Windows 10 to be Released July 29 2015

[Scott5114]

Depends on if I will get that version from upgrading my existing Windows 8.1. If I would get the auto-update version, I'll just leave it on 8 so I don't have to deal with Microsoft's update horseshit.

I shouldn't have to be "given" control of when to install updates. It's my hardware, so I get to say when that happens. On Linux the system updates when I type 'yum update' into the console (which updates both the OS and all installed software). If I don't do that, it will periodically remind me there are updates and other than that it leaves me alone. If the OS kernel is updated, the old one is run until next reboot (which again I have full control over), at which point the new kernel is loaded.

[SidS1045]

I shouldn't have to be "given" control of when to install updates.

My guess is:  There will be a registry hack to give you back control over Windows updates.  It will appear on the Internet within the first hour after the W10 upgrade is made available (if it's not there already).

[SidS1045]

If you don't want the upgrade and/or the nag in your tray, simply uninstall Windows update KB3035583 and don't allow it to install when it appears in the Windows Update app again.

[D-Dey65]

Windows media center. Player will still exist.

Will it give you the ability to rip CD's? Because I lost that this year.

[J N Winkler]

The Windows 10 free upgrade prompt has now dropped into my system tray (I run Windows 7).  Nothing is said about the upgrade being free for one year from release.  Instead, you are to reserve a free copy, which you can then download and install at your convenience after the July 29 release date.

What I would like to do is download the Windows 10 free upgrade, wait 364 days for it to blow up, and install it only when it fails to do so.

[Mr_Northside]

What I would like to do is download the Windows 10 free upgrade, wait 364 days for it to blow up, and install it only when it fails to do so.

This.

[Duke87]

I see no reason to upgrade from 8.1 on this computer now or ever. It works, and all of Window's 10's supposedly amazing "features" are totally unimpressive to me.

[SignGeek101]

I see no reason to upgrade from 8.1 on this computer now or ever. It works, and all of Window's 10's supposedly amazing "features" are totally unimpressive to me.

That's what I was thinking. At least they're bringing back the start menu. That in itself could make me upgrade, but everything else isn't attractive that much. Then again, people are still running XP and Vista.

[J N Winkler]

I have to say that not being able to control timing and extent of updates is a major drawback.  About once a year Microsoft releases a poorly vetted update that keeps PCs from finishing bootup, and while patches are usually rushed out fast enough once the inevitable outcry gets going, it is still much more convenient to have the bad updates vanish from the list of suggested updates before they are installed in the first place.

I also rely on a registry hack to enable RDP server capability on a copy of 7 Home Premium.  (I considered upgrading to Professional or Ultimate, but when I got my current computer with its preloaded copy of 7, I configured it with British defaults to facilitate the transition from a Windows XP computer I had actually purchased in Britain.  As a result, although I purchased my current computer in the US, the Anytime Upgrade is available to me only at the sterling price, which is about 50% higher than the US price.  At this stage, it is not worth it to me to re-do my defaults in hopes of getting it down to the US price, or to try to hash things out with Microsoft telephone support.)  At this point it sounds like the 10 upgrade will be done as a clean install, with rollback of registry hacks.

Of the three computers in the family that are in active use, one has 7, another has 8.0, and the third has 8.1.  I suspect an upgrade to 10 makes sense for the 8.x machines because they are newer and the Start screen is an ergonomic disaster.  I suspect I will be sticking to 7 on my laptop because it is starting to show its age.

[Billy F 1988]

I am so lost in your epic distaste for a product that's not even coming out in a couple of weeks. Disgusting digital pigs. How about you just wait until it comes out on said date, try the god dang program, then criticize it. Don't like it? Fine. That's like criticizing a sport you never participate in or a brand of vehicle you never drive with or a brand of food you never eat. Digital pigs.

[Pete from Boston]

Disgusting?  You disgust easily.  These are folks with a lot of experience and/or frustration with this family of products, one which has a long history of problems.

Even if you don't agree, it's a weak reason to insult a whole bunch of people. 

[Billy F 1988]

Very rich. I'm well enlightened, thanks, but I think this "experience" you speak of doesn't hold a lot of proof.

[hotdogPi]

They're skipping 9 and going directly to 10 so that they can make 11 before Apple does. Apple has been on 10 for years.

[Pete from Boston]

Very rich. I'm well enlightened, thanks, but I think this "experience" you speak of doesn't hold a lot of proof.

Ok, well, people seem to really have offended you, so it seemed worth pointing out that this is not some gaggle of idiots with no background upon which to draw.

[SignGeek101]

Honestly, I think people don't upgrade because they're used to their "old" system, and know that probably anything new will be different, and thus not as good as the old one. It is partially about not knowing the new one, and criticizing it even before the version comes out, and the individual being used to the older version.

It's natural human nature. People will hate it before it comes out, and people will hate it after.

[Pete from Boston]

I at least appreciate that Windows tends to have workarounds to adapt old habits to a new OS, something I contrast to Apple's "abandon your old ways and conform" approach. 

[jakeroot]

I at least appreciate that Windows tends to have workarounds to adapt old habits to a new OS, something I contrast to Apple's "abandon your old ways and conform" approach. 

Hey, opinions are like assholes (I wonder how many times I can use that phrase?) but I don't think Mac has really had any massive UX changes since the OS X public beta 15 years ago. I think most of the changes to OS X have come in the last five years, as Apple has slowly integrated iOS into the Mac. But I don't think it came at any cost -- if anything, the changes were for the better (Launchpad is the best thing since sliced bread).

