transition, I’d recommend installing a popular, widely used distribution that is designed to be beginner-friendly, with either the Cinnamon or KDE desktop environment. (Cinnamon and KDE are more like the traditional Windows interface than other desktop environments are. Cinnamon tends to require a bit more RAM but fewer CPU cycles than the KDE; KDE ) Specifically, I’d try either Linux Mint Cinnamon or Kubuntu LTS. (Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome; LTS is the long-term service branch.) Linux Mint releases are supported for three years, and I *believe* Kubuntu LTS releases are supported for two years. I believe Ubuntu LTS releases (with the Gnome desktop environment) are supported for *five* years, but Gnome is more alien to Windows refugees. If you want maximum lifespan and stability, there is CentOS, whose major releases are supported with security updates for *ten* years. Once you’ve installed CentOS, you could try installing either the Cinnamon or KDE desktop environment on that — you can find articles on the Web telling you how — but I strongly suspect the experience would be more frustrating than just using Linux Mint Cinnamon or Kubuntu. The Linux Mint and Ubuntu family of distributions are designed to be as beginner-friendly as possible and tend to “just work” out of the box.