JorgeA

At this time I would consider it to be FUD/rumor. It is an old one too, read up the "answer" here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11573741/would-it-be-possible-for-microsoft-to-phase-out-the-win32-api-in-future-versions No one would be onboard with such a change at this point... Even now as MS is trying to get more people to make Modern apps rather than standard desktop ones, it is way too early to imagine MS would do that any time soon. Maybe in 10-20 years the OS will have evolved to that state and we will see something different then. If anything, I would expect that Win32 could be deemed "legacy" and no longer a Best Practice, but still remain functional as a compatibility option. Thanks, Trip, that's a relief. Given Microsoft's record over the last three years, sadly this sort of FUD is believable. --JorgeA

Well, that sounds pretty bad. Just as disturbing is this potential bit of news further down in that reboot.pro thread: Can anyone verify (or refute) the report about removing the Win32 API? --JorgeA

There's a new build out, and it's already getting lukewarm reviews: 50 shades of gray -- hands on with Windows 10 Build 10049, the dullest Windows ever The blogger's impression of overall grayness and lack of UI choice in Win10 reminded me of a classic commercial from the '80s that folks who lived in the U.S. back then may remember: Note two lines in the commercial that are of particular interest to this thread -- "Having no choice is no fun." "Having a choice is better than none." Did you see the portrait of Lenin in the background of the runway? If I had the skills, I'd be tempted to Photoshop certain MSFT figures with, say, a Stalin uniform and mustache. --JorgeA

They do seem to have solved those two specific issues (both reported to be OK on March 21). But of course that doesn't mean there aren't any other security/privacy holes. But they do at least give the impression that they're sincerely committed to fixing whatever is possible to fix. Here's what they say about how the project is sustained: Presumably you don't have to use their default search engine, although it sounds appealing that searches done through it are encrypted. BTW I can't get on that website at all via IE8 ("Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage"), but it loads fine on Firefox. --JorgeA

Very sensible advice! However, I would stress the importance of #3 over 1 and part of 2. IMX it's not really the case anymore that you can be safe from malware by avoiding or blacklisting specific dubious websites. Just a couple of nights ago I was at (of all things) a classical-music site when Norton advised me that it had blocked a Trojan attack. I'm not sure that a hosts file would help in that case (I use the one put out by the Spybot folks.) But setting yourself up to be protected from phishing sites (the other part of #2) is definitely a plus. IIRC, using ad blockers might also protect the user from drive-by downloads on otherwise innocuous websites. --JorgeA

https://www.epicbrowser.com/ Has anybody heard of, or have any experience with, this browser? What do you think of it? --JorgeA

Good questions all. I'll leave a definitive answer to more technically oriented folks, but I'd lean toward saying that Cortana is a feature of the OS that doesn't really need to be integrated into it. --JorgeA

This theme in the tech news sites has become so common that it's part of the landscape. Microsoft needs to get out more and survey it. How to bring back the Start menu and button to Windows 8 Two projects involving friends of MSFN (Classic Shell and StartIsBack) are included in the selection. --JorgeA

That's interesting -- there's precious little new that's of substance, so people argue over esthetics. Makes sense. Although I would say that esthetics is important in the sense that a visually appealing UI is one that the user is more likely to want to stay at for longer. In terms of new features in Win10, about the only thing that I can think of, off the top of my head, is Cortana. And that's something I switched off as soon as I figured out how. --JorgeA

Just to add one observation to this -- I get the impression that some people's first reaction to Windows 10 is "meh," but then when they express that view they get slammed by the fanboys, which then changes their original lukewarm stance into a stronger one. --JorgeA

