Katherine Albrecht: Windows 10 Is Full Blown Electronic Tyranny

[KiwiElf]

Just when you thought Microsoft couldn't get more sneaky... (I was almost going to start a new thread on this but probably better to keep it in one place - it just keeps getting worse! These are two related articles - emphasis is mine - KE: ).

Jul 14, 2016 @ 10:30 AM 818,585 views
Microsoft Confirms Windows 10 New Monthly Charge

Gordon Kelly ,

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonke.../#7e555b20dfab

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

For months Microsoft has been describing Windows 10 “as a service” and now we know why. Microsoft is going to introduce a monthly subscription fee for Windows 10 usage…

That cost will be $7 per user per month but the good news is it only applies to enterprises, for now. The new pricing tier will be called “Windows 10 Enterprise E3” and it means Windows has finally joined Office 365 and Azure as a subscription service.

Of course the big question is now: How does this new subscription pricing affect the millions of consumers who upgraded to Windows 10 on the promise of it being free?

The good news is Microsoft has gone on record to say it is not being passed down to consumers at this stage: “This new subscription model is not associated with our current upgrade offering or applicable to the Windows 10 consumer edition,” a Microsoft spokesperson told PC World.

Could Microsoft eventually introduce Windows 10 monthly subscriptions for consumers? Without doubt, but I would be highly sceptical they would apply to anyone who has already upgraded. That said there is likely to be a threshold in future where Microsoft will draw a line in the sand for the ongoing addition of new features without a fee.

Why? Because Microsoft has confirmed on many occasions that Windows 10 is the “last version of Windows” meaning it will be updated on a rolling basis with no Windows 11 to replace it. Consequently there will have to be a cut off point somewhere, sometime – mostly likely when Microsoft feels Windows 10 is at the ‘Windows 11’ stage of development.

At that point I suspect Microsoft may simplify things and just rename it ‘Windows’. Here is when all Windows pricing could become subscription only given even upfront costs would expire at some point and become a messy marketing exercise.

But in the meantime the rush is on for those who still want to upgrade to Windows 10 while it is free. The window for this closes on July 29th and Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro will then cost $119 and $199 respectively for consumers who didn’t upgrade.

Out of interest at the $7 per month enterprise rate, consumers would get 17 and 28 months use out of Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro respectively. This isn’t a great deal for Home users and shows a new consumer-focused pricing tier would likely need to be introduced to make it more appealing should Microsoft go down that path in future.

Until then Windows 10 will remain free a little longer and for millions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 users it is make up your mind time…

Microsoft Warns Windows 7 Has A Serious Problem

Gordon Kelly ,

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonke.../#1fa2b02a395e

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Earlier this year Microsoft warned users that Windows 7 has serious problems. I dismissed its claims as a desperate attempt to shift copies of Windows 10 (and I still do), but now Microsoft has warned of a new serious Windows 7 problem that is very real – even though it makes no sense whatsoever…

In short: Microsoft has made a seemingly small yet completely bizarre tweak to Windows Update on Windows 7 and confirmed it is crippling many users’ PCs.

The tweak? It switched the status of Windows 7 update KB3133977 from ‘Optional’ to ‘Recommended’. The bizarre part? Despite acknowledging the problems, Microsoft knew they would occur in advance and it has no plans to do anything about it.
Windows 7 users are being pushed to upgrade to Windows 10. Image credit: Gordon Kelly

Ok, let’s put some meat on these bones.

PCs That Suddenly Won’t Start

It all centres around Asus motherboards.

Now 27 years old, Asus is one of the largest PC component makers and supplies motherboards to many of the world’s biggest PC makers. Recently it enabled Secure Boot in UEFI on all its motherboards. This wasn’t a problem for older PCs because Windows 7 didn’t support Secure Boot, that is until KB3133977 came along in March and enabled it.

Initially the fallout was small. Asus confirmed the problem, Microsoft confirmed the problem. But the best news was KB3133977 was an optional Windows 7 update so it had to be manually installed to take effect. The solution was simple: just steer clear of KB3133977 (aka do nothing) and you’d be fine.

