This begs the question: are "old school" windows users being too homophobic?
What? Nobody mentioned homosexuals.
What more could we want?
An operating system that doesn't suck and is at least as customizable as the previous versions. Again, you cannot customize your title bar colour. You could do that in Windows 3.1. You could do that in Windows 7, you could do that in Windows XP (In classic theme) etc. You cannot do this in Windows 10; the titlebar colour is either set by the Program Developer, and if the program doesn't set it it will always be white. That is objectively stupid.
At the same time, I'm thinking, this new interface isn't helping mouse and keyboard users. It would be nice if they could simply make an updated version of Windows 7.
They already made an updated version of windows 7. They called it "Windows 8" maybe you've heard of it.
Anyway, I think it's a little to early to jump on the hate bus. Let's give it some time and see if there are any improvements.
No. the OS is released now. It should be working now. it should be feature complete now. I don't want to have to hack the Operating System to get basic customization features that were present in Windows 3.1.
Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I can hardly customize the Start Menu O_o There's the Apps thing which has two sections and I can't figure out how to get rid of both, because I want just a simplistic start menu without the big buttons) or how to remove any of the spaces (http://prntscr.com/7zc9nq). I could fill one of the spaces with most used which I'd rather not, but okay whatevs. I have a nice Rainmeter setup so I have my taskbar on autohide on the left and ever since I installed my Nvidia drivers for Windows 10 (at least I think it was since then) it's not autohiding at all. Even if I disable auto hide and then re-enable it, it derps like this. I can't for the life of me figure out how to change the background of the sign in when I first start up. I can change the initial page and my actual desktop, but when I click to login, it changes screens to go to my user to put in my password and the background changes to the standard Windows 10 background. Whenever I open up my calculator or Taskbar Properties, it always hugs the left side of the screen regardless of where I last positioned it, which makes it get hidden by the always-open taskbar because it's not auto hiding >.< Downloading and installing was an enormous headache because of the lack of a simple "redownload" button. I had to go into the Software Distribution downloads and delete all of the files there, which didn't want to delete because some were open in some obscure program I couldn't find to exist anywhere. The 4-sectioned multitask screen thing is pretty nice, though. Overall, incredibly annoyed.
Edit: Also, Cortana is neat I suppose, but I'd rather it not use Bing to search -.-
I have no hope of getting W10 on my tablet, it only has 6 GB free storage and the thing has more failed updates than successful ones.
I just gave up waiting and forced it to update by downloading a Windows 10 x86 RTM ISO, mounting it in Windows, then running setup.exe. Only had 4.4 GB free space with the ISO sitting in downloads, but still let me upgrade without issue. Windows is fully activated, no issue with not having a product key or anything, so would appear you can legitimately upgrade using an ISO without going down the official path of waiting for the notification.
For the most part, i'm liking Windows 10. Not too much different from Windows 8.1 with added features and more sensible design in places. Take note though, this is on a tablet, i'll probably have a different opinion on my PC. Cortana isn't giving my any issues due to the fact that it (she?) simply doesn't work in Australia yet, and disabling the Internet Search option seems to have worked okay. Also disabled the P2P Windows Update setting as it would be silly to leave it on with an upload bandwidth of only 30KB/s.
Have yet to install most of my programs (opted for the delete everything option), so may not be out of the woods yet, so to speak.
I kept all my stuff when upgrading, so far I've had no problems with programs, had a bit of an iffy problem with skyrim at one point but that seemed to have been a one-off thing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Can you match my resolve? If so then you will succeed. - Monty Oum
So on Windows 10 Pro (not sure about Home edition) there seems to be an option to defer upgrades, which, from as far as I can tell allows you to delay major upgrades. I've also found developer options - which as far as I can tell, aren't Pro only.
It doesn't deter all upgrades though, only feature updates. Security updates will happen automatically.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Can you match my resolve? If so then you will succeed. - Monty Oum
I managed to force-upgrade using the Windows 10 ISO from MSDN. (I have a few systems: My main desktop, my thinkpad laptop, an older laptop, my old desktop system, and another "new" budget AMD build system (400 bucks or something). My old desktop has been running the preview and already has 10240. I've upgraded the budget AMD build to Windows 10 now as well using the above approach. I had to connect an external enclosure and use the DVD I burned from there but it's running Windows 10 now.
