Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions

[NoelC]

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

[JorgeA]

More reports of unexpected Win10 installations here.

 

Here's the story from the post:

 

[O]ne of our staffers, David Cardinal, has had his own unusual experience with Windows 10. According to David, he left on a two-week trip with an HTPC box running Windows 8.1U and came back to find it running Windows 10. Windows Update was configured to install automatic updates, and Microsoft has flagged Windows 10 as an important update — so it’s at least theoretically possible that the box automatically installed the new operating system.

 

We’re still checking out whether this update was automatically triggered, but if it wasn’t, it’s another example of how Microsoft built a system that shoves you forward into new operating systems whether you like it or not.

 

Down in the comments section, the staffer in question gives more info:

 

If I hadn't been gone for so long, it probably would have been more obvious, but when I first noticed it I kept wondering if I'd somehow forgotten that I'd started an update. It seems increasingly clear that the system took at least one decision on its own -- especially since I hadn't made a backup, which would have been my first priority before starting an OS upgrade.

 

 Some of the commenters report their own cases:

 

Something equally strange but a bit different happened to my Win8.1pro. In fact, I signed up for a Win10 upgrade quite early and I waited for the release to come out officially. Once released in the wild, a pop-up informed me of that and, from such a point in history, the strange thing happened. In the menu that popped-up, I had the possibility to defer the installation and I chose such an option, as I thought that it may be stupid to put a fresh, new, buggy OS on my expensive and working laptop... Well, even though it made me even choose a date in the future to receive another pop-up, right after the Ok on the choice of the date (I decided to wait a couple of months), the computer restarted and Win10 was installing itself! I

 

i had the exact same issue. I deferred the upgrade to do more research and then when I rebooted I saw it was installing! Thankfully this was a desktop and I have had no driver issues, but it was still very annoying.

 

And then there's this sequence of comments, which I'd like someone here who's knowledgeable about XAML to discuss:

 

There are two buttons on that "Reserve Later" screen. Install Now, or Confirm. You probably clicked install, as a friend of mine did (she was busy in a game and accidentally clicked the wrong one)

 

No, It just says restart and update, and then Windows 10 just begins to install.....

 

Unfortunately this is a result of Microsoft's new design language. The correct method would be to simply select the date and close the window, there is no need to apply the changes so there is no button. The same applies in the settings app.

 

The lack of confirm\close\OK buttons is extremely annoying and p*ss poor design. Sadly Microsoft isn't the only one doing this (looking at you Mozilla). I do not know who started this crap design but they (and everyone else who is copying) need to be educated on proper UI design.

 

Either way it sounds like the UX equivalent of having two OK buttons and no Cancel.

 

Heh, that last one sounds like what malware pop-ups used to do where they'd program the Close button to actually launch the virus; that's how I learned that the proper approach to that kind of situation is to open Task Manager and kill the browser.

 

Anyway, can anybody comment on that sequence of observations, especially the third one about the asserted deficiencies of XAML? (I assume that XAML is the "new design language" they're talking about.)

 

--JorgeA

 

 

[Formfiller]

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...

 

Hm, no. I haven't visited the official Microsoft forums much after the redesign.

 

How shill-infested are the official MS forums nowadays?

[Formfiller]

They don't seem to be influenced by clear thinking, so why bother?  Your handle over there says it all.

 

 

 

Yeah, but there are few places where you'll find bigger corporate whores. I found it to be a excellent rhetorical training ground.

 

Some of these guys are so "loon", that if MS will announce that mandatory blood-samples are needed to keep using Windows 7, they would defend this move tooth and nails because MS said it.

 

I know it's weird, but I am somewhat fascinated by tech cults. Back in the day some of the Linuxers could rival the Taliban and Mao's angry youth with ease and now the metrotards have topped them by a wide margin! It's all the more fascinating, because all the "community effort" Linux and FOSS has (sharing code, the GPL etc.) is not present with NuMicrosoft: It's just a bunch of vastly overpaid smug execs with ridiculous hipster-haircuts killing anything good the company had and producing ugly Orwellian garbage since three years to push a stock - and apparently something like that still can still instill rabid fanatism among some people.