Then last month – for some bizarre reason – Microsoft made KB3133977 a ‘Recommended’ update. The result was every user running Windows 7 and default Windows Update settings (the vast majority) would find the update now installed automatically.

And then everyone with an Asus motherboard was hit.

A Global Problem

As InfoWorld’s Windows expert Woody Leonhard notes “I’m now seeing problems reported from all over the globe about Windows 7 machines that suddenly won’t boot”. Affected machines simply show a red box which says:

All of which does nothing to pinpoint the problem or solve it for those without a second secured boot device. In short: you’d be screwed.

The Good News And Staying Safe

The good news is Asus has now issued a workaround to get PCs booting up again. Furthermore Asus must take some of the blame for not reacting faster when KB3133977 presented a potential landmine and issuing new updates to its motherboards.

How do you know if you have an Asus motherboard in your Windows 7 PC? Go to: All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and select System Information. This will list your PC’s components, including the motherboard.

One downside: some major PC makers like Dell and HP rebrand the motherboard as the computer’s model number. In which case you should do a web search on your model or call the manufacturer directly.

The Bad News And What Comes Next

As for the bad news? It’s Microsoft’s reaction.

On the plus side, Microsoft did update the support document for KB3133977 with a warning which states: “After you install update 3133977 on a Windows 7 x64-based system that includes an Asus-based main board, the system does not start”.

But Microsoft also uses the document an opportunity to promote upgrades to Windows 10:

Microsoft has also done nothing to modify KB3133977 or release a new patch so users with Asus motherboards don’t run into this problem in the first place. Furthermore, at the time of publishing, KB3133977 remains a ‘Recommended’ in Windows Update for Windows 7.

Needless to say, conspiracy theorists will have a ball seeing it as yet another new way Microsoft can push users to Windows 10. Especially with upgrade rates slowing in April. This in itself is remarkable given the increasing number of heavy handed and devious ways Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 onto Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.

Regardless, the message is clear: life is going to become increasingly uncomfortable for Windows 7 users from now on. Whether they like it or not…

[petra]

This post is making me want to kill myself

[DeDukshyn]

Posted by KiwiElf (here)
... trim ...

For months Microsoft has been describing Windows 10 “as a service” and now we know why. Microsoft is going to introduce a monthly subscription fee for Windows 10 usage…

That cost will be $7 per user per month but the good news is it only applies to enterprises, for now. The new pricing tier will be called “Windows 10 Enterprise E3” and it means Windows has finally joined Office 365 and Azure as a subscription service.

Of course the big question is now: How does this new subscription pricing affect the millions of consumers who upgraded to Windows 10 on the promise of it being free?

... trim …

I can understand this move (although I hate M$ - not really defending them, just defending some logic). Previous (I'm thinking NT / XP days) "Enterprise Editions" of windows were priced according to approximate number of users. If a corporation had 1000 users the would pay a flat fee - maybe $50,000 or something, and you would get a single copy for deployment throught the corporation. The issue back then was that "enterprise editions" required no activation even. You just paid for it, and it would be deployed, and it worked.

However, because there was no activation, anyone could install this edition. I had a friend once give me a copied disc of an enterprise version of windows once. I just installed it, and it worked. All updates - everything - nothing compromised at all.

So I can see this approach potentially being hugely abused especially in countries where laws are a little more lax -- someone gets a hold of one of these copies, sells them for 10 or 20 bucks a piece, and he has a new wonderful source of income.

A way to address this issue would be to charge monthly, per user, to the enterprise.

I doubt you'll see that happening anytime soon for the consumer copies, but if windows is having issues with piracy with the consumer versions, it will likely be coming at some point.