The first thing I tried to do was figure out how to get coloured title bars. I was able to find some guides/articles on the subject and opted to manually change my theme files so that the white titlebar theming never occurred. It mostly worked- inactive Windows still had a white background where the title text was, though. Also, I then went back to my two main 8.1 systems to a surprise- the theme changes on Windows 10 had been synced with Windows 8 so now my Windows 8 systems looked corrupted/screwed up. So I changed it back. Go back to Windows 10, now Windows 10 is the default theme again, hmm. Solution was to disable sync on the Windows 10 system.
I'm still not happy with the effect because it only kinda-sorta works, but when I tried to use a aftermarket tool (winaero) it just crashed with a missing file exception looking for some arbitrary theme file.
I guess I'll have to look into available skinning programs once they update. I expect they'll add themes that provide the sort of customization options that have now been removed. Maybe I can upgrade my Windowblinds 5 license from like a decade ago, hah.
I managed to force-upgrade using the Windows 10 ISO from MSDN. (I have a few systems: My main desktop, my thinkpad laptop, an older laptop, my old desktop system, and another "new" budget AMD build system (400 bucks or something). My old desktop has been running the preview and already has 10240. I've upgraded the budget AMD build to Windows 10 now as well using the above approach. I had to connect an external enclosure and use the DVD I burned from there but it's running Windows 10 now.
The first thing I tried to do was figure out how to get coloured title bars. I was able to find some guides/articles on the subject and opted to manually change my theme files so that the white titlebar theming never occurred. It mostly worked- inactive Windows still had a white background where the title text was, though. Also, I then went back to my two main 8.1 systems to a surprise- the theme changes on Windows 10 had been synced with Windows 8 so now my Windows 8 systems looked corrupted/screwed up. So I changed it back. Go back to Windows 10, now Windows 10 is the default theme again, hmm. Solution was to disable sync on the Windows 10 system.
I'm still not happy with the effect because it only kinda-sorta works, but when I tried to use a aftermarket tool (winaero) it just crashed with a missing file exception looking for some arbitrary theme file.
I guess I'll have to look into available skinning programs once they update. I expect they'll add themes that provide the sort of customization options that have now been removed. Maybe I can upgrade my Windowblinds 5 license from like a decade ago, hah.
Colored Title Bars? Yeah that's not possible. I remember in older versions of windows you were able to change that. I did hear about Microsoft adding patches (The forced updates) that will enable certain functions in the future.
There's also this Third Party Application made by some guy on Reddit that Disables the ability for Microsoft to access telemetry on your system.
It will be interesting to see if people will boycott Windows 10 the same way they did to Windows 8. From what I've seen so far, the reactions are 50/50. This begs the question: are "old school" windows users being too homophobic?
In my opinion, it looks like Microsoft did their best to answer people's complaints while maintaining a good amount (if not all) of focus on "universal apps". What more could we want? At the same time, I'm thinking, this new interface isn't helping mouse and keyboard users. It would be nice if they could simply make an updated version of Windows 7.
Anyway, I think it's a little to early to jump on the hate bus. Let's give it some time and see if there are any improvements.
Old school? How is typing on a keyboard and using a mouse old - school? That's like me saying Writing is old - school. When so many people write.
Colored Title Bars? Yeah that's not possible. I remember in older versions of windows you were able to change that. I did hear about Microsoft adding patches (The forced updates) that will enable certain functions in the future.
It is possible, you can modify the theme files manually.
There's also this Third Party Application made by some guy on Reddit that Disables the ability for Microsoft to access telemetry on your system.
Or you can just disable them in settings. I wasn't able to find that "Third Party Application" All I found was results where a bunch of morons talked about things they didn't understand, which is arguably Reddit in a nutshell.
It is possible, you can modify the theme files manually.
Or you can just disable them in settings. I wasn't able to find that "Third Party Application" All I found was results where a bunch of morons talked about things they didn't understand, which is arguably Reddit in a nutshell.
