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As a happy android user, generally disliking the iPhone, I am not part of the Apple ecosystem really. However, Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privac

As a happy android user, generally disliking the iPhone, I am not part of the Apple ecosystem really. However, Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privacy nightmare, usability nightmare, unprompted upgrades without the ability to opt out, and so on... I can't bear to use a windows 10 laptop. I do in fact have one. It cost $2000 and the trackpad is basically unusably bad. So... I will with some reluctance upgrade to another macbook, simply because the alternative is truly horrifying.

Peaker 10y ago
My XPS 13 9350 came with Windows 10. The trackpad was awful. I installed Ubuntu on it, and the trackpad is great now.
- cptskippy 10y ago
  I have never understood how Synaptics touchpads can suck so bad running on the vendors own drivers but are amazing running on drivers probably reversed engineers by some guy over a weekend in his basement.
  - BrandonLive 10y ago
    Oh, if you can, stick to trackpads without custom drivers ("Precision Touch Pads" in Windows). Surface trackpads all fall into this bucket.
    - ubercow13 10y ago
      XPS 13 is a MS precision touchpad. I agree with GP, it sucks in Windows. Under Linux it's much better.
      - BrandonLive 10y ago
        Better how? You definitely get way better scrolling and zooming under Windows.
        ubercow13 10y ago
        No massive deadzone when moving your finger a small amount, pointer doesn't freeze for ages after a click, it's actually possible to middle click (with 3 fingers). Scrolling is exactly the same as far as I can tell, though you are right that zooming doesn't seem to be supported by any application as far as I can tell. Honestly the accuracy of pointing just feels much better too even when not clicking but that's quite hard to quantify.
- BrandonLive 10y ago
  That's very odd, especially as Windows' trackpad support is so very far ahead of what Linux has. That said, scrolling and zooming is dependent on the app... Legacy apps and those which do their own non-native (non-DManip) scrolling aren't going to feel as good. Sadly last I checked Chrome was still pretty bad for touch and trackpad scrolling on Windows, but that's Google'a fault.
- fizzbatter 10y ago
  This is what i'm planning on. It'll be another ~year or so before i care, but i hope to find a very highend laptop that compares with Apple MacbookPro quality. Great keyboard, touchpad and very high PPI monitor. Then, put linux on it. This Apple announcement really lost me. Luckily i don't care about the OS (i dislike it, infact), i just want really nice hardware because i use this laptop for ~10h a day.
- metafunctor 10y ago
  Is there a 15" XPS that works with Linux? I'd like a larger display.
- caleblloyd 10y ago
  I ditched the I2C driver that ships with Windows 10 on my XPS 13 9350 and installed the Synaptics Analog Driver, the difference is night and day. I still prefer to use Ubuntu (I think it defaults to the Analog driver), but I need Windows sometimes.
lmm 10y ago
The surface book trackpad is fantastic, so this doesn't seem like a relevant complaint?
- aninhumer 10y ago
  The tracking is okay, but the tactile click action takes far too much force to be comfortable, and the tap detection seems laggy. If I try to Ctrl-click but release Ctrl too quickly, it registers as a normal click instead. (And in turn I have to Ctrl-click because triple-click = middle-click isn't an option in Windows 10 for some bizarre reason.)
cbcoutinho 10y ago
Is this a comment about our current political situation, or are you really talking about computers?
BrandonLive 10y ago
Nothing said here is true. Windows 10 is not a "privacy nightmare" (ironic coming from an Android user!), nor a usability one. There are no unprompted upgrades, but it is aggressive about keeping your device up-to-date (will auto reboot if you postpone too long) which is A Good Thing.
- wlesieutre 10y ago
  Let's agree to disagree then. The autoupdate scheduling is terrible. You can set a "active hours" window where it won't try to force reboot on you, but it's limited to 8 hours, and there's no provision for setting different active hours on weekdays vs weekends. Because obviously the usage profile on my home computer is the same on Wednesday as it is on Saturday. The autoupdates load garbage onto your computer (Candy Crush Soda Saga?) even if you've previously uninstalled it and obviously didn't want it. I paid >$100 for this, and it's stuffed with ads. Solitaire and Minesweeper are freemium apps with a subscription of $10/year to get rid of ads. Seriously? Minesweeper needs to be a subscription? I've been running Windows on my desktops, but I've lately relegated it to gaming only, and am dual booting Linux for programming and content creation work. Windows 7 was great, it stayed out of the way and let me get my work done. Windows 10 has a feeling that I have to work around the computer to trick it into letting me be productive.
  - konradb 10y ago
    > Solitaire and Minesweeper are freemium apps with a subscription of $10/year to get the full version. Seriously? Minesweeper needs to be a subscription? Is this true? You have to have a paid subscription to get what is the equivalent of some 1992 public domain game?
    - wlesieutre 10y ago
      The main result of paying for Premium is that it removes the advertising. Why that sort of advertising has been baked into a $120 operating system, I have no idea. I guess someone got greedy and figured nobody would quit the OS over it. Their Weather app is full of ads too, last I checked. It's a large factor in why I've switched to Linux as much as possible, though MS still got my money for a W10 license so it's not much of a victory. http://www.pcgamer.com/windows-10-solitaire-requires-a-subscription-to-remove-ads/ http://www.pcgamer.com/windows-10-solitaire-requires-a-subsc...
