Windows 10 as an automatic update in 2016

[BugI02]

and more expensive, controlling and monitoring...

Progressiveware then?

 

[jamil]

What is this "Windows" thing of which you speak?

I think it's the VM I have installed on my mac for whenever I'm required to run some archaic ****code.

 

[WebSnyper]

There is no rumor to it. Microsoft has stated that Win7 will have extended support (basically security patches) until 1/14/2020. If anyone wants to argue the point, you can also read about their extended support policy here (question #8).

Windows 8/8.1 support ends 1/10/2023.

Yep, Microsoft publishes its lifecycle policies, and while somethings have changed (IE and .Net) on that, most products get 5 years mainstream and 5 years extended. Not too many other vendors support software that long.

For Win7, you can also go to Control Panel > Windows Updates > Click the link for Change Settings > Under Important Updates, choose "Download updates but let me choose when to install them" and make sure there is a check mark in the box next to Give me recommended updates the same...

Using that method, you don't have to manually start the search and download process, as the updates will download automagically and you can then just select the ones you want to install and avoid the ones you don't want to install.

Thanks for the KB articles to uninstall

Yep, it is not difficult to do this, just takes a bit of reading.

I get some of the hesitation but I think some of the folks around here have their tinfoil hats a little too tight.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

But see? It's still making me waste my time and effort to get it not to do something I don't want it to and didn't tell it to. I resent that. I have better things to do in my enfeebled state. Multiply that by millions of us.

 

[BugI02]

EXACTLY! I want my computers to be more like my TVs. I turn them on when I want to use them and turn them off when I'm done, they don't have a secret life of their own that I don't control. Periodically, I buy a new one when there is some additional feature I find worthy of the hassle. I want a reliable, stable operating system, not the precursor to SKYNET. Every 'great leap forward' from MS seems largely to patch gaping security holes they left in the code or to copy the best features that have been popularized by other, better products - or both. When my current laptop has run its course it will be macbook pro for me.

 

[jamil]

EXACTLY! I want my computers to be more like my TVs. I turn them on when I want to use them and turn them off when I'm done, they don't have a secret life of their own that I don't control. Periodically, I buy a new one when there is some additional feature I find worthy of the hassle. I want a reliable, stable operating system, not the precursor to SKYNET. Every 'great leap forward' from MS seems largely to patch gaping security holes they left in the code or to copy the best features that have been popularized by other, better products - or both. When my current laptop has run its course it will be macbook pro for me.

I've been primarily Windows free for almost 10 years. They switched us to MBPs where I worked, and I found that so refreshingly functional and reliable that I started replacing my PCs at home.

 

[bulletsmith]

I'm not sure where this goes for me yet. I'm the guy that likes to complain about microsoft one minute, and the next, accepts that I'm not willing to retrain myself and a whole staff in order to switch to a linux system. That may have to change...

 

[BugI02]

I've been primarily Windows free for almost 10 years. They switched us to MBPs where I worked, and I found that so refreshingly functional and reliable that I started replacing my PCs at home.

We've been Mac on the desktop since 2008 ( wife is a graphic designer ) and I would never go back. As for the laptop, I'm the kind of guy (read: cheap) who is reluctant to replace anything that is still working acceptably well (not a work laptop, those are provided by employer). Settled on Win7 in the laptop and uninterested in migrating to ten, so it will be MBP when they kill off Win7 or it just becomes too much of a kludge

 

[jkaetz]

Lots of in this thread. Microsoft is giving away an upgrade that it historically has charged $80-100 for yet people are still unhappy. 8 had a terrible replacement for a start menu but it worked perfectly well. 10 gives the start menu back but still people are unhappy. I think some people just want to be unhappy.

 

[jamil]

Lots of in this thread. Microsoft is giving away an upgrade that it historically has charged $80-100 for yet people are still unhappy. 8 had a terrible replacement for a start menu but it worked perfectly well. 10 gives the start menu back but still people are unhappy. I think some people just want to be unhappy.

Or they want to have more say in how their computer behaves.

 

[bulletsmith]

Lots of in this thread. Microsoft is giving away an upgrade that it historically has charged $80-100 for yet people are still unhappy. 8 had a terrible replacement for a start menu but it worked perfectly well. 10 gives the start menu back but still people are unhappy. I think some people just want to be unhappy.

It's not simply about a couple of dollars. In a business environment you never adopt early when it comes to a new os. MS has found a way to make it look like you should want to do this. For your general purpose email, internet viewer, porn machine, I doubt it makes a lot of difference. Do what you like. Just don't try to force me to adopt one night while our office is closed and the machines are running.

 

[wtburnette]

Lots of in this thread. Microsoft is giving away an upgrade that it historically has charged $80-100 for yet people are still unhappy. 8 had a terrible replacement for a start menu but it worked perfectly well. 10 gives the start menu back but still people are unhappy. I think some people just want to be unhappy.

