Don’t accept Windows 10.
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The Enterprise version allows you to turn telemetry off.
Of course, the OMG DOWNLOAD NOW version is *not* the enterprise version.
I think their methods have exceeded pushy and reached underhanded, which is just sad.
I will probably move to it once 7 is no longer viable.
Or not.
I’ve been using 10 since it was in beta (bcause the new laptop I bought a few years ago that was advertised as having 7, came instead with 8), but I’ve been contemplating trying once again a dual-boot with Linux as my primary OS, keeping Windows only to keep my cloud-storage mirror folders (OneDrive and Google Drive) up-to-date.
Obviously I’m not as anti-Big Tech as a lot of people I know, but 7 is clearly the best Windows there will ever be so it’s time to examine alternatives.
i love the republic more than beans
not getting 10
Good. So no 10.
We can listen to Ravel’s String quartet in F major instead. It hasn’t anything to do with 10. It’s more about four.
Or if we wanted 7, I think there’s some of that in Bernstein’s Overture to Candide (7 comes and goes), but for damn sure there’s tons of straight up 7 in Brubeck’s Unsquare Dance.
psa out
As an old IT Guy [I miss WordStar], I learned a while back that you only install every other MicroSoft OS.
Just follow the chronology from Windows 3.1 [which was a great OS]:
Windows 3.1
Windows 95 [frustrating as Hell]
Windows 98 [great]
Windows ME [bloody awful]
Windows XP [fantastic]
Windows VISTA [God-awful]
Windows 7 [damn fine]
Windows 8 [ugh – ‘interface’ this, arseholes]
Windows 10 [Exception to the rule]
My first computer was XP, is what I learned on. My next was 7, which I didn’t like as much, but it was OK. I chalked it up as no one likes change, especially when you’ve started turning grey.
I had been told you should always update everything every time to keep the computer running smoothly and securely, so I just automatically upgraded to 10 with no thought. Hate it. Seems to be an app based system for touch screens (I’m guessing) which I don’t have, and the Edge browser is awful. I still use Explorer, for however long that lasts. Still miss my XP. Anyway, I pretty much just use my Kindle Fire these days, and only use my PC rarely. Doing my taxes, like that.
The fire is only OK, it’s tricky to type on, but it beats the PC all to hell…
psa in
Kuzy makes nice sauce one, two, three times tonight. They puts the biscuits in the baskets. Be on guard NHL or be sauced spattered all over yer’s sweaters.
psa out
Ehh, I’ve upgradeded 3 of my machines so far, and have been generally thrilled with it. For the first time ever, Microsoft forced an upgrade on me that didn’t require a full resinstall of the OS and all my programs. All my stuff is right where I left it (including all the icons on the desktop!), and everything works just as it did under Win7.
As mandatory upgrades go (and they’ll be dropping patch support for Win7 soon enough, so best to grab the upgrade while it’s free), this was far less painful than going from XP to 7. (Obviously, I never installed Vista or Win8 – I’m also an old IT guy!)
Note: during the install, under no circumstances accept “express settings” when offered. The sheer amount of spying “we own your ass” crap Microsoft has enabled by default is amazing. You want to turn all that off, with the exception of “send crash info to MS”.
Also, when the “Hi, I’m Cortana, and I’m your new God!” screen comes up, do not hit the big obvious “sounds peachy” button that they want you to hit. On the left side there’s a far more subtle “not now” link. Click that. When the install is finished, you can remove the Cortana thingy from the task bar, so there’s no danger of clicking on it in a moment of weakness…
As for Microsoft Edge, yeah, general consensus seems to be that it’s useless. Don’t know. I told it to keep my default browser (Chrome), and I’ve also got Firefox, so about the only time I’d see Edge is to check my web design work on that one, too.
As someone who hates change – I’m still using woodworking tools from 20 years ago, why do my creative/IT tools have to keep changing against my will (see: “fucking Adobe”) – I can say “do it, it’s painless and largely an improvement over 7”.
Upgraded my laptop from 8.1. Loving it! Everything good from 7, plus the few good things about 8 (ribbons in Explorer, etc). Keeping my desktops on 7 for now, though.
If it weren’t for the fact no mobile OS is as easy (for me) to use as my laptop for certain things, I’d be Windows-free already.
As for the handle I’ve been using the last couple of days, I think it’s made my point and will, starting with my next comment, transition (ahem) to the new handle I’ve been using on social media.
The mustache abides.
