Careful guys, Windows 10 is now being forced on users.

[DHG1078]

For me its not a matter of hating the new OS, its a matter of not being forced into it and pestered. They have essentially made win 7/8/8.1 adware now where we constantly get annoyed to update. I DO plan on updating, its just gonna be whenever I get around to it, and more of the bugs and privacy issues have been sorted out.

There are still plenty of cases where you should not upgrade. One prime example is my grandmother. She is 81 now and any change, no matter how minor, is very upsetting and a difficult adjustment. She has been on 7 for years and I still have to remind her the button on the bottom left is still the "start" button she was so used to. The fact that she prompted to update and probably not know any better will be something i'll have to try and prevent.

I do understand the constant prompts are annoying. I get annoyed with them myself. The only reason we haven't changed at work is because it took until last year for everyone to get to windows 7, and microsoft office 2013 lol. Even though we have a subscription service, and it's free to upgrade to the latest office 365, they don't want anyone upgrading. They complain about updating about 6 computers, tops lol.

We are a very small company that has been around 60 years.

Edit: when I say everyone, I mean the president. She fights the upgrades for her computer and the system, then complains about how everyone else has all these capabilities and she doesn't.

 

[Torch10th]

For me its not a matter of hating the new OS, its a matter of not being forced into it and pestered. They have essentially made win 7/8/8.1 adware now where we constantly get annoyed to update. I DO plan on updating, its just gonna be whenever I get around to it, and more of the bugs and privacy issues have been sorted out.

There are still plenty of cases where you should not upgrade. One prime example is my grandmother. She is 81 now and any change, no matter how minor, is very upsetting and a difficult adjustment. She has been on 7 for years and I still have to remind her the button on the bottom left is still the "start" button she was so used to. The fact that she prompted to update and probably not know any better will be something i'll have to try and prevent.

I'm sure your grandmother is a lovely person, but as somebody that works in the tech sector, we unfortunately have to work in spite of those types. Progress and technology marches on regardless of an individuals aptitude for the technology. Without that mindset we wouldn't have advancements in technology, manufacturing...pretty much everywhere.

Computers have been in the hands of consumers for well over 30 years, the internet for over 20. It's not a passing fad and being computer illiterate is a choice at this point, not a function of age. Especially when you consider that Windows in almost any configuration is really not that much different then it was since 3.1 and really only a face lift with upgrades since 95.

I don't say this to be cruel, but to simply point out that software engineers, OS designers etc. can't take people like your grandmother in to account when creating new software.

 

[black99lightnin]

I 'upgraded' our desktop to 10 for free as it was an option when I bought a new computer a few months back, and no matter what we did it wouldn't connect to WiFi...upon researching we found it was an issue with Windows 10. Switched back, don't care to go back to 10 now.

Same issue I had with my wife's new Laptop and a desktop. We switched it to 8.

 

[black99lightnin]

What is so bad about windows 10 that everyone hates so much?

Similar to eight the main screen is the retarded windows phone setup. But I had trouble with my wifi with 10 on my wifes laptop and my home computer. Put them both back to 8.

 

[DHG1078]

Similar to eight the main screen is the retarded windows phone setup. But I had trouble with my wifi with 10 on my wifes laptop and my home computer. Put them both back to 8.

The main screen on a laptop/desktop is just like windows 7. The start menu is a hybrid of windows 7 and 8. The only time the main screen looks like windows 8 is if you are in "tablet mode"

 

[carrrnuttt]

All my machines at home have been running Win10 for some time now, and other than minor driver issues that have since been resolved, it's been great so far.

I especially love the built in Xbox One streaming. Nice to be able to play a quick MGSV or NBA2K16 (or whatever) game laying IN bed before I go to sleep. Helps having a Win10 tablet/laptop.

