So Windows 10 is actually spyware.

[obobski]

Another bit of information:

 

Microsoft starts charging for missing Windows 10 features

 

It sounds a bit stupid, but I guess there will be quite a few people who will rather use Windows Store and pay for an app they believe they can trust (because it comes from Microsoft or a Microsoft approved source) than do their homework and look for a free alternative. Myself, I use VLC player for video/DVD playback, AIMP3 for music and streaming audio playback, and Audacity for editing sound files.

 

 

 

This isn't actually different from Windows 8. Or for any other version of Windows apart from certain editions of 7. Windows 7 is the only version of Windows that included free DVD playback software (and it isn't Microsoft being "evil" there - they have to pay licences to Fraunhofer IIS, DVD-Forum, etc to implement various non-free codecs, and DVD playback was commonly one that got the axe). In Windows 98 through Vista they would provide links to third-party software that you could purchase (and there are freeware alternatives like VLC; it was also not uncommon in the early 2000s for higher-end graphics cards to include free DVD decoder software as an add-in as a result of this policy either), but in Windows 7 they gave the codecs away for free to customers of Home Premium and above. Windows 8 started charging for a Microsoft-branded plug-in, at the user's option. If I remember right their explanation was to cut costs, as many Windows 8 computers/devices do not even have DVD drives, so why pay (or charge the user for) the decoding package that quite literally can never be used?

 

The removal of games also happened in Windows 8, as a lot of the default Microsoft games were removed from 8, and available as part of a Microsoft download (some paid), or from third parties (usually always paid). Again, nothing really new here.

 

Of course, it's almost become a tenet of modern journalism (especially tech journalism) to ignore history if it makes your article more sensational (gotta pump your SEO and push those CTRs!), so the Forbes article isn't surprising either.

 

Wikipedia on Win8:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8#Removed_features

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_8#Games

 

Microsoft on DVD playback in Windows:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/dvd-playback-help

 

The DVD player application also appears to be a free included upgrade from any version of Windows that previously could play DVDs natively:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-dvd-player-app-released-windows-10-will-be-free-some

[MotoSxorpio]

Yeppers, so...so far Windows 10 is not some evil entity. :D

[MotoSxorpio]

It Would Be so nice if some software got wit the times and get all 64bit. AMD drivers for RAID, Steam...

[MotoSxorpio]

I'm running 4C cooler on Win10...could just be my AC....

[LadyMilla]

The DVD player application also appears to be a free included upgrade from any version of Windows that previously could play DVDs natively:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-dvd-player-app-released-windows-10-will-be-free-some

 

 

That free upgrade comes with a pretty huge caveat:

 

"If you reinstall Windows 10 using update and recovery the connection to having the free app will be broken. That means your eligible OS will need to be reinstalled to regain access to the free app download."

 

Yeppers, so...so far Windows 10 is not some evil entity. :D

 

Well, "thanks" to an increasing variety of convenience utilities (location based services, integration with social media, cloud based backup and file sharing, etc.) people are getting de-sensitized to privacy issues. True, this process did not start with WIndows 10, but Windows 10 definitely peeks deeper into your private stuff and what is worse, its (recommended) Express setup is indeed the most intrusive.

 

To highlight the issue with basic privacy settings, here is another article:

 

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/03/microsoft-disables-do-not-track-as-the-default-setting-in-internet-explorer/

 

The key part is the following:

 

"...advertisers had agreed to honor Do Not Track, as long as it wasn’t the default setting."

 

Honoring my privacy SHOULD be the default behavior. Allowing others to track your browsing habits (or fetch data from your computer) should be a decision that the user consciously makes instead of being forced to opt out of it. It's like adding some small print to a building contract stating that "we will install security cameras in your house and monitor your activities 24 hours a day unless you explicitly opt out of this offering."

[openthegate]

It's no easy situation, for everybody. Thus I apologize if I was a bit flashy :) To tell from another perspective:

For people who want to upgrade, just turn off what is turned on in the privacy settings and it should be okay for you.

 

Gaming in Gnu/Linux is a vicious circle. People will only switch for much more games. And game developers will only make games for much more users.

 

Just use what's right for you. At the end of the day, it's just a machine.

Edited August 10, 2015 by openthegate

[LadyMilla]

Just to highlight how bad experience can turn people away from Linux:

 

- Since Windows 10 is incompatible with my old notebook's integrated video cards, I decided to remove it completely and give Debian 8.1 (Jessie) a go. (notebook: HP Pavilion G6-1000et, I use it mostly for work related stuff).

- Despite the fact that I had to grab two firmware packages and put them on a USB stick to allow the installer to recognize my wi-fi adapter, the installation succeeded through the wi-fi connection.

- After booting up the newly installed operating system, the wi-fi failed to connect. As a matter of fact, my wi-fi modem was not even listed among the available connections.

 

Right now I do not have time to troubleshoot the issue. Not counting the wi-fi problem, everything else seems to be A-ok. While I am fairly confident that I would be able to find a solution, the average user who cannot be bothered to search for a solution on the Internet and expects an "insert disc - click install - start using the stuff you've just installed" process would probably say "To hell with this crap" and grab the current windows installation disk instead.

 

(I ditched Debian, and installed Ubuntu 14.04 instead. It works perfectly, including the wi-fi connection.)

[JimboUK]

It's no easy situation, for everybody. Thus I apologize if I was a bit flashy :smile: To tell from another perspective:

For people who want to upgrade, just turn off what is turned on in the privacy settings and it should be okay for you.

 

Gaming in Gnu/Linux is a vicious circle. People will only switch for much more games. And game developers will only make games for much more users.

 

Just use what's right for you. At the end of the day, it's just a machine.

 

You have to trust that turning this stuff off actually does turn it off, I won't be happy until there's a way to completely remove the spyware. The XBone launch debacle showed us the contempt Microsoft holds the end user in, they have to regain peoples trust and they're busy doing the opposite at the moment.

[bben46]

@LadyMilla: I have set up about 6 or 7 Linux boxes for friends and relatives that don't really need Windows. I picked Ubuntu not because I think it is the best distro, but because it is the easiest for non geeks who are used to Windows to use. And because of the very good record of supporting various things. The only thing I have found so far that it did not support immediately was an older printer.

 

One I set up was for a vacation rental property - where someone new will be using it just about every week. I managed to set it up where it can reset back to default with absolutely nothing saved just by rebooting. And then put in a cron routine to do an auto reboot every Sunday at noon (official check out time is 11 AM, and check in is at 3 PM.) I set it up over 8 months ago and the owner tells me it has worked perfectly. Most of the users don't even realize it is not running Windows. I also made a one page instruction sheet for users and they laminated it and put it on the wall behind the computer and included my phone number for support - I have had only one call so far. Someone wanted to know how to log into their Facebook if they didn't know the password. :pinch: Their computer at home had a FB icon and they didn't have to input a password and couldn't understand why this computer couldn't just go directly to their FB without having to put in a password. :blush:

[DoctorKaizeld]

 

Their computer at home had a FB icon and they didn't have to input a password and couldn't understand why this computer couldn't just go directly to their FB without having to put in a password. :blush:

ha!, i was thinking of getting a cheap laptop and trying out Linux. just to see if it's something i'd like.