Here's a comparison of Mac OS X 14 years ago (left) to today (right). I bet you could learn the left and quickly transition to the right.

[Billy F 1988]

Very rich. I'm well enlightened, thanks, but I think this "experience" you speak of doesn't hold a lot of proof.

Ok, well, people seem to really have offended you, so it seemed worth pointing out that this is not some gaggle of idiots with no background upon which to draw.

Yeah? Funny you say that because I do have a background to draw upon; I'm just not letting you see it is all.

[Pete from Boston]

I at least appreciate that Windows tends to have workarounds to adapt old habits to a new OS, something I contrast to Apple's "abandon your old ways and conform" approach. 

Hey, opinions are like assholes (I wonder how many times I can use that phrase?) but I don't think Mac has really had any massive UX changes since the OS X public beta 15 years ago. I think most of the changes to OS X have come in the last five years, as Apple has slowly integrated iOS into the Mac. But I don't think it came at any cost -- if anything, the changes were for the better (Launchpad is the best thing since sliced bread).

Here's a comparison of Mac OS X 14 years ago (left) to today (right). I bet you could learn the left and quickly transition to the right.

In general, I find Apple products to be more rigid in their user experience than their Microsoft/Google/etc. counterparts.  But this is their M.O., of course–a fairly stable environment traded for a more user-customizable one.   My last Mac was ages ago, after which I converted back to Windows in large part for that reason, but I've found the same overarching vision apparent in iOS products, where I've accepted that deal.

[Pete from Boston]

Very rich. I'm well enlightened, thanks, but I think this "experience" you speak of doesn't hold a lot of proof.

Ok, well, people seem to really have offended you, so it seemed worth pointing out that this is not some gaggle of idiots with no background upon which to draw.

Yeah? Funny you say that because I do have a background to draw upon; I'm just not letting you see it is all.

I'm sure this is the case for lots of other intelligent folks here, so you are in good company.

[SSOWorld]

Like a bunch of little kids - hating something before trying

Sounds like the typical reaction to a Google or Facebook change...

[J N Winkler]

If we seem suspicious of and unenthusiastic about Windows 10, it is because we have ample precedent to draw on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_Vista

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_XP

One feature that went away between XP and 7, which I am not sure is notated in any of these Wikipedia entries, is the short description of each KB that appeared when you clicked on its entry in the Update dialog.  In the current Update dialog you get a very generic description and a link which you have to click on to pull up the Web page for that KB, which is often even more cryptic.  An example especially relevant to this thread is KB 3035583 (the Windows 10 nagware patch):

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3035583

The lede is "This update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available to the user. It applies to a computer that is running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)"--not one word about Windows 10.

More coverage:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2907472/operating-systems/windows-10-upgrade-nagware-patch-kb-3035583-now-marked-important-on-some-win7-pcs.html

While some proportion of the objections to a new version of Windows are inevitably of the pipe-and-slippers variety, not all of them are--the controversy over the disappearing and then reappearing Start menu is a case in point.

[SignGeek101]

Like a bunch of little kids - hating something before trying

Sounds like the typical reaction to a Google or Facebook change...

Or YouTube:

Anyone remember this?

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcKshB3FtxD0sjbJ2KBO3P43TP8MnZ9om9bT0ixJXFD3vpY1VpG-TzUxQ3
http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2013/11/14/ytbob4.jpg

Not my screenshots.

[Scott5114]

I'm not "hating before I try", I have philosophical differences from those the Windows devs appear to have, and therefore am not confident they're going to put out a product I find useful.

I feel like I should have full control over what my OS does when, as the computer is a tool that I am using to achieve some sort of goal. The OS should not get in my way when I try to do something. The less I have to acknowledge the OS, the better; it is supposed to be infrastructure you use without thinking about, like a girder bridge. Instead, Microsoft is trying to build the Golden Gate, but thanks to this feature they've actually built Galloping Gertie.

If I got in my car and it wouldn't start because it had updates to download, that wouldn't be acceptable, would it? Dunno about you, but it'd probably make me late to work and I'd be pissed. Same with a computer. I am booting the computer up because I want to do X, Y, Z action and if the OS thinks it's okay to keep me from doing X, Y, Z action because it knows better what the hardware should be doing with its time, then, well, the OS has got to go.

[1995hoo]

....

If I got in my car and it wouldn't start because it had updates to download, that wouldn't be acceptable, would it? Dunno about you, but it'd probably make me late to work and I'd be pissed. Same with a computer. I am booting the computer up because I want to do X, Y, Z action and if the OS thinks it's okay to keep me from doing X, Y, Z action because it knows better what the hardware should be doing with its time, then, well, the OS has got to go.

This comment reminds me of what caused me to dump AOL back in the dial-up days: Its insistence on downloading updates when you went to sign off, whether you had time for it right then or not. If (as I did at the time) you only had one phone line and needed to hang up the modem to make a call, you were forced to pull the cord from your modem to force a disconnect because you had no option to postpone the software update(s) until later. I remember writing in to tech support to complain and getting back a reply that said, more or less (not in these words), "We know better than you when you need updates." So I cancelled the service (thankfully, that was right around the time DSL became available where I lived).

It is not anyone's place other than mine to decide what gets downloaded onto my PC at any given moment, and that includes operating system updates. I don't let anything update automatically. I will allow the software to check automatically for updates and then advise me they're available. I find that useful because otherwise I may not learn about an update. But I won't let the software download the update until I give it the OK to do so. This was more of a concern in the days when some updates could force a reboot upon completion. That seems to be less of a nuisance nowadays, thankfully, but I still don't allow updates if I'm working on something urgent.