Why I've rejected Windows 10

[#1]

We have 5 computers which are all less than 6 years old from 3 different manufacturers,  not one of the manufacturers will be providing support or drivers for those computers relating to Windows 10.

Of software I have two programme that I use regularly which are no longer supplied or supported but I have the discs and patches to re-install.

Therefore why should I take the risk of Windows 10 causing problems with either the computers or software neither of which will be supported for use with Windows 10.

Also reading the licence agreement which we have no say in writing, I have concerns relating to the use of data collected by Microsoft to 'Enhance my Experience", it's not clear what info they are collecting and how it will be used by unknown "third parties". It's the commercial exploitation of my data that is my concern rather data passed to the legal authorities.

I've had incidents were totally inappropriate adverts have appeared on screen, based on false assumptions gleaned from websites visited or searches conducted....that's just the adverts.

Windows 10 seems to be orientated to The Cloud, but I like to have my data here rather than some commercial company sending my data across the ether and storing it on one of their computers for their software analysis for commercial reasons.

So with my computers having no support for Windows 10, I've decided to stay with Windows 7 with my current computers. If future purchases of computers come with Windows 10, 11 or 12 so be it.   

[#2]

Like you I don't want private companies having access to my data either. I've no issue with the intelligence services having a quick automated scan for anything they consider dangerous (but then what if they scan through a file that contains the word boom?) however going to private companies across the water... No! Thats just naughty and disrespectful.

Even then the intelligence services can't really claim that it's helping them can they.. Bin Laden had no internet connection.. his files to be transmitted online were taken by a courier to an internet connected computer on a usb drive. Any other serious terrorists will also avoid any form of electronic intercept too.

Yes Windows seems to be going towards being cloud orientated. In my local sainsburys many of their laptops and netbooks now only come with a max of 32GB storage but it's typically just 16gb. Thats barely enough for many people to keep half an mp3 colloection on.

I suspect in 20 years time people won't even know what a hard drive is.. or why does "that silly old fool" have a collection of them when they can "just" save things to the cloud etc. By that point most folks will be so reliant on the cloud that when they see a server or hard drive in its real physical form they'll be too dumbstruck to even know what it is or what it does.

Like you, I've no intention of upgrading from Win7. Win8 wasn't popular, Win9 I didn't even hear about.. but Win10? No thanks. I'd rather switch to linux than have people rummaging through my stuff and so for the foreseeable (and practical) future I'm a 7 man.

[#3]

Windows 10 seems more aimed at consumers. I put existing working programs and drivers before adding profits to microsofts bank account.

I still have an old xp pc that happily runs various mobile phone software plus my old printer and scanner. Things that my other windows 7 pc couldn't do. Sometimes I regret recently getting rid of of my even older pc with it's handy serial ports.

So for me it all depends on what you use your pc for.

[#4]

I rejected Windows 10 because several long standing "features" in the windows software, had gone missing... which to me is a "Downgrade"  not an "upgrade"... Because those features had gone AWOL.. I was required to re-train myself into using three or four external programs, ( that also required me to "learn" them ) to do the job that one particular "feature" did with just one click, or was automatic as soon as I inserted the card from the camera. 

A couple of external programs that I work with, also would not work with Windows 10..  ( although I did find a "workaround" myself,  to get one of them to work, after a fashion.... )

  Why does an "Upgrade" require you to do that though ? 

I am sure, that, to the general computer public, the word "upgrade" means "better than the old"  as in when you "upgrade" your seat on a plane from standard to business, or business to First Class... 

And so, I found a supplier on Ebay, that was selling off Dell Windows 7 Professional, dvd`s... and bought two.. ( one for an older 32 bit laptop, which I sold with the "upgraded" Windows 10, to pay for the 64bit version).

All my programs work "properly" and "as intended" with Windows 7 Pro... I have no need to "re-train" myself, nor am I going to "upgrade" any further... Win 7 Pro, will last me for the next 10 or 15 years... and may even outlast me...

