NoelC

Once every two to three years is more than often enough. Of course, that implies that Microsoft would actually have to WORK HARD to make it a SYSTEM that all hangs together before release. For arguably one of the most complex software packages, the "from the engineers' fingertips to you" concept is just a ridiculous idea. -Noel

Somehow a growing number of people are feeling Scrmicrosofted. -Noel

Yes. You clearly can see it as I can, along with some others. I wish I could say that list is growing, but it doesn't really matter. The possibility to screw you out of your money hard and often in the future has got to be the reason Microsoft is so adamant to push their "free" upgrade on everyone today. And even with all the recent history, their escalating tactics are still working. Microsoft is working to make itself irrelevant solely for the possibility of short term gains while the world catches up and creates another good, serious operating system. The most irritating thing to realize is that those in charge of this debacle are getting paid obscenely. -Noel

Y'know one of the things I like best about Classic Shell? That it has enabled me to have both a consistent and superior method for organizing my start menu items across several major Windows releases and a decade of time! As we all know, sometimes newer just isn't better. And it never, ever gives me trouble. Thanks for letting us know a new beta version is out, Gaurav. I'll throw 4.2.7 on some virtual machines and see how it runs. Edit: Windows Vista x64 Ultimate test VM: For grins, I tried to see if it would install. It refused (as expected). Windows 7 x64 Ultimate test VM: The installer had a little trouble shutting down and restarting Explorer, but it ultimately installed okay, retained settings as expected, and on a quick test works fine. Windows 8.1 x64 Enterprise test VM: Installed easily, retained settings, works fine. Win 10 build 10586 test VM that's running my preferred setup: Installed easily, retained settings, works fine. Win 10 build 14342 RS1 test VM that's been "privatized" with my re-tweaker script: Installed easily, retained settings, works fine. So far it looks good! -Noel

But we can't possibly know the facts. It's a closed system. It's a 40 year old Trojan horse. Even after a year of predation (not counting Windows 8) we see that people can't YET erase a lifetime of trust and see Microsoft for what it has become. Our computers and storage and networking are now so capable and fast that we simply can't even tell without going to much additional effort whether the system is doing any number of unwanted things. But I know what you mean... Looking back we may be able to derive the reality... For example, I found that GWX was installed as early as April, 2015 on one of my systems. I didn't become aware of it (and expunge it) until later in the year. To think there is nothing like that in today's updates would be naïve to say the least. There is no other evidence that Microsoft is growing a conscience. Instead, it seems like they're doing all they can to kill whatever is left of moral, decent thinking they may have. -Noel

Who could possibly say whether it has ANY "thingies" in it? It's not hard to imagine there is a whole new crop of adware/nagware awaiting the termination of the "free 'upgrade'" period. If they're as aggressive as they are NOW, imagine what they'll be like when they actually can make money directly out of getting someone to upgrade. Be afraid, be very afraid. -Noel

To be fair, Win 10 (up to now) doesn't really spy on users more than 8.1 did/does. Even an up-to-date Win 7 does more of that now, if you haven't hidden certain telemetry updates. Fortunately that can still be controlled, but gradually the control is being taken away, and THAT is the key point to focus on. With more and more "cloud integration", it's inevitable that software makers who feel the need to gather data on you will use the communications pathways for things you'd rather they not do. I personally don't care for "cloud integration" myself, and have managed so far to delay its intrusion into my world. I even have a Win 10 test configuration that's entirely private - though it has taken all my geek skills to get it there, and some paid 3rd party firewall software to verify it stays there. I have just tested an upgrade to the latest pre-release build - 14342 - and have seen that it now attempts communications with www.msftconnecttest.com at key times. I also saw ApplicationFrameHost trying to reach ctldl.windowsupdate.com even though I have Windows Update disabled by every means I can muster. So more study and tweaking is required. Thing is, I don't really want to HAVE to spend the time to study Microsoft's new attempts to pry information out of me and tweak them out of existence. I have better things to do. Thus I will continue to run an older operating system for as long as it's reasonably feasible. I predict there will come a time when all we frogs jump out of the pot and pounce on the heads of those who are trying to boil us for the gold in our pockets. -Noel

They no longer feel they need to impress anyone. They have their customers by the short hairs. Think "there is no tomorrow, so it doesn't matter what we do today". -Noel

