Microsoft has ruined Windows !

[Poppa_Meth]

The other thing that worried me is stories of dual boot systems where MS decided to rewrite the MBR for no reason rendering Linux unusable. I haven't installed my dual boot on the new machine yet, but when I do I intend to put the SSD for that in a drive bay with a power button and make sure grub is on that drive as well. So when it's time for a Windows Upgrade the Linux drive get's powered off completely first.

Maybe they did something wrong? I did a clean install of Win10 on my dual-boot laptop that had Win7 and Linux. The dual-boot held intact after the Win10 replaced my Win7. I use it regularly with both OS's.

No there was an issue with the big November upgrade that was causing this. I think MS pulled the upgrade briefly and this is one of the things they fixed before reissuing it. Not much help for those having to figure out how to repair their grub installs and salvage Linux.

[racer-x]

Although I have not experienced this problem on my dual-boot Win10/Linux, I do find this interesting. A re-install of Linux should fix the issue, as far as I can see anyway.

[Poppa_Meth]

I have a feeling this was affecting systems that had Linux on a partition of the same HDD. Mine have always been on separate drives so it may not be affected anyway. Still not sure why MS thinks it's a good idea to rewrite the MBR without warning as if nothing but Windows matters. Just like I can't figure out why they think it's a good idea to try and force the upgrade on our store register, which is running Win7 and Microsoft Dynamics RMS POS system, which they have said does not yet work on Win10. But still they want to force an upgrade. Not very smart trying to force something that will break their own software.

[El Heggunte]

^ @Poppa_Meth: since Windows Vista, µ$oft believes your computer belongs not to you, but to the "Trusted Installer"

[joecass]

Microsoft wants to have 1 billion devices running Windows 10 in 2-3 years. http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-big-windows-10-goal-one-billion-or-bust/ They only have ~125 million right now. Attrition won't work quickly enough

Well, that is precisely the problem: Microsoft got caught up in a giant spit bubble of inverted corporate BS.

"One Billion Devices" is an outrageous, ridiculous goalpost for such a short period of time, more so in light of the fact MS really couldn't give a rat's ass about PC penetration of Win10. What they're freaking out about is being left behind in the mobile sector by Android and iOS, and they're correct to be freaking out about that: they effed up bigtime in mobile, perhaps so badly they'll never recover. But forcing Win10 onto every existing PC in the world (despite owner's wishes or best interest), in the vain hope trumpeting such a "billion" figure will compel developers to finally support Windows mobile devices in a big way: delusional. "Its the crappy Windows mobile devices, stupid" - the mobile generation doesn't give a damn what runs on their desktop or laptop, they care about the mobile device itself, period. One billion PCs force-running "free" Win10 is not gonna persuade anyone who loves their Android or iOS device to switch. This whole mess is an old-school, 1980s-style blunt-force corporate strategy: it isn't gonna fly in 2016. Thats the tragedy: they're causing untold inconvenience (if not outright damage) to millions of PC users in what amounts to a Hail Mary pass: the potential back end profit to MS will never materialize anywhere near the degree they're expecting. Too bad we're caught in the middle of this trainwreck: the shortsightedness is almost enough to make me miss the reign of Steve Ballmer. So far, Satya Nadella blows bigger chunks than Ballmer.

For anyone who doubts how far the Windows 10 intrusion reaches, just watch this You Tube video.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kGMCfb2xw

[digitalcurosity]

Microsoft wants to have 1 billion devices running Windows 10 in 2-3 years. http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-big-windows-10-goal-one-billion-or-bust/ They only have ~125 million right now. Attrition won't work quickly enough

Well, that is precisely the problem: Microsoft got caught up in a giant spit bubble of inverted corporate BS.

"One Billion Devices" is an outrageous, ridiculous goalpost for such a short period of time, more so in light of the fact MS really couldn't give a rat's ass about PC penetration of Win10. What they're freaking out about is being left behind in the mobile sector by Android and iOS, and they're correct to be freaking out about that: they effed up bigtime in mobile, perhaps so badly they'll never recover. But forcing Win10 onto every existing PC in the world (despite owner's wishes or best interest), in the vain hope trumpeting such a "billion" figure will compel developers to finally support Windows mobile devices in a big way: delusional. "Its the crappy Windows mobile devices, stupid" - the mobile generation doesn't give a damn what runs on their desktop or laptop, they care about the mobile device itself, period. One billion PCs force-running "free" Win10 is not gonna persuade anyone who loves their Android or iOS device to switch. This whole mess is an old-school, 1980s-style blunt-force corporate strategy: it isn't gonna fly in 2016. Thats the tragedy: they're causing untold inconvenience (if not outright damage) to millions of PC users in what amounts to a Hail Mary pass: the potential back end profit to MS will never materialize anywhere near the degree they're expecting. Too bad we're caught in the middle of this trainwreck: the shortsightedness is almost enough to make me miss the reign of Steve Ballmer. So far, Satya Nadella blows bigger chunks than Ballmer.