If someone happens to know how to make it a background image let me know.
We shouldn't have to be doing all of this digging around and I am very quickly becoming more disgruntled with the amount of configuring that I am having to do to get everything the way I like it.
If someone happens to know how to make it a background image let me know.
Mine is a background image. I didn't change anything, though. It is using the same login image that I have set on Windows 8.1, likely synced. Seems to be set in Settings->Personalization and Themes->Lock Screen
Mine is a background image. I didn't change anything, though. It is using the same login image that I have set on Windows 8.1, likely synced. Seems to be set in Settings->Personalization and Themes->Lock Screen
Not the lock screen, login screen. Or did the login image change with the lock screen for you? It's really hard to find any information on it because of that mix up.
I've not been an MS Windows user for about 7 years now, so I'm not going to try to compare Win10 relative to anything MS made post XP.
However, that doesn't really matter. My core "issues" with Windows 10 are not tied to some lacking functionality or technical flaw, general poor design or implementation, nor bugginess born of rushed or simply careless development. While Win10 no doubt suffers from some combination of the above to at least some extent: they are not something I care to critique. I leave that to those who use it to enumerate and debate its technical strengths and deficiencies (which might very well be the fewest of any release of Windows, I don't presume to know).
The one central problem with Windows 10 is, even to a non-user, quite clear: The user is not the one in control anymore. A computer is a tool. Meaning a computer is a device that facilities the users ability to perform a task of their choosing. Windows 10 displays a variety of "features" that are clearly contrary to that. By virtue of several things it does, Win10 directly demonstrates it is beholden to other masters. This isn't a sudden development, it's a trend not just limited to MS Windows, much less Windows 10 specifically. You can look to iOS and Google Android as two prior examples.
* Forcing updates: even if you can defer them, this removes from the user the agency to decide how their system shall operate. Are updates good? In general yes, however the user should still be given the opportunity to make a choice. Even if that means they might make the wrong one. It could be a simple as an update breaks something you wish to run due to a bug, but it could also be more deliberate. Forcing updates could mean MS can disable programs they see fit to, simply because they do not like what it does (or just as likely someone else doesn't like and asks MS to enforce on their behalf). You can be sure the MPAA would /love/ to be able to ask an OS maker to make programs that permit streams to be ripped, disks to be copied, or these copies to be shared to be broken/disabled and the OS maker actually having a system in place that makes it feasible. This isn't even speculation, various industries have asked, repeatedly, for such a capability to exist. Hell, Sony even took it upon themselves to implement a system of enforcement, should you recall the "Sony rootkit." Forced updates automatically mean someone other than the user can dictate how their computer operates.
* The tight integration of advertising is a violation of the user's privacy. Unique "Ad IDs" deny the user the agency to decide how they will be known to various parties, terms allowing information collected to be shared deny the user the right to decide who can know what about what they do on their machine. The question often asked in response is "What do you have to hide?" That's framing the issue on a false premise. The default is that whatever happens on a computer is private and between the user and that machine. The onus is on MS, the ad industry, or the government to demonstrate why it is in user's best interests that they should be privy any information. So far, I've heard no compelling argument for me to give them such permission, much less an argument to justify taking it regardless of my explicit consent. Now, I must concede that a lot of this information necessarily must be shared to allow some features such as Cortana. For example, access to you contacts is obviously needed in order to permit Cortana to be able to identify and correctly respond to requests that involve them.
* The "App Store" This is more ambiguous, and the real problem is not fully realized on Windows 10. While I am a huge fan of package managers which are at a technical level quite similar, they differ on one major point: centralization. A package manager supplies and supports a standard for software distribution to make installing, updating, and removing software easier for the user. So too does an "app store." However, a package manger supports any number of repositories that supply a listing and the software itself. The user decides which repositories they trust. Trust -- at the core this is how a package manger and an "app store" differ in a fundamental way. With an "App Store" you have one central repository and one central authority who acts as the gate keeper. The arbiter of trust with a package manger is the user. She decides who's software she trusts to run on her system, and can chose to revoke the trust at any time. With an "App Store" the user's choices are limited only to whatever the authority decides is acceptable and trustworthy. Now, earlier I mentioned the real problem isn't fully demonstrated on Win10, but it does already exist on moblie, notably iOS. I worry that it is a matter of "when", and not "if" the time you have to jailbreak MS Windows to run arbitrary programs comes.