What exactly do you want to search for? Programs to launch? I suggest Classic Shell. Stuff on your PC? I suggest a rigorous 3rd party search like grepWin or one of those already meantioned that integrates with Explorer. -Noel

OK, thanks for the clarification. It strikes me that Microsoft ultimately packaging groups of updates together is akin to bringing "cumulative updates" to the older systems. This could be a Big Deal. It could mean no less than a re-evaluation of one's entire update strategy. I really need to do some my own research before commenting more. Time is always so short... -Noel

>Did Microsoft also release an update rollup for Windows 8.1? According to Woody, yes. I haven't done my own experiments yet. http://www.infoworld.com/article/3071689/microsoft-windows/new-windows-7-and-81-patches-usher-in-the-future-of-rollup-updating.html There is the small possibility that even with the telemetry updates in place the traffic can be stopped. I also have yet to go through this page to see what if anything might apply to the older systems: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/configure-windows-10-devices-to-stop-data-flow-to-microsoft -Noel

The game is changing as we watch. Microsoft has now announced what are essentially service packs for older systems. Rolled-up updates that contain many of the things that people have been avoiding installing individually. I haven't yet had time to study these new bundles, but it's almost certain they'll include things I don't really want running. Given recent observed behavior by Microsoft that continues to push the envelope past all semblance of reason, now may be the time to just leave the Windows Update service off. That would certainly simplify life, and may even be viable for another year or two. Then... ?? Windows Update was reasonable when Microsoft was a good partner. Perhaps even necessary in order to agree to run an operating system that was quite flawed out of the box. Now, Windows Update is becoming almost purely a liability. -Noel

Heh, and now they've done the inevitable, leaving those of us who choose to run older systems with some of the most difficult decisions yet... They've released new "Service Pack"-like updates for Windows 7 and 8 that include EVERYTHING. KB3125574 See this article: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3071737/microsoft-windows/microsoft-overhauls-windows-7-and-81-updating-but-dont-call-it-a-service-pack.html Now is the time, before just blithely accepting this update, to think hard about whether you want to continue to accept ALL of what Microsoft wants to push on you, or maybe just stop updates entirely. -Noel

It's all about taking the time to redefine what society thinks of as "normal" or "acceptable". No one would have stood for anything like this in the time of Win 7. People paid good money for anti-malware / anti-PUP software to block exactly this kind of thing. Notice that very few folks are crying about lost functionality any more. No one would even remember that you can't play nearly as rich a set of media with Win 10, or that Aero Glass actually made Windows 7 easier to use if there weren't still hold-outs who are still intimately familiar with the old systems because they actually still USE them. Microsoft DESPERATELY wants to get past the stage of "common sense" and "it was better before" and into the full-on fashion phase where they can do whatever the hell they want on a moment's notice. That will not be a good time for users - it's not now - but they will be stuck with it. Some of us have seen through their game since the beginning, and still don't tolerate it. However, and unfortunately, most have already begun to accept what Microsoft is doing as the "new normal". THAT is the biggest shame in all this. -Noel

I used to think they were baffled, but actually now I think they're marching to explicit orders to actively destroy Windows. Look up "break it" thinking some time. -Noel

Sounds like part of the "modern" trend to avoid showing people things that would overload their poor little minds. I don't have a proposed solution, and this post doesn't really address this particular problem, except that if the hard drive all shows up it might provide a "big picture" workaround that could help the user not stumble into the problem to begin with. "Gettin' geeky with it" can quite often overcome "dumbing down syndrome".. My advice: Ask the user learn habits that simply keep him/her away from the newer things that don't really work. In general I always advise not to use "Libraries" at all. In my experience, doing things "the prescribed way" has to be replaced by rigor if you want things to really work. In short: Avoid any of the abstractions and always use hard drive folders. Get in the habit of navigating to C:\Users\name\Documents or wherever you want, and it's hard to go wrong. It avoids things that have been added since about the time of Vista that have never worked very well, and continue to have the same shortcomings even in the most modern Windows. I personally go to some lengths to tweak Windows to show me as little of the new fangled junk (Libraries) as possible. When I open Explorer I see the following (note what's not displayed in the left pane): -Noel

<sarcasm> But wait! Now you can select "Blueberry" or even "Chocolate" for a forum theme! And it actually affects a few elements on the page!!! OMG, it's CUSTOMIZABLE!!!!!!!!! Only thing is, the default font isn't big enough. </sarcasm> Kinda? (see also my comment at the bottom of this post) -Noel