For anyone who doubts how far the Windows 10 intrusion reaches, just watch this You Tube video.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kGMCfb2xw

Thanks for the Youtube video. I knew about Spybot search and destroy but not SpyBot Beacon.
The video is long and covers a lot of ground,i might have to re watch parts of it again, to fully understand what items need to be set for security items and some that may not be set.

[fritzi93]

For anyone who doubts how far the Windows 10 intrusion reaches, just watch this You Tube video.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kGMCfb2xw

Yeah, thanks. That video covers it rather well; that is, the questionable, intrusive things and also how to turn them off.

Lots of people have said, in various ways, essentially this: When the "product" is free, you're the product. So M$ has to monetize it somehow, but there are some details that seem a bit underhanded...

I'll probably install 10 on a spare hard drive just out of curiosity. The remaining objections, as I understand it, have to do with flaky drivers and the likelihood that some older programs are not going to be compatible.

[digitalcurosity]

Along with all the really good advice as to keeping lots of your private Info. from prying the eyes of Microsoft,was the fact that when Microsoft updates your Win10,they revert many of your security changes you have made before the update. and as many times you have no idea your system has been updated,you must keep checking your security and privacy settings you had set.
Also getting the new Ver. of SpyBot Search and Destroy and the SpyBot-Anti-Beacon is a very good idea. Both have free app.s.

[joecass]

Along with all the really good advice as to keeping lots of your private Info. from prying the eyes of Microsoft,was the fact that when Microsoft updates your Win10,they revert many of your security changes you have made before the update. and as many times you have no idea your system has been updated,you must keep checking your security and privacy settings you had set.
Also getting the new Ver. of SpyBot Search and Destroy and the SpyBot-Anti-Beacon is a very good idea. Both have free app.s.

This wasn't something I was aware of.... the reverting of security changes after updates. I've tried Win 10 on two old laptops... one "upgrading" from Windows 7, and the other a clean install. On the clean install, I disabled all the security features during installation, not knowing how sneaky MS software has become. It's been enough of a pain to get rid of nagging Win 10 upgrade notifications on 7 and 8.1, and, according to the You Tube video, even if you use the Spy Bot Beacon, you still have to check the security settings after Win 10 updates. Way too much unnecessary work !

[digitalcurosity]

Along with all the really good advice as to keeping lots of your private Info. from prying the eyes of Microsoft,was the fact that when Microsoft updates your Win10,they revert many of your security changes you have made before the update. and as many times you have no idea your system has been updated,you must keep checking your security and privacy settings you had set.
Also getting the new Ver. of SpyBot Search and Destroy and the SpyBot-Anti-Beacon is a very good idea. Both have free app.s.

This wasn't something I was aware of.... the reverting of security changes after updates. I've tried Win 10 on two old laptops... one "upgrading" from Windows 7, and the other a clean install. On the clean install, I disabled all the security features during installation, not knowing how sneaky MS software has become. It's been enough of a pain to get rid of nagging Win 10 upgrade notifications on 7 and 8.1, and, according to the You Tube video, even if you use the Spy Bot Beacon, you still have to check the security settings after Win 10 updates. Way too much unnecessary work !

This is why i have kept three on my computers running Win7,i do feel Win10 is a good OS and Microsoft will build on it for many coming years as with their old XT. But Microsoft just giving us the new OS Win10 ,and not really giving us a lot of details in regards to our security and privacy settings is somewhat troubling.

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

[jagabo]

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

What will be their excuse when people start having to pay for the OS next year? Or people who have to pay now (new installs)? The OS should not be the malware on your computer!

[digitalcurosity]

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

What will be their excuse when people start having to pay for the OS next year? Or people who have to pay now (new installs)? The OS should not be the malware on your computer!

