Microsoft readies Windows 10 update, answers critics

What is so great about Windows 10 that I should update? I updated and didn't like it, so reverted to Windows 7.

I want to be the last person to update to Windows 10 so that all the required patches are available for several unforeseen issues. These OS packages are always full of surprises in bad taste though.

But at least Windows is a lot better compared to Android. I had a very bad experience with Android devices for a long time.

I tried Windows 10 for almost a month, I really wanted to like it, but it was so full of small bugs and compatibility issues that even with the maximum amount of patience I could possibly scrape together I wasn't able to keep using it in good conscience. Went back a day before revert would have been deactivated. Disappointing, even for free.

Windows 10 is meant to be lighter on resources and so can be used on older machines. I find that it takes longer to start up, there is an extra level of clicking to get in, I still have to install startmenuX to get some semblance of XP/Linux like experience, and I do not notice any advantages (nor have I since Win2k or XP).

I find that the one character IME bar on Windows 10 to be really annoying. Till Win10 the "change mode" (変換モード) was displayed next to the type of character (あ/Ａ/A), as 「あ般」 etc, but with Win10 only the single character あ/Ａ/A is displayed.

If like you me you keep your task bar at the top of the screen with browser tabs ext (Mac-style), then the change mode menu item is at the very bottom of the new IME context menu.

So for the time being I have used a free application called "Never10" to stop the upgrade and those annoying messages on startup. Win7 will be supported till 2020 apparently.

Microsoft’s “Anniversary Update,” scheduled for release Aug. 2, is free for anyone who already has Windows 10.

It should be.

I lost control of my function buttons during the upgrade and the trackpad moves the cursor when I don't want it to.

I have avoided updating as these almost always cause grief that I am unable to get figured out, guess when I buy a new machine I will likely have 10 then

MS has done a piss poor job of selling W10 by trying to force it on users & very little info on benefits, I will continue to PASS on W10!!

Another Windows fail.

I got 10 on my computers, and honestly it's not that bad. though I'd have to admit it takes way more messing around with settings and some 3rd party programs to get it into a workable setup. and it's no where near the disaster that 8 was

Windows 10 is meant to be lighter on resources and so can be used on older machines.

No its not. The min processor allowed is 1 GHz and many older machines dont have this processor speed

Windows 10 sends way too much information about the user and his/her computing habits back to Microsoft. And some of the reporting can't even be turned off.

So, why would anyone provide unnecessary personal information to Microsoft or any other corporation MS is in business with?

What is the business model here? Gates and Co. is giving Windows 10 away for free. How would they make money? Advertising and monetizing information they collect from users as far as I can tell.

And they had the ball scaring people that not updating from Windows 7 to Windows 10 may be "dangerous". Disgusting tactic.

Microsoft collects: Search queries submitted to Bing

A voice command to Cortana

Private communications including email content

Information from a document uploaded to OneDrive

Requests to Microsoft for support

Error reports

Information gathered from cookies

Data collected from third parties

I for one will never update and have already deleted their Update assistant and turned off Windows Update. My Windows 7 is very happily chugging along.

For those who hate Windows 10 UI... Google Classic Shell. Customize your start menu to be like windows 7, don't have to worry about all the clunky stuff... just go with what works.

Also, that random "we are upgrading you to Windows 10, I hope you weren't doing anything important" really sucks as one of my colleagues experienced. Just upgrade now and save yourself the pain.

@5Petals: what sort of toaster are you using which doesn't have at least 1gh of speed on the main processor? You would have to have a 10+ year old machine... the first 1ghz was shipped in 2000....

Win 10 is fine, way better than 8. XP is way too dated. If you have 7 and like it, probably no need to upgrade. If you have any other os, its better.

I too was tricked into downloading 10, and it is much, much inferior to 7. So slow I am thinking of switching to Apple.What were the people at Microsoft thinking?

I am thinking of switching to Apple.

You'll never look back.

" offering people new ways to sign into websites and apps without passwords." How do you log in to a website that requires a password without entering a password? I don't suppose you have to tell Microsoft and the NSA and so on your passwords to do this.

Could this be why Microsoft is becoming less aggessive in its upgrades. http://www.computerworld.com/article/3089071/microsoft-windows/customer-wins-10k-judgement-from-microsoft-over-unauthorized-windows-10-upgrade.html

I believe once you have Windows 10 future upgrades are not optional.

Typically, any new OS (when it's new) will be an one-step-back compared to the previous OS, before any two-steps-forward.