 

Fascinating.

[TELVM]

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.

 

^ Epic!

 

 

WARNING! Gore inside! :

 

[NoelC]

Anyway, can anybody comment on that sequence of observations, especially the third one about the asserted deficiencies of XAML? (I assume that XAML is the "new design language" they're talking about.)

 

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

Edited September 12, 2015 by NoelC

[Formfiller]

Looked a bit around on answers.microsoft.com. There are some real gems there.

 

My favourite so far:

 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_wintp-insider_desktop/why-i-hate-windows-10/7912adb4-8399-4c33-8dc6-678b5f752f2e?page=1

 

Metrotard deeply unhappy because... Tard 10 is not metrotarded enough!

 

Windows 10 has completely WRECKED the beauty and ease of use of Windows 8 in favor of all the idiots who insisted on a desktop-centric approach

 

 

Amazing, a true believer. Most metrotards faked it: They never truly liked metro, it was all about the shill-act (as seen by statements like "why are you complaining? I installed classic shell and never see the start screen.."). But this guy is the real-deal. The one-in-a-billion metrotard super jackpot. I almost feel humbled finding his thread.

[JorgeA]

 

Anyway, can anybody comment on that sequence of observations, especially the third one about the asserted deficiencies of XAML? (I assume that XAML is the "new design language" they're talking about.)

 

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.

 

[etc.]

 

Thanks a ton, this is exactly the kind of explanation I was hoping for!

 

It's all much clearer now.

 

--JorgeA

[jaclaz]

... quoting myself :
 

...
I will give you a completely different example, you are of course not allowed to drive a car without a license plate, the numbers/letters on it is not obviously covered by privacy, it is a state/nation issued ID for your vehicle that is meant to be visible publicly at all times.
Now, your local police department uses one of those scanners that while the patrol car travels identifies, scans and records the license plates of parked or passing cars:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition

This is very good to check for stolen vehicles and similar, but it is misused.
In theory (in a perfect world) it is an assistance to the work the police officer normally does, the thingy should read a number plate, compare it against a database of stolen vehicles, missing or wanted people cars, etc. and then the sheer moment the license plate comes out as "clean" the "system" should completely "forget" about it.
What happens is instead that the data goes anyway in a database that is kept accessible for a given period of time.
You (your car) has been pinpointed at a given time in a given place.
This piece of data "exists" and "someone" can access it.
....

 
Well, what can possibly go wrong?
http://privacysos.org/node/1813
 

The Boston Transportation Department has been operating a license plate tracking program seeking to identify parking scofflaws, people with expired insurance, stolen cars, and even people suspected of gang and terrorist ties, according to recently discovered documents. Up until a few weeks ago, this sensitive information about thousands of people, including every person with a Boston resident parking permit, was stored online in plain text for the world to see.

Original article:
https://digboston.com/license-to-connive-boston-still-tracks-vehicles-lies-about-it-and-leaves-sensitive-resident-data-exposed-online/
 
I like it's closing words.
 
 

...
If Boston’s deployment of ALPR, be it by the police, parking clerks, or Xerox as a proxy, seems reckless, it’s also not unique. Rather, it reflects a national law enforcement addiction to big data. The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls this warehousing of vehicle info a “public records act nightmare,” and warns that the risk of compromise or misuse grows as data is retained for long periods of time. In any place where authorities hold records indefinitely, mislead the public and reporters about retention, and fail entirely to secure data, said nightmares are bound to get darker before there is significant sunshine. Fortunately for the people of Massachusetts, Big Brother let its guard down this time, and was exposed.



If not for incompetence, we’d have no transparency at all.

jaclaz

[Formfiller]

There was nothing good on TV, so I had quite the run on C9:

 

https://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-glorious-telescreen-OS-marches-on-as-does-censorship?page=2(scroll down, look at page 3 too)

[Tripredacus]

There was nothing good on TV, so I had quite the run on C9:

 

https://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-glorious-telescreen-OS-marches-on-as-does-censorship?page=2(scroll down, look at page 3 too)

 

Getting tired of you posting what you did on other forums.

