NoelC

Yes, that's the idea. Create all keys that it takes to make the place to put the value. -Noel

Create the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx key first (by right-clicking on the Windows key), then create the DisableGwx value within that key (by right clicking in the Values pane). -Noel

Bear in mind that there is at least one "back door" way Microsoft can force an update into a system. Jaclaz pointed out that they had used it once before (and had to apologize). No apologies any more. They know best. Anyway, I've instituted a deny-by-default firewall policy that will likely stop any further back door activity. So far for me GWX hasn't returned. -Noel

I still can't sense any advantage to using "Edge" (project Spartan). I mean, I understand that people want to try it because it's new, but it's also greatly reduced in configurability from Internet Explorer, and - as you've mentioned, Mike - apparently not 100% functional. You can, of course, still use Internet Explorer. -Noel

Have you tried reinstalling WinRAR (after, of course, checking online to see whether a new Windows 10-compatible version has been released)? I know nothing about WinRAR, specifically, but it sounds as though the Shell Extension has just been removed or blocked - possibly because the Microsoft installer sees it as incompatible. Try using the freeware tool Shell Extensions Viewer by NirSoft to see what Shell Extensions are installed. http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html -Noel

Interesting contrast... Somehow DEC failed even though their technical prowess was second to none. I guess it was management/marketing that messed everything up. And now we see that Microsoft stumbles along despite technical prowess that's practically better than none. This seems to say - much as I HATE the idea - that "perception is reality" outshines "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path". I'm actually typing this message on a DEC LK250 keyboard that's still best-in-show despite being more than 30 years old. -Noel

I believe the subject at hand in that case is simply that Microsoft has ALWAYS - as a rule - created applications that require a final confirmation before anything is changed. Apple, on the other hand, has not. In a practical sense, with older versions this meant if you check some boxes, type some names, move some sliders, etc., in the past Microsoft's Windows applications (or the many applications programmed by 3rd parties to run on Windows) would ALL present an [OK] or [save] button that would be the "final go ahead" indication to make all the changes. Thus the user would be allowed to have a look over the entirety of the changes he/she has made, then confirm them with that one additional click. If it was really important, it might be that the [OK] or [save] button would even be disabled (grayed-out) until the combination of settings made sense together. This was a very powerful concept, and served - in my mind - very strongly to help differentiate serious computing from frivolous computing. Think of that "final confirmation" philosophy as making it harder to get into trouble by accidentally clicking on something. Think of it as easier to practice blazing through things (e..g. with keyboard shortcuts) without as much worry. It's no less than an enabling technology for power users. Now look at any of the "Modern" Apps... Settings, for example. There is no confirmation. After you throw a switch this way or that the deed is done. The concept that every reconfiguration dialog comes with a confirmation is NO MORE. This is no less than a fundamental change, making Windows more OSX/Android/Phone-like, not to mention leaving the system in a state where it's now half and half. Philosophically, this fits right in with New Microsoft "we know better" message - removing control from the user. Think how especially powerful this is to trick someone into making a premature decision while using an older system that still fundamentally asks for confirmation for every question. Is it any wonder many people consider everything about Windows 10 akin to malware? You are astute to notice it, Jorge. -Noel

One last thing... Nobody says that advancing Windows into the "Mobile" or "Modern" or "Fischer Price" or whatever you want to call it "space" required them to make the desktop work one bit worse, or have a less integrated looking theme. Not only did they not continue pursuit of desktop improvement, they had to work to remove the stuff that made the desktop elegant and integrated. If you're a company trying to lead people to something newer and better, doesn't it actually have to BE better? Not to mention newer... Flat and lifeless presentations were characteristics of what, CGA? You don't lead by burning the bridge people are still on! -Noel

Yeah, but I think I'll just abandon ship over there. I'm gaining nothing useful really and the regulars are just looking forward to the next iceberg. They don't seem to be influenced by clear thinking, so why bother? Your handle over there says it all. Have you seen the hilarious list of sig taglines being dropped by a guy named MichaelMasters who posts a LOT on answers.microsoft.com, insider forums? Some others are following his lead. The list of one-liners is sure to put a smile on any face. Several I found particularly amusing... Microsoft. Bringing you into the 20th century. Windows 10. When care enough to give the very least. Microsoft. Lowering our standards and your expectations. Microsoft. Insider membership guarantees you citizenship. Would you like to know more? Windows 10. Game over, man. Game over! Microsoft. We mostly come out at night, mostly. Windows 10. I say we take off and nuke it from space. It's the only way to be sure. -Noel

The point is that any executive should be able to perceive that the Microsoft's success in the home market is driven by the fact that people who work with it choose to use it at home. That they abandoned business entirely implies those making the decisions are woefully single-minded. To put it bluntly, Microsoft has been run by dolts in recent history. And Jody, I'm not arguing with you, and I enjoy a good debate. Please don't take my strong stance as adversarial. We most likely both would like to see Microsoft succeed, as would a lot of folks here. It's just all too clear why they're not going to do very well. I don't think they'll fail, per se, but they're not going to advance the world of computing as they actually could have done. -Noel

No, I don't think so. The other day to my great surprise, on my Win 7 system here I found GWX trying to contact the mothership. I'm assuming if it hadn't been blocked by my firewall it would have downloaded the Win 10 software as well. Thing is, I had hidden all these: KB2952664 KB3021917 KB3035583 KB3068708 KB3075249 KB3080149 Based on the date of the GWX folder under C:\Windows\System32, it was in an update that was applied before late April 2015, and of course none of the above.. Check your system for the folder: C:\Windows\System32\GWX -Noel

