Windows 10 Forced Update Resets Default Apps To Microsoft Products (theinquirer.net) 387
Freshly Exhumed writes: Microsoft has told The Inquirer that it is aware of a bug which has been causing users' default programs to switch to the bundled Microsoft options. After deleting the update, a user discovered the next day that Windows had reinstalled it and reset the default settings again. InfoWorld gives some real world scenarios: "If you have Chrome as the default browser on your Windows 10 computer, you'd better check to make sure Microsoft didn't hijack it last week and set Edge as your new default. The same goes for any PDF viewer: A forced cumulative update also reset PDF viewing to Edge on many PCs. Do you use IrfanView, ACDSee, Photoshop Express, or Photoshop Elements? The default photo app may have been reset to -- you guessed it -- the Windows Photos app. Music? Video? Microsoft may have swooped down and changed you over to Microsoft Party apps, all in the course of last week's forced cumulative update KB3135173."
Accidentally (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems that accidentally is another English word that is reversing its meaning.
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The other word losing it's meaning is "bug".
How does it appear on your annual review when you *intentionally* created a bug at the request of the marketing department? Is that good or bad?
Re: Accidentally (Score:2)
It most definitely does not work that way.
Good for Microsoft! (Score:2, Funny)
Microsoft is simply apping apps that app other apps, which is what modern app appers know is the right thing to do!
Apps!
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Microsoft seems to have had lots of "accidents" with regards to Windows 10, spyware and forced updates on older versions of Windows.
I only have to laugh at anyone stupid enough to have fallen for the Windows 10 scam. I hope they enjoy having their computer decide what they do and soon likely having to pay a subscription for the privilege.
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Microsoft has never said they won't change to subscription. All they have said is that it is free for the life of the device. But they get to decide what the life of your device is, not you.
And to say it doesn't contain spyware is laughable.
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When windows anal probe 10 went from just spying to making changes to user based choice, it went from just being spyware to being a full on trojan, basically hackware built into your OS. Windows anal Probe 10 is just going from extraordinarily bad to seriously who the fuck is silly enough to install that POS unless your job demands it.
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It seems that accidentally is another English word that is reversing its meaning.
Well we all understand how Ehsan Abdulaziz could "accidentally" lose his balance ending up with physical evidence suggesting he raped an 18 year old. One just can't control where that pesky little poker will wind up when you're in freefall...
So how hard is it to believe MSFT accidentally overlooked resetting a user's defaults.
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You don't believe him because his story isn't plausible, yet you automatically believe the girl that left a nightclub with a millionaire, crashed at his place, and then cried rape in the morning? Took the jury 30 minutes to decide his story was better than hers.
No dispute with you on that. I never said I believed the girl (was raped).
I suspect the jury had an easy go of it because the girl was 18. I don't know (but will presume) that 18 meets "age of consent" in that jurisdiction, hence no statutory rape possible. If she had been a bit younger, it could have had a completely different outcome.
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So, I haven't been experiencing any of the Windows 10 nag/force upgrade problems on my Linux machine.
Just sayin'.
Re:Accidentally (Score:5, Funny)
It seems that accidentally is another English word that is reversing its meaning.
Kids these days are literally slaughtering the English language.
Ooops, I did it again (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ooops, I did it again (Score:5, Informative)
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Confirmed, my PC didn't change any of its defaults.
Re:Ooops, I did it again (Score:4, Interesting)
It's hardly the first time an update has reset things to default. It's just that now, instead of being a screw up that affects a percentage of users, because it's Windows 10 it's an evil plot to force you to use Microsoft apps for the five seconds it takes you to raise what happened.
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Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.
By the twelfth or thirteenth time, it's reasonable to start blaming the victim.
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This already happened several times. At least the pdf viewer reset to edge happened at least half a dozen times since windows 10 release. It has surprised me greatly Adobe is not being more vocal about this.
