Posted on 10/30/2015 9:06:36 PM PDT by dayglored
Microsoft's decision to push out Windows 10 upgrades as automatic Windows Update downloads is one of those ideas that sounded great in a Redmond meeting room, but will cause more problems than it solves.
Right from the get-go Microsoft has made it clear that it is looking for a very fast rollout of Windows 10. The new operating system was offered as a free upgrade for some users – a first for Microsoft – and ever since the launch, Microsoft has been hustling people to upgrade, by fair means or foul.
Earlier this month El Reg's tips inbox hit overload with readers complaining that Windows 10 was downloading itself automatically whether or not the end user had opted in or wanted to install it. For people with suddenly crammed hard drives, this was a huge pain in the backside and it caused a lot of anger.
Nowadays, if you boot up a Windows 7 or 8 system you'll see a variety of popups encouraging you to upgrade – roughly every few days, based on Vulture West's experience. These are annoying but perfectly legitimate advertising.
But deciding to make the upgrade part of the patching cycle is a grave mistake. True, it's only going to be an optional upgrade at the moment, but by early next year the pressure is going to be raised, and anyone who automatically installs recommended security patches will find themselves with a new operating system waiting to start.
And just about everyone installs recommended updates automatically because Microsoft insists on it...
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
I love Windows 10, but agree this is a bad idea, I’d be really surprised if it actually happens.
Mebbe, ended up doing the same thing with XP and had the same experience.
Most of that crap had something to do with "Net" something or other and most of the time the download failed to install. Saying to hell with it all was easy.
At least a simple explanation in non-pimple speak of what "Net" this or that is supposed to accomplish would be great. Most of the "more info" stuff is useless to the non acne challenged population.
Well, they would say that, wouldn't they, given their whole attitude about W10 "upgrades"? You didn't actually expect them to admit it really was "Who the hell told you motherless crotch sniffers you were allowed to shove your latest product down my throat?", did you?
I have heard all the reasons why they don’t want to upgrade, but most people are repeating what someone told them or what they read on Facebook or Twitter. They don’t have an opinion based on personal experience. I have been using and programming computers for 35+ years, starting with mainframes in 1979. So, I get asked about upgrades. :-)
I did not recommend upgrading to Windows 8 or 8.1. I strongly urge anyone who asks about Windows 10 to upgrade. The thing is, in my view, the ones that don’t know which version they’re currently using probably are the ones that need it the most. I mentioned my wife in another post, for 17+ years she couldn’t tell you which version of Windows she was using, up until now. She tells her friends that she’s on Windows 10 and she likes it. Anecdotal, I know, but it’s a first.
Win7 took over a half hour to boot up and become usable. Win10 just a few minutes if that.
Main problems with Win 8.1 were related to Adobe Flash I think - websites like dailycaller.com or freebeacon.com taking 5-10 minutes to load. Ridiculous.
I did get rid of IE11 and went with Firefox+AdBlockPlus. That may have been the biggest benefit when I upgraded.
But, anyway, I upgraded 2 desktops and 1 laptop to Win10 without any problems and am very happy with it.
Also, just as an aside, I had an Office Pro 2013 license, but decided to subscribe to Office365 because my wife has a client that uses it. Very happy with that product/service also.
maybe they should offer windows 10 for free for xp, 2k users as well if they want more ppl on windows 10
One thing: the new Win10 browser (Edge) may not work with some sites you need to get to. (My employer’s SharePoint site in my case).
You can find the old IE11 browser (on a 64-bit system) at
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”
where you can just right-click it and drag a shortcut to your desktop.
I don’t know for sure, but on a 32-bit system the IE11 browser is probably here:
“C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”
I don’t know (or want to know) how to post a topic.
But something weird is going on. I have a toolbar showing up here that I did not install.
And before anyone asks...yes I am logged on and my computer is plugged in.
Same here.
I don’t use my computer for entertainment for it is for business only. I have engineering software operating on windows 7 and also have the ability to troubleshoot and fix minor problems with the system when necessary. When windows 8 came out my experience in trying to help others with minor/major problems was almost impossible.
Many like you and I who particularly in the electrical and mechanical engineering fields have extremely expensive CAD programs that in some cases cannot operate in toys such as windows 8 and 10 and must either be cast aside and a huge sum of both money and effort expended in either upgrading or replacing them.
MICROSOFT......LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE!
This is an article based on presumptions. But it is not true. This is not going to happen.
Let’s wait until it is either proven or denied before going off.
Knowing Microsoft legal as I do, there’s no way they’d approve this. The lawsuits would be off the charts, because if only 1 out of 100 failed to upgrade properly (which is rough ballpark figure), Microsoft could lose billions of $ in court.
In the “Search The Web and Windows” text box on the Taskbar, simply type in “iexplore.exe” and press enter (or wait for it to come up in the list and select it).
Internet Explorer 11 will then come up.
When it is up, you will see the small icon for Internet Explorer on the Taskbar. Right-click it and select “Pin to Taskbar”.
Then and hereafter, it always there for you to launch, whenever you need it!
But Dayglored, how is this really different from today?
Are people not getting the pop-up recommending they upgrade now?
If they're that trusting of Microsoft, why wouldn't they upgrade NOW, as opposed to next year?
I have over 5,000 client systems at work, and I will upgrade in accordance with the license agreement we have with Microsoft, and about 25 systems at home (16 of them VMs), but as at work and at home, there are a few Windows 7 systems, due to software requirements, that cannot be upgraded.
I don't expect Microsoft is going to upgrade any of these without my say-so. That's not going to happen.
Incidentally, since I said "No" to upgrading these systems, I have not gotten any more pop-ups to upgrade, despite keeping Automatic Updates on.
WAY too much hype and distortions in the press about Microsoft and Windows. You'd think it was CNBC telling low information voters about "evil" Republicans!
BFL
I suspect you said the same about XP before upgrading to 7.
This article is a year old. I wonder how many of the more vociferous commenters have noticed that.
For myself, on modern hardware, W10 is stable and convenient. As a matter of principle, I (like most) would prefer to lag on my updates (so I can get the bad news) rather than have them force fed. But, I haven’t had any problems.
In the back of my mind, I think the possibility of a bad update that trashes a significant percentage of PCs out there is a possibility—and that’s why I don’t like the forced upgrades.
As to intrusiveness: Yes, the defaults are very invasive, aggressive collectors of information... almost invasive as Google, which many use for search and email. But, it is rather easy to disarm most of them (Hint: don’t log on to the system with a Microsoft account).
How well does Win10 work in a VirtualBox? Will it remain contained in there? Are there 32 and 64 bit versions? Can a 32 bit Win7 get upgraded to 64 bit Win10?
Iam getting comfortable with Linux Mint.
I can only imagine it's M/S's attempt to have fewer code bases to support. However, tricking users into an upgrade thru security updates is a bad idea. Some users likely don't want to upgrade because it may break whatever apps are currently running under Win7, etc.
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