Windows is getting disgusting

[AlxDroidDev]

Or Win7 inside VirtualBox on Linux. I run XP like that for one pesky chip programmer. VirtualBox is free.

I use VirtualBox on Windows 7 to run MacOS. I need it for native iOS development.

[Galenbo]

You can do real electronics design work in Linux, but there are some tools that only run in Windows. If you have to use those tools, you have to use Windows - no argument. A lot of Apple MAC users have to use Windows as well for the same reason...

This is strange. I would expect there are more possibilities for the electronics field in Linux, and less in Windows, and every possible gap would be filled within a week.

[Artlav]

I'm running a 22 core CPU

Huh. How did that happen?
Or is it a machine at workplace?

[GEuser]

I did a game(risky) thing the other week since that win10 offer has now finnished , i turned on automatic updates after a break of many months .

All went well , checked the info on all those updates needed before i allowed win7-64 to update itself , also noticed a service pack or roll up , installed them all and all good .

Then a day or so later another roll-up service pack thing was available and still all good , so it looks like all that "Fever" of the win10 has passed (for now at least) , Blah win10 I'm happy with 7-64

[botcrusher]

I've been running insider since it was first released, and it has been surprisingly stable considering us insiders are supposed to be getting all the bugs so nobody else has to.

I've only had maybe one or two builds that were garbage, and they were still fast, but apparently thought it was related to windows ME if you catch my meaning.

While I think the whole bait and switch Microsoft resorted to was a bit of a prick move, I do quite like Win 10, and I would use it in a working environment.

Mission critical applications?
Come on now, this is windows. Use Linux for that, I've never had it kernel panic for something that wasn't my fault.(What? I get trigger happy in synaptic from time to time)

[jonovid]

I have nothing good to say about how windows 10 is pushed on to us by microsoft.  its got a lot of added bloatware IMO.
by trying to sneak in a 1GB slab of windows 10 in to my the windows7 update, as an automatic install. But I caught it, Before it had time to install. IMO microsoft is trying to add or sneak-in an App Store to Windows . so to do this thy need to replace all older windows OS like Win 7 with Windows 10 , So I had to manually delete the Win 10 install, to save my working Win 7 from Win 10 install destruction.  IMO always keep  your hardware ahead of your software. if Win 10 gets on you system! your stuck with it, along with all the need to pay microsoft to fix Win10 problems, if your hardware is no up to speed with say 3D video or xbox live .   

[botcrusher]

It's windows 10, not the Antichrist...

Yeah, the bait and switch auto update was a dick move, but I can assure you it isn't bloated...

Even on a fairly slow Seagate HDD it boots to a usable desktop in rather negligible time compared to windows 7.

"Windows 10 destruction" -What are you going on about?

"if your hardware is no up to speed with say 3D video or xbox live" -First, what? All three major vendors have had their drivers out and stable within a month of windows 10's release**. If somehow the unified drivers aren't supporting your card, It's time for a new gpu. Second, define "xbox live" in this context.

**Release of insider, way before the average user even saw what windows 10 looked like.

[GEuser]

Me neither jonovid , i posted quite a few pages back about how i did try the free win10 using a spare (from the raid array as i was doing a win7 reinstall anyway) ssd , i did not like win10 immediately , if i wanted a tablet I'd buy one but really i just did not like it full stop.

Unless there was a real real major change in the W10 ui and all that connectivity bs bloat and all that Kiddy stuff i do not think I'll ever go there , imo of course .

It is a real shame now though that Microsoft to me is now become the enemy , and that's from all those experiences from W95 through (98, me , 2000 , xp) on to W7 and its only now they are in the to watch list .

Recall all those in the past pop-up box's with the extra tick box of "Trust Microsoft" ? , i can't remember the last time i saw one of those .

[R005T3r]

The only deal keeps me running Windows is because it runs Altium. I will be very to switch to Linux if I can find a workaround to get AD running.
VBox lags a lot, Wine can not run it proper;y, and Crossover simply can not install it.

I was able to stick with Win7, but since I got a faster computer and the hardware is only supported by Win10+ or Linux, it is driving me off Win7.
I'm now running an very expensive computer at 80% of its performance due to some drivers are not installed properly for Win7.

So, any suggestions on how to run AD smoothly as a native program on Linux (preferably Fedora or Mint)? I am not willing to pay $300 on VMWare.

Ok. I advice to do so:
1. install linux mint or any linux distro you want, it's not important as primary partition on your hard drive: you will use it for surfing and doing standard stuff.
2. install windows 7 and keep it constantly offilne to run your favorite programs if you need computing power or use a virtualbox instead...

