Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions

[TELVM]

8 hours ago, rn10950 said:

I have no idea how to respond to this without using choice words, so I'm just going to post a picture of my cat.

Here's a picture of mine. As you can notice he's been thoroughly trained to deal with Microborg's Updates as they truly deserve:

[cc333]

That does it! Now I KNOW MS has gone off the deep end!

They've never been great, but, if nothing else, one could at least control Windows somewhat in the not too distant past.

Windows 10, for better or worse, is here to stay, so I guess this means I won't be using anything past 8.1 anymore (if even that).

This is making Windows XP and (if not affected) Windows Vista look better and better.

c

[NoelC]

>Now I KNOW MS has gone off the deep end!

You are a master of understatement. 

-Noel

[JorgeA]

Strictly speaking, this is about Windows 7 and not 10, but now that MSFT is grafting the Win10 update model onto Win7, I have to give an illustration of the "process," such as it is.

Tonight my main Win7 PC got offered a new update, KB3179573. Needless to say, before letting it install I wanted to get more information on it, so I clicked on the "More information" link in the WU applet. It led me to the following page:

OK, so I jumped through the first hoop and didn't get any actual information about the update. But I noticed that the page had a hyperlink over the phrase where MSFT claimed the update includes some new "improvements and fixes." Maybe now I will learn something about this update? So I clicked on that link, which took me to the following page:

Well well, still no actual information about the update, but merely a further promise that This Time Really We'll Tell You What's In The Update And What It Does. So, wearily, I clicked on yet another link taking me to yet another page, and providing the final insult:

Hey 'Softies, that's not exactly the way to build trust in your intentions, or confidence in your abilities...

--JorgeA

Edited August 17, 2016 by JorgeA
wording improved

[jaclaz]

3 hours ago, JorgeA said:

Hey 'Softies, that's not exactly the way to build trust in your intentions, or confidence in your abilities...

I don't see the problem.

That update is officially documented to do NOTHING (of good)  , like BTW -  roughly - 61.17% of the ones that came before it.

Historically each and every update has been provided with a (substantially false) message accompanying it telling you that if you don't update your PC (you choose) will immediately:
1) crash
2) be infected
3) blow up

Since nothing (relevant and in large numbers) happened to people that are not constantly updating (or - heresy! - still using an out of support OS) in the last several years, it was the previous accompanying messages that were deceiving, this non-message appears more honest .

jaclaz

 

[jaclaz]

And now, this is what they are really after

No comment, if not for a suggestion:

Get on a §@c#ing plane or train and come to Rome and see it for real.

jaclaz
 

[helpdesk98]

2 hours ago, jaclaz said:

And now, this is what they are really after

I feel sick already and I have not even put the VR head set on! If that is what is to come from MS I don't see this going well at least not until VR gets improved (seems like a neat gimmick like the Nintendo Wii was).

7 hours ago, JorgeA said:

Hey 'Softies, that's not exactly the way to build trust in your intentions, or confidence in your abilities...

That is not just a blank page you have been added to MS's watch list that page actually sends detailed telemetry about you back to MS. lol

[NoelC]

Quote

Historically each and every update has been provided with a (substantially false) message accompanying it telling you that if you don't update your PC (you choose) will immediately:
1) crash
2) be infected
3) blow up

In other words:

1) FUD

2) FUD

3) A fate superior to having to run Windows 10. 

In all seriousness, this lack of documentation - along with absolute proof (GWX, long update cycles) that Microsoft does use the Windows Update foot in the door to do whatever they want to further their own business goals - are what made me swear off of accepting any more updates to 7.

Remember, we've switched to the model where Microsoft makes changes then has users test them immediately thereafter.  Even the flagship software is only tested a little.  I was looking in Windows\System32 and it looks like the final build of 14393 was done literally on July 15 - two weeks before it was unleashed on the public.  I count that as a mere 2 weeks of having other users test it.  Do we suspect Microsoft of testing patches to the OLD operating systems more than the only one that matters to them now?