I don't care for the way Win10 looks and I definitely don't like the data they collect, some of which can't be stopped. If it weren't for gaming, I would stop using Windows on my main system entirely and go Linux. As it is, I see no reason to upgrade my Win7 box. I didn't see a reason during the Win8/8.1 fiasco and I don't see anything now with Win10.

 

[JTScribe]

Lots of in this thread. Microsoft is giving away an upgrade that it historically has charged $80-100 for yet people are still unhappy. 8 had a terrible replacement for a start menu but it worked perfectly well. 10 gives the start menu back but still people are unhappy. I think some people just want to be unhappy.

In my case Windows 10 removes a feature that I've built an entire home theater around have invested thousands of dollars and hours of time into. They could pay me to use it and I would decline, fail to see how that's a whaambulance.

 

[CTS]

It's not simply about a couple of dollars. In a business environment you never adopt early when it comes to a new os. MS has found a way to make it look like you should want to do this. For your general purpose email, internet viewer, porn machine, I doubt it makes a lot of difference. Do what you like. Just don't try to force me to adopt one night while our office is closed and the machines are running.

There's not a chance on earth that this will happen to any PC joined to a domain.

 

[bulletsmith]

There's not a chance on earth that this will happen to any PC joined to a domain.

Not every business runs a domain. But could you imagine? Surprise!! New OS and not joined to the domain.

 

[jkaetz]

Or they want to have more say in how their computer behaves.

This is vague. If you elaborate I'll be happy to respond properly.

It's not simply about a couple of dollars. In a business environment you never adopt early when it comes to a new os. MS has found a way to make it look like you should want to do this. For your general purpose email, internet viewer, porn machine, I doubt it makes a lot of difference. Do what you like. Just don't try to force me to adopt one night while our office is closed and the machines are running.

In a properly run business environment you should be planning ahead for the lifecycle of your hardware and software. I have managed over 3000 systems directly in an enterprise environment and this wouldn't have been an issue. We abandoned the "Wait for the first service pack" mentality shortly after the release of Vista. Early adoption of an OS 15 years ago might have been an issue but it has been a non-issue since XP. 7, 8, and 10 needed no time for service packs or bug fixes before they are 100% ready for production use. Some things look different but there is no loss of functionality and there are improvements even if you don't see them.

In any case, most people in this thread however are complaining about their home systems.

I don't care for the way Win10 looks and I definitely don't like the data they collect, some of which can't be stopped. If it weren't for gaming, I would stop using Windows on my main system entirely and go Linux. As it is, I see no reason to upgrade my Win7 box. I didn't see a reason during the Win8/8.1 fiasco and I don't see anything now with Win10.

Great, you don't like change and you have read some scary things posted on the internet that twisted the license agreements and disclosures to scare people. Microsoft collects no more data than google or apple. To avoid information collection you would have to avoid the technology completely. Even if they did decide to mine data from all windows 10 users, they wouldn't be able to use it in a meaningful way. There would simply be too much of it. What they want to know about is how their OS is working and how people are using it. Read that last part carefully. It does not say that they want to track what you are doing. They want to know if you are using it the way they thought you would. In software development you often design things one way and end users decide to use it another. Once the developers get the info on how their software is being used, they will make changes based on how the users are using it improving the experience for all involved.

In my case Windows 10 removes a feature that I've built an entire home theater around have invested thousands of dollars and hours of time into. They could pay me to use it and I would decline, fail to see how that's a whaambulance.

You may have the only valid reason not to change. There are alternatives to WMC in a home theater environment though that aren't OS dependent. I'd recommend looking into Kodi or another solution so you're prepared for the future. Expecting to be able to use a piece of software long term that has been abandoned by the vendor will eventually lead you to problems.

Not every business runs a domain. But could you imagine? Surprise!! New OS and not joined to the domain.

Businesses that aren't managing their IT infrastructure properly are always going to have problems. To be clear, I'm not saying that every business must run an Active Directory Domain, but they should be managing their systems keeping them up to date with security patches and upgrades. I would rather a business get a forced update to Windows 10 than have systems that are years out of date with security holes processing customer payments and personal info. IT is not something a business should be marking down as a one time expense. For it to be successful it must be treated as a continuing expense.

Try this for a different perspective. People have historically complained that they don't want to manage their Windows systems. They want them to simply "work". Microsoft is attempting to simplify the process of system management including updates and security fixes so end users don't have to deal with it. The simple fact is that a computer is not an appliance. It absolutely must be kept up to date if you don't want it turned into part of a botnet or used for other nefarious purposes. Expecting a computer to be the same from the day you pull it out of the box until the day a piece of critical hardware dies is not realistic.

 

[=Josh=]

I completely agree with jkaetz on this one with only a slight caveat. If you buy a PC for a specific purpose (such as controlling a piece of lab equipment), you have no need for internet access and you never plan to make ANY changes to that setup, then, by all means, don't plug in that network cable and don't update anything. I know of plenty of systems in my day job that meet this description. The problem is, though, that people don't realize all of the conveniences that they will be/are missing out on until later and then complain about not being able to just "make it work". You simply can't make changes without making changes.