Hey i only am posting the facts as i see them,not having any control over Microsoft, i just go along with what is being offered.
Just glad i saw the video a fellow thread poster gave us.

[jagabo]

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

What will be their excuse when people start having to pay for the OS next year? Or people who have to pay now (new installs)? The OS should not be the malware on your computer!

Hey i only am posting the facts as i see them

Sorry, I didn't mean that as an attack on you. Just a general observation. Just think, next year you'll be able to pay US$100 to have microsoft spy on you!

[digitalcurosity]

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

What will be their excuse when people start having to pay for the OS next year? Or people who have to pay now (new installs)? The OS should not be the malware on your computer!

Hey i only am posting the facts as i see them

Sorry, I didn't mean that as an attack on you. Just a general observation. Just think, next year you'll be able to pay US$100 to have microsoft spy on you!

Oh no i did not take it as an attack hardly, i have been dealing with Microsoft from their very first Windows. And through Windows for work groups Windows XD Win7 Pro Win8&8.1 missed Vista thankful for that might have forgotten others.
All people have to do is ask us about dealing with Dos programs and command line Internet.
So dealing with Microsoft Win10 is just another trip along a long long path,where it's going to lead who knows.

[JVRaines]

But by giving people the new OS for free,and by us downloading and installing it, the burden becomes ours to understand all the somewhat hidden details.

What will be their excuse when people start having to pay for the OS next year? Or people who have to pay now (new installs)? The OS should not be the malware on your computer!

Their excuse will be the fine print in the User Agreement that you accepted when you clicked "Agree." It's their game and you can choose their way or the highway.

I have been a user of Microsoft software since Level I BASIC. But I stopped trusting them after seeing the hot mess that was Windows 8.

[sophisticles]

Their excuse will be the fine print in the User Agreement that you accepted when you clicked "Agree." It's their game and you can choose their way or the highway.

But it's not their way or the highway, it's not like there are no other choices other than using a Windows based PC or not using a computer at all.

If enough people would just "cut the cord", stop buying any Windows licenses and stop using a Windows based PC when they have the chance things would change.

[usually_quiet]

Their excuse will be the fine print in the User Agreement that you accepted when you clicked "Agree." It's their game and you can choose their way or the highway.

But it's not their way or the highway, it's not like there are no other choices other than using a Windows based PC or not using a computer at all.

If enough people would just "cut the cord", stop buying any Windows licenses and stop using a Windows based PC when they have the chance things would change.

Switching to an Android device is much more likely. ...and Microsoft is already worried about that. Windows 10 is their answer.

They are not worried about Linux. Microsoft knows that 1.5% of personal computers run a Linux distro as the Linux community tends to define it (even though they are free and Windows is not), and no matter how much they piss off home users, it will take years to raise that number to the point where hardware manufacturers and software houses give a crap. The reason? When many home users try Linux, they quickly run into drawbacks that they don't want to live with. On the other hand, lots of people seem to love their Android devices.

Please save yourself the effort of writing a reply. We have already read enough lame Linux fanboy explanations about how there are no drawbacks and Linux can do everything, it is just that hardware manufacturers and software houses don't want to bother with a small group of users that they can make little or no profit from supporting, the greedy bastards!

[Corel user]

Hello All and Good Afternoon:
I bought an AMD unlocked FX 8 core CPU with installed Win 7pro. I have found it to be more than adequate with the GT 750 nVidea card for my video editing in HD rendering my 2 k res. video.
I made the mistake of upgrading to Win 10: My WD 3 TB HD no longer showed the files selection pop-up; My Oceanic dive computer oeanlog x software no longer linked on line for dive computer OCi software updates, and I didn't like other menu changes! I couldn't reboot to Win 7 fast enough!!
I followed advice found in this forum and eliminated the win 10 prompt update called KB 3035583, now I am no longer harassed by their annoying pop-ups
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a Mac!!

[digitalcurosity]

Hello All and Good Afternoon:
I bought an AMD unlocked FX 8 core CPU with installed Win 7pro. I have found it to be more than adequate with the GT 750 nVidea card for my video editing in HD rendering my 2 k res. video.
I made the mistake of upgrading to Win 10: My WD 3 TB HD no longer showed the files selection pop-up; My Oceanic dive computer oeanlog x software no longer linked on line for dive computer OCi software updates, and I didn't like other menu changes! I couldn't reboot to Win 7 fast enough!!
I followed advice found in this forum and eliminated the win 10 prompt update called KB 3035583, now I am no longer harassed by their annoying pop-ups
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a Mac!!