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Adobe Reader (Score:2)
Are you sure it hasn't just opened the new file as a second tab and switched to it, or something along those lines? FWIW, I've never seen the behaviour you described with Adobe Reader. In fact, I don't really get the Adobe bashing on this one, because Reader has consistently been better than all the half-baked in-browser alternatives that keep popping up, which apparently struggle with such complex viewing operations as showing two pages side by side or rotating a landscape figure page in an otherwise portr
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FoxIT PDF reader beats Adobe reader hands down in all categories.
Smaller memory footprint, opens files faster, has better GUI (the last thing being very subjective, since I adore Microsoft Office's Ribbon).
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I used FoxIT for a while, but found it buggy and occasionally vulnerable to even worse security problems than Adobe Reader. Has it improved recently?
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FOXIT is now malware It has been bought out by a malware company. After uninstalling I would re-image your system as it installs some backdoors and other evil stuff.\
This and of course we all know uTorrent installs bitcoin miners too since it was bought out too
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I highly recommend Sumatra PDF as an alternative to Foxit, and qBittorrent as an alternative to uTorrent.
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I'm using SumatraPDF. It's tiny, fast, and sure it lacks a lot of Acrobat features but that actually makes it safer as many of vectors of attack are simply missing. I still have Acrobat as non-default PDF reader for that 1% cases where a full feature set might be needed.
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I like the free version of PDF-Xchange viewer. I found it outperforms Adobe and FOXit in performance, and included annotation features.
I also get annoyed when Chrome and Firefox keep showing PDFs in their shitty built in viewers.
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Foxit Reader is also available for Linux. It's fairly light and stable. I don't do much more than read PDFs or sometimes save files as a PDF.
Evince is also a suitable reader. Oddly, it's named "Document Reader" on my distro. No, I don't actually know why.
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Bug, my ass. This was deliberate, and they were hoping nobody would call them on it.
Yeah, a "bug", sure... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, a "bug", sure... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, a "bug", sure... (Score:4, Funny)
OK, but what comes next? It looks like we need a few more...
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Some of Microsoft's apps have been corrupted or disappeared on my laptop - the Windows Store, Windows Photos...
It would be nice if they could make their apps ironclad before forcing them on us
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Same old Microsoft.
They can make a show of switching CEOs from the overtly evil, thieving, manipulative bastard to the jumping, chair throwing, comical rage-monkey, to the mostly low-key new guy who thinks women should STFU and accept that it's their karma to be underpaid vs. men in the same job. It's still the house that Gates built and a leopard doesn't change its spots.
The house that Gates built was nothing like this (Score:5, Interesting)
That's really not fair. This is nothing like the house that Gates built. Microsoft of the 1990s and early 2000s went to extraordinary lengths to ensure stability and backward compatibility on the Windows platform, far beyond what most in the industry have ever done before or since. They did start to shift their stance on that a few years ago, with for example less effort to support other people's software and devices/drivers that relied on undocumented features, but that should never really have been their responsibility in the first place so personally I don't hold that against them.
However, this "update any time we feel like it and break whatever" attitude is relatively recent and seems to be squarely on Nadella and his senior management team, who can't get the boot fast enough as far as I'm concerned. Microsoft of 2016 is actively customer-hostile in numerous ways, and as both a private individual and a business person I want the old MS back so I can get on with using computers to help me do interesting and useful things instead of fighting with them.
I was in a meeting just this past week with a bunch of other local consultants and freelancers, and at lunch time this subject happened to come up because someone had been looking for a new PC and checking out the latest status with Windows 10. It turned out that nearly half the people in the room -- and these were all clued-up people when it comes to IT, who would not make decisions about infrastructure or security policy lightly -- no longer install any Windows updates on their Win7/8 machines by default now, even security updates unless a specific threat was identified. Literally no-one there was installing more than security updates as standard policy any more. Also literally no-one was using Windows 10, nor had worked with any customer or client who was using Windows 10 outside of evaluation/lab settings yet. The general sentiment seemed to be that a lot of places are deferring major purchasing decisions until at least the dust has settled, or in a few cases actively switching to alternatives (almost invariably Linux on the server side and Apple for laptops).
