How are people finding Windows 10?

What are the privacy issues?

I have a Logitech 920 webcam and a blue yeti Mike although I don't use them a lot. I use the mike with Dragon Dictate.

Microsoft must have listened to me because after I said Windows 10 needed fixing they updated my PC and it works fine now.

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David,

This is probably a good place to start:

**LINK**

MichaelG.

Thanks Michael Gilligan. Regards David

+1

Thanks Michael, that link makes it easy to do the main things that need doing.

Neil

Reading some of this thread makes me wonder if MS have started a new form of beta releases. I have run these when I used Windows in the past. They were given to selected people some time before the real releases came out. When the actual release was installed over these a message saying we can do better than that popped up. Little difference really and as always machine slowed down as more and more updates are installed. That aspect will get worse and worse as releases age.

The content of that link may encourage more people to switch to Mac or Linux so I really like that. God like companies that infringe people rights without them being fully aware of it should be stamped on. These days though especially with Mac there is so much wifi going back and forth it's hard to be certain what is going where.

Interesting extension of the commercial web though. I had a laugh yesterday. I wanted to check something I had already bought. No one would buy another and adds for it started appearing on several sites - suppose it helps the owners cover the cost of running the sites though. Increasingly I use one browser for looking for things and another for buying. Then there is one that retains nothing that I sometimes use for fun. It probably does keep something though even when everything is turned off.

MS have been at loggerheads with commercial users in the past. They take no notice. The users continue to use what ever release they are happy with rather than upgrading but later have no choice usually saying they are happy with the one after that. In real terms it's given them more time to prepare.

All in all MS have a fantastic business model. Good for them but us? I remember reading an estimate on how many hours their users waste planet wide some time ago.

John

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Easy

XP has had a much much longer run of updates, 2001-14, compared with Snow Leopard, 2009-14.

I still have an XP laptop but cannot remember the last time I booted it up, as well as a Dell running Win2000 Pro that I use in the HobbyRoom.

Before I switched to Mac my DIY tower unit ran XP, and still in use on occasion to run SpinRite to check my NAS/RAID disks.

Waiting for Steve Gibson to finish his SQRL (squirrel) so that he can start on getting SpinRite to run on Macs.

I hope most fervently that 'squirrel' takes off, as it will make passwords a thing of the past! It's nearly ready.

Geoff - Washing and vacuuming done

My test of the Backup programs with W10 was successful and I was able to backup the laptop to a 3TB disk. That prompted me to take the plunge and install W10 on my Core i5 500Gb (about 40 Gb free) 3MHz desktop with W7. I had a few installation failures which dumped me back into my old W7. A bit of a search suggested that I should turn AVG off for the installation download and that worked fine. W10 now and the desktop looks exactly the same as it did on W7 and it has left Firefox and Thunderbird as my default web and mail clients. I haven't tried all my apps yet but the ones I have tried so far have been fine.

Works for me,

Rod

Edited By Roderick Jenkins on 02/01/2016 20:28:21

I'm a big fan, the only thing I miss is the traditional "my computer" icon and window. This seems to have been replaced with a window containing "frequent folders" and "recent files" with the "explorer tree" on the left as usual however this is also plagued with "quick access" "cloud" "documents" "music" all sorts of crap, then down at the bottom, requiring looking/clicking/scrolling to finally find, is C: D:, my USB key, SD card etc.

These "Bottom of the pile" options, are my most frequently used things bobbing in and out of SD cards and USB keys, so I'm disappointed to find I have to continously fiddle to find and select/transfer files.

That aside, I wouldn't go back to win7 and generally find everything is pretty much where I expect it. I did sort the privacy issues out straight away, several of which were hogging CPU and internet usage.

You could right-mouse-button on the C:/D:/USB Key etc and select "Pin to Quick access" thereby having them at the top left of the Explorer as well as their normal, lower, position.

I believe you can go back to the win 8 menu system by choosing settings and changing back to the win 8 start menu.

They did this sort of thing on linux a long time ago. You may find that you can create more of these "windows" and put what you like in them. On Linux some have viewed each one as an activity. Must admit I don't like it so don't use it especially as I use my desktop for frequently accessed things and for temp storage of certain things.

