TonyJZX wrote:Here's the problem with that assumption. I paid in 2009. How was I to know that these things would arise in 2015?
What "things"? What is wrong with your purchased copy of Win7?
Nothing, I guess. It is still just as usable as it was on 2009, in fact
much more, with 6+ years of fixes, patches and updates.
Nobody will force Win10 on you. If the nagging bothers you, there are ways to stop it, ranging from disabling updates altogether through manually blocking certain updates, to installing various "GWX killer" utilities, where others have done the hard work for you.
It may sound strange to you, but there are many people out there who would
like Windows 10, and would
want to get the free upgrade. And, of course, Microsoft also wants, for
its own selfish reasons, that as many people move to Win10 as possible. The choice between making the upgrade easy to folks that want it (and may not be tech-savvy), and avoiding annoying some hard-core users who actively
don't want it, is pretty clear, from a corporate point of view.
That is if you buy it in the store. If you buy it preinstalled on your machine (as most folks end up getting Windows), it costs
far less in the overall package.
TonyJZX wrote:And in fact, they would not have raised a single eyebrow if they put in a tickbox that allows you to opt out.
I agree.
TonyJZX wrote:I must ask, why would they do these things unless they have something to hide.
They obviously want as many people possible to move to Windows 10 and adopt the auto-update approach. They have also been very open about it multiple times. It is not necessarily because of any evil. It is simply far easier to support one operating system, with 99% of the customers on a common version, than 4 different operating systems, each with a different patch level.
TonyJZX wrote:You are correct I am biased against Microsoft, I have reason to be.
And the reason is? Is there anything beyond what is in this thread?
TonyJZX wrote:What is your reason to cheerlead Microsoft? Do you own stock? I suspect your motives. It must be great for Microsoft one of the richest companies in the world to have so many unpaid and paid minions.
That's the number one favorite approach of all conspiracy theorists and conspiracy theory-lovers out there: if someone disagrees with them, they are immediately suspicious; they must have a hidden agenda, they must be involved with the other ("evil") side, or be paid by them, etc etc. The option that someone just has a different opinion simply does not cross their minds.
Personally, I don't like Windows 10. I am quite wary of some of the privacy-related issues around it. I don't plan to install it in the foreseeable future. I don't ever upgrade my Windows installations. I know how to get my computers to do what I want and to run at the best of their capabilities. I don't go around whining about Microsoft's aggressive marketing / product pushing, simply because I know how, with minimal effort, to make it so that they don't affect me one bit.
This is what this topic is about, actually. But it seems like there is no way to have such a thread without a resident Microsoft-hater popping in to rant.
I have never worked for Microsoft. I have never directly owned Microsoft stock. I imagine I own some Microsoft stock via some of the investment portfolios that are managed for me. I have worked in a company that has customers, and provides software to customers, and offers support to said customers. I know first hand how difficult it can be to support multiple different products with tons of different options. I know how much engineering time and effort these things take. I can totally understand why a company like Microsoft would like to reduce the number of different configuration it supports, to make it easier for themselves.
I don't think Microsoft engineers are all geniuses, nor are they all dumb. Microsoft is a huge company, and has some of everything. Some things they do great, some things they do terrible, and some are in between. I've seen samples of all. They are not evil. They do not do things so different from other similar companies. They just happened to, in the past, through a combination of many factors (a lot of which is 'being in the right place at the right time') managed to establish themselves a position of power and profit in a particular niche, and they will do all that is in their power to keep on using their position for continued profitability. Just like any for-profit corporation is expected to do.