Windows 10 - yay or nay?

[Whiteknuckle]

who is using Windows 10 and likes it?
I tried it on a spare drive and it looks ok but i am not running it.

There is all the dirty tricks microsoft is doing with the OS plus all the telemetry and tracking. Do not like giving over control of MY PC that i built from quality parts.
I do not like letting MS tell me what when they patch / update.

I have 3 computers in the house. 2 desktops and a laptop. All 3 were running windows 8.1. But late last fall i switched over one desktop and the laptop to running Linux full time.
I tried several flavours of Linux from Ubuntu to Zorin to Mint. I have settled on using Ubuntu 15.10 and love it. no more windows for me. I will soon update to the soon to be released
Ubuntu 16.04.

I still have one computer running windows 8.1. That computer is mostly for games. In December 2015 i locked down this computer. Did the security patch update for the last time. Turned off
all updates. Turned off all Microsoft apps like Security Essentials and firewall. I am using third party anti virus / firewall program now (Zone Alarm)

I am interested to see what MS will do in July when the first "free" version offer of Windows 10 expires. If MS released a basic version of Windows 10 without all the spyware /tracking / telemetry and
gave me back control over updates. Let me buy a copy of this like you can do with all previous versions of Windows. If that happened i would likely be running windows 10 on my gaming computer.

 

[DC-Honda]

In short: I like it.
But i liked Windows 7 that i had before too.

Like about Win10 compared to Win7:
Faster boot-up.
Can't think of any major problem that i see directly related to win10.

Not like:
More tiles and stuff ... design choices for mobiles is noticable here and there.
Some Setting-Stuff ain't there where i used to be.
Some special/old hardware not usable as it would be with win7 or win8 (since the drivers won't work).

 

[670cc]

If you don't like MS, get a different operating system.

 

[Whiteknuckle]

If you don't like MS, get a different operating system.

LOL, Wut!? you mean me? Did you read my post beyond line 1?

I AM using a different OS now. I have switched 2 computers to run Linux

 

[670cc]

LOL, Wut!? you mean me? Did you read my post beyond line 1?

I AM using a different OS now. I have switched 2 computers to run Linux

Yep, you got me there. I read the first two paragraphs and the last two. My bad, very bad.

Ok, let's take as a message to everyone else, you excluded, since you're already using Linux.

 

[2brnut2b]

For the same reason as DC-Honda, I like Windows 10...the only problem I've had with it is whan I upgraded...since then, everything is good

 

[L.B.S.]

I could have sworn there already was a thread about this floating about somewhere here, but in case I'm just imagining it, I'll state my opinion- YUCK!!!! lol. Personally I thoroughly despise it. I finally caved after the never ending insistent nagging to upgrade now! upgrade now! upgrade now! being stuffed down my throat via the stupid against my will insertion of the auto upgrade link down at the bottom of my home screen.

I couldn't get rid of it quickly enough, despite it's not so veiled threats of "your computer may not work properly anymore once you remove me" dire warnings.

I can't help it. I don't care if it's miles better somehow, in ways I am not aware of, than 7.

I. just. don't. like. it.

Inevitably we will be forced into changing. They like to pretend to give you a choice when all along they know you don't really have one, lol. Just a matter of time.

 

[ChilliRider]

Ever since my daughter's laptop went 'blue screen of death' for the second time, running Vista, I have sworn off ALL MS products. My life has improved as a result. A combination of Apple and Chrome OS/google docs is what I use now and everything just.... works.

That is how I like my motorcycles too. If I wanted a bike that was in the shop for one thing or another all the time, I would buy a Ducati.

 

[Beemerphile]

OSX for me thank you. Windows 10 is better than Windows 8 which was worse than Windows 7 which was better than Vista which was worse than Window XP which was better than Windows 3.0.

All of them are too bloated and my life needs no more drama.

 

[Gibsito]

I'm still on 8.1. I got a new laptop for my girlfriend at Christmas and it has 10. She doesn't have any issues with it other than a very annoying issue with Adobe Photoshop Elements that apparently is Adobe's fault and not related to Win 10 (menus and cursors way too small and unable to adjust).