For an organisation that famously had "Developers, developers, developers!" as its battle cry under previous management, that is a potentially catastrophic shift in attitude from a group that would almost certainly have favoured a Microsoft platform for a wide range of projects just a few years ago.
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It's the same situation we had with every major revision of Windows in the past. Hordes of people insisting on keeping their outdated, but working and mission critical, systems up and running. Hordes of people slowly finding that they're having to pass on using the most up to date tools for their jobs because they decided to stick with end of life platforms. Hordes of people getting increasingly frustrated as
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The thing is, the earliest these guys are really going to be in trouble is Win7 EOL, and that's not for almost 4 more years. Win8 is even later.
Until that time, Microsoft have committed to supporting these platforms, which means if there really are essential security fixes then they ought to be provided. Even if they aren't, most of the customers and clients these guys work with have sensible defence in depth arrangements and don't rely primarily on OS updates for security anyway.
As for compatibility, Win7
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This is the result of a safeguard. If the update detects something that could cause a problem it resets settings to default.
Every vendor does it. In fact some software just resets as a matter of course when upgrading, because annoying users is less hassle than handling support calls when it goes wrong.
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...and the fact that they still haven't put safeguards in place to prevent these "bugs" is telling.
Well, of course they don't catch these "little goofs" -- all of their test systems are unblemished and run only genuine Microsoft applications, so they'll never even see when something they do 'accidentally' forces your preferences back to using the stock Microsoft applications, and keeps resetting them back when you try to make a 'third party' program the default for a file type. After all, Microsoft's software is perfect for all your needs; why would you ever want to use a different application to open y
Is it time for a class action? (Score:5, Interesting)
Don't tell me to run Linux. I do run Linux. I also need my laptop for things Linux won't run.
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> as a Win10 user
As a Windows 10 user, you deserve every drop of this.
I know it sucks you can't use Linux, or OS X, or BSD, for some selection of applications (probably work related- for many others its games) that you just can't get anywhere else. But that's Microsoft's whole strategy! This is the endgame for vendor lock-in.
Basically, Microsoft has said "deal with our bullshit or gtfo". Right now you kinda have other options- you can run 8.1 and be reasonably early in its support cycle, with its unf
Re:Is it time for a class action? (Score:5, Interesting)
They've now have changed it and it doesn't suit my needs. Was I stupid by trusting that Microsoft was going to update Windows in a way that didn't suck? Maybe, but I repeat, up to now we had an exchange that satisfied both parties, I could've continued that way but Ms no longer want it.
I asked for this? No, I didn't, I asked for the other model to continue. This is enabled by Ms' near monopoly on desktop OS and by people who do upgrade to Windows 10. I everyone refused they'd have no recourse but to back up.
My future? Windows for games and Linux for everything else
Re:Is it time for a class action? (Score:5, Interesting)
By putting substantial effort into it, I've been able to get almost completely away from Windows (haven't booted my Win 8.1 partition in at least a month).
At one time, when Wine wasn't very good and some things that I had to have, like decent OCR, weren't functional on Linux, I was stuck. But things have evolved and so have my adaptivity skills.
I realize I'm not making a good general case here. Of course, if you're an average user and most of what you do is on the Web or involves typical office suite work, Linux will work for you just about out of the box. If you have specialized needs, I contend that Linux can often be made to work for you, although sometimes that won't be true. (Gamers have the biggest problem, I suppose; people that require a specialized vertical such as maybe medical imaging software and others.)
But to come the point, with all the Microsoft nonsense I keep reading about (and trying very hard to stay clear of), there's a lot of incentive. Microsoft seems to be getting more and more aggressive and not even caring enough to conceal it. There's a lot of reason to try to get away from their lock-in.