The whole reason that Adobe has moved to cloud based monthly subscription for their Creative Suite software was to combat piracy of their products. (dear Adobe and M$, we know how much it costs to create a copy of a program and put it on a disc ... about $1 ... we also know that your software is hundreds or thousands of dollars --- we wouldn't be trying to rip you off, if you hadn't started trying to rip us off. You started it. Own up)

[chancy]

Hello Everyone:
Yes, this topic has been on alot but now there's an anniversary windows 10 version that will update everyones computer it appears regardless of saying yes or no to the download. The download will take place this week according to the article.
chancy

Link:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/da...000000025.html

Article:
What to expect when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update installs itself on your computer
David Pogue – Tue, 2 Aug, 2016 3:33 PM EDT
Nobody ever accused Microsoft (MSFT) of having consistent naming sequences. Let’s see: Windows versions have been named, in order, 1, 2, 3, 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10.
And today, there’s a new version: Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Why use three syllables when 10 will do?
Windows 10 was already very good. Beautiful, fast, coherent,and compatible with those 4 million Windows apps the world depends on. What Windows 10 AU offers, though, is mostly catchup and refinement. It’s a bunch of features that follow in Google’s and Apple’s footsteps (haters, relax — yes, we know those companies have also stolen from Microsoft), and a lot of fleshing-out of features thatwere bare-boned in the original Windows 10.
Since Windows 10 AU is free, and since every copy of Windows 10 will soon begin auto-installing the update, you may as well know what you’re getting into. Here’s a quick rundown of what you have to look forward to.
Edge browser
Microsoft’s speedy but stripped-down new web browser, Edge, has finally started to fill in its bald spots. The big news is that it can now accept extensions — feature plug-ins from other companies — just like Firefox, Chrome, and Safari can. There aren’t many so far, but the essentials — ad blockers, password memorizers and so on — are already available.
Edge can now pass along notifications (they appear with your other notifications, in the Action Center) from websites that offer them.
You can now pin a tab in Edge (shrink it to an icon that’s anchored at the left end of the tab bar), so that you can’t close it accidentally.
Finally, Edge uses up a lot less battery power than its rivals, according to Microsoft.
Log in with your face
Already, on Microsoft tablets and laptops, you can teach the special camera (an Intel RealSense camera) to recognize you, and log you in with your face. Yes, you can unlock your tablet or laptop just by looking at it — fast, clean, foolproof. (Literally. No photo, sculpture of your head, or even twin can fool this feature.)
That face recognition, along with fingerprint recognition on appropriately equipped laptops, is part of a feature called Windows Hello — and now, Microsoft says, apps and websites can use it, too. Someday soon, you could, in theory, log into your email or bank site just by looking at it.
If it catches on, that will be a huge feature. No more passwords, no more stupid Captcha puzzles to solve. You, and only you, can log in. (Your face or fingerprint is stored only on your machine, and never transmitted.)
If you were kind enough to buy a Microsoft tablet or touchscreen laptop, the company wishes to thank you by bringing you a wagon full of gifts.
You know the pen that came with your recent Surface tablet? You can now program the clicker on the top to do some cool stuff — like opening the new Ink Workspace, a collection of pen-friendly apps like Stickies, Sketchpad (for freeform drawing, featuring a virtual ruler you can use as a straightedge), Screen Annotation (lets you draw on a screenshot), and OneNote. (There’s a taskbar icon that opens this Workspace, too.
The new Stickies app recognizes handwritten phone numbers, stock symbols, times, and web addresses (they turn blue once recognized), and offers to dial, look up, create reminders for, or open them when you tap them. That’s neat.
The best part of all of this: You can set up the pen-clicker thing to bring up the Ink Workspace even before you’ve logged in — at the Lock screen. Finally, a tablet is as useful as a legal pad. You’re suddenly getting the phone number of somebody attractive? Click your pen and start writing it down, without first logging in like some kind of painful nerd.(All of this, Microsoft says, may also work with other companies’ Bluetooth pens.)
The Start menu
Microsoft continues to tinker with the Start menu, the all-knowing oracle that gives you access to everything useful on your PC. Now, the All Programs button is gone; instead, the left side of the Start menu is your All Programs list. (The File, Settings, Power and account buttons are now tiny icons at the even farther left of the menu).
This change makes screaming sense. Every OS includes both a master list of apps and a customizable subset of the ones you use most often — think of the Home screens in Android, or the Dock on the Mac. In Windows 10, the fly-out tiles are your custom subset; the left-hand column should display the master list. You’ll fall in love with this feature fast.Too bad you can’t type-select an app’s name once the list is open, though. (You can type-select only before you’ve opened the Start menu, using the Search box.)
Cortana upgraded
Cortana still isn’t as smart as Siri or Google Now (here’s my comparison). But it’s getting steadily better. In AU, you can speak reminders that aren’t associated with a particular time or place (“Remember that my Delta frequent flyer is …”), and even add photos to them.
Apps and web pages can be programmed to add reminders directly to your list, too. For example, you can save a Map directly into Cortana’s reminder list.