I used to love Windows products. They kept me employed. I supported everything from DOS to XP for nearly two decades. Microsoft always provided challenges for me and (indirectly) kept me employed troubleshooting all their quirky OS's. I retired when Vista was coming out, and would have hated to support that one (although my organization never adopted it anyway - they stayed with XP until 7 came out). Now I just want something that works. Haven't had any issues really with 8.1 or 10 but have been tempted to go to Linux for a long time. But after working so long in IT it's hard to get up the motivation anymore.

 

[Garydj]

I am in Windows 10. I find it to be OK, but I am with you, I don't like the update options (no controls on whether I update).

 

[fratermus]

I keep my OEM windows 7 in a virtual machine for testing and for a couple things that run better there. Nice thing about a virtual is you can restore to any previous save in case MS tries to force an upgrade.

All my other needs are met by linux (debian on media server and Pi boxen, antergos/arch on other machines).

 

[TN Thunder]

Go Linux. Lots of problems with Windows 10 and when it first came out it tracked everything you did and everywhere you went. ;My son is my Geek as he use to work for a company that built computers. Windows still has a lot of virus problems. I went to Linux several years ago and have never been hacked into. And Linux now has a program that will make Windows think it is running a Windows program. This mainly for playing games. If you do a lot of documents or just ramble around the internet, Linux is best and is getting better playing games. And it is free to download. And it gets upgraded for free.

 

[Gibsito]

I am in Windows 10. I find it to be OK, but I am with you, I don't like the update options (no controls on whether I update).

There is a workaround to Windows 10 automatically updating. It's not ideal, but I suppose it's better than nothing. Basically you lie to Windows and tell it you are on a metered connection (like a mobile connection, for example, where you have data limits, etc.). If you set it that way Windows will not run updates while you are on that connection. When you feel like running an update, just change the connection back to unmetered (by turning the metered connection setting off) and it will update automatically as before.

You can not do this with a wired connection but it works with WIFI connections.

1. Make sure you are accessing the internet through the connection you want to change (your home WIFI connection, for example)
2. Click the start button, then click Settings
3. Click the "Network and Internet" icon
4. Select "WIFI" from the top of the list on the left, if it isn't already selected
5. WIFI connections will appear on the right - scroll to the bottom of that and click "Advanced Options"
6. Change the "Set as metered connection" to "On."

Obviously, you turn it off again by selecting "Off" in step 6.

This only changes how Windows acts on that connection. If you connect the computer to another WIFI connection it will automatically update again, unless you go through the steps to change that connection as well. This does nothing to the WIFI router itself, it only affects the computer you're on. So if you have multiple Win 10 computers on your WIFI connection and don't want any of them to update automatically, you'll have to repeat these steps on each computer.

Turning this off will also stop Windows from updating your apps and may affect other things. See this article for more info: How, When, and Why to Set a Connection as Metered on Windows 10

Another option, although probably not practical or desirable for most: Upgrade to Windows 10 Professional. Apparently that version still allows people to change update options by enabling it via the group policy editor.

 

[frozenpoet]

I'm on windows 10 as it came with my new laptop. My wife's computer uses 8 and I'm ready to toss that thing out of the window. My computer before that had 7, I've also used xp, 95, ubuntu, IOS, Android, Amazon os, blah blah. I've never really had much to complain about. I did like ubuntu when I used it.

 

[MZ5]

Nay. Definite, strong Nay. 7 worked well for me. 10 offers me nothing, but it does attempt to make me use a tablet-like interface. The idiocy of that should be self-evident. I strongly dislike the central connection to MS, the overwrite of local passwords by the MS 'app store' (whatever they call theirs) or account password, and the fact that you don't get access to 'apps' without allowing said overwrite.

I'm happy with OS-X, though I haven't upgraded beyond Mavericks, in large part due to the same attempt to force me into a stupidly flattened-icon, crayon-like, and cartoon-ish interface that I can't easily get rid of all the gray on.