Will Microsoft eventually self-destruct? To some extent IBM, which in its day was every bit as aggressive, did. But I'm not willing to put up with another decade of suffering.
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Will Microsoft self-destruct? I don't think so. Sadly, most people don't think like us and just tolerate whatever Microsoft throws at them. But of course I'd be very happy if they were forced to retreat and release a "decent" Windows
Re: Is it time for a class action? (Score:2)
I'm still trying to figure out if I can safely move my wife's photo editing workstation to Linux. It needs to run the Adobe Creative Cloud versions of Photoshop and Lightroom, us third party plug-ins, plus screen color calibration software (and hardware).
If I can make that all work, the next stop after Windows 7 is Linux for that system.
(Please don't suggest alternatives to PS for her needs. For various reasons that ain't happening.)
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By putting substantial effort into it, I've been able to get almost completely away from Windows (haven't booted my Win 8.1 partition in at least a month).
I've got an ARM cross compiler and JTAG debugger, neither runs under Linux. Those are the only 2 programs I use that won't run under Linux. Unfortunately, those are the 2 programs the money tree grows from.
Re:Is it time for a class action? (Score:4, Insightful)
> I give them money for a Windows license they give me a decent OS
I mean, this is exactly why everyone is so hot about this. They changed from offering an OS to offering a spyware mess. If any of these posts gets modded up, you can expect some ACs to come in and say "but Android does this too!". Now, it doesn't, but even if it sucked raw anus with a straw, it's not a reason for Windows to wonder "how long a straw do I need"- but wait for it, those dual class Apologist / Shills will be here shortly.
The thing is, Microsoft changing models to something shitty was INEVITABLE. That's the core problem. Microsoft has been forced in court to NOT do many things- you didn't have a rational agreement with Microsoft, you had the government pointing metaphorical guns at them and demanding they behave in a barely civilized fashion. Then you gave them money and were ok with the results. That's you supporting a version of the company that requires constant legal expenditure to ensure that they don't just flip out and destroy everything.
The funniest part is that the paid version (Pro) available to individuals is a hot mess of spyware and total shit. Only Enterprise even has the ability to be controlled, and there's evidence that neutering it still takes an external firewall. The idea that corporations get privacy and you don't is scary as fuck.
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8.1 seems to be the sweet spot. Unless you are a gamer there isn't much in 10 that 8.1 doesn't have. There is some useful stuff over 7, like better high DPI support and SED support.
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Re:Is it time for a class action? (Score:5, Insightful)
As a Windows 10 user, you deserve every drop of this. I know it sucks you can't use Linux, or OS X, or BSD, for some selection of applications
Blame the victim. Right.
I need Windows 10 because I support code that is used by people who use Windows 10. I cannot change what they do, and I like getting a paycheck, so I use Windows 10.
I appreciate that you think I deserve whatever happens because of that, but your opinion doesn't put food on my table, and it's pretty arrogant and just ridiculous.
Right now you kinda have other options- you can run 8.1 and be reasonably early in its support cycle,
Thanks for telling me what I can run. Isn't that the same kind of thing that Microsoft is doing with their changes to default programs (they are NOT "apps")? And tell me, how does paying Microsoft for an 8.1 upgrade help me support people who are running 10? Are you going to pay for my 8.1 upgrade?
you'll have to be careful to avoid the Windows 10 "upgrade", etc.
I didn't "have to be careful" to avoid the upgrade. All it took was deleting gwx.exe and everything else in that directory.
But at the end of the day, you paid for this, asked for this,
You are an ignorant, arrogant jerk, and that is putting it kindly.
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Oh c'mon, I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but do you SERIOUSLY think MS could reset everyone's apps to the MS apps and NO ONE would notice??? The people affected are the ones who go to the trouble to use a different app. This is going to cause MS a fair bit of grief and pain, and zero benefit.