( p.s. not worried about all those "naysayers" who say it will not be supported in 10 yrs time... I won`t be "that" worried , so long as it does what it does now.... If it fails, and I just need a computer, I shall revert to Linux.. MINT 45  ? ? ? ? ? by then ....... )

[#5]

I read a story, a while ago, the gist was this...

A bloke created his own network sniffer tool, intercepting and decoding things.

He then renamed a "tame" small cartoon video to "SnatchPorn301.mp4"

When he played it in win10 - he SAW that file name in his snbiffer logs, going out to a MS IP number.

People say W10 snooping is a myth, a tin-foil-hatter's thing... but it is NOT

[#6]

7upCommunity Veteran

Posts: 11,746

Thanks: 17

Registered: ‎01-08-2007

I suspect in 20 years time people won't even know what a hard drive is.

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20 years? way too long. What's a hard drive? 🙂  6 months a go I built a PC (yes, a PC!!) with not a hard drive in sight. Just SSD's all round. Blistering fast to load too and so quiet. But yes, you are right but then I remember Windows for Workgroups etc, Even DR Dos. Must be an age thing.

But Windows 10? I have it on the laptop.Is it an improvement over 8.1? For me, none whatsoever, takes an age to start up nowadays. This PC running 8.1 won't be going the Windows 10 route either. Despite the moans and groans I know where everything is and I can control what gets updated. The first thing Windows 10 seems to do is phone home and seems to be forever updating. As for spyware, the lyrics seem about right somebody's watching me

The ongoing support for Windows 8.1 is more than enough for me anyway i.e. ending in 2023.

[#7]

I suspect in 20 years time people won't even know what a hard drive is.

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20 years? way too long. What's a hard drive? 🙂  6 months a go I built a PC (yes, a PC!!) with not a hard drive in sight. Just SSD's all round. Blistering fast to load too and so quiet. But yes, you are right but then I remember Windows for Workgroups etc, Even DR Dos. Must be an age thing.

But Windows 10? I have it on the laptop.Is it an improvement over 8.1? For me, none whatsoever, takes an age to start up nowadays. This PC running 8.1 won't be going the Windows 10 route either. Despite the moans and groans I know where everything is and I can control what gets updated. The first thing Windows 10 seems to do is phone home and seems to be forever updating. As for spyware, the lyrics seem about right somebody's watching me

The ongoing support for Windows 8.1 is more than enough for me anyway i.e. ending in 2023.

[#8]

Linux is getting better each release, Look at SteamOS for example!

[#9]

At the rate the raspberry pi is going it won't be long until i consider a small cluster of those as my main machine. I rather like the look of the pi2/3 which i can't get my hands on at the moment.

As much as i love my big dual quad core rig running 7, i'm aware that its a juice drinker on the leccy and that 7 won't live forever unlike XP which is still running POS devices everywhere.

[#10]

As a dedicated Linux user for the past 10 years, (having spent the previous 10 years as a M$ server guy doing 3rd line desktop support) my install on M$ on this pc is a clean install of w10, on an ssd. Used ONLY for playing games as it is useless at everything else.
I have mentioned before trying to get it to scan a document to pdf, print to my old printer etc etc.

I only installed w10 since installing w7 then spending the day installing patches was just to painful. But even with it I have installed the free apps to return the start menu etc. I don't want a phone OS on my pc. If the "upgrade" hadn't been free then it would have still been running w7. Personally I still find it painful to use, finding stMLF2D-3XWB6-E5EDMuff takes too long and the "security" stuff is a joke. A virus/malware can get permissions faster than me! Having to run a virus program all the time is also a waste of ram/cpu.

If I want a productive system then I boot to this OS (Mint 17.3) I can produce, scan. print documents in seconds here. Thunderbird works properly (on the W10 system it sometimes wont display an email, or refresh, etc, etc. FF has issues on it as well.
When stream gets it finger out and actually gets most of the games working under Linux then it will be history on my pc.