* Worrying if not outright disturbing choices have been made regarding extremely sensitive information relating to security. Now, the user can opt out of these, but may not fully appreciate the implications of choosing not to. MS supports full disk encryption, putting aside the issues of if you can trust a closed-source encryption system: this is a good thing. However, the choice to store a recovery key on MS's OneDrive service? This practically defeats the purpose of full disk encryption. Can you trust MS to keep those keys safe? More importantly, you can be sure when "asked" by authorities they will hand it over (in fact their terms spell out they will). Wifi network credentials are uploaded to be shared with your contacts. They are encrypted, both in transit, and on the remote servers, but at some point any credentials shared with contacts must be rendered in plaintext in order for them to use them. While I can see some convenience in this, what right do I have to share a wifi passkey I have been given for another's network with my friends? It is irresponsible to facilitate sharing authentication credentials in such a manner. Again, you can opt out of these, but they should be opt-in only, and very clearly spell out the implications of choosing to enable them.
Again, many of the above are not unique to Windows 10, similar examples can be found in a variety of products from many different vendors. Nor do I feel, much less claim, that Windows 10 is the more grievous example of the above issues. It doesn't change the fact they still apply. Can all of the above be "fixed" or avoided by a technical user? Sure, I'm positive one could patch around, disable, or otherwise thwart all of the above issues. However, unless this ability and tools are commonplace and trivially available as Windows 10 itself, it doesn't change the fact that the vast majority are stuck with a computer that serves a master other than them and they cannot trust to always answer to their wishes. Can you really consider it your computer anymore?
Now, you can dismiss all of my above concerns as the worries of tin-foil hat wearing paranoid, but it doesn't change the fact that these concerns require only the smallest of leaps (if they require one at all) to see how real and immediate they are. If we consider the actions or statements of representatives of multiple industries and governments as sincere, these threats are all too tangible. You have the prerogative to ignore all of this, and you are free to run whatever OS or other software you like. If you run Windows 10 and are happy with the experience, I am happy for you. However, neither one's ignorance or wilful choice to ignore the negative consequences that are not in plain view does not shield one from them. Now, if you read this wall of text, or the ToS & EULA itself, and the other various terms and consider them carefully; and you still choose to consent to the terms and run Windows 10, you at least are making an informed decision. Just ask yourself: how many just install it without reading, how many will buy a computer and click "I agree" without a second thought? What happens to them? Is that right?
Computers are only becoming more commonplace, and being integrated in ever more facets of our lives. This is a trend that will not be reversing, and if anything will only accelerate. The issue we face is who will those computers serve? Their user? The vendor? The government? If we accept that the user should be the one who is served, how can they trust their devices? How can they know that their cars, medical devices, GPSes, game consoles, smart TVs, phones, and computers cannot betray them and will only act in their interests? At least with Windows 10, you know the answer: you can't.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
Microsoft's EULA for Windows 10, and their Terms of Service for the online functionality, are easy to read. This is, ironically, the only reason that there are so many blog posts, articles, and Reddit comments that are, in a word, "panicked" about Windows 10.
I read the agreement in it's entirety. I don't like that Update options have been limited. Ads have been in store apps for a while but I've not seen them show up anywhere. The "privacy" issues noted on many sites disregard the context of what they quote, which only pertains to the online services such as OneDrive.
While the changes to Windows Update's options means that "MS can disable programs they see fit to, simply because they do not like what it does", "Can" and "Will" are two different words with very different meanings. Considering Windows Update has been around since at least Windows 98 and there have been zero instances where this sort of thing has happened, it seems questionable to think that the change to the update options has in any way change the probability that they would do that. Even if we presume Microsoft was to have no business/consumer ethics, they would still be damaging themselves by doing so, as it would take no less then a week for such an "Update" to be discovered.
