To get or not to get Windows 10

[Krice]

Most Windows 7 and 8.1 owners have that icon by now. I think it was a bad decision. I'd like to walk into Microsoft's office and ask anyone did they think it was a good idea. We know Windows 10 is released soon and we sure can make our decision to update to it, or not. I'm not going to update, because I will use this particular Win7 PC until it breaks and then get a new PC with pre-installed Windows, whatever it is then. There is no reason to update for me, unless they completely end support for 7 as they did with XP.

[TheCreator]

Programmer's wisdom says: if it ain't broken, don't fix. That's why I refuse all upgrades unless I know they actually improve something (usually they don't).

[chooseusername]

Have what icon?

I welcome the chance to upgrade.  I have 8.1 and it's very tablet targeted, much to the detriment of me as a laptop user.  In order to simplify the UI for tablets, they removed useful functionality and made it more steps to do what used to be simple.

[Krenium]

Be careful. Microsoft recently changed their privacy agreement (as in the day of the launch). It's now quite intrusive. https://edri.org/microsofts-new-small-print-how-your-personal-data-abused/

TL;DR it's best not to upgrade if you value privacy.

[Krice]

Sounds quite dystopian. Let's wait and see what actually happens.

[Krice]

I could actually update from 7 to 10 (while it's still free). Then again.. it means moving from VC Express 2010 to Community 2015. But I'm guessing M$ will end support for 7 quite fast, based on the way they have tried to force 10 update. Or maybe I'll stick to the original plan and simply get a new PC with 10 when support for 7 ends. My current PC is kind of old (6 years) already even I don't have issues with speed (other than rendering 3D but it's alway slow no matter what).

I find it quite funny that even now many new PCs have Windows 7 installed and 10 is an update option. I think it's mostly related to real world situation where you need to make sure all programs work in 10 and that workers know how to use it.

[akeley]

Win 10 is a privacy clusterfuck, no matter how you look at it. I heard it phones home even with all the relevant options ticked off. It`s absolutely unacceptable (though in the Google/Apple - era quite unsurprising). The fact it`s ridden with micro - or macro?- transactions is also a massive no-no.

I was a forever-XP kinda person but, with great caution, made dual boot with 8.1 last year to play some AAA games. And I find this version to be a best Windows yet - something I never thought I`m gonna say. The bad press it got in the beginning is largely unjustified - it takes half an hour and one external program to get rid of Metro and tweak it to be running properly. And then it`s lightning fast, superstable and also fuss-free: it was getting increasingly tricky to get XP to work with some things and devices.

i`m not worried about "support", MS always tries to scare people into upgrade with this red herring. I`m sure 8.1 will be okay for at least half a decade or so.

[Krice]

Win 10 is a privacy clusterfuck, no matter how you look at it.

How detailed information we have about that? I know it sends metrics to Microsoft, but so do many other software including web browsers which is using that for advertising purposes. If any real data (for example Kaduria's source code) is sent then it's of course bad. I've heard that OSX is also sending metrics to Apple, but it's difficult to say if it's true.

Sadly linux is not an option for me at least. I want the OS to be able to produce executable files that can be used through the OS range. Linux can't do it, at least not yet. And it's anyway supposed to be an open source platform, so I'll have to pass it. OSX is nice, but only about 1% of population is using it, making it less ideal platform.

[akeley]

How detailed? Just search for "windows 10 privacy" and there`s a bazillion articles regarding the subject. The line that "it`s okay because others are doing it" doesn`t work for me however. Especially regarding my OS, just no, no way. it`s enough hassle trying to avoid Google`s tendrils.

Of course MS won`t snatch Kaduria`s code (thought you never know, they might  be tempted :) but it might scan your HDD, report pirated stuff if you have any, analyze the rest and spam you with related crap. That`s the first, easiest step. Whatever comes next, like extensive profiling and selling this data or giving it up to governments or other organisations is not a tinfoil territory but everyday reality.

If you`re fine with that that - and other crap like forced upgrades - then by all means, go ahead. I don`t mind switching to Linux eventually. And if I need Windows 10 for gaming in some future scenario, I`ll just build some dedicated and totally quarantined PC for that.

[Krice]

Whatever comes next, like extensive profiling and selling this data or giving it up to governments

It's the dystopian future we are going towards anyway. It's nothing we can resist. Still I think the real problem is that we don't have a good option for Windows. Maybe something will appear, who knows? People may get angry about 10 and start to create a new OS, not based on 1970's unix like linux (and OSX) but new modern technology similar to Windows, only without stupid features.

[Krice]

The new update is coming, we'll see how it changes the OS. In the current version I've had problems with notifications, because the service was using too much resources for some reason. I had to turn notifications off, but it seems they will be now always on at least in pro version (which I don't have). If they try to limit options from users it's going to be a bad move.