I also agree that WMC is a valid reason for not wanting to upgrade to Win10 and that looking into other solutions is your best option later on since MS hasn't supported WMC for about 10 years now. Personally, I've moved to cloud-based options like Vudu. For about $2-5 per movie, I was able to convert my DVD/Blu-Ray collection with added conveniences like being able to watch them on any internet-accessible device at any time.

 

[jamil]

Your failure to imagine valid reasons not to update is not a reason to force automatic updates. You guys don't get to tell me what my valid technical needs are. For my purposes customers and contracts do that.

And for home use, I have a Sony Vaio that I only use for the rare occasions I run across a windows only requirement. I thought about upgrading to Windows 10 since I like it better than W8 and maybe I'd use the Vaio more on purpose. Sony's support said that they will not be offering drivers for Windows 10 for my model. They said it was tested with Windows 10 and then listed all the stuff that won't work properly for my model when Windows 10 is installed.

So, if I update it to Windows 10, the Vaio is essentially a ****ing brick.

I have a Mac Mini that I bought several years ago. I think it came with os x Tiger installed. Whatever it came with is what's running on it now. I like that os x lets me decide when and if I want to update. My other Macs I do keep updated. For the Mac Mini, it just doesn't matter.

 

[bulletsmith]

This is vague. If you elaborate I'll be happy to respond properly.

In a properly run business environment you should be planning ahead for the lifecycle of your hardware and software. I have managed over 3000 systems directly in an enterprise environment and this wouldn't have been an issue. We abandoned the "Wait for the first service pack" mentality shortly after the release of Vista. Early adoption of an OS 15 years ago might have been an issue but it has been a non-issue since XP. 7, 8, and 10 needed no time for service packs or bug fixes before they are 100% ready for production use. Some things look different but there is no loss of functionality and there are improvements even if you don't see them.

In any case, most people in this thread however are complaining about their home systems.

Great, you don't like change and you have read some scary things posted on the internet that twisted the license agreements and disclosures to scare people. Microsoft collects no more data than google or apple. To avoid information collection you would have to avoid the technology completely. Even if they did decide to mine data from all windows 10 users, they wouldn't be able to use it in a meaningful way. There would simply be too much of it. What they want to know about is how their OS is working and how people are using it. Read that last part carefully. It does not say that they want to track what you are doing. They want to know if you are using it the way they thought you would. In software development you often design things one way and end users decide to use it another. Once the developers get the info on how their software is being used, they will make changes based on how the users are using it improving the experience for all involved.

You may have the only valid reason not to change. There are alternatives to WMC in a home theater environment though that aren't OS dependent. I'd recommend looking into Kodi or another solution so you're prepared for the future. Expecting to be able to use a piece of software long term that has been abandoned by the vendor will eventually lead you to problems.

Businesses that aren't managing their IT infrastructure properly are always going to have problems. To be clear, I'm not saying that every business must run an Active Directory Domain, but they should be managing their systems keeping them up to date with security patches and upgrades. I would rather a business get a forced update to Windows 10 than have systems that are years out of date with security holes processing customer payments and personal info. IT is not something a business should be marking down as a one time expense. For it to be successful it must be treated as a continuing expense.

Try this for a different perspective. People have historically complained that they don't want to manage their Windows systems. They want them to simply "work". Microsoft is attempting to simplify the process of system management including updates and security fixes so end users don't have to deal with it. The simple fact is that a computer is not an appliance. It absolutely must be kept up to date if you don't want it turned into part of a botnet or used for other nefarious purposes. Expecting a computer to be the same from the day you pull it out of the box until the day a piece of critical hardware dies is not realistic.

Your opinion is yours. Your experience as an enterprise IT support staff is going to be quite different than that of most small businesses. Even those who embrace the need for ongoing IT support. To be an early adapter of Vista tells me that you had a fairly robust IT department to deal with the issues that came from Vista NOT BEING READY for release, at least from the perspective of the small user.

The reason for this post was simply to inform those who might be effected by a surprise update that left them with no choice in the matter. Home or Work makes little difference if you are the one being surprised.

 

[=Josh=]

Your failure to imagine valid reasons not to update is not a reason to force automatic updates...

It's not that I can't imagine other reasons why someone would elect to not want updates, but they are often unadvised. In your case, you have an older computer (I would guess that it is at least 7 years old) and the manufacturer isn't supporting it any more. This makes sense because 1)vendors don't like to spend time/money/resources supporting things that old and 2)Sony doesn't make Vaio system anymore. It doesn't surprise me that your system would be bricked by Win10 and I can understand why you wouldn't want to upgrade to it on this system. As has already been mentioned, you can always turn off automatic updates, but I don't think you would need to worry about it anyway. If your system isn't compatible with Win10, I would be very surprised if MS tries to install it anyway. It's the whole reason they have a compatibility checker.

For this specific system, if you were my client, I would highly suggest that you look into getting a new system anyway. At 7+ years old, it's served its purpose and it's probably time to upgrade. As much as we don't like to throw away perfectly good computers, this is just how technology works.