While the "Exchange Wi-Fi network Access with my Contacts" option is enabled by default, it does nothing unless the user explicitly chooses to enable. The setting is a "higher-level" setting controlling whether you are given the option to share the Wi-fi connection information when you create a new connection. In an upgraded install no existing Wifi connections or their information are shared with anybody- you have to change the connection properties and enable the feature manually. When creating a new connection and the option is on, you are given an additional prompt regarding whether you want to share the connection information.
Any concerns over wifi sense are unfounded as the feature requires as much conscious decision-making as somebody sharing wifi details in person or via instant messaging or something similar.
Bitlocker backing up recovery keys via OneDrive can be prevented by using the Pro version or not using a Microsoft Account on the system. It is nonetheless more accessible than TrueCrypt, and TrueCrypt is already known to be politically compromised. I'm not sure which is the better option. Old versions of Truecrypt, I suppose.
Advertising IDs/Ad IDs is a feature that is enabled by default (as I recall). It can be disabled, and also during setup (or upgrade) it is part of a number of options you are forced to peruse. This is a stark contrast to most installers, which would typically hide the options behind a "Custom Install" option. In the case of Windows 10, during upgrade/install it forces you to make a decision on several dozen options.
I guess you got lucky. ;(
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
-Albert Einstein
Current setup: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PJzPD3
What? Nobody mentioned homosexuals.
An operating system that doesn't suck and is at least as customizable as the previous versions. Again, you cannot customize your title bar colour. You could do that in Windows 3.1. You could do that in Windows 7, you could do that in Windows XP (In classic theme) etc. You cannot do this in Windows 10; the titlebar colour is either set by the Program Developer, and if the program doesn't set it it will always be white. That is objectively stupid.
They already made an updated version of windows 7. They called it "Windows 8" maybe you've heard of it.
No. the OS is released now. It should be working now. it should be feature complete now. I don't want to have to hack the Operating System to get basic customization features that were present in Windows 3.1.
Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I can hardly customize the Start Menu O_o There's the Apps thing which has two sections and I can't figure out how to get rid of both, because I want just a simplistic start menu without the big buttons) or how to remove any of the spaces (http://prntscr.com/7zc9nq). I could fill one of the spaces with most used which I'd rather not, but okay whatevs. I have a nice Rainmeter setup so I have my taskbar on autohide on the left and ever since I installed my Nvidia drivers for Windows 10 (at least I think it was since then) it's not autohiding at all. Even if I disable auto hide and then re-enable it, it derps like this. I can't for the life of me figure out how to change the background of the sign in when I first start up. I can change the initial page and my actual desktop, but when I click to login, it changes screens to go to my user to put in my password and the background changes to the standard Windows 10 background. Whenever I open up my calculator or Taskbar Properties, it always hugs the left side of the screen regardless of where I last positioned it, which makes it get hidden by the always-open taskbar because it's not auto hiding >.< Downloading and installing was an enormous headache because of the lack of a simple "redownload" button. I had to go into the Software Distribution downloads and delete all of the files there, which didn't want to delete because some were open in some obscure program I couldn't find to exist anywhere. The 4-sectioned multitask screen thing is pretty nice, though. Overall, incredibly annoyed.
Edit: Also, Cortana is neat I suppose, but I'd rather it not use Bing to search -.-
Feel free to check out my channel!
My current setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Q7wqf7
Think you got the wrong word there, buddy.
Funniest joke I've heard all day.
Is Microsoft all of a sudden obsessed with the mobile world? I thought Microsoft made Operating Systems for Desktops / Laptops, what happened?
I'm back
There is a Tablet mode in the settings menu.
I'm back
I just gave up waiting and forced it to update by downloading a Windows 10 x86 RTM ISO, mounting it in Windows, then running setup.exe. Only had 4.4 GB free space with the ISO sitting in downloads, but still let me upgrade without issue. Windows is fully activated, no issue with not having a product key or anything, so would appear you can legitimately upgrade using an ISO without going down the official path of waiting for the notification.
