JorgeA

Yeah, sounds like they're trying to prevent something expected from happening. Of course, that's a much wiser course than making something that won't create a demand for such domain names... --JorgeA

I finallly learned what the deal was with my inability to resize the Win10 Start Menu to eliminate the tile panel after removing all the tiles: someone complained in the Feedback app that there is no animation when you grab the edge of the menu and drag it. You have to drag it like one-third of the way across to the left in order to remove one column of tile space, and then further over to the left to remove the remaining column and be left with just the links panel. Each column disappears all at once when you reach the necessary spot, rather than (as one might expect) gradually as you drag the edge across the screen. So this is what was happening to me. Windows 10 was providing no feedback for my actions, and so I had no reason to believe that the resizing was working. Why would I think anything other than that the edge would start moving as soon as I started dragging it? That is standard UI behavior -- a standard ignored by Windows 10. --JorgeA

Now there are reports that Windows 10 is breaking hardware: The fanbois try to undermine the OP, but he ably parries their (mostly irrelevant) arguments. Others weigh in with their own horror stories. And we're six weeks from launch. Just imagine the reaction when millions of users' machines are rendered non-functional thanks to Microsoft's campaign to push Win10 on everybody. I don't know whether to shake my head in fear or lick my chops in anticipation ... --JorgeA

Hmmm -- it's at the click-and-drag stage that the process fails for me. I see the double-arrow thingy, but dragging it to the left doesn't do anything. What makes it stranger (and more frustrating) is that I can resize the Start Menu vertically. Just not in the dimension I'm interested in, which is sideways. --JorgeA

Paul Thurrott claims that you can resize the Start Menu to eliminate the tiles: Build 10130 just finished installing on my test system, and I see no way to do that. Anybody have an insight into how he did it? He provides no details, and I haven't found any settings to change that would affect that. --JorgeA

Wouldn't be surprised if it were designed that way to avoid tipping off the unsuspecting Win7 user as to the flat ugliness that awaits him. --JorgeA

Yes, I have those same four options on my Win7 system. Formfiller may be right: the Win10 push notification probably has to do with whether the user installed that GWX thing, or with one or another of the several Win10-related "updates" Microsofrt has been trying to sneak past the user. --JorgeA

Details of the scheme are slowly emerging: Here's how Microsoft plans to push new features to Windows 10 business users So, except for Enterprise customers, Microsoft intends to require users to accept feature changes in order to receive security fixes. Not even a Pro license (which is already more expensive than a home license) will spare you. And note how home users will serve as guinea pigs for the rest: [emphasis added] This is unbelievable -- every time you turn around, things get worse and worse. Aero Glass or not, I can't see myself buying a Windows 10 machine. If a computer dies and I need to buy a new one, it'll be for purposes of installing Linux on it. Now that vendors will be allowed to tie the machines they sell to Windows (making it impossible to install any other OS on "your" PC), that'll be something else to research before forking over my hard-earned money. --JorgeA

there should be 3rd button saying "go f*** yourself already" --JorgeA

Microsoft will shut down 'Modern' Skype Windows client on July 7 in favor of desktop version I was about to type a certain question that this news brought to my mind, when I saw that someone already asked it in the comments section: Microsoft's move represents a surrender to reality, of course, but more than that it exposes the pointlessness of the whole idea of grafting a mobile interface onto Windows. More comments along similar lines in Mary Jo Foley's coverage of the news: --JorgeA

IMO you are right on the money: with Vista, the software raced ahead of the hardware. --JorgeA

Yeah, really... Things have gotten so bad that even Paul Thurrott is speaking out against Microsoft's tactics: Is It OK for Microsoft to Push the Windows 10 Upgrade on Users? --JorgeA

I'd say that your approach is the best one. Ignore the naysayers. The command line is intimidating for non-geeks and for those who didn't cut their teeth on MS-DOS back in the day. --JorgeA

^^ I agree completely: less tech-savvy users are the ones who will benefit the most from this neat little utility. The key, though, will be to somehow get these users to hear about the utility's existence. --JorgeA

Windows SuperSite is reporting that even if you go through the process of cancelling your Windows 10 reservation, Microsoft will still give you yet another chance to mess up and fail to cancel it: Yeah, like if I got that far in the process I somehow didn't really want to cancel Win10... --JorgeA

and original study in .pdf: https://www.asc.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/TradeoffFallacy_1.pdf jaclaz Apropos of this, something else to watch out for: Audi boss warns Google's self driving cars could monitor where you are to sell ads Not to mention three-letter government agencies, who could use the data for their own political purposes... Yet another front on which people will need to be watchful about being watched. --JorgeA

