4 ms·

1. Windows 10 does offer a lot of performance improvements. Even if you don't like the new interface, under the hood it's much faster. Even Windows 8 was a lot

by abalos 11y ago

1. Windows 10 does offer a lot of performance improvements. Even if you don't like the new interface, under the hood it's much faster. Even Windows 8 was a lot faster. 2. I think there is an option to ignore individual updates. You could probably utilize that to get that to go away. 3. Windows 10 literally saves a copy of your whole system running Windows 7 on the hard disk. That is deleted after 31 days. 4. They claim that it will begin to cost money to upgrade starting next year. Whether or not that becomes reality could go either way. My guess is that yes, it will cost money just like a new Windows 10 build costs money now. 5. You can turn off a good portion of the privacy-invading settings, but it's still fairly invasive. Microsoft as a company has actually been ramping up their support for other platforms which is kind of cool. I haven't heard about any specific back doors in the Windows OS itself, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. The OS is closed source, so it's really anyone's guess.

acqq 11y ago
> 2. I think there is an option to ignore individual updates. You could probably utilize that to get that to go away. And then they push it again: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/you-need-to-stop-kb-3035583-from-installing-again/ http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/you-need-to-stop-k... "Updates that have been hidden can appear again if a new version of the same update is released. That’s the case with KB 3035583; not only has it received an update (thus unhiding it), it’s status as an ‘Optional’ update has been changed to ‘Important’." This announcement today seems like they'll do it again, even stronger, with revenge. "Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a “Recommended Update”. Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device" Windows 10 strikes back. > 3. Windows 10 literally saves a copy of your whole system running Windows 7 on the hard disk And if you really try downgrade, it doesn't work: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/80e4f83d-1529-4405-b8e3-d1d636f8b71c/task-scheduler-is-broken-after-windows-10-downgrade?forum=win10itprogeneral https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/80e4f83d-1... "Task scheduler is broken after windows 10 downgrade"
- abalos 11y ago
  Good to know about both of those. It's fairly ironic that it uses up a significant portion of disk space for a "safe" copy of the original OS that doesn't actually work..
- scholia 11y ago
  > And if you really try downgrade, it doesn't work I have actually done it, so I can guarantee that it has worked correctly at least once ;-) Many others have had the same experience, as Google will show....
mintplant 11y ago
> 1. Windows 10 does offer a lot of performance improvements. Even if you don't like the new interface, under the hood it's much faster. Even Windows 8 was a lot faster. YMMV. For me, Win10 totally destabilized a netbook that was previously running smoothly on Win7. And for some reason, the backlight control worked under 7 but not 10, locking the screen at a battery-draining 100% brightness. Wasted an hour or two on the phone with Microsoft just to learn that they have no idea of the cause or solution, despite web searches turning up plenty of reports of this issue. At least the revert function worked. edit: Uh, yikes, apparently even that's a bit broken. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10477988 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10477988
yuhong 11y ago
To be honest, the basic telemetry level isn't that invasive. The higher levels are a bit more so.
scholia 11y ago
> the Windows OS itself, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. The OS is closed source, so it's really anyone's guess. Windows is closed source but many thousands of people have actually read the code. This includes numerous governments (including the Russian government), US organizations, large companies, universities, and even amateurs (Microsoft MVPs). If you want to read it, email source@microsoft.com or see Shared Source Initiative https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sharedsource/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sharedsource/ You will need a good reason. I don't think "I want to look for backdoors" will work. They might point out that plenty of other people have already done that ;-)

by abalos 11y ago

acqq 11y ago

> 2. I think there is an option to ignore individual updates. You could probably utilize that to get that to go away. And then they push it again: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/you-need-to-stop-kb-3035583-from-installing-again/ http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/you-need-to-stop-k... "Updates that have been hidden can appear again if a new version of the same update is released. That’s the case with KB 3035583; not only has it received an update (thus unhiding it), it’s status as an ‘Optional’ update has been changed to ‘Important’." This announcement today seems like they'll do it again, even stronger, with revenge. "Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a “Recommended Update”. Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device" Windows 10 strikes back. > 3. Windows 10 literally saves a copy of your whole system running Windows 7 on the hard disk And if you really try downgrade, it doesn't work: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/80e4f83d-1529-4405-b8e3-d1d636f8b71c/task-scheduler-is-broken-after-windows-10-downgrade?forum=win10itprogeneral https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/80e4f83d-1... "Task scheduler is broken after windows 10 downgrade"

abalos 11y ago
Good to know about both of those. It's fairly ironic that it uses up a significant portion of disk space for a "safe" copy of the original OS that doesn't actually work..
scholia 11y ago
> And if you really try downgrade, it doesn't work I have actually done it, so I can guarantee that it has worked correctly at least once ;-) Many others have had the same experience, as Google will show....

mintplant 11y ago

> 1. Windows 10 does offer a lot of performance improvements. Even if you don't like the new interface, under the hood it's much faster. Even Windows 8 was a lot faster. YMMV. For me, Win10 totally destabilized a netbook that was previously running smoothly on Win7. And for some reason, the backlight control worked under 7 but not 10, locking the screen at a battery-draining 100% brightness. Wasted an hour or two on the phone with Microsoft just to learn that they have no idea of the cause or solution, despite web searches turning up plenty of reports of this issue. At least the revert function worked. edit: Uh, yikes, apparently even that's a bit broken. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10477988 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10477988

yuhong 11y ago

To be honest, the basic telemetry level isn't that invasive. The higher levels are a bit more so.

scholia 11y ago

> the Windows OS itself, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. The OS is closed source, so it's really anyone's guess. Windows is closed source but many thousands of people have actually read the code. This includes numerous governments (including the Russian government), US organizations, large companies, universities, and even amateurs (Microsoft MVPs). If you want to read it, email source@microsoft.com or see Shared Source Initiative https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sharedsource/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sharedsource/ You will need a good reason. I don't think "I want to look for backdoors" will work. They might point out that plenty of other people have already done that ;-)