It's time to demand and get software freedom. (Score:2)
First off, the proper term is GNU/Linux [gnu.org]; you're not just being advised to run only the Linux kernel. If the people advising you know what they're talking about, they should be advising you to run a completely free OS -- a free kernel (such as GNU Linux-libre) and free software on top of that. The more free software you can get on your system, the more you can put yourself in control of your computing. And this terminology difference is also apropos because this issue comes down to the very issue being raise
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The judge is going to want to know what harm you can prove. While having to reset the defaults is a pain in the ass, it's probably not worth a whole lot and probably isn't going to get them to change their behavior. You've got to prove harm. Telemetry isn't harm (according to the courts) in the US - yet. I guess you could try for that but they'll just put a bigger warning in their EULA or change some wording around. I think you'd actually need some legislation and they'd just be included in that legislation
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Except those people were already using MS apps. Next.
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No. Most technically illiterate end-users still have enough sense to ask their more knowledgeable kid or neighbor to set up their PC, meaning their default apps were set to something actually good.
So all those people who said that Internet Explorer's market share was only because it came as default with Windows were wrong then?
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You are correct. Let me put it in context for those who missed the conviction of Microsoft of illegally maintaining a monopoly. They were found to have stacked the deck against many competitors, among them Netscape, which made browsers. Without much delay, Microsoft's conviction sent the NASDAQ plummeting to about 20 per cent of its peak.
Microsoft is now in the same position, but this time, the Justice Department is likely to be in friendly Republican hands next year, so prosecution is unlikely. Even if
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There are plenty of reasons why one might be running Windows and (mostly) incapable of doing much about that, but the example you presented is not one of them (at least not in this context).
If the GP already runs Linux, and if they are truly sick of running Windows 10, then:
* run GNU/Linux as the primary OS
* stick Windows in a VM and only use it for apps that you can not replace for whatever reason
* snapshot the VM prior to update cycles, so you can easily roll back.
That does still leave some edge cases whe
Yes and all that (Score:2)
Just by "mistake" - what are those individuals doing it smoking over there, the "I am the Allmighty" weed?
Welcome to July 2015 (Score:3, Interesting)
Windows 10 updates have been doing this since it was released to the general public in July 2015, why is it only just making headlines now?
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It's never happened to me, either. Has it been reported on why it affects some users but not others?
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It's never happened to me, either. Has it been reported on why it affects some users but not others?
It never happened to me neither. I just don't know why...
--
Sent from my UNIX machine
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It's never happened to me, either. Has it been reported on why it affects some users but not others?
Hasn't affected me either. Of course, I don't use Windows 10...
Strange... (Score:3)
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Just don't install the Start menu loss update (Score:4, Interesting)
There's an even more evil bug going around in the Windows 10 fever pit right now, the sudden loss of Start menu functionality. One day you boot up and although there's still a Stafrt button, it no longer brings up its menu, and any program icons you pinned to the Taskbar are gone. As with so many other bugs in a new Windows version, a search reveals that a lot of people are getting this and there is a plethora of suggested workarounds, but none of them will work. You have to reinstall Windows.
Re:Just don't install the Start menu loss update (Score:5, Informative)
Isn't it the infamous "tablet mode" that get automagically enabled ? Took me one hour to understand what happened and disable this damn shit, another hour to rant against yet another windows 10 crap.
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Wouldn't the Metro app buttons appear in Tablet mode as an alternative to the computer desktop? In the syndrome I'm describing, you still see the desktop, minus some of your personal icons , and with a Start button that doesn't do anything. No Metro icons.
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Hahahaha really? Every time I read about one of these things I'm glad I stuck with Win7 and Linux. :-) Windows 10 is for suckers!
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This is the result of "telemetry" (Score:5, Interesting)
Yesterday's "mistake" is tomorrow's bug fix (Score:2)
Nothing new to see here folks, just move along... (Score:2)
the eternal shining lure of not getting fired (Score:2)
Nobody at Microsoft ever got fired for erring on the side of hemorrhagic fever.