christoph 10y ago
I need to carry a high-end PC laptop (4k screen, 980GTX, etc.) and a MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). I used to use Windows 70% of the time and OSX the other 30%. That's flipped to 95% OSX, 5% Windows, since Windows 10. I completely mirror your thoughts. Windows 10 is an absolute disaster. I've lovingly used Windows since version 3.1. The 4k screen is basically unusable when I'm plugged into an external monitor - no setting seems to get HiDPI and regular playing nicely. Windows has automatically updated the drivers at least three times, leaving it in a non bootable state, which has taken numerous hours to fix each time. System restore points are now absolutely vital. The trackpad is completely unusable, I find myself accidentally moving files and folders about when I really didn't want to. Forced upgrades are a disaster. They always seem to happen at horrendously inconvenient times. There's nothing quite like having three or four people standing around while you wait for Windows to install updates for a completely indeterminate amount of time. Adverts (or what certainly look them) on my start bar... really? The absolute mess of numerous different styles of settings screen - I used to know my way round Windows like a Pro. Now I have no clue when I click a setting if it's going to show me classic style window or a fullscreen Metro options screen.
- baldfat 10y ago
  I still am the lone Windows 8 was a better GUI guy, but Microsoft gave what people wanted in 10. I have not had your problem with 4k and 1080p mine plays nice with each other. I think it might be a driver issue on your graphics card.
- nakedrobot2 10y ago
  OH yes, the start menu. Do you want Donald Trump on your start menu? Really, Microsoft? (I think it was on the flipboard icon, I don't remember, I don't care....)
  - BrandonLive 10y ago
    Wait, are you complaining that an app you used and had pinned to Start put an image you didn't like there? Why not unpin or uninstall the app?
s3r3nity 10y ago
>As a happy android user...Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privacy nightmare... I don't understand how you can be happy with Google collecting anything/everything you do on an Android, but then complain when Microsoft does a fraction of the data collection.
- nakedrobot2 10y ago
  Mostly because I'm not benefitting from it :) But the real problem is that Windows 10 is simply awful to use.
  - drakonandor 10y ago
    What makes it awful to use?
tn_ 10y ago
I don't understand why the majority of people are ignoring Microsoft's history and thinking they're turning a corner as a company. Sure they're making some interesting consumer-end products but at the end of the day they're still the same Microsoft that hands over emails and got rid of P2P connections with Skype to help the NSA. This is the same company that's launched a smear campaign against linux in the 90's. Given their track-record people shouldn't trust xbox one's always-listening functionality. It's just ridiculously clear they don't have the consumer's best interest.
- BrandonLive 10y ago
  Conspiracy theories don't make good arguments. MS has been one of the most vocal and active in pushing for limits on and public disclosure of government subpoenas for user information.
  - tn_ 10y ago
    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-helps-nsa-access-skype-outlook-hotmail-489477 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-helps-nsa-access-skype-ou...
    - BrandonLive 10y ago
      I think you missed the key points: 1) Skype allegedly did this before MS acquired them. 2) MS never shares any private user data without a legal court order compelling them to. 3) Everything here applied to Apple, Google, and others. This is also a very old article, and leaves out the fact that since then MS has been shown to be a defender of user privacy and government transparency.
WayneBro 10y ago
> Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privacy nightmare, usability nightmare... Gee, it's so easy to say things like that without qualifying them at all isn't it? Here let me try: Android is such a total dumpster fire-privacy nightmare and usability nightmare. I wouldn't use an Android device if they were giving them away! Hey, at least you can get update for Windows 10 without waiting on any carriers though, lol ;)
- pritambaral 10y ago
  1. I've been running a custom ROM on my phone for the past four years. This custom ROM had AppOps before Google's Android, it shields my data from peeking/demanding apps until I allow them, and for apps that don't understand the concept of politely asking me if I would give them my data, this custom ROM fakes it. I keep even Play Services under restrictions. An update for it is available every night. A stable update comes in every few months. And a security update right after disclosure. Windows 10 can shout "But ... Android!" all it wants to justify its own shoddy actions, but until the source code to Windows 10 is released, Windows 10 just doesn't have the same grounds for that argument. ---- 2. Android isn't a desktop OS. A desktop OS hiding behind an argument like, "But ... [some] people let that mobile OS get away with it! Why can't I do it too!?" ignores the difference between people using computers for leisure and convenience and people using computers for work. ---- TL;DR: 1. At least with Android, you can turn whatever you don't like off. 2. Windows Phone's antics might be an apples to apples comparison against Android, but Windows Desktop isn't.