Better yet, you can use certain Cortana commands at the lock screen — before you’ve even logged in. You can ask her about the news, stocks, or weather, for example, or ask her to tell you a joke. None of this is personal information, so none of it requires signing in.
Taskbar updates
If you click the clock, you now get a pop-up mini-calendar; click a number to see your appointments for that day. And if you click the volume icon, you can switch playback sources — from speakers to headphones, for example.
“Badges” can now appear on app icons, too, just as on the Mac or the iPhone, showing you (for example) how many new messages or emails have come in.Finally, the Action Center (notification list) at the right side has been redesigned— it has its own icon to the right of the clock, which sprouts a number to show you how many notifications have piled up — and so has its corresponding Settings screen.
Phone-PC communication
Apple may have introduced the world to the marvels of using your computer to send and receive calls and texts, using your smartphone as a cellular antenna. But in Windows 10 AU, Microsoft has its own version.
The idea is that if you have an Android phone with the Cortana app (or if you’re among the six people with Windows phones), all of its notifications and even low-battery alerts can now appear on your Windows desktop, as pop-up alerts. It’s pretty crude — still in beta — and making it work involves crawling through a bunch of settings on both machines. And, of course, it’s not as slick as Apple’s; for example, you can’t use your laptop or tablet as a speakerphone, as you can on Macs and iPads. But this is a start.
Lots of misc.
Windows 10 AU reserves more slots (10 instead of 5) for ads
among your Start-menu tiles (though you can remove them).
Your email address no longer appears on the Lock screen.
You can four-finger swipe between virtual desktops.
You can now use both Microsoft’s free antivirus program
(Windows Defender) and one that
you’ve bought. Defender acts like a second opinion.
New emoji symbols, including bacon and various skin shades.
Lots of the basic starter apps have sprouted new refinements
of their own.

Get it?

Windows 10 AU will probably install itself onto your Windows 10 machine this week, or soon; only the subtle Start menu and taskbar changes will alert you that something has changed.

Fortunately, there’s very little to dislike in the Anniversary Update. There are very few changes that make you slap your forehead and say, “Why did they DO that?!”

According to the company, 350 million people are already happily using Windows 10. And with the Anniversary Update, most of them will be even happier.

David Pogue is the founder of Yahoo Tech; here’s how to get his columns by email. On the Web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s poguester@yahoo.com

[TigaHawk]

http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

Download and install GWX Control panel.

Prevent that turd from installing on your PC before it's too late.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by TigaHawk (here)
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

Download and install GWX Control panel.

Prevent that turd from installing on your PC before it's too late.

According to what Microsoft says, the aggressive push to upgrade existing Windows 7 and 8.x systems to Windows 10 ended on 29 July 2016.

[KiwiElf]

Hahahah

According to the company, 350 million people are already happily using Windows 10. And with the Anniversary Update, most of them will be even happier.

Riiiiiight - it was forced down their throat. Might be the accurate number downloaded - but... Happy???? (and I bet they interviewed every one of those 350 million users... NOT! )

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by KiwiElf (here)
Hahahah

According to the company, 350 million people are already happily using Windows 10. And with the Anniversary Update, most of them will be even happier.

I'm one of those 350 million, who installed Windows 10. I'm rarely an active Windows user, and never a happy one .