It seems unhandy, but with linux you can mount your windows C partition and you can make file management/pickup from it and it's ok.
You don't have to spend money on VMware: use Virtualbox and you are ok, but keep in mind that a virtual machine is way slower than a phisical machine...

Anyway, yes, windows is getting more and more an abomination of engineering: I've seen many viruses and many other nasty stuff: cryptolocker/worms and stuff like that, even spyware software.... But an entire system that is created to spy on you, I admit I never seen something like that: you can defeat disk encryption, they can defeat virtualization, they can exploit pretty much anything, antivirus included.. They can collect "data" and what about metadata (markers and stuff like that) being collected? So basically they not only can steal your passwords (credit cards included, if you use them) in no time, they can upload pretty much anything you produce whitout your consent (trojan horse) AND the huge amount of information and stuff like that it's fully searchable because of metadata in notime!
But the real disgusting thing, is not the fact that they keep these information for themselves. They sell them to third parties (including your government or foreign ones... )

It won't be a surprise if there's a way to connect wifi bridges between windows10 computers if the system see if there's an air gap on the pc so they can defeat that... So, definitely are you going to update to windows10? Think about it twice.

A simple curiosity I've found on web: military are switching over linux instead of windows...

[Kilrah]

But an entire system that is created to spy on you, I admit I never seen something like that: you can defeat disk encryption, they can defeat virtualization, they can exploit pretty much anything, antivirus included.. They can collect "data" and what about metadata (markers and stuff like that) being collected? So basically they not only can steal your passwords (credit cards included, if you use them) in no time, they can upload pretty much anything you produce whitout your consent (trojan horse) AND the huge amount of information and stuff like that it's fully searchable because of metadata in notime!

 

[Zero999]

A simple curiosity I've found on web: military are switching over linux instead of windows...

Yes, but why? Cost probably. A bout of religious zealotry, probably not.

I doubt it's cost. It's probably because Microsoft don't support old versions of Windows for long enough and switching to Linux means they can support it indefinitely. I work at an aerospace company and we use Linux on critical systems (not on the desktop, that's Windows only) because it can be customised and we don't have to deal with MS ending support.

[madires]

The enforced updates in Win10 are working perfectly fine:

Microsoft Has Broken Millions Of Webcams With Windows 10 Anniversary Update
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/76719/microsoft-broken-millions-webcams-windows-10-anniversary-update

[bitslice]

I've actually found a feature in Win10 that is useful

Ctrl + V now works in a command window.
at last...


that's it, there's no other point in upgrading.

[Kilrah]

Taskbars on all monitors, proper HiDPI support, better performance, native support for 4K video  decoding do it for me. A few convenient things such as "open command prompt here", mounting of ISO files, editing of environment variables and some more I don't think of OTOH are welcome too.
I don't think I've found a drawback yet.

[rdl]

No Windows 10 for me, too dangerous. There's no way I can use an OS that's only secure if disconnected from any kind of network or does not store any significant user data.

I have one machine left that still has Windows on it (Windows 7). I reinstalled it a few weeks ago from the original OEM disk. I wanted to get all the updates prior to 2015, but every time I try Windows Update fails to connect. I guess microsoft's system is overtaxed from copying the contents of all the windows 10 users computers.

[b_force]

There are many ways to get rid of that Win10 popup message btw!

Personally, I haven't seen any mayor improvements since WinXP. It's mostly just eye candy.
Most of the things could easily be implemented, but they simply refused. (I guess they need something new and 'important" for the next update).

The only thing that really bothers me in Win7 is that audio over bluetooth isn't working. Microsoft is telling that people need to contact the hardware companies. The hardware companies say people need to contact microsoft. DOH!

I've actually found a feature in Win10 that is useful

Ctrl + V now works in a command window.
at last...


that's it, there's no other point in upgrading.

That's not a new feature, that's just a flaw in the old version! 

[GEuser]

Imo , nearly all these last few posts have happened over the last 20 years many times , some updates crashed/trashed the whole system to make it un-bootable , plenty of times in all versions but rarely in win7 so far , win7 has been good just like xp sp2 was , i was really doubtful on upgrading to win7 but so far (excluding the w10 saga) its also been all good , so what I'm getting at is all that stuff and more and many instances over heaps of pages in the thread has all happened before .

What I'm actually really getting at and i do not care whether one likes or thinks win10 is the best thing since sliced bread is i personally think that w10 is terrible to look at , and terrible to work with the GUI , because it is just like a tablet or whatever one would want to call it , like i mentioned in my case if i wanted a tablet i would buy one and the reason i prefer desktops (even if its old in today's world) is the fact it is a desktop environment and GUI .