[jaclaz]

Meanwhile Mozilla has much more attention to privacy (or maybe not ), old article (WARNING: Ed Bott ):

http://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-abandons-firefox-tracking-protection-initiative/

 

Mozilla appears to abandon Firefox tracking protection initiative: Is privacy protection impossible?

A hidden feature in the open-source Firefox browser can cut load times for modern web pages nearly in half. So why isn't this feature easy to find and enable? Blame the well-funded online advertising industry.

 

 

... some older news:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-to-deliver-ads-in-its-firefox-browser/

 

Oh, that isn't what Mozilla is calling them. Darren Herman, Mozilla's VP of Content Services, says the content in the new Directory Tile program will include "pre-packaged content for first-time users. Some of these tile placements will be from the Mozilla ecosystem, some will be popular websites in a given geographic location, and some will be sponsored content from hand-picked partners to help support Mozilla’s pursuit of our mission."

That last part sure sounds like ads to me.

 

 

Herman continued: "The sponsored tiles will be clearly labeled as such, while still leading to content we think users will enjoy." And, he added that Mozilla is "excited about Directory Tiles because it has inherent value to our users, it aligns with our vision of a better Internet through trust and transparency, and it helps Mozilla become more diversified and sustainable as a project. While we have not worked out the entire product roadmap, we are beginning to talk to content partners about the opportunity, and plan to start showing Directory Tiles to new Firefox users as soon as we have the user experience right."

This sounds even more like ads to me.

 

 

actual news:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-gets-built-in-firebox-advertising-rolling/

 

 

Mozilla quietly deploys built-in Firefox advertising

Firefox fans didn't want Mozilla to add ads to their favorite web browser, but more than a year after the idea was first suggested, "Suggested Tiles" have arrived.

 

Mozilla claims that "Suggested Tiles ensure that user privacy is respected and maintained by using a minimum amount of non-Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data to deliver relevant ads. There is no user modeling, no sharing of data and no unspecified tracking of behavior--the user can actually explicitly see why Tiles is showing certain content."

 

 

Herman added, "With Suggested Tiles, we want to show the world that it is possible to do relevant advertising and content recommendations while still respecting users' privacy and giving them control over their data."

That said, Firefox does send your browser Mozilla interaction history with the Tiles feature. Once there, your raw data is stored in the system's storage and analysis engine, Disco. The aggregated data is then saved to a data warehouse, Redshift. This data is then used to create high-level aggregate reports for advertisers.

 

 

jaclaz

[Formfiller]

 

There was nothing good on TV, so I had quite the run on C9:

 

https://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-glorious-telescreen-OS-marches-on-as-does-censorship?page=2(scroll down, look at page 3 too)

 

Getting tired of you posting what you did on other forums.

 

 

There are no interesting W10 news right now.

[jaclaz]

There are no interesting W10 news right now.

 

Sure, on sunday they are unlikely, buit you can still access a recap of the week and you could have watched the new MS commercials for Windows 10 instead of TV:

http://www.winbeta.org/news/windows-10-news-recap-threshold-2-ui-refinements-new-ads-and-more

Meet Tadala, Patrick, Leena and another bunch of nice kids .

 

jaclaz

[Formfiller]

 

There are no interesting W10 news right now.

 

Sure, on sunday they are unlikely, buit you can still access a recap of the week and you could have watched the new MS commercials for Windows 10 instead of TV:

http://www.winbeta.org/news/windows-10-news-recap-threshold-2-ui-refinements-new-ads-and-more

Meet Tadala, Patrick, Leena and another bunch of nice kids .

 

jaclaz

 

 

These ads are hillarious. They are all about Cortana and that "smudge on websites"-gimmick that any browser vendor can implement within a week.

 

Exciting new features, lol.