A couple of weeks ago, I copied my existing Windows 7 installation to a cheap, old SSD drive that I had on hand, and upgraded that copy to Windows 10, in order to get the free upgrade. I then removed that Windows 10 SSD and restored the Windows 7 drive to that PC. For the forseeable future, I will continue to use Windows 7 when I need to use Windows. But if I do ever have to use Windows 10, I can swap the drives and boot a registered Windows 10 installation. This should work so long as that PC keeps its same motherboard and CPU, off that particular drive ... if I start changing hardware, the Windows 10 registration will become invalid after some point that the Windows licensing software decides I no longer have the same PC.

[Fanna]

If anyone would like a tutorial on how to put your computer on Linux while retaining access to all the programs you need through Windows Emulation and open source alternatives, please send me a message. I would be more than happy to wipe more Windows machines off the map and free computers to do the wonderful work they were meant to do.

[norman]

Posted by Fanna (here)
If anyone would like a tutorial on how to put your computer on Linux while retaining access to all the programs you need through Windows Emulation and open source alternatives, please send me a message. I would be more than happy to wipe more Windows machines off the map and free computers to do the wonderful work they were meant to do.

I'm trapped in Windows ( XP, actually ) because of the applications I use a lot ( mostly audio ). I'd like to really know how things pan out regarding getting the maximum speed out of old 32 bit and single thread assembled ( PC x86 ) machine code, while running in emulation mode on modern 64bit multi-threaded systems.

Until someone convinces me otherwise, my hunch is that performance is probably limited to the speed of a single core of however many the CPU has. With multicore technology driving average CPU speeds down again, that's potentially a step backwards for me.

Am I wrong?

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by norman (here)
I'm trapped in Windows ( XP, actually ) because of the applications I use a lot ( mostly audio ). I'd like to really know how things pan out regarding getting the maximum speed out of old 32 bit and singe thread assembled ( PC ) machine code, while running in emulation mode on modern 64bit multi-threaded systems.

Running the better audio apps is one of the reasons that I run Windows. I would not expect some major audio apps to work consistently well on Linux, whether native Linux ports, or within a Windows emulator. Linux has struggled with audio for years, and emulators add another layer of difficulty to the problem.

[Fanna]

Posted by norman (here)
I'm trapped in Windows ( XP, actually ) because of the applications I use a lot ( mostly audio ). I'd like to really know how things pan out regarding getting the maximum speed out of old 32 bit and singe thread assembled ( PC ) machine code, while running in emulation mode on modern 64bit multi-threaded systems.

Until someone convinces me otherwise, my hunch is that performance is probably limited to the speed of a singe core of however many the CPU has. With multicore technology driving average CPU speeds down again, that's potentially a step backwards for me.

Am I wrong?

Efficiency is the key word. Windows has always been a bit ... heavy. Cut it down to what works and older machines will fly as fast as new ones with the heavy load they carry. It doesnt take a jet engine to fly a smaller craft. I can even teach you how to turn old powerbook macs without intel chips over to the modern world.

My machine is an old dual core lenovo I picked up from a company upgrading their computers and throwing out their old ones. Photoshop, 3d modeling, browsing, games, office, audio programs for the guitarist in my life, all of it can be open source if we remember what the word Ubuntu really means.

[Fanna]

Posted by Paul (here)
Running the better audio apps is one of the reasons that I run Windows. I would not expect some major audio apps to work consistently well on Linux, whether native Linux ports, or within a Windows emulator. Linux has struggled with audio for years, and emulators add another layer of difficulty to the problem.

Ubuntu Studio isnt an end all for audiophiles, but it is certainly a start that can be modified to fit the needs of an individual. Remember, it isnt about the program you use, it is about what you create with it.

[Johnny]

Posted by Paul (here)

Posted by norman (here)
I'm trapped in Windows ( XP, actually ) because of the applications I use a lot ( mostly audio ). I'd like to really know how things pan out regarding getting the maximum speed out of old 32 bit and singe thread assembled ( PC ) machine code, while running in emulation mode on modern 64bit multi-threaded systems.