You're right - people are growing all the more lazy and stupid, and business strives to cater to that. And thus the world goes quietly into the night. Popular films notwithstanding, history teaches us that periods of stupidity end. -Noel

Big as they are, couldn't they have advanced both fronts? Jody, you're out of touch if you think business is 1) abandoning desktops and 2) needs fewer of them. Business computing is Microsoft's cornerstone. Who says that they had to abandon serious computing to pursue frivolity exclusively? The tacit acceptance of THAT is the real problem. -Noel

"We" don't. I avoid Google in every way I can. No new ideas? I'd love to see ReFS supported for the boot partition; more sophisticated APIs in Win32 to facilitate the development of more powerful applications (note that I specifically didn't say Apps); actual advancements in things like font rendering, color management, and other things that never quite got finished. If nothing else there was still room for a LOT of polish - the Windows 7 Aero desktop theme was good, but it was not supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Many themers have since proven that. To think that there's nothing more that could be improved on the "traditional" desktop or in the kernel seems a pretty narrow view. Something I think is supremely ironic is that Visual Studio has made some real improvements lately in helping a software engineer keep track of unprecedented complexity. What serious software are we supposed to use that on? It doesn't take that kind of sophistication to develop an App. Microsoft is failing in the mobile space. They're killing Nokia, and while I wouldn't throw it away if someone gave me a Surface, in all honesty if I buy another tablet any time soon to replace our iPad it'll be a newer, bigger iPad. -Noel

Perhaps it's strong, but from my perspective accepting that companies will make money off us on the sly is very wrong. And I don't think I'm alone... The adoption rate has fallen below that of Win 7, which people had to PAY for. This thing needs to fail, or our future will be ruined even more than commercial-supported television. What predatory companies want only becomes the "new normal" if everyone who prefers the "old normal" just accepts that it has to be, in order to be polite. Some things really are just wrong. -Noel

Yeah. I figure such folks either have some agenda or psychological problems with recognizing what really is vs. what they perceive. Logic cannot come between a person and his/her own perceptions. Perception is reality, right? Some folks really can be so suggestible that they actually believe they like something just because they were told to. I know this from personal experience. @Mcinwwl - Kudos. I couldn't have summed it up better. -Noel

I can't recall where I was first told I wear a "tin foil hat" for predicting it would come to a time where we have to stop updates. It was the better part of a year ago I think. I was most recently told that I wear such a hat yesterday by one of those "Metrotards" you identified over on Channel 9. LOL -Noel

I can confirm that WIndows 7 now contacts different servers after this latest update to Windows Update. I'm sure Microsoft would say that it'll do a Windows Update more quickly now as a result. But Win 7 hasn't gotten observably more chatty while just sitting there. Of course, that's a pretty meaningless observation without watching it for weeks. -Noel Edit: I never let that telemetry stuff install itself.

Unfortunately I don't think they'll ever consider anything they do a fiasco. Even failing utterly in the mobile space and writing off Nokia doesn't seem to count as a failure. It's simply considered a "tough choice in an area where things are not working". Most folks' fallback at this point is to continue to run Windows 7 or 8.x. Microsoft doesn't lose in that case. It just defers the probably inevitable move they'll make to a newer Microsoft OS. The kids in Microsoft could play around doing all sorts of silly things to Windows literally for years, and still not lose their shirts. Such is the afterglow of developing good systems in the past and cornering almost all the computing market. And the stock, well... Doesn't ever seem to tank, even with the recent "correction"... -Noel

Just for reference, a theme atlas is not the same as a full theme. The theme atlas just replaces the graphic elements that are used to composite the "chrome" around the desktop windows, including borders and the caption buttons. The theme atlas does NOT affect things like the appearance of common controls (e.g., pushbuttons) inside windows - to the best of my knowledge a full theme is required to do that. -Noel

As of a few days ago in my Win 10 test system I *finally* achieved a configuration that has these attributes: Is blocked from sharing whatever the heck it feels like with servers online. Uses only a local account. Has no ability to run Apps (UAC is off, most Apps are uninstalled, etc.). Cortana and Windows Search are history. Has a nice desktop courtesy Aero Glass for Win 8+, Classic Shell, and a number of other tweaks/augments. Can still succeed a Windows Update. Passes an SFC check. That config only took what, all the pre-release period plus a month+ after release to develop. Now Microsoft promises to deliver a whole new build in another 3 months (4 month overall cycle between in-place upgrades that reset everything and break most 3rd party stuff that relies on undocumented interfaces). Even though I have it working enviably, I can't in good conscience run this system on anything but a test virtual machine long-term. -Noel

Anything you send outside your LAN is subject to being used and abused. Keep that in mind, worry about everything you emit, and you won't be surprised. Don't send what you don't want others to read. Now it's become even necessary to worry about what your computer sends - on its own. Even folks who know these things realize that to participate in the modern world one occasionally needs to expose data one would not want widely known. It's called risk and occasionally it IS going to burn you. Most certainly it is going to cost you. I read somewhere this morning that "being online is a fools game". Couldn't have said it better myself. -Noel

Historical patterns... Of Win 8 adoption? Nice way to say "fail". -Noel

I'm all for privacy, but if you send it in an eMail it's not private. Anyone who thinks it is is just naïve. U.S. Company, U.S. Laws works for me. Shut 'em down in the U.S. if they won't comply. Send some execs to prison for contempt of court. Or maybe just contempt of humanity. -Noel

I installed the Win 10 updates on my test VM (big deal). I read all the Win 7 update descriptions (not difficult, all one-liners with essentially no words left after the boilerplate), and decided to hold off updating. I started reading the Win 8.1 update descriptions and just got too tired, so put that off as well. The text between the lines is just so damned light. Time was this stuff seemed more interesting somehow. -Noel