For the most part, i'm liking Windows 10. Not too much different from Windows 8.1 with added features and more sensible design in places. Take note though, this is on a tablet, i'll probably have a different opinion on my PC. Cortana isn't giving my any issues due to the fact that it (she?) simply doesn't work in Australia yet, and disabling the Internet Search option seems to have worked okay. Also disabled the P2P Windows Update setting as it would be silly to leave it on with an upload bandwidth of only 30KB/s.
Have yet to install most of my programs (opted for the delete everything option), so may not be out of the woods yet, so to speak.
See above. Worked fine for me.
K95 RGB / Logitech G502 PS / Alienware AW3418DW / ViewSonic XG2703-GS / Sennheiser HD 598
I kept all my stuff when upgrading, so far I've had no problems with programs, had a bit of an iffy problem with skyrim at one point but that seemed to have been a one-off thing.
It doesn't deter all upgrades though, only feature updates. Security updates will happen automatically.
I managed to force-upgrade using the Windows 10 ISO from MSDN. (I have a few systems: My main desktop, my thinkpad laptop, an older laptop, my old desktop system, and another "new" budget AMD build system (400 bucks or something). My old desktop has been running the preview and already has 10240. I've upgraded the budget AMD build to Windows 10 now as well using the above approach. I had to connect an external enclosure and use the DVD I burned from there but it's running Windows 10 now.
The first thing I tried to do was figure out how to get coloured title bars. I was able to find some guides/articles on the subject and opted to manually change my theme files so that the white titlebar theming never occurred. It mostly worked- inactive Windows still had a white background where the title text was, though. Also, I then went back to my two main 8.1 systems to a surprise- the theme changes on Windows 10 had been synced with Windows 8 so now my Windows 8 systems looked corrupted/screwed up. So I changed it back. Go back to Windows 10, now Windows 10 is the default theme again, hmm. Solution was to disable sync on the Windows 10 system.
I'm still not happy with the effect because it only kinda-sorta works, but when I tried to use a aftermarket tool (winaero) it just crashed with a missing file exception looking for some arbitrary theme file.
I guess I'll have to look into available skinning programs once they update. I expect they'll add themes that provide the sort of customization options that have now been removed. Maybe I can upgrade my Windowblinds 5 license from like a decade ago, hah.
Colored Title Bars? Yeah that's not possible. I remember in older versions of windows you were able to change that. I did hear about Microsoft adding patches (The forced updates) that will enable certain functions in the future.
There's also this Third Party Application made by some guy on Reddit that Disables the ability for Microsoft to access telemetry on your system.
I'm back
Old school? How is typing on a keyboard and using a mouse old - school? That's like me saying Writing is old - school. When so many people write.
I'm back
It is possible, you can modify the theme files manually.
Or you can just disable them in settings. I wasn't able to find that "Third Party Application" All I found was results where a bunch of morons talked about things they didn't understand, which is arguably Reddit in a nutshell.
It is possible? I'll look to it in the future.
I'm back
A lot of things like this are possible, it's just a matter of how much you want to dig around in the system.
Like I finally figured out the key to get the solid colored login screen back from the stupid Hero background.
Here's the key for anyone interested:
If someone happens to know how to make it a background image let me know.
We shouldn't have to be doing all of this digging around and I am very quickly becoming more disgruntled with the amount of configuring that I am having to do to get everything the way I like it.
Too poor to afford my certs.
Mine is a background image. I didn't change anything, though. It is using the same login image that I have set on Windows 8.1, likely synced. Seems to be set in Settings->Personalization and Themes->Lock Screen
Not the lock screen, login screen. Or did the login image change with the lock screen for you? It's really hard to find any information on it because of that mix up.
Too poor to afford my certs.
Windows 10 honestly blew me away. Makes everything more smooth and fast Coming from a guy with an intel core i7 xD.
I've not been an MS Windows user for about 7 years now, so I'm not going to try to compare Win10 relative to anything MS made post XP.
However, that doesn't really matter. My core "issues" with Windows 10 are not tied to some lacking functionality or technical flaw, general poor design or implementation, nor bugginess born of rushed or simply careless development. While Win10 no doubt suffers from some combination of the above to at least some extent: they are not something I care to critique. I leave that to those who use it to enumerate and debate its technical strengths and deficiencies (which might very well be the fewest of any release of Windows, I don't presume to know).