Running the better audio apps is one of the reasons that I run Windows. I would not expect some major audio apps to work consistently well on Linux, whether native Linux ports, or within a Windows emulator. Linux has struggled with audio for years, and emulators add another layer of difficulty to the problem.

I have never (since 2012 when I start running Linux on one of my computers) have had any problems with the audio. but you have to have PulseAudio installed and of course the codecs from Realtek and/or from VLC

Johnny

[norman]

The Applications substitution issues are 2 pronged.

There's the Drivers and all things under the bonnet that have to behave the same. Then there's the "Front End".

Decent productivity depends entirely on a good interface between the human and the machine. While there are certain obvious design functions that are universal, there are enormous amounts of fiddly things that have to be learned and become automatic-ish for the person. And, there's the hands on comfort and simplicity, for e.g. a quick right click and drag instead of opening a menu or worse.

"Audacity" is a very capable audio editor, so I'm always told, but it's interface is either not thought out like my brain works, or is just stupid. I've installed it 4 or 5 times over the years, just to see how it's been coming along ( as an open source project ). I've never been inclined to stick with it though, always preferring my Cooledit Pro 2, by a long mile.

[Johnny]

Posted by Fanna (here)
Ubuntu Studio isnt an end all for audiophiles, but it is certainly a start that can be modified to fit the needs of an individual. Remember, it isnt about the program you use, it is about what you create with it.

Never heard about UBUNTU Studio before, it looks interesting. Thanks for that.

Johnny

[Ewan]

Posted by Ewan (here)
I had a rather unsettling experience this morning. My boy called me away for a few minutes and when I returned the screen was white. Alt Tab did nothing, not Ctrl Alt Del, in the end I had to hard reboot. I selected start Windows normally at the prompt and Windows failed to load, the splash screen still there after 10 minutes. Another reboot led me to selecting Windows attempt to repair. When offered a chance to use System Restore I declined. Windows finally informed me it could not repair the computer.

Another reboot and chose safe mode admin, this time I selected a system restore and was given two options. First one from 01:56 this morning labelled 'critical update', second choices was from 3 days ago. With relief I selected the second option and waited.

Now here we are, I have just run malwarebytes and checked various settings. Computer is clear and Windows Update is turned off (just like it is meant to be). When I check System Restore points it informs me there are no SRP's created on this computer.

Completely puzzled. Windows reports last check for updates was done in march and I have to go back to dec 2015 for last updates installed. However when I look at update history there is one continuing update process going on all the time, Windows Defender Definition Updates, and there was indeed one at 01:56 this morning.

At 01:56 this morning I was in bed sleeping so unless Windows turned itself on and installed a critical update for Defender I have no idea what just happened. Why did my computer freeze when unattended and appear broken when attempting to restart, only a fortuitous system restore rescued the situation.

(edit: BTW, this is in Windows 10 as I had turned off all the updates and removed the various KB's suggested. I thought this might have been a Win10 install attempt initially and am still not certain one way or the other.)

Quoting myself to inform you the identical situation occured again today. When offered restore points there was one from this morning, when Windows installed a critical update! (It's theoretically not allowed to from my own efforts at preventing it from doing so). I selected a few days and computer is fine again.

Windows Defender is now turned off also. (Though I rather feel I did that last time too). I may have to get in the habit of Power-Off rather than Sleep when I quit. Very annoying

[Bill Ryan]

.
Here's a consumer report from a diehard Mac User.

I have never liked Windows. But recently, when both my Macs died, and rather painted into a corner, I found myself obliged to revert to Windows for a few weeks on an old, broken-screen machine while optimum solutions were on the way.

An engineer I gave the machine to for a short while 'helpfully' updated it to Windows 10 (OMG ) and having read this thread before, I was disconcerted.

But, to my surprise, it was a very Mac-like experience. In fact (sacrilege here!) there were one or two features that I found even more user-friendly than the Mac. Steve Jobs' vision for high user-friendliness is clearly industry-infectious. He set the bar pretty high, and Bill Gates had to raise his game.

