So, the computer I did most of my work on for the last 10 years or so (including writing all of the recent run of Garwulf's Corner) began showing its age, and I needed to buy a new desktop last week. Took a lot of hunting, but I actually managed to find one that met my hardware wish list with Windows 8.1 pre-installed (as opposed to Windows 10).
Here's how I'm protecting myself from Windows 10:
1. Updates are set to automatically download critical updates only, but to let me decide what to install (this is done because the update process is really very slow - and I'm talking about hours to find the updates, much less download them - on Windows 7). It was originally both the Windows 7 laptop and the Windows 8.1 desktop, but after this news, I've changed the settings on Windows 8.1 to check for new updates, but let me decide whether to download them.
2. GWX control panel (mentioned earlier in this thread) is installed, and has disabled Windows' ability to upgrade the OS.
And, if the Windows 10 ever gets upgraded to a critical update, I'll probably turn updates off.
Plus, there's this: I use a desktop rather than a laptop for a reason - my business and writing practice are both run from that computer. It needs to work, run the applications I need to run (which, unfortunately, are not on Linux) and be solid for the duration. Once I have it working as I need it to, it can't be allowed to brick itself.
Windows 10 forces updates that have frequently caused instability (sorry, can't have that on a mission-critical system), and, we still haven't seen what this update scheme is going to look like when the equivalent of Windows 11 is rolled out (will it be free, will everybody find themselves suddenly locked into a subscription service without their consent, will it be good, like Windows XP, 7, or 8.1, or bad, like Windows ME, Vista, or 8?).
Aside from which, I also feel the need to point out that there is a vast difference between having faith in a product (such as Windows 7, or 8.1), and faith in a company (such as Microsoft). By making Windows 10 a service, they're asking us all to have faith in the company rather than the product. And with all of this nonsense, I wouldn't trust Microsoft further than I could throw them.
Here's how I'm protecting myself from Windows 10:
1. Updates are set to automatically download critical updates only, but to let me decide what to install (this is done because the update process is really very slow - and I'm talking about hours to find the updates, much less download them - on Windows 7). It was originally both the Windows 7 laptop and the Windows 8.1 desktop, but after this news, I've changed the settings on Windows 8.1 to check for new updates, but let me decide whether to download them.
2. GWX control panel (mentioned earlier in this thread) is installed, and has disabled Windows' ability to upgrade the OS.
And, if the Windows 10 ever gets upgraded to a critical update, I'll probably turn updates off.
Plus, there's this: I use a desktop rather than a laptop for a reason - my business and writing practice are both run from that computer. It needs to work, run the applications I need to run (which, unfortunately, are not on Linux) and be solid for the duration. Once I have it working as I need it to, it can't be allowed to brick itself.
Windows 10 forces updates that have frequently caused instability (sorry, can't have that on a mission-critical system), and, we still haven't seen what this update scheme is going to look like when the equivalent of Windows 11 is rolled out (will it be free, will everybody find themselves suddenly locked into a subscription service without their consent, will it be good, like Windows XP, 7, or 8.1, or bad, like Windows ME, Vista, or 8?).
Aside from which, I also feel the need to point out that there is a vast difference between having faith in a product (such as Windows 7, or 8.1), and faith in a company (such as Microsoft). By making Windows 10 a service, they're asking us all to have faith in the company rather than the product. And with all of this nonsense, I wouldn't trust Microsoft further than I could throw them.