The mere contemplation of insufficient virulence, however, causes Microsoft employees to suffer a nervous, liquid fly [youtube.com] incident.
They can't help it. It's simply in their DNA.
(For all the budding screen-writers out there, that clip is an expo-dump done right.)
Not the first time... (Score:2)
I've already had a Win10 automatic update reset all my file associations to the Microsoft apps before. How does this keep happening?
My computer is fine.... (Score:2)
Article is inaccurate (Score:5, Informative)
Windows 10 upgrade only resets the defaults if you go with the "recommended settings" option. If you select "customize" then it prompts you whether to update your default programs or keep the existing.
If you take Microsoft's "recommended settings"; is it any surprise that they set you up on Edge for your browser, the new windows 10 photo viewer, etc, and a few other application defaults?
It's nuts. There is a REAL problem with Microsofts telemetry situation; but too many of you get side tracked by every little irrelevant detail; and then run around like chicken little foaming at the mouth; and it takes all your credibility away.
- "Oh no! Windows 10 has waaay too much telemetry ... "
o "Oh, that sounds a little disturbing, tell me more?"
- "Oh no! Windows 10 sets your default browser to edge if you select 'recommend settings'.
- "Oh no! Windows 10 tries to connect to the internet so that it can update the icon that says whether or not you are connected to the internet!"
- "Oh no! Windows 10 connects to the internet a thousand times in the first 24 hours"
o "er...I see you left Windows update service turned on!"
- "OMG Micro$$$oft evil! Bing sounds stupid. They made it easier to get to device manager and control panels... by changing somehting. EVIL!!"
o "Yeah, I've forgotten why I was listening to you."
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you would have a little more credibility if you would deign to tell us what the real problems are
Microsoft Telemetry is the collection of usage statistics and usage information from a Windows user. What programs are you running. What features of them are you using and how often (if the application can report that; e.g. microsoft apps). How long are you using them. What programs you have installed. What you search for in the search bar. How long you look at the start menu.
This is generally fairly innocuous, but its still none of their business if I don't want to send it to them and its downright offensi
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Sounds a bit worse now, doesn't it?
Not necessarily. Its more like a service pack. I've done a couple of those big major updates that update the Windows build number, and they take you through the same "installation" wizard after install as the original upgrade.
"Hi."
"Welcome to Windows"
etc...
You can argue (legitimately) that it's a bit obnoxious; and I won't disagree. But its still not 'forced'. Recall the Java and Adobe updaters the default to installing toolbars on you; you can opt out, but its obnoxious that you have to opt out each time.
MS has something decent in Windows 10 (Score:2)
It'd be nice if they made sure edge worked first (Score:2)
Cumulation of these "features" (Score:2)
One wonders if Microsoft feels the agreements/penalties they were boinked with by the authorities are no longer anything to be concerned about.
That or Windows is now designed and built by chimps (and that's being uncharitable to those of the chimp persuasion).
My own experience with murdering this shit. (Score:2)
On my comp it says it's resetting them but doesn't (Score:3)
Since that update (KB3135173), I keep getting told that PDF is reset to Edge, JPG is reset to Photos, and MP3 is reset to Groove Music, but nothing actually happens to my file preferences. Windows 10 just keeps announcing that it made the changes, on a daily, or slightly less often, basis. It doesn't seem to be associated with any task in the Task Scheduler, either. I checked the logs at the time of the message. It just keeps telling me that "an app caused a problem" so it's resetting my preferences in those three file types. All three announcements come at the same time.
But nothing actually happens other than the announcement.
I'm running in a Limited User Account. Could that have anything to do with it? Why wouldn't the OS be able to make the changes? I'm glad it can't seem to do what it's threatening to do, but it's weird.
I feel just like a beta tester. Windows 10 is flaky.
Re:Microsoft's main product: ABUSE! (Score:4, Funny)
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Damn I loved Eudora. At some point in the process of going from computer to computer I lost it, but that was a seriously nice email client. Sadly for a while I ended up on Thunderbird, which is a stinking pile that makes Windows Live Mail look like manna from heaven.