Yeah, I'd already been notified of that update, and hidden it. It must in fact be some kind of staggered release, possibly tied to a staggered release schedule for Windows 10 to (many unsuspecting) Windows 7 users. --JorgeA

I do indeed! It's a fabulous guide and I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to get the most out of their Windows 7 system. One of my Windows 7 machines has a Vista theme installed. If and when I make the switch over to 7 for everyday use, it'll be with either a Vista or a Longhorn theme, they're so much more visually appealing than 7. But of course 7 is in turn immensely more attractive than 8, let alone 10. --JorgeA

This happened to me again last night, and may serve as an example of what we're talking about. My Windows Explorer preference for the "Computer" view is Tiles (the last item in the Views menu). Last night, for reasons unknown, when I went into Explorer the items under Computer showed up as Medium Icons and I had to manually change them back to Tiles. I have no idea why this would happen, Vista seems to do it on its own. Don't get me wrong, though. I love my Vista system and it's still my main work PC. I wouldn't dream of changing it to 7, let alone anything that came after it. --JorgeA

Thanks for pointing out these additional considerations, they make my point stronger. A lot of people will move into Windows 10 either out of curiosity or because they weren't knowledgeable enough to kill the automatic updates, and then (for all the reasons we've given) they'll find themselves stuck with either (at best) an OS they dislike or (at worst) a bricked computer. It's impossible to predict how many will find themselves worse off than before, but it's safe to assume the count will be in the millions. Maybe in the tens or even the hundreds of millions. Then they'll get on their smartphones (ironically) or their friends' computers to post about the disaster and the blogosphere will have a field day reporting on it. The question then will become for how long Microsoft will try to ignore, stonewall, pooh-pooh, or scoff at the problem before they have a full-blown revolt on their hands. I can see Nadella and Myerson getting pushed to the sidelines or forced out altogether like Steven Sinofsky and Julie Larson-Green. Wishful thinking? Only time will tell. --JorgeA

If Ed MicroBott's description of the process is accurate, then the user will have several chances to bring the downgrade to a screeching halt by declining the license terms. The problem I foresee is that most people won't realize what they're getting into until they're actually in it, by which time it may be too late for them to undo things. Not only is it still unclear (AFAIK) whether you can reactivate your Windows 7 license if you install Win10 and then change your mind, but many users will lack the technical know-how to put things back they way there were before. Somehow I doubt that Microsoft will showcase a handy little button that says, "If you don't like what you're seeing in Windows 10, click here to go back to your previous operating system." --JorgeA

That reminds me of the one other thing about Vista (at least on my work PC, anyway) that I find confusing: for some reason, once in a while the file/folder view settings in Windows Explorer change on their own. Sometimes they'll appear in category view, at other times columns (such as file date or size) disappear, and I have to go into the settings and put them back the way I want them. Have no idea why this would be happening. My experience with Windows 7 is much less extensive, but it doesn't seem to do this to me. The taskbar jumplists in Win7 are a definite plus, but OTOH I don't care for the wide and flat taskbar or the default icon view there (I prefer text labels). Fortunately it's simple to set those back to Vista style, but I still find it a (minor) annoyance. --JorgeA

Paul Thurrott reports that promotional material is making its way onto MSN apps... ...and even onto the Start Menu: BTW what a hideous jumble of rectangles and disparate colors in the tiles panel. This is what Life With WindowsTM is shaping up to be like. And notice all the wasted space over in the left panel: five letter headings (plus a "---" under F) and a grand total of seven actual listings displayed. That would mean Scroll City if you could even find the d*mn scrollbar, whcih is like half a shade different from the background around it. --JorgeA

There's a new unofficial TP build (10135) and one tester found the following: A little later, he reported: And another commenter has this to say: I'm still on 10074 (Slow ring). I use the small Taskbar icons and do get the menu to use either the search icon or the search box. But no matter which of the two I select, I only get the search icon. --JorgeA

What are some of these annoyances? The main (or only) annoyance for me when using Vista is that, for whatever reason, once in a while the mouse pointer jumps around by itself all over the screen. --JorgeA