NoelC

I have no idea. Having a copy of 7Zip on hand is very handy though. Then you have the tool from then on. It's one of the things I recommend everyone get; it's good. -Noel

Define "broken"? I just tested http://www.glass8.eu/files/AeroGlassGUI.7z and it works just fine. The mime type is not being set right by the server is all. Right-click it, choose Save As, and save it as a .7z file. -Noel

You're not using a local account are you? Around the time of 10074 it was, I think, Microsoft said something like "sign in with a Microsoft account and update now or you won't get any more insider builds". Since then, with newer builds, if you try to use a local account, you get the message "Your Microsoft Account requires attention to get insider builds". You can probably find an ISO for one of the later builds somewhere floating around and do an in-place upgrade with that. With the Microsoft account it might then open the gate to being able to get the newest one. -Noel

Jimmy Fallon has a segment on the Tonight Show from time to time here where he enumerates Pros and Cons of things. I think this could be a good way to List what people find good or bad about Windows 10. Pro: New Modern Apps that can now run in a Window. Sometimes two or more at a time. Con: So far there are virtually none that aren't already done better on the web. Pro: Simple interfaces, big fonts, less thinking. Con: Was something wrong with thinking? Pro: Faster bootup. Con: When you measure it against an older OS doing a hibernate on the same hardware, it's not. Pro: Supposedly faster reboot. Con: Not really, but now we have a greater need for rebooting - at least for a while until it's stabilized. Pro: It has a resurrected Start Menu. Con: Classic Shell is still quite a bit better. Pro: Touch / tablet capability. Con: A lot of folks think Win 8 did that better. Pro: Tiles. Con: We used to call them "Ads". Pro: Office 365 now fits in and matches Windows look and feel. Con: They did this by making Windows look like Office. Did ANYONE actually LIKE Office 365? Pro: Free upgrade! Con: Pay later when you suffer through ads, and ultimately have your personal data taken. Pro: Better gaming. Con: Did the world need more distraction from being productive? Pro: Win 10 has a sleek, modern, no-nonsense look with square-cornered controls. Con: Visual styles improved usability. Usability is better than fashionable. It's an OS, not a dress! Pro: Simple, no-options Windows Update - always be up to date! Con: Microsoft would never release a bum update, would they? I encourage you to add your own Pros, Cons... Slant them any way you like. Hater, Skeptic, Wishy Washy, Afficionado, Rabid Fanboy. All are welcome here. -Noel

For the latest builds of WIn 10... http://Noel.ProDigitalSoftware.com/ForumPosts/Win10/10240/RoundedCornersBlueActive.png -Noel

I think it's the points of view that set people apart on this subject. When your business depends on something you need different attributes than if you use it primarily for frivolity and entertainment. Microsoft is exclusively paying attention only to the latter. -Noel

Unfortunately I'm out of time for a while. Work beckons. I encourage you to download the Visual Studio 2015 Community RC and give it a try. -Noel

I've seen that I think 3 times now on one system. Some other info: Thread on prevention: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/173752-how-to-avoid-being-upgraded-to-win-10-against-your-will/ Another's attempt at automating the malware GWX removal: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/173961-windows-10-gwx-update-removal-tool-for-windows-7-and-windows-81/ -Noel

Bugfix applied, per the author's comments. Here's a "Release" build of the "unreleased" 1.0.3 version for x64 Windows, tested (briefly) on Win 10 build 10240 and Win 8.1 build 9600. http://Noel.ProDigitalSoftware.com/ForumPosts/Win10/VersInfoEx.zip -Noel

I hadn't noticed that it came with an already built DLL. Apparently the build process touched that file, leading me to believe it was rebuilt anyway, but it turns out that's the one I'm running. Seems to work fine. Nice little tool. When I get a little time I'll see if I can figure out why it doesn't build with modern tools. Edit: The build error was simply that the TARGETFILENAME symbol was not defined with quotes. Probably a quirk introduced between the old build process and the auto-updated VS2015 project. Adding double quote characters around VersInfoEx.dll results in a fresh new build - that also works. Interestingly, it's 3 times the size of the supplied DLL. -Noel

I hadn't seen that little tool before... Visual Studio 2015 doesn't convert the project without errors. On an attempt to build it anyway, the following error is reported: However, a DLL was created anyway, so I tried adding it as a Shell Extension. This is what's shown in the Properties dialog (my apologies for the ugliness of the window; Big Muscle's software is not available in a version that works with build 10240 right now: I didn't have time to investigate the errors, but it looks to be generally working. It's not surprising. I think Microsoft must have directed their people not to change anything substantive in the Win32 environment so as not to screw up the part of Windows that still has some merit. That's what Windows Update will be for. -Noel

If you think Big Muscle's Aero Glass and UxThemeSignatureBypass tools (and a good set of theme resources) are just about blurred Window borders then it shows how precious little you know about using Windows effectively. But hey, embrace the mediocrity. It's all Microsoft can deliver. -Noel