Even if you turn off every *listed* “spy on me” feature, windows 10 will still phone home with unspecified information.
Unless you get the Enterprise version and turn off telemetry entirely. Or unless MS updates home/pro versions with that functionality.
They are obsessed with tablets, despite their failure in that market.
Unfortunately, until someone very, very brave comes up with a Linux distro that fixes some of the major inconsistencies for a desktop OS, *and* doesn’t Insist Upon Itself, it stays a very minor alternative. Great for servers of various sorts, some kind of devices, and people who like to work ON an OS rather than IN an OS.
How To Get This Software Working in 32 Easy Steps: Step One, Change Distros.
Windows is a PITA some of the time, but it Almost Always Just Works. OSX Almost Always Works For Some Things, and Linux Always Works Eventually, Usually.
As with browsers, none of the alternatives is that great.
I’ve got Linux Mint 17.3 dual-booting on my laptop now. Seems all right — and the dual-boot process works more smoothly between Win10 and Mint than it has for any previous version/distro I’ve tried.
OK, you guys are just making up words now, admit it…
Snurgolam.
My Wife hates to admit it now, but she loved Distro Music.
Errata: In my comment on Windows releases above, the last line should have read:
Windows 10 [Exception to the rule?]
Distro sucks.
Distro Duck
I’ve been on Windows 10 since it was released to Windows Insiders, I like it. I don’t like Edge, but everything else is really good. I went off of Windows for years except for work stuff, but after years of different Linux distros (eLive was my favorite) I finally gave in to Windows 8. I also watched my family go down the Apple route and get repeatedly fucked, so I bought a cheap as dirt Windows phone when I lost my iPhone. I’ll buy a new Lumia when this one goes. It’s honestly the best phone I’ve ever had.
Check the settings, limit what goes in and out and run it.
I’m a huge fan of the snurgolam distro.
I won’t upgrade my main machine because it has tv tuners in it that I use to record OTA hi def programming as a backup/alternative to my dvr.
8 and 10 have removed windows media center, so no recording capability.
I’ve still got my old 486 with Windows 3.1 on it and it’s a hoot. I can’t use it for jack, but it’s a swell museum piece (and clothes hanger).
And then there’s this.
Unless you get the Enterprise version and turn off telemetry entirely.
Or install an air gap between the NIC and the RJ-45.
Windows is a PITA some of the time, but it Almost Always Just Works. –
It’s the “almost” stuff that has me steamed.
There was some stuff about my 8.1 I never liked, but it was stable with no issues I could see. Unfortunately, I had automatic updates enabled and 10 got pushed onto me fait accompli. Woke up one morning to “Welcome to Windows 10″…. WTH?!!
So I worked with it about a week, liked some of the new features, but darnation, there is no where to turn OFF auto updates and something happened in the wee hours of Wednesday morning that crashed my start menu, thrashed my Human Japanese app (which I had to buy a new version to GO with Win10). And pretty much shut me out of doing anything to the Settings. Nothing offered on the net could fix it. Hubby looked through the logs and there was weird stuff going on at 3 am but too cryptic to figure out.
All MS offers is to build a new profile and move yourstuff there … well, f*ck-that-sh*t, because there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. Evidently this has been an ongoing issue with 10 for months and STILL not resolved.
So I spent the better part from Thursday night through Saturday afternoon finally doing a backup to an online storage solution (104 gig … and my laptop is only a couple of years old …)
and I’m going to roll back to 8.1.
AND TURN OFF THE AUTO UPDATES!
Depending on what OS originally came with it, Darleen, you may need to turn off SecureBoot to roll it back.
Access the computer’s own settings menu during reboot (F2 if it’s a Toshiba Satellite, for example) and I think it’s in Security options. If not, it should be possible to hunt it down/rule it out in just a few minutes.
Then once you’ve finished rolling back, it can be turned back on if you like.
There’s a GWX Control Panel that’s pretty good at blocking Win10 upgrade at http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
It also has instructions on shutting it off should you decide to install it later.
I have Linux Mint on my former XP box and it runs decently. Seems a bit slow, but it’s an old 32-bit processor computer with 4gb of RAM so that may be it. I’ll likely dual-boot Linux w/Win10 for games and such later.
Oh and the rollback doesn’t work perfectly. I ran into the automatic upgrade back in August since the “reserve your copy” option does NOT give you a chance to stop once it starts. Some of my tasks like my weekly backup were broken. Managed to get it fixed but it was annoying.