For the simple reason that the previous OS has had already years of fine-tuning by the time the new OS comes out. But the new OS typically has a higher ceiling than the old OS - it's just that it'll take some time of fine-tuning to get there. (It takes time for developers and coders to figure out how to get the maximum out of a new OS.) And then the cycle begins again when the next new OS comes out.

Anyways, there's a way to still get your free Win10 upgrade even after the free upgrade period ends on July 29, 2016. When ya upgrade your computer to Win10, your computer automatically gets that valid Win10 license, even when ya downgrade back to your previous OS. Once your computer already has that valid license, ya can freely upgrade back to Win10 at any time in the future (just download the upgrade off Microsoft's website). So if ya want, ya can wait to upgrade to Win10 a few years in the future after it has been thru some more fine-tuning.

" offering people new ways to sign into websites and apps without passwords." How do you log in to a website that requires a password without entering a password?

You can't of course. This is fully speculation, but maybe they are considering offering new ways for their system to interact with websites, if the website sets itself up to work with their system. They could use a private/public key system that would log you into the website directly without any use of a password, rather it would check the keys stored on their system with the key stored on your computer and if they match it would let you in, but you as the user would just see yourself logged in without having to do anything (after the initial set up).

@smithinjapan

Another Windows fail.

It's more of a corporate fail than an OS fail. The shortcomings of Windows 10 are more of a fault with execs and marketing pushing features that aren't wanted. If they would only remove the data slurp, Cortana, the push into the cloud, the App Store and the compulsory patching, then I'd be happy to...

...oh wait. I already have all that on Windows 7. Never mind; as you were! ^^

I don't mind it at all. Run Windos 10 on my desktop , and on a laptop Windows 7. Work PC still Windows 7.

Every single operation system update has always had its share of luddites and detractors.

"....giving its Cortana digital assistant more capabilities ..." use up more resources, dig up more of your private information and send it to MS for marketing, etc.?

Have a few computers, the Windows 8.1 with the 3rd party Start Menu add-on and Windows 10 blocker, is a tablet PC where I can run OneNote. That's really all that's left for me.

Otherwise I use Linux Mint 100% of the time. I do use Windows once in a while but for now it's been months. Also any games I play are either on my phone or available for Linux, so no advantage for Windows there. I have office running on a Mac but LibreOffice cross platform is suitable across all devices for my low usage needs.

The only reason for me to keep Windows is for a few microprocessor IDE's to program a chip that may not have a Linux or Mac available program. Or to keep a Virtual Machine available for menus or testing.

That'll change. The era of Microsoft is largely passed. Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia and now LinkedIn is largely symbolic of its relevance in the world. Going going almost gone?

I cannot wait for this. I have a Macbook air. It is heavy, bulky and always gets viruses. It is poorly designed to boot. I want to have a PC which uses Windows 10. Microsoft products are reliable and virus free and the PCs start up quickly. I want to join the legion of folks who have changed from Mac to PC. The Windows 10 system has a startup time of well under 12 minutes and represents the future of computing. More and more smartphone and table users are switching to PCs so this makes total sense to me.

@mataka

lol

Never had an issue with my machine after the upgrade. I'm also one of the folks that still uses IE though. I know, I know, go ahead and laugh. Only problem is that Edge is still not compatible with my Anti-Virus nor my Ad-blocker. I'm still using the old IE before Edge, but Ad-blocker keeps it nice and speedy.

If most of your life on the computer is using the Internet, get Linux Mint. Fast, secure, GUI interfaces, with the power of Linux underneath if you ever wanted to go with a powerful command line.

You then no longer need to pirate software as the Windows/Mac users do. Software is merely completely available. This changes your computer habits to actually doing things.

Try it out, you can format a USB key with Linux Mint ISO, and boot from the USB on startup without having to install it on your harddrive.

If you're a moderately useful Windows user, going to Linux Mint is the next step in using a computer and will have less of a learning curve. And it's free.

Seriously considering Linux for the first time, despite its terrible usability.

I lost control of my function buttons during the upgrade and the trackpad moves the cursor when I don't want it to.

ANd it's a pain the arse to find the settings to stop it too. I do not like that it changed all my personal settings upon setup and automatically configured my desktop without giving me any options along the way.

It was on my machine for a couple of days then bye bye...

I tried Windows 10 for almost a month, I really wanted to like it, but it was so full of small bugs and compatibility issues that even with the maximum amount of patience I could possibly scrape together I wasn't able to keep using it in good conscience.