Not eedeeot, deeeveeous. -Noel

They would say "you're overthinking this". Thinking has gone out of fashion. It's hard. -Noel

Perhaps they don't want anyone else to be able to join the insider program so as to get a free copy of Windows 10. -Noel

Here the software just found some of the symbols - but not all - and dropped into a DWM crash/reset loop. Edit: Actually, looking over debug.log I see that later in one of the reboot loops it successfully got the dwmcore.pdb file downloaded. Without the Aero Glass toolset I find I've lost all will to run Win 10. Yes, it means that much. Big Muscle, if there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know. -Noel

Don't digital assistants actually have to work and be useful for people to want them? On the other hand, People seem to be getting more and more stupid, so maybe the current state of the art is right up their alley. Here we have a commercial in the past month or so that sums things up nicely... A man is driving his car; asks his digital assistant to call Karen, and it calls Aunt Ethel instead. It's a few seconds in... Hilarious... http://www.tvcommercialspots.com/food-and-beverage/oscar-mayer-deli-fresh-calling-aunt-ethel-sometimes-life-can-get-a-little-complicated-keep-it-simple-made-from-100-turkey-breast-oscarmayer-delifresh-turkey-sandwich-ethel-keepitsimple/ -Noel

The text is darker and the vertical spacing is also closer than it is normally. That's a combo of tweaks, the first being brought about by a small freeware program called Folder Options X by T800 productions, originally written for an older system but still quite workable for Windows 10. Basically it causes the custom control that manages details view in Explorer to be replaced by the old standard tree control, which brings back a bit of additional usability. And it's not only about the look - I find dragging and dropping more deterministic with that tweak. The items in the Navigation pane are also closer together vertically, courtesy the "Tree Item Spacing" option in Classic Shell. A setting of -2 there makes it match the tree control spacing that Folder Options X invokes in the files pane. -Noel

Just one more thought on the subject... This discussion is about hiding not just Quick Access but a whole host of abstract namespaces. So many, out of the box, that the data I want to get to almost certainly requires scrolling. You'll notice in my screen grab above that with drive C: expanded on my test system I can see all of the subfolders right off. That's my test system. My real systems have more drives and more folders. Minimizing the stuff I don't need gets to be even more important. When just one of something is easily ignored, but a whole lot of somethings require extra work, then even just one of something is one more than is wanted. -Noel

I've been running with a local account now for a week (having taken the "Sign out" link in the Accounts panel). It seems to hang together surprisingly well. I have UAC off now too. ZERO Modern Apps. NO Windows Start Menu.I can run the Settings App as needed.Fully privileged local operation and a functional desktop. All my applications work.Windows Update still works, though I'm off the Insider Preview track. Seems to be a viable way to ride out the insanity Microsoft is trying to push until they steer their ship back to doing what Windows did and was designed to do best. -Noel

It's a fair question. It's about what I use vs. stuff I have to ignore/navigate around to get to what I use. I'm often doing work that's at the limits of my abilities, and I'm not getting any younger. Even the slightest little distraction can help disrupt my thought train. Plus abstractions in Explorer, such as Libraries, often invoke technical problems that don't happen when you use real hard drives and folders. There are still - even in Win 10 - problems with the display not updating if the data isn't instantly available to Explorer, for example. The abstractions tend to invoke performance penalties, ergo display problems. Most of all, it's about each person finding their own optimal user experience - something that's impossible if the UX isn't configurable. We're just trying to discover how to configure it, since Microsoft doesn't provide a direct method. I've been using Windows since there was a Windows, and am a dyed-in-the-wool computer geek. I honestly only want to use hard drives and Network in Explorer. To me it's second nature to navigate to the places I go (I find it natural to use C:\Users\NoelC\Documents, for example). If I really, really need to revisit a folder many, many times - such as a folder containing log files while I'm debugging something in particular - I'll put a shortcut to it directly on my desktop. To each his own. I just wish Microsoft would realize that not everyone needs nor wants every little thing they think is the best thing since sliced bread. But their movement is most definitely not toward making things more personal. -Noel

Removal of the items dhjohns listed specifically hides all the namespaces directly under This PC so you have only hard drives remaining there: FYI it doesn't hide Quick Access, as you can see in the image above. That's another problem entirely, and one that's proven insoluble so far - hiding Quick Access by any known means breaks drag and drop in the Navigation pane. -Noel

It's a pipeline. Every indication is that 10240 is the release for the end of July. Microsoft doesn't stop work and wait and see what happens when the current version releases. -Noel

Figured out how to remove Desktop from the Navigation pane yet? That one is still hanging around for me. Never mind, the answer was to follow your instructions as listed. Somehow I had missed one. -Noel

Vinifera, tell us how you really feel. Holding back is unhealthy. You have to admit, Win 10 build 10240 is simply the greatest thing since... Build 10166. -Noel