Peaker 10y ago

My XPS 13 9350 came with Windows 10. The trackpad was awful. I installed Ubuntu on it, and the trackpad is great now.

cptskippy 10y ago
I have never understood how Synaptics touchpads can suck so bad running on the vendors own drivers but are amazing running on drivers probably reversed engineers by some guy over a weekend in his basement.
- BrandonLive 10y ago
  Oh, if you can, stick to trackpads without custom drivers ("Precision Touch Pads" in Windows). Surface trackpads all fall into this bucket.
  - ubercow13 10y ago
    XPS 13 is a MS precision touchpad. I agree with GP, it sucks in Windows. Under Linux it's much better.
    - BrandonLive 10y ago
      Better how? You definitely get way better scrolling and zooming under Windows.
      - ubercow13 10y ago
        No massive deadzone when moving your finger a small amount, pointer doesn't freeze for ages after a click, it's actually possible to middle click (with 3 fingers). Scrolling is exactly the same as far as I can tell, though you are right that zooming doesn't seem to be supported by any application as far as I can tell. Honestly the accuracy of pointing just feels much better too even when not clicking but that's quite hard to quantify.
BrandonLive 10y ago
That's very odd, especially as Windows' trackpad support is so very far ahead of what Linux has. That said, scrolling and zooming is dependent on the app... Legacy apps and those which do their own non-native (non-DManip) scrolling aren't going to feel as good. Sadly last I checked Chrome was still pretty bad for touch and trackpad scrolling on Windows, but that's Google'a fault.
fizzbatter 10y ago
This is what i'm planning on. It'll be another ~year or so before i care, but i hope to find a very highend laptop that compares with Apple MacbookPro quality. Great keyboard, touchpad and very high PPI monitor. Then, put linux on it. This Apple announcement really lost me. Luckily i don't care about the OS (i dislike it, infact), i just want really nice hardware because i use this laptop for ~10h a day.
metafunctor 10y ago
Is there a 15" XPS that works with Linux? I'd like a larger display.
caleblloyd 10y ago
I ditched the I2C driver that ships with Windows 10 on my XPS 13 9350 and installed the Synaptics Analog Driver, the difference is night and day. I still prefer to use Ubuntu (I think it defaults to the Analog driver), but I need Windows sometimes.

lmm 10y ago

The surface book trackpad is fantastic, so this doesn't seem like a relevant complaint?

aninhumer 10y ago
The tracking is okay, but the tactile click action takes far too much force to be comfortable, and the tap detection seems laggy. If I try to Ctrl-click but release Ctrl too quickly, it registers as a normal click instead. (And in turn I have to Ctrl-click because triple-click = middle-click isn't an option in Windows 10 for some bizarre reason.)

cbcoutinho 10y ago

Is this a comment about our current political situation, or are you really talking about computers?

BrandonLive 10y ago

Nothing said here is true. Windows 10 is not a "privacy nightmare" (ironic coming from an Android user!), nor a usability one. There are no unprompted upgrades, but it is aggressive about keeping your device up-to-date (will auto reboot if you postpone too long) which is A Good Thing.

wlesieutre 10y ago
Let's agree to disagree then. The autoupdate scheduling is terrible. You can set a "active hours" window where it won't try to force reboot on you, but it's limited to 8 hours, and there's no provision for setting different active hours on weekdays vs weekends. Because obviously the usage profile on my home computer is the same on Wednesday as it is on Saturday. The autoupdates load garbage onto your computer (Candy Crush Soda Saga?) even if you've previously uninstalled it and obviously didn't want it. I paid >$100 for this, and it's stuffed with ads. Solitaire and Minesweeper are freemium apps with a subscription of $10/year to get rid of ads. Seriously? Minesweeper needs to be a subscription? I've been running Windows on my desktops, but I've lately relegated it to gaming only, and am dual booting Linux for programming and content creation work. Windows 7 was great, it stayed out of the way and let me get my work done. Windows 10 has a feeling that I have to work around the computer to trick it into letting me be productive.
- konradb 10y ago
  > Solitaire and Minesweeper are freemium apps with a subscription of $10/year to get the full version. Seriously? Minesweeper needs to be a subscription? Is this true? You have to have a paid subscription to get what is the equivalent of some 1992 public domain game?
  - wlesieutre 10y ago
    The main result of paying for Premium is that it removes the advertising. Why that sort of advertising has been baked into a $120 operating system, I have no idea. I guess someone got greedy and figured nobody would quit the OS over it. Their Weather app is full of ads too, last I checked. It's a large factor in why I've switched to Linux as much as possible, though MS still got my money for a W10 license so it's not much of a victory. http://www.pcgamer.com/windows-10-solitaire-requires-a-subscription-to-remove-ads/ http://www.pcgamer.com/windows-10-solitaire-requires-a-subsc...