Tons of fantastic analysis and viewpoints over in Microsoft's Windows 10 TP forums. Here are a few that caught my eye recently, other than @NoelC's. On the near-requirement to log onto Windows with a Microsoft Account: On the stated reason for eliminating the Start Menu in Windows 8: On the excuse given for eliminating Aero Glass, that it consumes a lot of resources and battery power on mobile devices: [same thread] On the Metro interface being so unpleasant to use that people end up using their PCs less: (Personally I gave up on the newly borked pseudo-Start Menu and installed Classic Shell on the TP again. It was shocking how much easier and more fun it was to use. No more hideous solid-color rectangles taking up half of my screen when I open the Menu. All Programs actually opens when I hover over it, and the Start Menu actually closes when I hit Escape, and I get my Recent Items list back.) A lot of good stuff being said over there. You end up shaking your head at the Win10 defenders who just don't seem to get it. It's like they're empathy-challenged, unable to understand how anybody else could possibly prefer to do things other than THEIR way. --JorgeA

Is that a Cortana thing? --JorgeA

No comment... Unexpected Windows update on scoreboard computer delays basketball game --JorgeA

A self-proclaimed "avid fan of Windows 8.1" forecasts doom for the major reason Windows 8 was created (putting Windows on mobile devices such as phones): The End of Windows Phone? Further analysis at the link... --JorgeA

Windows Hello: Microsoft is making the password obsolete in Windows 10 I'm dubious about replacing biometric data being more secure than passwords. In some respects, probably. But from a legal/judicial standpoint at least, in the U.S. you are more secure from police and perprosecutors with a password than (say) a fingerprint, as you can be compelled to provide a fingerprint but you cannot be forced to provide a password: "Windows Hello"? Goodbye! --JorgeA

Dedoimedo discusses running Classic Shell in Windows 10 and Microsoft's attempts to blacklist this Start Menu alternative. --JorgeA

Yeah, that's the one. And I, too, often get that "problems" error message, but not all the time. --JorgeA

First thought through my shallow mind was, are we moving from STDs to CTDs? Sounds like sure fired recipe for a MAJOR security issue. From our computer history, it seems that we as humans seem to lack the ability to test things well enough before we release them and thus have a terrible record as for security. This is all OSes, not just Redmond's beast. The various government spook agencies love the idea though. Yup, this is really asking for trouble. It's not hard to imagine some future hacker finding a flaw in Skype that, thanks to Microsoft's foray into social computing, will give him control of hundreds of millions of Win10 computers. I'm taking bets on who's going to be the first AV suite to flag Windows as a PUP. --JorgeA

Basically something that betters your experience on the internet making use of your PC and bandwidth for Microsoft use. http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/47540-skype-disable-supernoding-for-windows-7 jaclaz Thanks very mcuh jaclaz, I've applied the Registry tweak. We'll see what (if anything) happens. --JorgeA

Apropos of that... THE TYRANNY OF THE DEFAULT --JorgeA

Epic comment: Yeah, that WAS pretty good! Especially loved the line about "this mongrel called Win10." The author should participate in our threads here. --JorgeA

Good luck to them on that. Of the three major smartphone UIs (even though calling Metro a "major" phone UI is rather a stretch ), Microsoft's is by far the least visually attractive. You'd have to be married to MSFT to choose that over the Android look. --JorgeA

Having adjusted the Win10TP Windows Updates setting to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them," today I got a notification that two updates were available. This time (don't know if it's because I changed the setting or because 10041 works differently), I was actually allowed to see what the Updates were about BEFORE downloading and installing them. However, I still did not have a choice to download one update but not the other. This is still unacceptable: suppose that one update provides a critical and urgent security fix, but the other is known to brick computers? Not enough granularity of choice here yet. (This choice existed all the way up to and including Windows 8, so I'm not asking for anything unusual or difficult here.) The little pop-up that provides details about each update now stays visible for more than a split second, which is an improvement, but it still does not give a working link to the KB article. --JorgeA

Windows 10: Smooth user experience it ain't I hadn't thought of this angle, interesting. --JorgeA

What's a SuperNode? (Forgive my ignorance, I haven't used Skype since it was bought and changed by Microsoft.) --JorgeA