• Are you sure they haven't put things in you don't want?
• Even if you attribute only noble intentions to the programmer, did he/she get it right?
• Why do they want to force all updates into a "cumulative" package?  Did we already avoid something they desperately want us to have?  Or are we about to do so?

If you'd told me a couple of years ago whether I would be advising people to consider avoiding Windows Updates I'd have told you that you were nuts.  But observed reality has to trump a lifetime of training.

By the way, if you may be thinking that going ahead and installing Windows 10 might be a better alternative than all this paddling upstream against the Microsoft current to run an older system, the best I've been able to achieve so far with Big Muscle's prototype Windows 10 build 14393-aware Aero Glass for Win 8+ tool is a partially broken installation that reverts the amount translucency the user has set up (to be nearly opaque) every time it's booted (not to mention showing some occasional painting glitches).  Windows 10 is clearly actively being made less and less capable of being tweaked into usability.  It's possible Big Muscle may be able to overcome this.

But that leaves me with a Win 10 system that, despite all my tweaks, still runs about 6 more processes than build 10586 to support an idle desktop and tries to contact msdl.microsoft.com.  I'm personally still running 8.1 on my actual hardware, and don't have plans to change that even though I'm pretty familiar now with the Anniversary Update...

-Noel

Edited August 17, 2016 by NoelC

[NoelC]

3 hours ago, jaclaz said:

And now, this is what they are really after

No keyboard in sight.  Conclusion:  This person does no real work.  Yet another no load.  Society will collapse if even the people who think pushing a few things around is real work then take virtual vacations instead of doing what little they do.

Need to create a new line of "drool proof" shirts.

-Noel

[TELVM]

5 hours ago, jaclaz said:

And now, this is what they are really after

^ Complete with Bob/XP exceedengly useful dog : [/img]

[jaclaz]

26 minutes ago, TELVM said:

^ Complete with Bob/XP exceedengly useful dog : [/img]

Well, but it is a new puppy, 3D!

I hope you can see how this dramatic enhancement increases noticeably its usefulness, don't you? 

jaclaz
 

[NoelC]

Dog?  Pfftt.

Anyone besides me sense the need to create a whole new line of 3D digital pets?   

Tamagotchi, eat your heart out!

-Noel

[helpdesk98]

I miss the original ad-ware bonzi buddy I remember that from when I was a kid.

[cc333]

Maybe I'm weird, but I actually like the BOB-inspired animated XP dog

He's useless (for searching files, anyway), but he's just a nice, cute little bit of eye candy.

Anyway, since it's probably in our best interests to avoid Windows Update now, what difference does it make if I run, say, Windows 2000 (which hasn't been updated by MS for at least 6 years) instead of anything else? Because 2000 is:

*Light and fast on modern hardware that supports it
*Free of any activation or WGA nonsense
*Capable of being retrofitted with BWC's Extended Core so it can run the current version of Firefox and various other programs

I've been thinking of using it instead of XP because, basically, since it's very close to XP in terms of compatibility nowadays *anyway*, why not run 2000 instead? XP does have some genuine improvements, though (and it more fully supports my 2008 Mac Pro, upon which 2000 cannot, for whatever reason, support multiple CPUs/cores), so I'm not going to drop it. It was just a thought.

c

Edited August 17, 2016 by cc333

[NoelC]

Me, I'd put Win 8.1 on it, then tweak the daylights out of it to turn it into a nice system, update it to take most updates up through July or so then set it to take no more updates.

These are the ones I hid along the way:

KB2976978 - Win 10 Compatibility update for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8
KB3035583 - GWX
KB3046480 - Update helps to determine whether to migrate the .NET Framework 1.1 when you upgrade Windows 8.1 or Windows 7
KB3068708 - Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
KB3080149 - Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
KB3123862 - Updated capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
KB3173040 - Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 end of free upgrade offer notification

After having rebooted because of a new firewall version installation a week ago it's done a week of reasonably intensive work without any problems whatsoever.

-Noel

Edited August 17, 2016 by NoelC