Keeping a computer with win7 Pro is a good idea i have three with it still on. In regards to using a Apple Mac i bought an Mac Book Pro now running OS-X El Capitan. bought it around three years ago so i could sync iPads to it.
I have tried getting used to how Apples O.S. works but it really took time to do many item,i quickly could do using Windows on a Windows computer. I have made some inroads but will my Mac Book Pro replace my windows computers? Not likely just to many things to do differently for me to get along with.

About the WD external hard drives i found some work on one Win10 computer but not another,seems i have different sizes working on each computer. Think it could be just waiting for some upgrading to happen.
.

[_Al_]

They are not worried about Linux.

Please save yourself the effort of writing a reply.

I hope that was for ment to be for that other person, not someone else, because I have to say, there is 50% of notebooks, laptops, PC's that are being used only for internet, chatting, facebook, office work, ..., basic photo manipulating function or basic video manipulation perhaps also,..., and using latest Ubuntu, everything simply worked, I was rather surprised. Sure one needs to learn do things differently but that is just being lazy not willing to admit and learn to put some one line into terminal and execute it if needed. I feel that people are just lazy and not willing to change habits. That's it.

Right now folks slowly start to understand that they have to change insurance once in a while, internet provider etc., just so prices are lowered again basically to play this stupid game, because there is no such a thing as loyalty using a produsct or that to be signed for something for a longer period means nothing, no price reduce - on the contrary. So they must do it with their OS they operate as well. They do not mind to spend hour a day on web but not willing to learn linux 5 minutes a day? If linux becomes dangerous to use there will be another OS available, more simple for browsing etc., the thing is IT NEVER ENDS. One must say it is enough and just move on trying something else. ... and there is always dual boot. I know , it could be not straight forward especially on laptop, but there is a start to study again and not being dumb, just reading facebook under windows on one side toward that more complicated using habits ...

One must learn constantly and change habits, for example, No script or ad-blockers becomes a necessity , using no-script addon at the beginning would make user thing, it is stupid, nothing works anymore, but just learning that allowing just a certain script on page (for video player to work for example, or just allow facebook scripts, if person wants to chat etc,) one realizes how great it is. Sure it takes sometimes a time to figure out what those correct scripts are, but if doing that one gets only better in it, and after a while you handle this in seconds. Learning period is required though and I simply thing people are dumb-down today, nobody wants to think anymore, just pressing buttons expecting everything to work. Just like with that Linux, those 50% people just using their laptop for facebook is never going to do that.

[racer-x]

I just want to add that I'm a happy Linux user for 5+ years now. In fact I will never surf the web with Windows anymore. I like Linux so much, I installed it on my wife's computer. She only uses it for Hulu+, Facebook and emails anyway. Linux is perfect for those things and now I never have to fix her computer anymore.

I do use Win 10 on my editing desktop. It isn't connected to web, so it works very well for all my photo and video editing applications. I actually like my Win10 on my desktop because of that. I also dual-boot Win10 and Linux on my laptop. Sometimes I do get frustrated with Win10 and I restore a Win7 image ( it only takes 5 min.) when I've had enough of babysitting Win10. The laptop is connected to web, so Win10 likes to misbehave.....

[sophisticles]

Please save yourself the effort of writing a reply. We have already read enough lame Linux fanboy explanations about how there are no drawbacks and Linux can do everything, it is just that hardware manufacturers and software houses don't want to bother with a small group of users that they can make little or no profit from supporting, the greedy bastards!

The synopsis you posted is not "lame" it is in fact accurate. Linux has been a serious threat to both Windows and Apple and when a distro showed up that threatened them they first threatened to sue and then they bought the developers out. Look up "Lindows", which was created by an ex-MS executive, that distro was ahead of it's time, MS first threatened to sue him and after some behind the scenes haggling they said that they had no problem with him creating a Linux distro but they objected to the name, he changed it to "Linspire" and after a while he sort of disappeared though there were rumors of a buy out. Pear OS was a Linux clone of OSX, it was so good in fact that Apple simply bought the developer out to make him go away.

But forget about Linux and just look at PC-BSD, which uses an "msi" inspired software packaging system called "pbi"; or take a look at this:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2984858/sdn/is-it-opposite-day-microsoft-has-a-new-li...ux-distro.html

That's right, MS has developed their own Linux distro for in house use.

