NoelC

Many complaints have been raised by insiders about not being given enough control over updates. But Microsoft silently pushes on with their "mother knows best" strategy, no matter how "engaged" they claim to be with insiders. At this point I have my Windows 10 test systems' group policy settings configured that I should be asked before anything is downloaded, and that seems to be working as far as it goes. I've figured out how to have a Start Menu entry that immediately jumps to Windows Update in the Settings App, so I seem to be somewhat in control, BUT... It's still all the pending updates or nothing. On that note... I see some 21 new "Optional" updates have shown up for Windows 8.1 today. Clearly whatever part of Microsoft makes Optional updates isn't dying off. -Noel

Interestingly, I just set up a new test system with Windows 10 - this time with Windows 10 Enterprise TP. It initially installed as version 9926 then updated itself to 10049, so I can't really say what's going on with a clean install of the very latest versions (hopefully we'll get new slow ring builds and ISOs one day soon), but I found: 1. I had no problems creating a local account. Microsoft pulled a little fast one though... The "New Account" setup screen on my 1440 x 900 monitor had a scroll bar I needed to operate before I saw the proper link to "Sign in without a Microsoft account", which is dim by comparison to everything else. 2. Overall the system seems somehow a bit less aggressive about making your decisions for you, though that might just be me getting used to fending off Microsoft's will at every turn. The ultimate goal for this machine is to become a small Subversion server system, and Collabnet's Subversion Edge works nicely on it so far. I was a bit surprised that when the dust settled the whole thing isn't using as many resources as you'd think, given how much runs normally in Win 10 just to boot to the desktop. -Noel

I just get tired of interacting with people who refuse to believe things could be "that bad". It doesn't seem that Microsoft is going to change one thing based on people noticing their evil ways. Perhaps we should all be egging them on, telling them (like all the dweebs are) that it's a Wonderful Thing how they're giving everyone free software, then sit back and watch the lawsuits pile up. Maybe even criminal cases. -Noel

Clearly any future I have with Windows lies with Enterprise if these are the kinds of differences that are being built in. I always wondered whether/when they'd differentiate Enterprise more from the "casual user" systems. -Noel

Assuming you've hidden all the Windows Updates that will forcibly pull you onto Win 10 that is... -Noel

So the $64 question is: Is this the shape of things to come with the Win 10 "upgrade" for both Win 7 and Win 8.1 users who have not hidden all the "updates to enable the upgrade to Windows 10"? -Noel

R4D3, it sounds like you are asking for something you may not realize the consequences to... "Drop it and start something new" is the way Apple treats its users. Do you REALLY want to have to buy all new versions of your applications every time a new version of the OS comes out? For Apple and the software vendors it's great; people have to pay over and over again just to be able to continue to use their computers. One of the prime reasons Microsoft has succeeded in taking over the computing world is that their application environment has remained more or less stable for decades. What they're doing now is the antithesis of this. Taken to its conclusion, Microsoft will eliminate the desktop entirely, and you'll have to get all new Apps from their store. Sounds great from a "Microsoft makes money" shareholder perspective. Maybe not so great from the "I just want to get my computer work done" user perspective. Thing is, Microsoft doesn't actually do good enough work to support such a change. The "something new" you're asking that they start actually has to WORK. -Noel

Another aspect of this that virtually no one is talking about (and worth a separate post)... Consider that ads via web browsers are typically vectors for security intrusions. The more ads you block, the less likely you are to get malware - simple as that. Does anyone truly have confidence that ads running inside Metro/Modern Apps will be 100% safe? Think hard on this. An answer of "yes" implies Microsoft's Metro/Modern implementation is 100% perfect, without vulnerabilities. -Noel