 

[04owmach]

Download classic shell and thank me later. Takes it back to xp/ vista home screen and start bar and way easier to navigate

 

[black99lightnin]

The main screen on a laptop/desktop is just like windows 7. The start menu is a hybrid of windows 7 and 8. The only time the main screen looks like windows 8 is if you are in "tablet mode"

Thanks for the input. I'll have to check into that. I can get to the regular windows screen, but it's not the primary screen that comes on when I turn it on.

 

[Sirraf]

I think a concern is all the rumors with Win10 coming along with lots of big brother inside. Many rumors that it was free so gov't/Microsoft can spy on citizens. When was the last time a new operating system was free?

 

[DHG1078]

Thanks for the input. I'll have to check into that. I can get to the regular windows screen, but it's not the primary screen that comes on when I turn it on.

That is interesting. It must be a setting somewhere that defaults to "tablet mode." Our laptop we just got defaults to the regular windows screen.

 

[DHG1078]

I think a concern is all the rumors with Win10 coming along with lots of big brother inside. Many rumors that it was free so gov't/Microsoft can spy on citizens. When was the last time a new operating system was free?

It's only free for a limited time, allegedly. People like windows 7 so much, you have to give some kind of incentive for it.

My biggest concern with the direction microsoft and others are doing is going to a subscription service for everything. Some of the free games that have been on windows since 1998 are either no longer free, or the free versions require you to watch a 30 second ad before each game.

 

[SonicDTR]

I'm sure your grandmother is a lovely person, but as somebody that works in the tech sector, we unfortunately have to work in spite of those types. Progress and technology marches on regardless of an individuals aptitude for the technology. Without that mindset we wouldn't have advancements in technology, manufacturing...pretty much everywhere.

Computers have been in the hands of consumers for well over 30 years, the internet for over 20. It's not a passing fad and being computer illiterate is a choice at this point, not a function of age. Especially when you consider that Windows in almost any configuration is really not that much different then it was since 3.1 and really only a face lift with upgrades since 95.

I don't say this to be cruel, but to simply point out that software engineers, OS designers etc. can't take people like your grandmother in to account when creating new software.

I think you misunderstand me. I am a network engineer, and while not a software designer, i'd say i'm fairly tech-savvy...I only bring up the grandma example as I had to login and fix her computer remotely last night and seen the windows 10 prompts. I honestly hadnt even thought about it on her PC till then. In her defense, she has been using PC's for 30+ years, since 3.1. 20 years ago I would have called her computer savvy, using spreadsheets and accounting software. But not anymore.

I'd agree with you technology does not, and should not, wait around for everyone. My point is that it is a piss-poor management decision to push these updates/upgrades so aggressively. The software should advance with the times, but it should not be pushed so heavy-handedly. While I stated earlier it wasnt "forced", it is certainly feels that way the more I think about it.

 

[SonicDTR]

I do understand the constant prompts are annoying. I get annoyed with them myself. The only reason we haven't changed at work is because it took until last year for everyone to get to windows 7, and microsoft office 2013 lol. Even though we have a subscription service, and it's free to upgrade to the latest office 365, they don't want anyone upgrading. They complain about updating about 6 computers, tops lol.

We are a very small company that has been around 60 years.

Edit: when I say everyone, I mean the president. She fights the upgrades for her computer and the system, then complains about how everyone else has all these capabilities and she doesn't.

We're going through the fun stages of planning upgrades to a half-million or so assets...oh joy...

 

[Torch10th]

I see what you're saying. I don't have machines with old operating systems so I don't see those prompts obviously.

I will say this. Likely the reason Windows 10 is being pushed for free right now is because Microsoft wants to stop supporting it. It likely costs them a considerable amount to keep up with exploits and keeping it relevant.

July of this year is going to be rough for a lot of people when switchover to TLS 1.2 becomes mandatory. Millions of older operating systems and mobile devices will become useless.

I think Microsoft is trying to get people ready for this in a way that is a bit nicer than Apples forced obsolescence where they just stop supporting a product and tell their customers to pound sand and upgrade at their cost.

