Windows 8 was vista all over again it sucked.

The way I see it, if you are still running Windows 7, stick with it and hold on for dear life. But if you are running that Windows 8 abomination, then anything is better than that, even (gasp) Windows 10.

So how much did you use Windows 8/8.1 to come to that conclusion?  If anything, Win 8.1 was/is better than 7, being faster and more stable, etc.  And yes, I used both extensively, so I have more than enough experience with both.

As for Win 10, it IS a POS with important features/functions removed.  For example, Windows Update has been reduced to a 'coming in' only service with no way of preventing unwanted, unneeded updates that can bork your system.  Too many Control Panel functions have been turned into 'apps' and are now in 'Settings', which strongly suggests that Microsoft is moving away from system32 programs and functions over time... that Windows will become an app only OS and all installations will go through the Store... thus providing MS with a steady income stream from 3rd party developers.

So, if anybody who thinks Windows 10 is the best thing since sliced bread, well they need to think again.  Forced Updates?  App driven only?  Important functions and features missing?  Reduced User Control?  An eventual 'Walled Garden'?  Oh, and let's not forget the telemetry and 'phone home' apps that let Microsoft know when you sneeze or fart.  Nope, it's NOT a great OS.  It's not even a good one.

Again, nothing really wrong with Windows 10. The paranoid nonsense people get from tech blogs is ridiculous.

Gonna have to agree with Ilsandog here. Win 10 is FAR more stable than 7 and most of the issues you mention can be turned off or addressed with an app that turns 10 int 7 functionality. Seriously why is everyone against a company making revenue? I changed over from 7 with hesitancy and since then I have not worried or looked back. 

Okay, have it your way, but don't say I didn't warn you when the walled garden is complete and system32 is no more.

The biggest changes to Windows are yet to come.... and by the time it's all fallen into place, the Windows of tomorrow will be unrecognisable from what you're using today.

Oh, and the dislike of Win 10 is not media or hype driven.  Microsoft has done more than enough to alienate users and has stated that it will make Windows purely app driven, with downloads being allowed only through its Store. 

That's NOT what I signed up for when I paid for my [since] hijacked copy of Windows 8.1.

I've got 4 more years to stick with W7 then MS will stop supporting it.  By then W 11 or W12 will be out.

Yeah, that's kinda what happens with technology. Of course it's going to change.

Where exactly has Microsfot stated that?

In April , I bought Windows 7 Home Premium OEM version as I had just built a new and faster computer. The install went o.k. and the activation was not a problem. I soon started to experience some glitches in my system that I could not diagnose , so I wiped the drive and re-installed the OS. Activation , no problem. a few weeks later I decided I wanted to try the free upgrade to Windows 10. The installation went well, but the activation failed. I contacted Microsoft Support and they spent nearly an hour through remote desktop trying to resolve the activation issue. Finally they informed me that they would have to use a different activation key to get it activated. This worked and it activated. After a couple weeks, I still was not feeling warm and cozy with Windows 10, so I decided to re-install Windows 7. The installation went fine, no problem, but when it came to activation, it failed. I contacted Microsoft support again. They connected by remote desktop again to try to resolve the problem. After some time, they finally tell me that the activation key has been blocked by the manufacturer for abuse. I reminded them that I had built the computer myself, so it was not a manufactured computer and this is the only system that it had been installed on , as this is my only computer. They refused to listen to reason and said I could get it unlocked by buying a new activation key for $119.00  They wouldn't budge when I complained and tried to reason with them. This just happened this morning. So...not only am I out of the money I originally spent for the Windows Package, I'm also out of an activated Windows OS. This is what Microsoft thinks of their customers in a nutshell.

-- Ace --

That right there is why our paranoia isn't paranoia.  I've been paranoid about Microsoft since they started requiring activation.  I'm paranoid about Steam and even Stardock for the same reasons.