It's interesting aspect as windows is windows. All of the changes are just presenting the same thing using the same technology in different ways and calling it an upgrade.

John

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Russ, a few minutes spent customising the file explorer window will sort out most of those issues. You can 'pin' or 'unpin' the 'frequent folders', so the ones you need are top of the list. Right-click on a folder and the menu should have the option "Pin to Quick Access". The explorer tree sections may be expanded or collapsed as required.

Windows 10 Professional is surprisingly easy to customise; maybe less so the Home edition. And, so far, most of my settings have been retained through many updates, though the recent major upgrade did reset a lot of things to default.

Mike.

(edited for spelling)

Edited By Farmboy on 03/01/2016 10:27:56

Harry Wilkes - Jackpot, "My Computer" know called "This PC" and it's exactly how I remembered it. (I've renamed it for old times sake )

MM57, Ajohnw, Farmboy - thank you, I have just had a play with these settings too and they are good, I've pinned a few top folders where I store 3D cad files and gcodes etc, very hand to have them one click away in file explorer.

Interestingly when I try to go a little outside the box and pin "My Computer" to my start menu, it changes to "FIle Explorer" and gives me the frequently used etc view.

Still, a very welcome improvement thanks.

This is interesting and may explain some of windows security issues over the years?

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101117072901AAajOVR

Edited By Vic on 03/01/2016 12:40:52

Edited By Steven Greenhough on 03/01/2016 12:58:34

I'm fine with pooters but I don't trust those smartphones one iota

I use one for work, period. Absolutely nothing personal ever gets done on it and the phone gets reset to factory defaults every few months

If the bad Guys would see Me in My jammies that would teach them a lesson not soon forgot about. Several rounds of eye bleach might be required.

My experience of Windows 10 has been fairly positive. I run Linux 90 % of the time but have my laptop set up to dual boot with Windows for those Windows programs that won't run in Wine on Linux.

After making a disk image of my entire setup I took the plunge and allowed MS to convert my Windows 7 pro to W 10 pro. Rather than selecting the recommended default installation I went for the advanced option and disabled most of the MS spying right from the start.

My first surprise was that the upgrade left my dual boot configuration alone, allowing me to choose between W 10 and Linux. Second surprise was that my desktop was almost unchanged and that nearly all programs ran as before. The one exception being an old version of Solidworks which failed at startup, being unable to initiallise VBA. That was fairly easy to fix by editing the registry.

The only other problem was after a recent big update when I went to log in it told me my password was incorrect and wouldn't let me in. It told me to go to my MS account on line to reset the password. I checked online, still having access with Linux, and found that my password was unchanged. Rebooted to W10 and my password worked OK again. I do find it a bit disturbing that MS have access to my computer's password.

I'll not be buying or renting any MS apps though and will stick with Firefox rather than Edge and open source LibreOffice, GIMP, etc..

Russell.

I'll admit to not following the whole thread but surely the best answer to the "old programs not running on new OS" problem is to adopt the two computer strategy. One computer isolated from the internet running the old programs that are more than good enough for the jobs we need them to do and one on the internet running the latest OS the get the bug fixes, security stuff and compatibility with the current versions of websites we use.

These days basic computers powerful enough to run the internet stuff are relatively cheap and good quality older computers to run our working programs will last for many years. Most of us are quite happy using machine tools of some vintage, I'm 61 and one of my machines is older than I am, so seems logical to take the same view when it comes to working computers. Only time you need a super duper computer on t'net is if you a re into interactive games and heavy duty film streaming.

Reflecting on my last upgrade cycle about 3 years back I'd have saved a fortune going two machine. OK it was Apple kit but principle is the same. Went from G4 Power PC desktop and 17" laptop to Intel MacPro 5.1 and 17" laptop to Mavericks OS via Snow Leopard. Over £2,500 for the computers and monitor over £1,500 for software updates to gain pretty much nothing in terms of what I actually do. 20-20 hindsight says less than £1,000 would have got a Mac Mini and new monitor and been just as effective. Now the iPads have got more oomph stuff and flogging off the new gear.

The one machine does all idea seems to have run its course.

Clive.