Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions

[Formfiller]

9 hours ago, NoelC said:

Some of that stuff is stored in an encrypted way...  I suppose that's understandable, given the nature of malware in the past, but to use that facility against user wishes...  Way beyond warranted.

-Noel

W10 is the malware in this case.

Just like ransomware encrypting files.

It’s amazing that this piece of s*** OS called Windows 10 will apparenty cost real money in every case in August.

It must be the first time adware costing real substantial money.

All this crap would only be bearable if this POS would be completely free of cost in all cases. Fitting out a whole office/household with Windows for free, with no prior licenses, and getting app recommendations, office ads, crapware resets and privacy issues in return? Worth thinking about.

Getting all that AND paying money for each license? F...

Edited July 21, 2016 by Formfiller

[jaclaz]

8 hours ago, BudwS said:

They're off selling their Cloud and making more money doing it than their Win 10 project brings in.

Maye related (or may be not), say bye-bye to peer-to-peer SkyPe:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/21/cloud_upgrade_for_skype_will_kill_os_x_linux_clients/

jaclaz
 

[NoelC]

Not really a surprise.  I lost the ability to transfer files via Skype some months ago.  They appear to go, but they never arrive.  Before that, file transfer speeds went from reasonable given communications links to 1990s modem-slow.

Sounds like Microsoft to me.

They're quite adept at acquiring technology then killing it off, aren't they?

"Our 5 year mission, to seek out new tech...  To boldly go where no company has gone before...  And destroy the future of computing."

-Noel

Edited July 21, 2016 by NoelC

[xman charl]

They're quite adept at acquiring technology then killing it off, aren't they?

Remember QuarterDeck memory manager? 

Microsoft put it on the shelf, let it die...

Charl

[BudwS]

12 hours ago, jaclaz said:

Maye related (or may be not), say bye-bye to peer-to-peer SkyPe:

jaclaz
 

At least OS X users won't blink an eye.  Facetime just works across the Apple spectrum.  Oh, and where are those MS Cloud servers located?  And the servers are protected by MS security?  With all those billions that are rolling in, they can afford great security.  More greatness?

[JorgeA]

1 hour ago, BudwS said:

At least OS X users won't blink an eye.  Facetime just works across the Apple spectrum.  Oh, and where are those MS Cloud servers located?  And the servers are protected by MS security?  With all those billions that are rolling in, they can afford great security.  More greatness?

Yes, and now that Skype conversations will be going through MSFT servers instead of peer-to-peer direct, the Microsoft Services Agreement provision where they give themselves permission to access everything you put on their servers becomes all the more significant. They've already deleted people's OneDrive (SkyDrive) files that they didn't approve of; now you'll have to watch what you say, too.

--JorgeA

[ralcool]

Ahh, So to recap.. They added P2P to make upgrading PCs use less load on their servers, and removed it from Skype to make it 'better and more secure'

It would save the world a lot of useless network traffic if they didn't sponge so much information from their 'clients', then again- we are the product to exploited and fleeced.

Given what a can be done by an experienced user.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/20/silver_tongue_hacker_shows_how_one_home_address_can_lead_to_ruin/

Sigh.

[jaclaz]

And - for the usual OT  , but not much  what about US $ 450 for replacing a battery on a one year (or a little more) old Surface 3?

http://winsupersite.com/hardware/batteries-certain-surface-pro-3-models-are-degrading-quickly-no-response-microsoft
 

http://winsupersite.com/hardware/surface-pro-3-battery-gate-piecing-it-together

On average a US$ 450 over 1 and a half years corresponds to a flat 1 US $/day of repair costs, and it is not like the device is/was actually "cheap".

jaclaz

 

[helpdesk98]

I can see the future now! When setting up your new computer not only with you have to provide your product key you will also have to provide your credit card information so microsoft can manage your Windows subscriptions ect. 

[xpclient]

Well, whenever I used a free app from the Store, Bob 8.1 nagged me persistently to add payment information. And when I went to add it (to suppress the nags), it wouldn't accept PayPal without entering my credit/debit card (I don't have a card). So I won't be surprised if a future update to Bob 10 forces the user to add credit/debit card info directly during first-run/first time setup.

[jaclaz]

2 hours ago, helpdesk98 said:

I can see the future now! When setting up your new computer not only with you have to provide your product key you will also have to provide your credit card information so microsoft can manage your Windows subscriptions ect.

To be fair, someone that actually bought a surface 3 deserves that , but the US $ 99 fee for support call to be told you need to turn in the machine (and pay the 450 $ for the battery replacement) is a bit too much even for them. 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro3-surfhardware/surface-pro-3-battery-degradation/783f6a00-19ba-4dcf-a828-0ad87751e15a?page=5&auth=1

jaclaz
 

[JorgeA]

I wonder if something like this could be used from, say, a Windows 7 system to prevent a Windows 10 machine on the same network from phoning home. Check out this part of the product review:
 

Quote

Easy Website Blocking

When blocking websites, you do not have to type the complete URL; the main name in the domain is enough. I found it interesting that I could not access blocked websites even through a VPN. While blocking sites, you can select which computers you want to restrict their access and whitelist others. You can also customize the message you want to be displayed when a user visits a blocked websites, then set a redirect URL, or choose the Close browser option.

--JorgeA

[NoelC]

Name-based site blocking is certainly the way to gain control in today's complex world, where the same server name could resolve to different addresses even from minute to minute.  And yes, I agree that wildcarding is important.

I'd be a little wary, though, and make sure to test thoroughly...  The one and only review was obviously written by the author/marketing people themselves.  It sounds like it would need to install a driver on each system, and that will need to be solid and reliable.

-Noel

[JorgeA]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice, Noel. Sounds like using that application for the purpose I described might require more time and/or technical expertise than I enjoy at the moment.

Incidentally, and speaking about time, that Dennis Nelson (if there is such a person) must have virtually nothing to do other than review software. He gives fairly detailed assessments of SharewareOnSale products almost every day.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Since the new board software doesn't do embedded quotes,   I have to provide the context leading up to the following.

Regarding that French commission's finding that Microsoft collects excessive amounts of data from Windows 10 users...

On Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 9:13 PM, Techie007 said:

    Boy, that will sure teach them!  Wait. . . you've gotta be kidding me!  A mere $165,000?  For a giant like Microsoft, that's just a cost of doing business.  If forced to, they'll pay, and then it will be back to "business as usual".  I'd be more interested to know exactly what the French researchers found being transmitted by Windows 10.

...here are some details:

France’s National Data Protection Commission says Windows 10 collects too much data (Updated)

France: Windows 10 collects 'excessive personal data', issues Microsoft with formal warning

Microsoft responds to allegations that Windows 10 collects 'excessive personal data'

Quote

The CNIL found that the company was collecting diagnostic and usage data via its telemetry service, which uses such data, among other things, to identify problems and to improve products. To this purpose, Microsoft Corporation processes, for instance, Windows app and Windows Store usage data, providing information, among other things, on all the apps downloaded and installed on the system by a user and the time spent on each one. Therefore, the company is collecting excessive data, as these data are not necessary for the operation of the service.

[emphasis added]

And here's the original statement (in English).

--JorgeA

Edited July 23, 2016 by JorgeA
added link