But -- and this is what this thread is about, a BIG but -- the OS was clearly communicating with Microsoft all the time.

24/7, whether I liked it or not. It was reporting back about big things and little things, and there was nothing I could do to stop it except disconnect from the net. Even if I powered it down frequently, it'd just do its thing as soon as I turned it on again.

If I was doing sensitive work (Ha!), I'd not trust it at all. It seemed to know exactly what I was doing, all the time, and was continuously offering to help, like an over-enthusiastic Jeeves.

An interesting experience... but now I'm back on Mac again, and I do feel much more secure.

[Ron Mauer Sr]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
.
Here's a consumer report from a diehard Mac User.

I have never liked Windows. But recently, when both my Macs died, and rather painted into a corner, I found myself obliged to revert to Windows for a few weeks on an old, broken-screen machine while optimum solutions were on the way.

An engineer I gave the machine to for a short while 'helpfully' updated it to Windows 10 (OMG ) and having read this thread before, I was disconcerted.

But, to my surprise, it was a very Mac-like experience. In fact (sacrilege here!) there were one or two features that I found even more user-friendly than the Mac. Steve Jobs' vision for high user-friendliness is clearly industry-infectious. He set the bar pretty high, and Bill Gates had to raise his game.

But -- and this is what this thread is about, a BIG but -- the OS was clearly communicating with Microsoft all the time.

24/7, whether I liked it or not. It was reporting back about big things and little things, and there was nothing I could do to stop it except disconnect from the net. Even if I powered it down frequently, it'd just do its thing as soon as I turned it on again. <snip>

There must be some smart programmers out there who could write software to monitor and control (if needed) both incoming and outgoing data. Sure it would take some overhead but it might be worth it.

Where are the bright programmers who can save us from Windows10?

I wonder if Linux is a better choice than Win10. A MAC may be more secure but they are a bit pricey.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Ron Mauer Sr (here)
I wonder if Linux is a better choice than Win10.

I made a valiant effort to convert Bill to Linux during his latest computer complications ... but failed .

Linux is totally better than Windows 10 - yes - though it is not without its drama.

I've spent the last 5 or 10 days rebuilding my main system without SystemD. SystemD embodies the "Window-fication" of Linux. It has been adopted by (or imposed on) all the major Linux distributions. The date of 11 Feb 2014 is a date that shall live in infamy, when Bdale Garbee cast the deciding vote to convert Debian to SystemD.

I'm now running Arch Manjaro OpenRC (and a fair sized helping of software I wrote myself.) I don't know whether or not this approach would be suitable for someone without the deep experience I have in such software.

We've seen things like this happen before in technology. In the days of my grandfather, it was expected that a car owner would do most of their own maintenance, or have a trusted friend or family member do it. Cars were simple, at least for the mechanically inclined. Nowadays, that's impossible for most of us, and only those of us driving 10 or 20 year old "simpler" cars can still be reasonably confident that their car can't easily be tracked and controlled at the whim of sufficiently technically capable "adversaries" (which includes the minions of the Elite Bastards.)

Or perhaps a better analogy - radio (including more recently TV and cable). It would have been difficult to imagine, back in the early days of radio that the day would come when 99.99% of all "radio" users (broadcast or mass media or social media or cell phones) no longer have the means or ability to commuicate with their fellow human beings, outside of the deep control and surveillance of the minions of the Elite Bastards. Only a few old codger ham radio operators and the like stand a chance, and they could all easily be turned into grease spots, by drones or such, as soon as they turned their transmitters on.

"Transmitting" over the Internet is much the same. Only a few old geeks such as myself have much ability to track, control, and exchange IP packets over the Internet, outside of the officially blessed or tolerated means, and we too could be identified and taken out or shut down, at the whims of those minions.

As to tracking what Windows 10 tracks, by monitoring the network traffic ... the multiple layers of encryption and obfuscation and complexity, buried in a monstrous pile of baroque (and broken) software, makes that essentially impossible for all but those "state actors" with sufficient resources to hack into Microsoft's source repositories and to invest the substantial effort it would take to make useful sense of what's there.