Too bad I'll never see that dialog; I'd love to know what all of the pages to the right look like. Frankly, if a dialog is stating "this is how it's going to be", I would very much imagine that just closing it means nothing. It's like closing the web browser after having ordered a gadget on Amazon.com, and being told it would be there in 3 days. Closing the browser window doesn't mean "cancel the order". But I do agree it breaks with tradition, and it's clearly a move of desperation by Microsoft, who realize they're really going to make it to maybe 300 million installs, about half of which are actually being used. I'm waiting to see the huge lawsuits when they actively break Windows 7 and 8.1. And if you think that's "tinfoil hat" stuff I point out the current problems with getting through Windows Update. I have personally experienced the slowdowns on well-maintained Win 7 and 8.1 systems. It's no accident that the CPU goes into a hard loop for tens of minutes (and that's on a fast computer, it's hours or even tens of hours on a slower one). What Microsoft is doing to computing - and to the United States - is absolutely criminal in my opinion. They bear a responsibility to continue providing serious, business-oriented computing capability. That they have chosen to leave that completely behind screams the need for no less than criminal prosecution. -Noel

Seems a little silly to try to re-theme a pre-release build. It never works better than you expect - always worse. But I agree that not re-theming it makes it impossible to stand to use it. One feels as though IQ points are slipping away just by looking at the screen, and one ultimately feels like poking one's eyes out with a ball point pen. Personally, it makes me consider switching from software engineering to farming. Thus it seems a little silly to test Windows 10 pre-releases at all. And that's a Good Thing, because if everyone would just turn away, instead of trying to make do with it, Microsoft would already have had to fix it. No matter how obviously bad to even plankton that their moves are, Microsoft just isn't stopping their headlong rush into destroying Windows as we know it. All I can say is that they must have a powerful way of hypnotizing their programmers into doing the most extremely wrong things. I can almost hear the conversation in the break room... "If only we convert just one more control panel dialog to a big-font, dumbed-down, flat affect App, then everyone will finally see how amazing XAML really is". -Noel

What, you don't recognize keeping up with modern trends, Formfiller? Everything MUST suck a little more and work a little less, or it's "old and busted". Regarding that new Windows 10 GWX nag screen... What does clicking that little arrow on the right edge do? Start the upgrade? -Noel

Regarding the paintbrush tool specifics... I feel a bit like I'm at a car dealership with my wife... I'm looking to learn about the size of the brakes, the power of the engine, the wear lifetime of the tires, but she decides the important thing is whether the color is Blueberry or Sky. Does choosing the color of a few dividers change the color of the text at all? I'm not seeing it. Not that it's bad - it's actually quite readable now, so if you did something to improve that, thanks. -Noel

Windows Update this month on two different test systems (running Win 7 and 8.1) for me took longer than it should. Of course I had to re-hide the GWX update. I've come to recognize the number without even looking it up (KB3035583). Both VMs are running on a system with hyper fast processors, so the "hard CPU loop" times were in the 20 minutes range. People are reporting on AskWoody.com that they are also seeing long CPU loops as well. This just indicates to me that Microsoft simply doesn't want the Windows Update process to be easy or quick for users of older operating systems. You can be sure that Microsoft will sooner or later begin advertising that Windows 10 does updates much faster and more painlessly than its predecessors. The good news is that after the updates went in both Win 7 and 8.1 test systems appear stable, and I haven't noticed any new attempts to contact servers online that hadn't been seen before. -Noel

I should think that any OS that isn't mainstream is no longer the target for today's malware/virus authors, and so the "mainstream" malware, which most likely does pretty specific things crafted just for the systems on which it expects to infect, would likely not run successfully. That being said, the mainstream AV software makers have long since left behind definitions for malware that was only known to infect the older systems, just so they can rank highly in the AV comparison charts for speed and resource usage. I wonder if there has been a resurgence of older malware since the AV software stopped looking... -Noel

I'm not seeing anything like a paintbrush. Am I missing something obvious? I know I have blind spots... -Noel

The funny thing is most folks running Windows 10 don't feel like a frog in a pot of hot water. That's what I hate most about Microsoft using their position of power - they are slowly and nefariously redefining what's to be considered acceptable. -Noel