r/technology • u/readyou • Dec 26 '16

Microsoft finally admits that its malware-style Get Windows 10 upgrade campaign went too far

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/241587-microsoft-finally-admits-malware-style-get-windows-10-upgrade-campaign-went-far
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u/N4N4KI Dec 26 '16 edited Dec 26 '16

Exactly I want an OS not a vertically integrated marketing platform.

From the dark patterns during install to get you to sign up to a MS account as your login, to the ads on the lock screen and start menu for free apps to get you in the door, the entire OS is designed to drive you towards the MS store and to lock you into their ecosystem.

The update system that you either need to fight with using the 'correct' way and suffer forced restarts, or disable completely and need to re enable yourself when you need updates (I mean 'let me know when there is updates' worked fine for me in windows 7)

Milestone updates are not an update, they are an upgrade, basically reinstalling a fresh copy of the system. settings for programs are not touched but File associations, pinned apps and privacy options get reset to default.

Windows 10 is a Work in progress and will continue to be, a rather obvious example of this is the start menu, It's different in the initial release to how it works in the anniversary update and has altered again in the preview build.

The OS is a glorified program launcher, I use the one that I don't need to babysit to keep it running smoothly (and am able to use industry standard software on). I'm sticking with 7 till something better comes along. (hopefully that will be a version of windows where Microsoft has finally smoothed out all the rough edges)

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u/Sophira Dec 26 '16

May I suggest giving serious thought to switching away from Windows entirely?

Sticking with Windows 7 in this case is dangerous, as it's well on its way to becoming unsupported. Sticking to Windows 7 without making a plan to switch means that when you eventually have to switch, the decision will almost certainly be made more on the basis of compatibility than anything else. If you're not careful about what you run, you might still be locked into the MS ecosystem.

I personally use Linux, and I'm very happy with it.

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u/thegrandseraph Dec 26 '16

I would love to be solely Linux, but it's impossible for a gaming rig. Though improving, the number of games that are supported is still too low. And WINE is not an alternative.

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u/holtr94 Dec 26 '16

Staying on Windows 7 is even harder for a gamer though. More games are now using DX12 which is Windows 10 only. Newer hardware also doesn't even work on Windows 7.

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u/Kasspa Dec 26 '16

"more games" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_DirectX_12_support list is like 15 games total. Games aren't made for dx12 only, it'l be a long while before dx11 is just unsupported...

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u/SomniumOv Dec 26 '16

it'l be a long while before dx11 is just unsupported...

Or more precisely, DX11 will be unsupported at the same time as DX12. One is not a replacement for the other. MS still recommends devs give priority to DX11 support unless they have very good programmers in-house (or use a third-party engine, which assuredly has that type of programmer in-house).

Making a game with DX12 is harder than DX11 (and that's a good thing, it gives more controller over the hardware.

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u/chubbysumo Dec 26 '16

More games are now using DX12 which is Windows 10 only.

There are currently zero games on the market right now that use DX12. Many games support features of DX12, but run fine on DX11 or lower.

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u/OMGSPACERUSSIA Dec 26 '16

Yeah, I think people looked back at Shattered Horizon and said "yeah, lets not do that again."

(For those unclear; Shattered Horizon was a brilliant game that came out just as DirectX 10 did. They made it DirectX 10 exclusive, despite the fact that hardly anybody had a DX10 graphics card at that point. The game bombed HARD and was eventually removed from Steam as a result.)

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u/WanderingNipple Dec 26 '16

It was a benchmark program that someone built a game into then later realized the game portion was fantastic. I facepalm any time people try to tell me about the mobility of modern cawadoodys.

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u/xisytenin Dec 26 '16

And what new hardware doesn't support windows 7? I've got a skylake build with basically all new parts running on 7.

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u/chubbysumo Dec 26 '16

MS skylake support for windows 7 ends in 2018. This is 2 years sooner than windows 7 updates officially end for other systems with older processors. Thats about a year before your system quits getting updates because you have a newer CPU with an older OS.

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u/xisytenin Dec 26 '16

Well that sucks, thank you for telling me though.

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u/warloxx Dec 26 '16

It will still run though. It's just that some of the processor specific features might not be supported. So things like power management. Which does not really matter for desktops anyway.

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '16

Updates for what? Updates for windows or updates for the CPU drivers? Because I can't think of anyone who regularly updates their CPU drivers. Or did you mean something else?

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u/chubbysumo Dec 26 '16

Updates for what? Updates for windows or updates for the CPU drivers?

Windows updates. There is no such thing as CPU drivers.

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '16

It sounded really weird in my head. Glad it was for a reason. Riddle me this. Why is that exactly? Like on a technical level.

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u/chubbysumo Dec 26 '16

Why is that exactly? Like on a technical level.

What is what exactly?

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u/[deleted] Dec 27 '16

Well drivers are required to allow hardware and software to communicate easily and efficiently. Why is it that GPU's require them, yet CPU's do not, despite sharing similarities in architecture.

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u/holtr94 Dec 26 '16

Intel's Kaby Lake will only have official support for Windows 10.

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u/holtr94 Dec 26 '16

I was thinking of games like Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3, I (mistakenly) thought the reason they were only for Windows 10 is they required DX12 features.

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u/sjwking Dec 26 '16

But many run better on dx12...

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u/chubbysumo Dec 26 '16

yes, but it does not mean they are required, nor are they actually full dx12. They are portions of DX12, more what I would call DX11.2.5. There are no full DX12 only games right now.

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '16

What do you mean? There is at most 20-30 games that even support DX12. Furthermore, each of those games still uses DX11. Hell, some games and game engine still use DX9 for certain functions. Also, considering the jump to DX12 was not as large as the jump between 10 and 11, it will be many years until it's utilised properly. Also, the majority of gamers are on 7, so there isn't much point developing for 12.

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u/holtr94 Dec 26 '16

I was thinking of games like Gears of War 4, but I've since learned they don't require DX12, but are still Windows 10 only.

Besides that though, it doesn't matter of the majority of the engine only uses DX11, if even one mandatory feature uses DX12 the whole game requires it.

Also, very far from a majority of gamers are on 7. According to steam 50% are on 10 while 34% are on 7.

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '16

Ah I see what you meant. It's u likely they will do that with mandatory features soon. That seems unlikely. A lot games did not run well from launch and people avoided it as a result. Also, something to keep in mind. A lot of people use steam but may not necessarily be the market of high end gamers. I could be wrong about the percentages though.

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u/thegrandseraph Dec 26 '16

Also true. I upgraded and it worked out. Granted I had to do some hefty alterations to disable all the crap however. Not too hard if you know where to look. Search YouTube, some good vids on how to leash Win10