You guys can screw me at your whim by turning off your activation servers, or simply deleting my keys.  It doesn't mean you're going to, but then you wont be around forever and maybe Brad's kids are clueless assholes when they grow up, or he sells the company when he retires and the new shareholders hire MBA's with no brains to run the place.  The only legal recourse of a user at that point is to take them to court and put way more time into getting product access back than they're worth.

With the utter bullshit they're pulling with stealth upgrades, injecting adware and even trying to force upgrades on people who clearly aren't interested, I have zero trust in the current leadership at Microsoft.  They simply don't have scruples or they wouldn't be railroading their customers just to get out of supporting an OS they're still on the hook for.  I've got loads of shit that doesn't even work on 7, never mind 10.  If it was critical work software instead of old video games, a stealth upgrade being forced on me could be a major problem.  Considering I actually work in an environment that really does require outdated software interactions, this is a serious threat for me.  All they have to do is decide we shouldn't be running IE8 because it's too insecure and my job is suddenly fucked because I'm contracted to a company that still lives in the dark ages of Server 2003.  Oh wait, they already did and it doesn't work on anything above Windows 7.

If they lock us out of the old ones with BS like the above, outside of volume licensing, we'd have to go all the way back to Win2k or 98SE to get around their crap safety requirements.  I'm not too stupid to tie my own shoes, I don't need a company telling me how to use their shit, when to use their shit, and what I can use their shit with.

WOM

reply 8

I've got 4 more years to stick with W7 then MS will stop supporting it.  By then W 11 or W12 will be out.

Nope. It'll be Windows 10 from now on.

Unless you exclusively buy DRM free stuff from GOG, the current win32 games don't work like they did when I had Windows 98 and Windows XP. Back before steam took off, I could go to the store, buy a cd-rom games, install it and play it. That was all I needed, unless I was doing multiplayer. Now, if I buy something from Amazon, such as my copy of Shogun 2, (which is the last physical game I bought for pc) I insert my disk and then I have to activate it on steam. If not, then it doesn't work.

UWP may be different from win32, but you CAN install UWP from other sources than the Windows store. Win32 still works in Windows 10 and as I mentioned above most win32 stuff don't work without a DRM subsystem (Steam, Origin, Abobe CC, UPlay etc).

You can read about it here and here

If you think about it with an open mind, it is the logical and natural way for Microsoft to go.  Instead of having to fix issues caused by 3rd party programs under the system32 process, MS can control all installations via the Store and 'in-house'.   There'd be no more malware 'piggybacking' its way in with legitimate system32 programs and no more worms or trojans replacing or attaching themselves to key registry and/or Windows files.  So, when you say "of course [technology] is going to change", you're right, but Windows is changing in ways you're not expecting, with all your system32 programs to become obsolete and unusable.

With regard to "The paranoid nonsense people get from tech blogs is ridiculous", many of those 'blogs' are based on real life issues and complaints from real people.  I had Windows 10 forced upon me after months of resisting it...  not once but TWICE!  I've also had enforced updates bork my machines more than once with unnecessary and/or unwanted updates.  I've also had legitimate and working programs uninstalled by Win 10 during Scheduled Maintenance, as have others, so no, it's not all paranoia driven by blogs and/or media hype.  These are real issues for real people!

Maybe for now, but it won't be forever and all installations will be app based and have to go through the Store.... see links above

Real idiots have real issues with real OS versions.

So....

Nothing has changed since Dos.

Bloggers have a vested interest in being sensationalist/alarmist.

Why is it you are so bloody adamant that the alarmist culture that you claim is 'global warming' is bullshit....but the alarmist exact-same culture of "Win 10 and or MS WILL molest your first-born" is God-fearing gospel truth?

You can't be so gullible.

Or naïve.

Reality is...if you GENUINELY have even half an understanding of a computer you can avoid the MS wish to move you to 10.

I can do it at will.

WHEN someone gets it and they didn't want it it is simply because they were too stupid to know how to say 'no'.

Properly.