Ads are usually distracting, and most folks - even casual computer users - typically strive to block them. That being said, I have heard of one or two folks who have said actually like that the computer provides them with info on things they're interested in. There needs to be a way to pay for the OS and not have ads. I can't imagine businesses will be willing to allow ads in their doors. I for one don't want a "free 'upgrade'" to Windows if it means it comes at the expense of having to see ads, however craftily targeted they might be. I don't make buying decisions while I'm focused on working. We've already seen it the other way and that was better. How much would you pay for an OS that was ad-free, serious, and completely under your control? Maybe, say, as much as we HAVE been paying for Windows licenses since way back? More? Me, I'd probably be willing to pay more. Perhaps I'll get my wish. I wonder if Windows Enterprise edition may become that system. -Noel

You moved one of mine that was strictly about ModernFrame.dll and how it facilitates Aero Glass on the title bar of Apps. It quoted a photo posted by someone else having to do with ads. But no matter. Big Muscle knows we like that tool. I would actually like to hear Big Muscle's ideas on where Microsoft seems to be going with the desktop UI. I'm sure he sees the changes to the code and can make some educated guesses as to what's happening. On the one hand, we've had Gabe Aul (and possibly others at Microsoft) say that they'll resurrect Aero Glass if enough people want it. On the other hand, they seem to continue to be gutting it. We're all waiting and wanting to know what's really going to happen. -Noel

If we lament the "dumbing down" of Windows, shouldn't we encourage people to learn how to plan for problems? What's wrong with expecting people to learn how to do backups and prepare Recovery Drives? Should everything in the world be available for people who no longer care to think? Edit: I just went through the process of preparing a recovery drive. It took all of 15 seconds of attention, then completed in about a minute while I was typing this paragraph. -Noel

I really like the direction Big Muscle is taking with his ModernFrame DLL, which worked great up through build 10041. I hope he can resurrect it again. Getting all the window chrome to match a reasonable theme or theme atlas makes running Apps on the desktop seem a LOT nicer. -Noel

That date/time thing is especially poignant... It used to be possible, with the control panel UI in Win 8.1 and older, to reconfigure the display of the date/time with a tweak so that it would always list actual day, date, and hours, minutes, seconds no matter how recent the file. Basically you would manually set the format to "ddd, MMMM d, yyyy". But with the Metroized replacement it's become impossible to actually specify that exact format without going directly into the registry. I think there's still a way to get to the old dialog still, though, but I imagine that'll go away soon. -Noel

I dropped back to Windows Defender. See the original post in this thread. -Noel

A nag from...? Can you do a screen grab? It's possible something's gotten into your system. I'm not seeing anything like that. -Noel

So you think identity theft is a non-issue, or that it could never happen to you? I wonder what difference in your thinking you'll have after it happens. -Noel

Mainly because they took on the attitude that the whole reason for running a computer was to support Avast. When they introduced all the bloat, I figured out how to turn it off. While I was still running Avast, the ONLY remaining feature from the center column of "tools" I retained was the Software Updater - that was nice to have. Because of options I chose, I never had it pop up and tell me anything, though that's been a staple of their system for a long time (announcing "Avast! Virus database has been updated" verbally, for example). Thus I didn't see the ads they made necessary for free users. When I had false positives I figured out how to add them to the right databases (there are multiple different ones) and reported them to Avast. Generally within a week or two the legitimate applications stopped generating false positives. I even paid them for quite a few years for their "premium" version, before dropping back to the free version, which still did everything I needed. When they decided a virtualization package - which I could not use because of other demands I make of my system - would be packaged with the product, I had no problem disabling that, BUT... The operation of the basic shields in Avast got horrendously slower. System builds of my software products took almost twice as long as they had been taking. I complained on their forum and was basically told off. Apparently a person with the computing demands I have is no longer their mainstream customer focus. Any attempt to request more sophisticated control was simply met with "you and every other clueless user don't need that". That got on my nerves. In all the time I had Avast on task, the only two things it EVER warned me of were: 1. A few malicious web sites. Thing is, I'm protected from web site malice by my browser configuration, which does not allow ActiveX to download or run, and locks down a number of other things as well. 2. False positives. Over time, a fair number of the tools I run that are not in common use were flagged. While not a devastating problem, it did take time away from doing productive things. Given the above, I made the determination that Avast wasn't protecting me from anything, and if an unused safety net becomes so intrusive as to destroy the productivity of the user, it's time to move on. It's clear why Avast gets a lot of false positives - they automatically generate and refine their virus signatures by auto-scanning a monstrous database of known malware and another set of known goodware. This scanning process aggressively tries to trim the signature database that must be searched every time a program is run. Trouble is, if the database of goodware isn't complete it's entirely possible a piece of malware AND a piece of goodware will share the same sequence of bytes. Anyway, in summary, their goals and mine simply began to diverge. -Noel