The one central problem with Windows 10 is, even to a non-user, quite clear: The user is not the one in control anymore. A computer is a tool. Meaning a computer is a device that facilities the users ability to perform a task of their choosing. Windows 10 displays a variety of "features" that are clearly contrary to that. By virtue of several things it does, Win10 directly demonstrates it is beholden to other masters. This isn't a sudden development, it's a trend not just limited to MS Windows, much less Windows 10 specifically. You can look to iOS and Google Android as two prior examples.
* Forcing updates: even if you can defer them, this removes from the user the agency to decide how their system shall operate. Are updates good? In general yes, however the user should still be given the opportunity to make a choice. Even if that means they might make the wrong one. It could be a simple as an update breaks something you wish to run due to a bug, but it could also be more deliberate. Forcing updates could mean MS can disable programs they see fit to, simply because they do not like what it does (or just as likely someone else doesn't like and asks MS to enforce on their behalf). You can be sure the MPAA would /love/ to be able to ask an OS maker to make programs that permit streams to be ripped, disks to be copied, or these copies to be shared to be broken/disabled and the OS maker actually having a system in place that makes it feasible. This isn't even speculation, various industries have asked, repeatedly, for such a capability to exist. Hell, Sony even took it upon themselves to implement a system of enforcement, should you recall the "Sony rootkit." Forced updates automatically mean someone other than the user can dictate how their computer operates.
* The tight integration of advertising is a violation of the user's privacy. Unique "Ad IDs" deny the user the agency to decide how they will be known to various parties, terms allowing information collected to be shared deny the user the right to decide who can know what about what they do on their machine. The question often asked in response is "What do you have to hide?" That's framing the issue on a false premise. The default is that whatever happens on a computer is private and between the user and that machine. The onus is on MS, the ad industry, or the government to demonstrate why it is in user's best interests that they should be privy any information. So far, I've heard no compelling argument for me to give them such permission, much less an argument to justify taking it regardless of my explicit consent. Now, I must concede that a lot of this information necessarily must be shared to allow some features such as Cortana. For example, access to you contacts is obviously needed in order to permit Cortana to be able to identify and correctly respond to requests that involve them.
* The "App Store" This is more ambiguous, and the real problem is not fully realized on Windows 10. While I am a huge fan of package managers which are at a technical level quite similar, they differ on one major point: centralization. A package manager supplies and supports a standard for software distribution to make installing, updating, and removing software easier for the user. So too does an "app store." However, a package manger supports any number of repositories that supply a listing and the software itself. The user decides which repositories they trust. Trust -- at the core this is how a package manger and an "app store" differ in a fundamental way. With an "App Store" you have one central repository and one central authority who acts as the gate keeper. The arbiter of trust with a package manger is the user. She decides who's software she trusts to run on her system, and can chose to revoke the trust at any time. With an "App Store" the user's choices are limited only to whatever the authority decides is acceptable and trustworthy. Now, earlier I mentioned the real problem isn't fully demonstrated on Win10, but it does already exist on moblie, notably iOS. I worry that it is a matter of "when", and not "if" the time you have to jailbreak MS Windows to run arbitrary programs comes.
* Worrying if not outright disturbing choices have been made regarding extremely sensitive information relating to security. Now, the user can opt out of these, but may not fully appreciate the implications of choosing not to. MS supports full disk encryption, putting aside the issues of if you can trust a closed-source encryption system: this is a good thing. However, the choice to store a recovery key on MS's OneDrive service? This practically defeats the purpose of full disk encryption. Can you trust MS to keep those keys safe? More importantly, you can be sure when "asked" by authorities they will hand it over (in fact their terms spell out they will). Wifi network credentials are uploaded to be shared with your contacts. They are encrypted, both in transit, and on the remote servers, but at some point any credentials shared with contacts must be rendered in plaintext in order for them to use them. While I can see some convenience in this, what right do I have to share a wifi passkey I have been given for another's network with my friends? It is irresponsible to facilitate sharing authentication credentials in such a manner. Again, you can opt out of these, but they should be opt-in only, and very clearly spell out the implications of choosing to enable them.
