3 ms·

Did it improve? Honest question as I haven't touched Windows since the late 90s because it was terrible (I went from Basic booting home computers to DOS to Unix

Did it improve? Honest question as I haven't touched Windows since the late 90s because it was terrible (I went from Basic booting home computers to DOS to Unix to Linux and Mac OS X; I use mostly Linux still).

smcnally 2y ago
I just bought a Dell with blank-slate Windows 10 install. Windows Update came up on first boot. Most of the things billg said in this 2003 email remain true. e.g. > This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff. (But it was GB of stuff.) > Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time. (But it was more than 10 minutes multiple times.) > Then it told me to reboot my machine. (Probably six reboots after 5 software updates.)
- smcnally 2y ago
  … and once that was done, it started harassing me to install Windows 11. “Harassing” like full screen takeovers with buried “no thanks” buttons and secondary “ARE YOU SURE?” screens once I found and clicked the close buttons. That hasn’t stopped.
  - marcus_holmes 2y ago
    I had this with the added bonus that it deemed my machine not good enough to install W11 on. So it would scream at me to "upgrade" Windows and then reject any attempt to do so. I installed Linux, now that Proton means all my games work anyway.
  - rsolva 2y ago
    This is why I go with Fedora Silverblue for my elderly family. When they had Windows installed, most support calls was about crazy and confusing full screen pop ups and forced upgrades. With a stable disto, everything just works and keeps up to date without bothering the user. Why anyone uses Windows today is a mystery to me. My guess is force of habit and lock-inn effects.
    - iknowstuff 2y ago
      Online games don’t run on Proton.
stevage 2y ago
It's weird, because for me XP was really the high point. I don't think I ever used the site they're discussing, but XP itself had a nice consistent UX that I was happy to use. A couple of years I ago I tried out windows for my main Dev environment for nearly 2 years and completely regretted it. What a disaster it is.

smcnally 2y ago

I just bought a Dell with blank-slate Windows 10 install. Windows Update came up on first boot. Most of the things billg said in this 2003 email remain true. e.g. > This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff. (But it was GB of stuff.) > Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time. (But it was more than 10 minutes multiple times.) > Then it told me to reboot my machine. (Probably six reboots after 5 software updates.)

smcnally 2y ago
… and once that was done, it started harassing me to install Windows 11. “Harassing” like full screen takeovers with buried “no thanks” buttons and secondary “ARE YOU SURE?” screens once I found and clicked the close buttons. That hasn’t stopped.
- marcus_holmes 2y ago
  I had this with the added bonus that it deemed my machine not good enough to install W11 on. So it would scream at me to "upgrade" Windows and then reject any attempt to do so. I installed Linux, now that Proton means all my games work anyway.
- rsolva 2y ago
  This is why I go with Fedora Silverblue for my elderly family. When they had Windows installed, most support calls was about crazy and confusing full screen pop ups and forced upgrades. With a stable disto, everything just works and keeps up to date without bothering the user. Why anyone uses Windows today is a mystery to me. My guess is force of habit and lock-inn effects.
  - iknowstuff 2y ago
    Online games don’t run on Proton.

stevage 2y ago

It's weird, because for me XP was really the high point. I don't think I ever used the site they're discussing, but XP itself had a nice consistent UX that I was happy to use. A couple of years I ago I tried out windows for my main Dev environment for nearly 2 years and completely regretted it. What a disaster it is.