I've run linux of myriad types off and on since ~1995, and it simply isn't good enough, nor is it stable (with respect to significant under-the-hood changes that break compatibility for me) enough for me to mess with much any more. Plus, I use some software that just flat won't work, no matter what, unless I buy a Windoze license anyway. That then nets me almost nothing in going to linux.

7 was it for me, with Windoze, and I'd take the 10 machine back if I could, but the restore function didn't, so I'm semi-stuck. :-/

 

[RinconVTR]

Name a version of Windows that has not had quirks.

Win10 is the best so far, but it too has some quirks. But they are pretty deep. Most people wont notice.

8.1 is the next best.

And Win7 is the most stable right now with fewer quirks, buts its very quickly going out of date.

 

[TigerDude]

10 is great. It works, and unless you're running weird business-specific apps, it will continue to work. All games will run on windows. All software will have a windows version. All hardware will have windows drivers.

Linux is for people who want to tell you they run linux (no offense).

 

[StratTuner]

Here's one vote for Ubuntu. (Linux)
It does everything I want/need a computer to do.

 

[Deckyon]

FYI - my first desktop computer had SGI IRIX installed as an OS. So keep that in mind for everything else I am about to say.

I have used IRIX, Unix (SCO), Slackware (96), Windows 3.11 through Windows 10, RedHat Linux happens to be my fav flav of Linux. OSX (since 2011). And by using them it means actually having a regularly used computer with a different OS on my desk and in use for something. Right now, I have OSX, Ubuntu, Windows 7 and Windows 10 installed and running on different computers at work and at home.

I happen to like Windows 10, have it tweaked out and running exactly how I want it to run and there isnt anything I ask it to do that it does not. I have no extra virus or firewall software. I have not had a virus issue for years. It was originally a Windows 8.1 machine, but I downloaded 10 and did a fresh install (not an upgrade). Not a single issue. This is on a 256GB Surface Pro 2 and is my traveling computer.

My MacBook Pro is my main machine at home. It was purchased new in 2011 and has been upgraded to 16GB RAM and now has a 1TB SSD, and screams. When I upgraded the drive, I did a fresh install of OSX El Capitan. It works for what I want and do not see myself getting rid of this machine any time soon, unless there is an unrecoverable hardware issue, as it is out of warranty.

At work, we are on Windows 7 and my team has an Ubuntu PC we use as a test machine to hold virtual machines. With all the "security and management" software we have to run due to being a large corporate environment, these machines are below average in performance, despite being fully solid state.

I always love how people "turn off the internal security software" and install a third party... They are also, generally (piss off if you take offense, I have only been in this industry for 20 years...) seem to always suffer more from slow-downs, blue screens and viruses more than if they ran with the built in software. My parents were a prime example - had to have McAfee because that is what my mom read was the best. For years, I obliged them, because it was easier in the long run. They were always getting bugged by false positives, slowness and even a number of viruses. And they didnt really surf outside of news sites (albeit those are some of the worst cesspools of malware). Finally, after fighting the last one, I did a clean image on their machines, set up the internal stuff, set up their router as the firewall and imported a list of known offenders and they have been running peacefully without issue or malware or virus for 3 years now on Windows 7.

At work, we only see blue-screen tickets come in when there are either hardware issues or some yahoo ("developer") installed some opensource (it's free, so it has to be better) app. Most of the issues we see are inconsistencies between Java and Oracle (we have 87 versions of Oracle, depending on what app people are using online... Lazy developers is the main issue here).

Basically, when looking between OSX and Windows, we are looking at a closed system to an open system. There is a price for each, and you either have complete freedom to improve or break your machine, or you have only what is in the sandbox to play with (though it is possible to install stuff from outside that sandbox, but you end up running the same risk of virus/malware as the completely open machine).

Linux is a nerd's playpen. That has not changed since I installed Slackware'96 back in '96. The average user has no need for it and will not attempt to learn it.

For me, OSX on my MBP for 90% of my computing outside of work. Win10 on my SP2 for travel. At work, main machine is Win7 (company standard) and a fileserver on Ubuntu.