Again, many of the above are not unique to Windows 10, similar examples can be found in a variety of products from many different vendors. Nor do I feel, much less claim, that Windows 10 is the more grievous example of the above issues. It doesn't change the fact they still apply. Can all of the above be "fixed" or avoided by a technical user? Sure, I'm positive one could patch around, disable, or otherwise thwart all of the above issues. However, unless this ability and tools are commonplace and trivially available as Windows 10 itself, it doesn't change the fact that the vast majority are stuck with a computer that serves a master other than them and they cannot trust to always answer to their wishes. Can you really consider it your computer anymore?
Now, you can dismiss all of my above concerns as the worries of tin-foil hat wearing paranoid, but it doesn't change the fact that these concerns require only the smallest of leaps (if they require one at all) to see how real and immediate they are. If we consider the actions or statements of representatives of multiple industries and governments as sincere, these threats are all too tangible. You have the prerogative to ignore all of this, and you are free to run whatever OS or other software you like. If you run Windows 10 and are happy with the experience, I am happy for you. However, neither one's ignorance or wilful choice to ignore the negative consequences that are not in plain view does not shield one from them. Now, if you read this wall of text, or the ToS & EULA itself, and the other various terms and consider them carefully; and you still choose to consent to the terms and run Windows 10, you at least are making an informed decision. Just ask yourself: how many just install it without reading, how many will buy a computer and click "I agree" without a second thought? What happens to them? Is that right?
Computers are only becoming more commonplace, and being integrated in ever more facets of our lives. This is a trend that will not be reversing, and if anything will only accelerate. The issue we face is who will those computers serve? Their user? The vendor? The government? If we accept that the user should be the one who is served, how can they trust their devices? How can they know that their cars, medical devices, GPSes, game consoles, smart TVs, phones, and computers cannot betray them and will only act in their interests? At least with Windows 10, you know the answer: you can't.
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
Microsoft's EULA for Windows 10, and their Terms of Service for the online functionality, are easy to read. This is, ironically, the only reason that there are so many blog posts, articles, and Reddit comments that are, in a word, "panicked" about Windows 10.
I read the agreement in it's entirety. I don't like that Update options have been limited. Ads have been in store apps for a while but I've not seen them show up anywhere. The "privacy" issues noted on many sites disregard the context of what they quote, which only pertains to the online services such as OneDrive.
While the changes to Windows Update's options means that "MS can disable programs they see fit to, simply because they do not like what it does", "Can" and "Will" are two different words with very different meanings. Considering Windows Update has been around since at least Windows 98 and there have been zero instances where this sort of thing has happened, it seems questionable to think that the change to the update options has in any way change the probability that they would do that. Even if we presume Microsoft was to have no business/consumer ethics, they would still be damaging themselves by doing so, as it would take no less then a week for such an "Update" to be discovered.
While the "Exchange Wi-Fi network Access with my Contacts" option is enabled by default, it does nothing unless the user explicitly chooses to enable. The setting is a "higher-level" setting controlling whether you are given the option to share the Wi-fi connection information when you create a new connection. In an upgraded install no existing Wifi connections or their information are shared with anybody- you have to change the connection properties and enable the feature manually. When creating a new connection and the option is on, you are given an additional prompt regarding whether you want to share the connection information.
Any concerns over wifi sense are unfounded as the feature requires as much conscious decision-making as somebody sharing wifi details in person or via instant messaging or something similar.
Bitlocker backing up recovery keys via OneDrive can be prevented by using the Pro version or not using a Microsoft Account on the system. It is nonetheless more accessible than TrueCrypt, and TrueCrypt is already known to be politically compromised. I'm not sure which is the better option. Old versions of Truecrypt, I suppose.
Advertising IDs/Ad IDs is a feature that is enabled by default (as I recall). It can be disabled, and also during setup (or upgrade) it is part of a number of options you are forced to peruse. This is a stark contrast to most installers, which would typically hide the options behind a "Custom Install" option. In the case of Windows 10, during upgrade/install it forces you to make a decision on several dozen options.