And i do believe some that have posted and have learnt over the years that the meta data collecting is more prevalent in w10 and I'm not saying it has never happened with any previous versions just that it is "more" than previous , it also fits in with all the monitoring of the world (spying) from that area just recently been busted .

Sure MS has to keep up with the kiddies (you poor kiddies it's your fault yaknow) , they have to feed the feeds and that bit is OK by me as i do not care , but , , i do not want or require to be force fed or forced feeded off , no apps no connectivity only the net and no other bullshit and just play my favorite pc game , hopefully i can last for awhile longer on W7 but when the time comes I'll throw that away as I'll throw away everything else , move to the middle Himalayas , no power , no nothing , just a pair of binoculars and a battery Short Wave Radio and listen and watch all you lot get fully Nuked big time , and yes I'll be Laughing my Guts out too Ha Ha Ha Ha ..

And if your wondering up at the Himalayas , there won't get Nuked as no one will know I'm up there Ha Ha Ha Ha

[crispy_tofu]

Personally, I haven't seen any mayor improvements since WinXP. It's mostly just eye candy.

How about Aero Snap (introduced in Vista, where you can snap windows to the sides of the screen or make it full screen)? That's quite useful, although there's pretty much nothing else noteworthy (does anyone even use Aero Shake? ...) ... 

Correction 1/9/16: Aero Snap, Shake and Peek were all introduced in Windows 7, not Vista.

[b_force]

Personally, I haven't seen any mayor improvements since WinXP. It's mostly just eye candy.

How about Aero Snap (introduced in Vista, where you can snap windows to the sides of the screen or make it full screen)? That's quite useful, although there's pretty much nothing else noteworthy (does anyone even use Aero Shake? ...) ... 

The fact it's there, doesn't mean it wasn't possible in WinXP.
There are tons of 3rd party applications who can do all these kinds of things.

[madires]

I have one machine left that still has Windows on it (Windows 7). I reinstalled it a few weeks ago from the original OEM disk. I wanted to get all the updates prior to 2015, but every time I try Windows Update fails to connect. I guess microsoft's system is overtaxed from copying the contents of all the windows 10 users computers.

You need to be extremely patient. Some users had to wait about 12-24 hours to get the updates. Based on the experience on how MS tried to push Win10 to all PCs running Windows >=7, I'd think that this is another deliberate attempt to encourage people to upgrade.

PS: I won't install Win10 on any of my private PCs. My PCs are mine, not MS's.

[suicidaleggroll]

But an entire system that is created to spy on you, I admit I never seen something like that: you can defeat disk encryption, they can defeat virtualization, they can exploit pretty much anything, antivirus included.. They can collect "data" and what about metadata (markers and stuff like that) being collected? So basically they not only can steal your passwords (credit cards included, if you use them) in no time, they can upload pretty much anything you produce whitout your consent (trojan horse) AND the huge amount of information and stuff like that it's fully searchable because of metadata in notime!

 

You can't pull out the tin foil hat images if it's true.

Windows 10 collects everything you do, and can legally send everything back to Microsoft, it's all in the EULA.  There are options in the settings to turn some of the data collection off, but Windows turns those settings back on by itself without your knowledge or consent.  I'm not joking or exaggerating there, the first Win 10 machine I used (this was after the full release, not insider), I went into the settings and turned the collection/distribution of all private data off.  I then installed a couple of pending updates, rebooted, went back into the settings, and half of them had turned themselves back on!

Microsoft has shifted its business model from software sales to subscription and data collection.  You don't want a company like that running the OS on your personal computer, especially not a company that has proved time and time again that they are more than willing to use underhanded and borderline illegal tactics to get what they want, even without users' consent.

[madires]

Sadly true, some (many, all?) updates reset several settings back to their defaults. Who would check all changed settings after each update? It's insane.

[Whales]

I used a winXP computer today.  Old machine, but it had never been networked.  It booted extremely fast and did everything extremely well.  The system time was off by a few hours, but I think it would be ethically wrong to tell this machine that it was doing something wrong.

[eugenenine]

My daughters laptop got the windows 10 virus a while back.  We get the usage e-mail and I have to laugh because its been showing 0 usage for weeks now because her laptop isn't useable anymore.

[Kilrah]

You can't pull out the tin foil hat images if it's true.

I sure can, because while M$ do collect info so do tens of thousands of other companies as soon as you're doing anything on the web. The point is that if you're here, MS is probably the least of your worries. It's just laughable how everybody screams to evil M$ while being completely oblivious to the rest of their surroundings... W10 gave such a good opportunity to point the finger at that people suddenly completely forgot about the rest, even when it's orders of magnitude above.

When I look at it I see that now that they consider users' feedback and how their product is used they're finally fixing things that should have been done long ago - that's the whole point of it.