Re:It's Microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)
People keep saying MS is changing for the better, but this is the exact kind of shit that earned them so much enmity in the first place.
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If I had a dollar for every Windows 10 scandal that I did not give a shit about...
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You wouldn't have any money at all.
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It's not really people, though. Not in the traditional sense of the word: if you follow their posting patterns you'll discover that those saying things like "Microsoft has changed into a friendly, modern company" or whatever nonsense like that, are actually some kind of shills/sockpuppets. Their posting patterns don't resemble those of an actual person - they seem to be "activated" at strategic times, either to support some Microsoft action, or to spread FUD about an incriminating news regarding Microsoft.
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Re:It's Microsoft (Score:5, Informative)
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You are assuming that there was something wrong with the updates rather than something wrong with the way Corel had programmed VideoStudio. The More Information section of at least one of the knowledge base articles [microsoft.com] mentions VideoStudio (X8 and X9) and suggests that you install the updates from Corel to fix the crashing issues.
I have no idea if that actually fixes the problem or just puts the onus to fix it back onto Corel, but it does indicate that this might not be a mistake on Microsoft's part.
Re:It's Microsoft (Score:4, Interesting)
The More Information section of at least one of the knowledge base articles mention...
So I went to the linked article [microsoft.com] which pointed me for further information to a MS security bulletin [microsoft.com] which said I needed to refer to a KB article [microsoft.com] which sent me back to the security bulletin [microsoft.com]. I think I saw a white rabbit with a wristwatch at some point too. In any case I think what MS is trying to tell us is that they have a problem with too many levels of indirection through pointers.
Re:Leaving the Windows (Score:4, Informative)
With virtualisation and web-based services, the OS barely matters any more. This is part of the reason that MS are suffering - they can't tie you into their application format, or even their browser, and neither can they stop you running Windows only where necessary for compatibility and in isolated VM's.
Look at Chromebooks - the browser is the OS nowadays. And any service supplier that doesn't realise that is going to be ousted as soon as their competitors do. Hell, with Node.js, emscripten, etc. you can run traditional programs in the browser almost as if they were native (go have a look at the emscripten example 3D games on their website).
The tie-downs for my uses are actually hardware-based. Where you have to have a USB dongle, or a Smartcard reader (e.g. banking, etc.) in order to do a task. Though USB passthrough exists, it ties you to particular computers and locations, and it also means that it's harder to setup and maintain.
I can't move our banking software because it relies on a USB smartcard that ties itself to the machine's Windows installation.
But, pretty much, if I was in charge of a company in my industry or any of the others that I could conceivably work in, I could easily justify and manage without any particular OS or proprietary software at all. There's not much nowadays that relies on such things, and those that do seem very limiting and old-fashioned.
Hell, a few years back, there was a boiler in the place I worked - a serious thing that covered a huge site from one location. The software was the most locked-down thing I've ever seen. But I was still able to virtualise it by tricking the installers into thinking the machine they were in front of was just a physical machine. They installed all the software, set it up, activated and registered the MAC interfaces, etc. And when they were gone, I took the VM image they'd actually been working on and moved it to the servers, and turned the workstation back into just-another-client.
I've had to deal with quite a few manufacturers who just don't like you VM'ing things but can't justify exactly why. For at least three of them, I've tricked them like that or just virtualised it and then fixed the software. The manufacturers who get my custom easier are those who go "Oh, yes, well we have an image for VMWare or HyperV if you want one, we just don't advertise it".
Hell, the firewall where I work is actually a VM nowadays, and our VM's are 40:60 Linux and Windows. Even then, it's usually only because we separate by task and are licensed on Server Datacenter (so we can run unlimited VM copies of Windows on them), so we're running many more copies of Windows than strictly necessary. If costs changed, we could easily go 90:10.
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