You're probably exposed to different threats, but you're right - it's entirely possible eMails have been crafted to try to compromise a web browser via webmail. With those the threat could even be worse when using a browser. And there are some messages that, with cooperation from the user, could be dangerous in both realms - imagining for example those that contain attachments (.zip, .jpg, .exe, etc.) that the user would be tempted to open. A successful security strategy will always involve thinking first, understanding what you're about to do to the best of your ability at all times, and backing it up with a multi-faceted set of technical safety nets. -Noel

Yes, fatigue helps explain it. I moved to Win 8.1 due to my skills in reconfiguring and augmenting Windows, but most did not. Staying on Win 7 so far has worked for them, and Microsoft never really challenged that decision directly. I just wonder whether they're not aware that Microsoft is preparing to secretly "upgrade" them to Win 10, or are simply in disbelief that they would try such a thing. I noticed the talking head "joscon" has simply just become silent on the "Windows Servicing Guy" blog. -Noel

Frivolity aside, how is it these Microsoft moves aren't getting more attention and more of a reaction? -Noel

Today is the first day since the beginning of the Win 10 TP that I've just not cared enough to even boot up my Win 10 test system. The magic has evaporated, given that Microsoft is heading off in such a stupid direction and each new pre-release build gets worse. As an early adopter excited about every system Microsoft has EVER released, this marks a significant point for me. Only once before has it happened - with Windows 8.0. I had started with the previews of that then they just eliminated Aero Glass at release. I ended up adopting Win 8.1 only after awesome 3rd party developers like Big Muscle had had time to make the system feel nicer to use. Microsoft is simply leaving behind people who have been their greatest supporters. I guess the lure of money fleeced from those who don't know better is just too strong. Pity. -Noel

Perhaps that's it. I HAVE developed things of value that I don't want others to have. I probably shouldn't have to point out that if you have personal information you don't want OTHER PEOPLE to have (I.e., after having taken it from Microsoft), you might not want to hand it over to Microsoft. Or do you think Microsoft is completely incapable of losing your data to others? Do you think that no humans work inside Microsoft who might not be perfectly honest? How do you do your taxes? Do any online banking? Do you have files on your computer listing passwords you'd rather others didn't discover? Do you think that identity theft can't possibly happen to you? -Noel

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I do run some of Nir's software, but not those three. ShellExView doesn't seem to trigger any false positives. That you CAN exclude that which you have personally deemed okay is a very important feature. Anecdotally, Avast, before I walked away from their product, was starting to make it difficult to exclude things. They apparently feel it's impossible for a mere user to make proper decisions about what to allow on their very own computers. Perhaps that makes sense for a certain crowd who are irresponsible yet smart enough to operate the exclusion logic in an AV package. But it doesn't make sense for folks who know what they're doing. -Noel

People are starting to call me a "conspiracy theorist" and "paranoid", so I guess I'll shut up about what I see as a major turning point in privacy. I'd have thought the folks around here would be more concerned about this, but I guess I'm just a dinosaur. -Noel

Since Vista systems have been defragging themselves when they choose to do so, on a schedule. -Noel