If you want to live in denial go ahead but it's well documented that MS used it's market position to lock out competitors from the desktop, look up all the anti-trust suits where it was proven that MS used to pay huge sums of money to Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP and other to ensure that Windows was the only option on all new pc's sold, in fact for the longest time you couldn't even buy a pc from these manufacturers without also buying a Windows license, whether you wanted it or not. It was called the "Microsoft tax".

You go ahead and use whatever you want but let's ignore Linux or the BSD's for a minute and just answer me these questions:

1) Have you "upgraded" to Win 10? If not why not?

2) When AVX-512 comes to consumer level cpu's, on both AMD and Intel processors, and you discover that all the major video and photo editing ISV's are using that instruction set, will you then "upgrade" to Win 10?

3) Does the Win 10 "telemetry", aka spying, bother you? If not why not?

4) This is the one that I most would like to know, MS has already said that Win 10 will be the last OS that you can buy a license to, all Windows versions going forward will be based on a subscription model, where you pay a monthly fee to use the OS (Adobe all ready does this, as do several others). Will you still keep using Windows or will you look for an alternative?

Even though I had dabbled in Linux usage for years, I was for the most part a diehard Windows user, moving to newer versions as they came out, from 2k to xp to XP64 to Vista to Win 7, putting up with the viruses and other malware and various piracy protections that MS added to the OS. But with Win 10 I realized that even if I had no intention of upgrading to Win 10 I would eventually run into the reality that Intel and AMD would release a cpu that would not be supported by Win7/8 and I would have to move to Win 10 and for me that's a no go, so I cut the cord cold turkey and outside of work where I have no choice I refuse to use Windows.

What will you do when AMD releases "Zen" in 2017 and you read the specs drooling, with it's 16cores, 32threads, 16gb of HBM on board ram and fast integrated gpu (for the HPC variants) and then you discover that Win 7/8 don't know how to use on board HBM ram or the new multimedia oriented instructions that AMD included and the only MS OS that can make use of these features is MS' shiny new subscription based Win 10 variant?

Lastly, I know the above is "lame" and using Linux is only for some "nerds" living in their parents basement and all the rest of the anti-open source B.S. but who know who, other than MS, thinks that Linux is the future? Intel, they have created their own distro optimized to run on their hardware and more importantly, there is already a distro that someone has created from the base:

https://clearlinux.org/

https://solus-project.com/2015/12/27/solus-1-0-released/

[_Al_]

I just want to add that I'm a happy Linux user for 5+ years now. In fact I will never surf the web with Windows anymore. I like Linux so much, I installed it on my wife's computer. She only uses it for Hulu+, Facebook and emails anyway. Linux is perfect for those things and now I never have to fix her computer anymore.

I do use Win 10 on my editing desktop. It isn't connected to web, so it works very well for all my photo and video editing applications. I actually like my Win10 on my desktop because of that. I also dual-boot Win10 and Linux on my laptop. Sometimes I do get frustrated with Win10 and I restore a Win7 image ( it only takes 5 min.) when I've had enough of babysitting Win10. The laptop is connected to web, so Win10 likes to misbehave.....

Yes it is good for now, it works now, but thinking ahead , 5 years?, Windows would not operate like that in the future. Definitely I got the idea the other day, kids were playing PS4 , Minecraft game. Mighty Sony's PS4 informed them upon leaving that game, they cannot save the game, whatever they built so far (that game was a regular optical disc purchase) , only if they register to PSN (PlayStationNetwork) ... So I was thinking for a second, what if had not connected that thing to internet .... and then I had to register anyway so the purchased product was working as it supposed to work in the first place ...

[usually_quiet]

Please save yourself the effort of writing a reply. We have already read enough lame Linux fanboy explanations about how there are no drawbacks and Linux can do everything, it is just that hardware manufacturers and software houses don't want to bother with a small group of users that they can make little or no profit from supporting, the greedy bastards!

The synopsis you posted is not "lame" it is in fact accurate. Linux has been a serious threat to both Windows and Apple and when a distro showed up that threatened them they first threatened to sue and then they bought the developers out. Look up "Lindows", which was created by an ex-MS executive, that distro was ahead of it's time, MS first threatened to sue him and after some behind the scenes haggling they said that they had no problem with him creating a Linux distro but they objected to the name, he changed it to "Linspire" and after a while he sort of disappeared though there were rumors of a buy out. Pear OS was a Linux clone of OSX, it was so good in fact that Apple simply bought the developer out to make him go away.