christoph 10y ago

I need to carry a high-end PC laptop (4k screen, 980GTX, etc.) and a MacBook Pro (Mid 2014). I used to use Windows 70% of the time and OSX the other 30%. That's flipped to 95% OSX, 5% Windows, since Windows 10. I completely mirror your thoughts. Windows 10 is an absolute disaster. I've lovingly used Windows since version 3.1. The 4k screen is basically unusable when I'm plugged into an external monitor - no setting seems to get HiDPI and regular playing nicely. Windows has automatically updated the drivers at least three times, leaving it in a non bootable state, which has taken numerous hours to fix each time. System restore points are now absolutely vital. The trackpad is completely unusable, I find myself accidentally moving files and folders about when I really didn't want to. Forced upgrades are a disaster. They always seem to happen at horrendously inconvenient times. There's nothing quite like having three or four people standing around while you wait for Windows to install updates for a completely indeterminate amount of time. Adverts (or what certainly look them) on my start bar... really? The absolute mess of numerous different styles of settings screen - I used to know my way round Windows like a Pro. Now I have no clue when I click a setting if it's going to show me classic style window or a fullscreen Metro options screen.

baldfat 10y ago
I still am the lone Windows 8 was a better GUI guy, but Microsoft gave what people wanted in 10. I have not had your problem with 4k and 1080p mine plays nice with each other. I think it might be a driver issue on your graphics card.
nakedrobot2 10y ago
OH yes, the start menu. Do you want Donald Trump on your start menu? Really, Microsoft? (I think it was on the flipboard icon, I don't remember, I don't care....)
- BrandonLive 10y ago
  Wait, are you complaining that an app you used and had pinned to Start put an image you didn't like there? Why not unpin or uninstall the app?

s3r3nity 10y ago

>As a happy android user...Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privacy nightmare... I don't understand how you can be happy with Google collecting anything/everything you do on an Android, but then complain when Microsoft does a fraction of the data collection.

nakedrobot2 10y ago
Mostly because I'm not benefitting from it :) But the real problem is that Windows 10 is simply awful to use.
- drakonandor 10y ago
  What makes it awful to use?

tn_ 10y ago

I don't understand why the majority of people are ignoring Microsoft's history and thinking they're turning a corner as a company. Sure they're making some interesting consumer-end products but at the end of the day they're still the same Microsoft that hands over emails and got rid of P2P connections with Skype to help the NSA. This is the same company that's launched a smear campaign against linux in the 90's. Given their track-record people shouldn't trust xbox one's always-listening functionality. It's just ridiculously clear they don't have the consumer's best interest.

BrandonLive 10y ago
Conspiracy theories don't make good arguments. MS has been one of the most vocal and active in pushing for limits on and public disclosure of government subpoenas for user information.
- tn_ 10y ago
  http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-helps-nsa-access-skype-outlook-hotmail-489477 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-helps-nsa-access-skype-ou...
  - BrandonLive 10y ago
    I think you missed the key points: 1) Skype allegedly did this before MS acquired them. 2) MS never shares any private user data without a legal court order compelling them to. 3) Everything here applied to Apple, Google, and others. This is also a very old article, and leaves out the fact that since then MS has been shown to be a defender of user privacy and government transparency.

WayneBro 10y ago

> Windows 10 is such a total dumpster fire - privacy nightmare, usability nightmare... Gee, it's so easy to say things like that without qualifying them at all isn't it? Here let me try: Android is such a total dumpster fire-privacy nightmare and usability nightmare. I wouldn't use an Android device if they were giving them away! Hey, at least you can get update for Windows 10 without waiting on any carriers though, lol ;)

pritambaral 10y ago
1. I've been running a custom ROM on my phone for the past four years. This custom ROM had AppOps before Google's Android, it shields my data from peeking/demanding apps until I allow them, and for apps that don't understand the concept of politely asking me if I would give them my data, this custom ROM fakes it. I keep even Play Services under restrictions. An update for it is available every night. A stable update comes in every few months. And a security update right after disclosure. Windows 10 can shout "But ... Android!" all it wants to justify its own shoddy actions, but until the source code to Windows 10 is released, Windows 10 just doesn't have the same grounds for that argument. ---- 2. Android isn't a desktop OS. A desktop OS hiding behind an argument like, "But ... [some] people let that mobile OS get away with it! Why can't I do it too!?" ignores the difference between people using computers for leisure and convenience and people using computers for work. ---- TL;DR: 1. At least with Android, you can turn whatever you don't like off. 2. Windows Phone's antics might be an apples to apples comparison against Android, but Windows Desktop isn't.