I went from 7 to 10 and it was buggy and glitchy and became annoying. I solved it all by by doing a full reset of the system , just go to the search bar and search "reset"

After doing a full reset it was like a clean pure win10 install and everything worked smoothly. All the old OEM apps and drivers were now gone and it was now an unadulterated Windows 10. The problem with upgrading is compatibility between the old win 7 drivers and software of the original computer and win 10.

All problems of the trackpad, network issues, wifi issue all disappeared. Its now better than before. Only had to get one driver for the PC specific Fn keys. otherwise, its all good. Windows 10 when working is much better than 7

@Nippori Nick

Every single operation system update has always had its share of luddites and detractors.

Quite so. In the end, the only person that can say how much they like a system is the user.

The problem there is that it's easy to point at a naysayer and call them a luddite, a detractor or whatever if your view doesn't coincide with yours. It doesn't necessarily make it so. One of the biggest reasons why Windows 10 had a start menu added to the desktop was that people complained about its removal in Windows 8 and provided plenty of evidence showing how it wasn't fit for purpose. They weren't luddites.

It is quite obvious that Microsoft want to steer its customers in a certain direction; towards Software as a Service, towards computing in the cloud and away from the more traditional operating system environment. Of course there will be resistance to that direction but what Microsoft needs to do is to listen to the reasons why that resistance is there or the popular push against Windows 10 is likely to continue. And not everyone pushing is a luddite. Microsoft can only gain by backing off with the pressure to change and listening to users.

After all, Windows 7 didn't become as popular as it did by pressing and nagging, and it was never a "free" upgrade either.

I made a complete switch to Linux 3+ years ago, best OS decision I have ever made! For a first time Linux user, Ubuntu is a good choice, there is a friendly community happy to help you if need be.

After all, Windows 7 didn't become as popular as it did by pressing and nagging, and it was never a "free" upgrade either.

Win7, popular as it is, hasn't stopped people from not buying PCs anymore. PC (and Mac too) sales have been decreasing year after year. The market has to move away from that.

Does anyone know whether that serious win10 flaw, inability of selecting many mails and deleting has been rectified by microcrapsoft ? because of that I don't use the Win10 mode but the original win mode

@Bernd Laurent

Linux Mint and others usability is very good. It updates every 6 months to a year, so you might want to base your opinion on actual experience today not from years before

I have Windows 7 and now Windows 10 on my Sony Laptop. To be honest, I don't like it. I Think Win XP Professional was best Windows operation system and XP operation system was nothing short and exactly what users need. I think Microsoft should consider collecting new subscription fees ($ 25.00) from existing users and add a few useful apps on XP operating system. It will be win-win situation for both Microsoft and XP lovers.

@lostrune2

Win7, popular as it is, hasn't stopped people from not buying PCs anymore. PC (and Mac too) sales have been decreasing year after year. The market has to move away from that.

Agreed to a great extent. Business is geared towards the regular upgrade of computer systems. The machine I'm typing this on is about three years old now, the oldest machine that I still use on a regular basis is about double that (both running Linux, oddly enough!) However I spent quite a bit of time during my final year with one employer reconditioning ten year old laptops and selling them on, and they had buyers waiting! Yes, I was using Windows XP and Linux on these (it was a few years ago now) but people wanted them.

The relatively recent blurb from Microsoft about how Windows 10 is supposed to be more amenable to use on older systems is an indication that perhaps they now realise this but when you see Gartner and other pundits and manufacturers bemoaning the drop of sales in new PCs, you have to wonder if some folk really have a grasp of basic economic principles such as market saturation and supply and demand. Moore's Law allowed Microsoft, Intel and others to run roughshod over these principles for years and now that physical limits are preventing that Law from operating properly, the market is slowing down all over.

As for me, I suspect that I'll be changing my main server at some point in the next year or so depending on if the motherboard holds together (long story, told elsewhere). Otherwise I'll probably spend much of my time making manufacturers miserable by prolonging the lifespan of my cluster of systems well beyond the date they would probably like to see them consigned to silicon heaven. They work, so I'll keep using them.

Windows 10 approaches its first birthday

WIN10 rejected two printers, cannot talk to them, and crashes every three days. A major computer builder has worked diligently for five months to study these failures. The result? New printers and no one can stop the 'blackout / blue screen' failures that plague a brand new set of hardware. Blaming the customer is MS's answer. Too big to fail or care.