But forget about Linux and just look at PC-BSD, which uses an "msi" inspired software packaging system called "pbi"; or take a look at this:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2984858/sdn/is-it-opposite-day-microsoft-has-a-new-li...ux-distro.html

That's right, MS has developed their own Linux distro for in house use.

If you want to live in denial go ahead but it's well documented that MS used it's market position to lock out competitors from the desktop, look up all the anti-trust suits where it was proven that MS used to pay huge sums of money to Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP and other to ensure that Windows was the only option on all new pc's sold, in fact for the longest time you couldn't even buy a pc from these manufacturers without also buying a Windows license, whether you wanted it or not. It was called the "Microsoft tax".

You go ahead and use whatever you want but let's ignore Linux or the BSD's for a minute and just answer me these questions:

1) Have you "upgraded" to Win 10? If not why not?

2) When AVX-512 comes to consumer level cpu's, on both AMD and Intel processors, and you discover that all the major video and photo editing ISV's are using that instruction set, will you then "upgrade" to Win 10?

3) Does the Win 10 "telemetry", aka spying, bother you? If not why not?

4) This is the one that I most would like to know, MS has already said that Win 10 will be the last OS that you can buy a license to, all Windows versions going forward will be based on a subscription model, where you pay a monthly fee to use the OS (Adobe all ready does this, as do several others). Will you still keep using Windows or will you look for an alternative?

Even though I had dabbled in Linux usage for years, I was for the most part a diehard Windows user, moving to newer versions as they came out, from 2k to xp to XP64 to Vista to Win 7, putting up with the viruses and other malware and various piracy protections that MS added to the OS. But with Win 10 I realized that even if I had no intention of upgrading to Win 10 I would eventually run into the reality that Intel and AMD would release a cpu that would not be supported by Win7/8 and I would have to move to Win 10 and for me that's a no go, so I cut the cord cold turkey and outside of work where I have no choice I refuse to use Windows.

What will you do when AMD releases "Zen" in 2017 and you read the specs drooling, with it's 16cores, 32threads, 16gb of HBM on board ram and fast integrated gpu (for the HPC variants) and then you discover that Win 7/8 don't know how to use on board HBM ram or the new multimedia oriented instructions that AMD included and the only MS OS that can make use of these features is MS' shiny new subscription based Win 10 variant?

Lastly, I know the above is "lame" and using Linux is only for some "nerds" living in their parents basement and all the rest of the anti-open source B.S. but who know who, other than MS, thinks that Linux is the future? Intel, they have created their own distro optimized to run on their hardware and more importantly, there is already a distro that someone has created from the base:

https://clearlinux.org/

https://solus-project.com/2015/12/27/solus-1-0-released/

You are the one living in fantasy land. As if not having adequate device support and the ability to natively run most of the commercial software that one would want to use is not enough reason to say to hell with Linux. I'm sure not interested in doing without and waiting around for years hoping the user base reaches a point where Linux PCs are commercially viable. I have tried Linux and was not impressed. I totally agree that Linux is for geeks. I'd rather spend more time doing something I enjoy rather than spending more time tinkering with the OS. Using a lot of command line software and software that I have to compile to work with video is not my idea of fun either. Been there, done that, and not interested in doing it again on a regular basis without a better reason than to thumb my nose at Microsoft.

Android will give average users the ability to use Facebook, browse the Internet, and check their email too, but comes pre-installed on their mobile devices and works well with them. Linux can do the same but has to be installed, and getting everything on an existing system to work isn't always easy. Android tablets and phones are very popular with the public, PCs and mobile devices running a more traditional Linux variant are not.

No, I'm not using Windows 10, but I have tried it. There are changes to the interface that I don't like, and it offers me nothing new that I really want. Plus, since I need to use Windows Media Center to be assured that my CableCARD tuner will continue to work, I'm not installing Windows 10 on my existing PCs until a solution for recording and watching TV with it emerges. When that happens, and I'm positive it will next year, then I'll consider buying a windows 10 license. I don't care much about the privacy issues. I use Google, and Gmail, so Google already knows nearly everything about me. I do care about the bandwidth issues and having no ability to control how updates are installed. I'll worry about my next system when I build it. My current hardware includes no features that I need Windows 10 to use.