 

[bglf83]

What is so bad about windows 10 that everyone hates so much?

On my two laptops the screen does not transition between docking scenarios correctly.

Basically if it's on a dock, undock it and open the screen it's just a black screen. Restart required to fix. Similar issues the laptop is used off the dock and put to sleep and woke up on the dock.

Different laptops with different graphics same issue with win 10.

Win 8 and 7 function correctly. I rolled back one already, may roll back the other.

 

[scott_0]

Ive had 10 since they made it available early, and I absolutely love it, not a single issue

 

[MysticRob]

I don't like the "8-bit" graphics on 10, nor the tile interface. I'll stick with the better looking 7 Ultimate for now. I tried the downloadable shell to emulate 7 but it still kinda sucked, so I downgraded back to 7. Be aware the downgrade back to 7 will likely break some Windows Tasks like Update, etc, so you'll likely need to fix some things.

I used this to permanently disable the update notification.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/use-gwx-control-panel-stop-windows-10-upgrade-prompts

 

[CobraBob]

We're using Windows 10 on all of our computers (except one older computer) and love it. Solid (more than Windows 7 was) and very easy to use, unlike sucky Windows 8. I'd never go back to Windows 7; would never use Windows 8. But "forcing" an upgrade isn't smart IMO, because older hardware may not be ready for Windows 10. That's why the one older computer we have will remain running the older Windows OS. My friend just told me yesterday that his old HP computer automatically installed Windows 10. I thought maybe he accidentally enabled the install, but now I understand that he was probably right....that it did an auto install. Thankfully his computer is running fine. I would bet that a lot of people who haven't upgraded are going to be more than a little upset if theirs auto-updates.

 

[DHG1078]

I see what you're saying. I don't have machines with old operating systems so I don't see those prompts obviously.

I will say this. Likely the reason Windows 10 is being pushed for free right now is because Microsoft wants to stop supporting it. It likely costs them a considerable amount to keep up with exploits and keeping it relevant.

July of this year is going to be rough for a lot of people when switchover to TLS 1.2 becomes mandatory. Millions of older operating systems and mobile devices will become useless.

I think Microsoft is trying to get people ready for this in a way that is a bit nicer than Apples forced obsolescence where they just stop supporting a product and tell their customers to pound sand and upgrade at their cost.

What is this TLS 1.2 update that is coming, and how does it affect devices?

 

[Torch10th]

What is this TLS 1.2 update that is coming, and how does it affect devices?

Anybody that runs a website that uses security certificates, will need to be running on TLS 1.2 or SHA-256 encryption by July 2015. So any encrypted site you visit, which is places like Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, any website you purchase things from etc.

The effect is this, the old checksums for TLS and SSL are out of date and can more easily be compromised and as a result mandating a higher level encryption is necessary to safe guard information and maintain privacy.

The big problems is that there's a lot of devices and software out there that was never designed to support TLS 1.2 or SHA-256 encryption standards. Android for instance doesn't support TLS 1.2 until OS 5. For Mac users it's probably worse and will require a mandetory update to their operating system so that they can use a Safari browser post Safari 7 which doesn't support TLS 1.2.

When that switch is flipped if you have a device, web browser or OS architecture that doesn't support modern encryption, you're going to find that doing anything online will be difficult.

These are some of the reasons Microsoft is likely forcing updates, they don't want to have to dick around with an operating system that is almost 7 years old at this point. Fortunate for Windows 7 users is that the checksums aren't embedded in Windows but instead in the browser of your choice. Since most people keep their browser's updated and companies like Google and Mozilla still support the platform, the TLS update should be fairly transparent. But the point is there that at some point you have to upgrade.

EDIT: I skimmed through our PCI mandates and posted the page here. It looks like the standard enforcement date was pushed back late last year. to possibly in 2018, which gives a lot of extra time. You can read about why this is happening however in the link below.

http://blog.pcisecuritystandards.org/migrating-from-ssl-and-early-tls