As for Microsoft and Apple squashing Linux variants that copied their UI or their product names... What else would one expect? These things are trademarked, copyrighted and patented up the wazoo. Anyone who infringes on any sort of trademark, copyright or patent held by either of these companies will be taken to court. It wouldn't matter if the new product was a threat or something that nobody in their right mind would use.

Your links about Microsoft's and Intel's versions of Linux are irrelevant to the issue. Did you read any of them? How is any version of Linux that is being developed for building a better cloud computing environment competing with Windows on the PC? You are grasping at straws,

[sophisticles]

You are the one living in fantasy land. As if not having adequate device support and the ability to natively run most of the commercial software that one would want to use is not enough reason to say to hell with Linux.

I'm going to ignore the rest of your post because it's just too silly to bother but what device lack "adequate" support by the Linux kernel?

As for all the commercial software, I will flat out say that I really doubt that you, or most of the people that complain about the lack of native Linux variants, actually bought the software that they are complaining about.

Let me guess about the commercial software you can't do without:

Photoshop?

Vegas?

Premiere?

Some 3d rendering software?

One thing that ticks me off is people that go to forums like this complaining about lack of Linux support for these commercial apps when it's clearly evident that they are pirating the software. Vegas costs $600, a Windows license costs $200-$300, Photoshop and Premiere are well in the hundreds, if not more, so you're telling me that you spend a few hundred dollars for the hardware but thousands of dollars for the software? Yeah right!

For me switching to Linux was very easy, the software I typically used in Windows was:

AviDemux
Hybrid
Handbrake
FireFox
SMPlayer
Libre Office
XVID4PSP
VidCoder

With the exception of the last 2 I have native Linux ports of these apps, though I use the Windows version of AviDemux via WINE because it seems like it works better than the Linux version.

Other than that, I switched to open source alternatives of most apps even when I was using Windows; I have no intention of constantly paying for commercial software that ships with bugs that take months to fix, like Pegasys' offerings or Sony's crapware and I am tired of finding pirated versions with cracks that load up your system with malware. I see no point in staying within a budget when deciding what hardware to use for a build and then spending 2-3 times as much on software to use it.

So be honest with yourself if not everyone else, did you really spend $600 on Vegas + $300 on Windows while simultaneously spending less than $400 on your system or did you just go to your favorite torrent site and download pirated versions with the cracks and the only reason you really hate Linux is because you can't find pirated Linux ports of said apps?

Can there be a bit of honesty on your part?

[joecass]

Hello All and Good Afternoon:
I bought an AMD unlocked FX 8 core CPU with installed Win 7pro. I have found it to be more than adequate with the GT 750 nVidea card for my video editing in HD rendering my 2 k res. video.
I made the mistake of upgrading to Win 10: My WD 3 TB HD no longer showed the files selection pop-up; My Oceanic dive computer oeanlog x software no longer linked on line for dive computer OCi software updates, and I didn't like other menu changes! I couldn't reboot to Win 7 fast enough!!
I followed advice found in this forum and eliminated the win 10 prompt update called KB 3035583, now I am no longer harassed by their annoying pop-ups
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a Mac!!

I wonder if that's the next step for me. Can't believe what I just went through with Windows 10. I have an older HP laptop designed for Vista. Normally, I run Win 7 Ultimate (32bit) without much fanfare. During the summer, I took a spare drive and loaded Win 10 Pro, to try it out. Didn't like it much. After six months I decided to switch out the drives and try to become more familiar with this new O.S. Surprisingly, it booted rather quickly. But, from then on, it was a horror show. Right side of the screen shows "Activate Windows".... it WAS activated before, what happened ?
Went through all the privacy settings, turned them off manually.... except for the personal data collection.... this cannot be turned off. Although I downloaded the Spybot Beacon software, I didn't want to use it just yet. Then I tried (in the menus) to set MSN using Internet Explorer as my home page.... couldn't figure it out. Had to use another computer to go online and learn how to pin I.E. to the Start Menu. Afterward, whenever I clicked on a link to another web page, it just came up blank. Really ?? Sorry Microsoft, not interested in Cortana or any other new 'apps' with Win 10.
Now.... Windows Update pops up, and, to make a long story longer, a 'newer' version of Win 10 Pro was available. Needless to say, this took all damned day. When the updates were finally completed, Windows decided to turn off System Restore. While updating, the screen showed "everything is where it was". Don't think so..... I've never been so frustrated in years and years of using Windows. Almost wish.... someone would hack or invent a modern browser that will work with Windows XP. Oh.... and another thing.... "Compatibility" mode.... no more options to make your older software run on 10, other than "previous versions of Windows". Nothing like Vista, 7, or 8, where you had an actual choice going back to Windows 95. God help us all.....

[digitalcurosity]

Hello All and Good Afternoon:
I bought an AMD unlocked FX 8 core CPU with installed Win 7pro. I have found it to be more than adequate with the GT 750 nVidea card for my video editing in HD rendering my 2 k res. video.
I made the mistake of upgrading to Win 10: My WD 3 TB HD no longer showed the files selection pop-up; My Oceanic dive computer oeanlog x software no longer linked on line for dive computer OCi software updates, and I didn't like other menu changes! I couldn't reboot to Win 7 fast enough!!
I followed advice found in this forum and eliminated the win 10 prompt update called KB 3035583, now I am no longer harassed by their annoying pop-ups
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a Mac!!

I wonder if that's the next step for me. Can't believe what I just went through with Windows 10. I have an older HP laptop designed for Vista. Normally, I run Win 7 Ultimate (32bit) without much fanfare. During the summer, I took a spare drive and loaded Win 10 Pro, to try it out. Didn't like it much. After six months I decided to switch out the drives and try to become more familiar with this new O.S. Surprisingly, it booted rather quickly. But, from then on, it was a horror show. Right side of the screen shows "Activate Windows".... it WAS activated before, what happened ?
Went through all the privacy settings, turned them off manually.... except for the personal data collection.... this cannot be turned off. Although I downloaded the Spybot Beacon software, I didn't want to use it just yet. Then I tried (in the menus) to set MSN using Internet Explorer as my home page.... couldn't figure it out. Had to use another computer to go online and learn how to pin I.E. to the Start Menu. Afterward, whenever I clicked on a link to another web page, it just came up blank. Really ?? Sorry Microsoft, not interested in Cortana or any other new 'apps' with Win 10.
Now.... Windows Update pops up, and, to make a long story longer, a 'newer' version of Win 10 Pro was available. Needless to say, this took all damned day. When the updates were finally completed, Windows decided to turn off System Restore. While updating, the screen showed "everything is where it was". Don't think so..... I've never been so frustrated in years and years of using Windows. Almost wish.... someone would hack or invent a modern browser that will work with Windows XP. Oh.... and another thing.... "Compatibility" mode.... no more options to make your older software run on 10, other than "previous versions of Windows". Nothing like Vista, 7, or 8, where you had an actual choice going back to Windows 95. God help us all.....

Are you posting you could not open a URL site using a browser other then the Edge browser? I use Opera and Chrome without any problems.

[racer-x]

Oh.... and another thing.... "Compatibility" mode.... no more options to make your older software run on 10, other than "previous versions of Windows". Nothing like Vista, 7, or 8, where you had an actual choice going back to Windows 95. God help us all.....

Not true on my Win10 install...

[digitalcurosity]

Oh.... and another thing.... "Compatibility" mode.... no more options to make your older software run on 10, other than "previous versions of Windows". Nothing like Vista, 7, or 8, where you had an actual choice going back to Windows 95. God help us all.....

Not true on my Win10 install...

I must thank you for the hint about using Compatibility" mode search to fix my old Roxie Creator Pro 2011,that was working in Win7 but not in Win10,kept getting i needed a higher display setting.
Searched the Compatibility" mode for the program, and tried two of it's fixs. And it now again is running.

[joecass]

Are you posting you could not open a URL site using a browser other then the Edge browser? I use Opera and Chrome without any problems.[/QUOTE]

No. Once I got into Internet Explorer, the normal action of clicking on a link, did nothing, it just opened a blank page. I think Explorer works within Cortana, not sure. Things only changed after the O.S. updated to a newer version, and it still doesn't exactly work correctly as far as just opening a new tab. This morning, the laptop wireless connection won't work, I'm using a Win 7 desktop to post. I also noticed a new folder labeled "Win.old", I must have had an early version of Win 10 Pro on the drive. The only benefit so far is that this older laptop boots much faster with Win 10, almost as though it was in some type of hibernation mode. I tried disabling just about everything I could think of. Next step is to see if my older programs will run as they did with 7 & 8.1, and install the Spybot Beacon to disable the built in tracking elements.