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Well......
I guess I must now eat my words and apologize.
I've sent an e-mail to Microsoft (after decrying their windows 10 many, many times) and congratulated them.
As I posted a derogatory blog here concerning windows 10, I thought it only fitting to place my appreciation (and amazement) at the latest windows 10 update.
Most of the updates I've experienced required ten to twenty minutes to occur and necessitated my reloading most of my programs.
You can imagine what I thought when this latest update required an hour and a half to update. Yep, an hour and a half.
SURPRISE.... The speed came back up, the upgrade works flawlessly, and I didn't need to reload ANY of my programs. Everything works.
I don't know what they did but they fixed everything that I had noted as being a moderate to severe problem as well as a bunch of little things that weren't really bugging me all that much, but which were mildly annoying.
So, once again I eat crow (and I'm allergic to all forms of fowl).
So, my rant about Microsoft now has no basis and things are looking up.
Just thought you all might want to know in case you (like me, frequently) were going to pull the plug to prevent the update.
God Bless
Anesidora
Comments
every other OS has always been buggy for the first year.
Windows XP took almost 2 service packs before it ran great and consistent. Windows 7 took a few updates as well. And the bad releases even got decent towards the end, so right when they were out the door Windows Vista and 8 got decent. MSDOS Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98 SE, and Windows 2000 Se. are what i have experience with on the Windows front the most. on the Mac side I did not use it till the OS X era. Linux I have tried to many to count and was never really impressed. Windows 10 i have seen bad and good with so far at least if feels at time like they are listening the the users and making changes to fix things. it will be interesting to see if they keep doing good things with Windows 10.
"Cortana is watching you!"
Nope
I will do most of my computing on linux or MacOS in future otherwise I will need to install my own custom firewall box.
Redstone 1 AKA 1607
This last Windows 10 update is Redstone 1 also known as version 1607. These updates are more than just service packs. They are entirely new versions of Windows 10. They work so well now because they have various update rings for testing. Other users take their chances on the new versions to work out the bugs before they get to the regular ring where normal users get them. I have my computer set to the "Release Preview" ring so I get the new versions just before their primetime debut but there is a "fast" ring for bleeding edge users and the "slow" ring for those who don't want to bleed quite so much. Redstone 2 is supposed to be the next release of Windows 10.
Lori
As far a joe/josephine Q Public are concerned
It is still Windows 10.
And an OS that I won't touch with a 100ft barge pole. MS has been given the name 'Slurp' for obvious reasons.
After using Computers running George 3 (ICL 1901A)in 1972 to a Linux box with a Skylake i7 CPU I raised the white flag and said 'No more Windows' when I retired. When I give my last Windows box away shortly then that will be it.
I have even written an Operating system and done an MSc in OS design and to be honest with the good people here, Window 10 is a huge step backwards in Easy of Use. MS does not know if they want to run a Table OS on a Computer with a Keyboard or a Standard OS on a mobile Phone.
Now that Windows phones are just about dead and burried there really is no need to keep METRO/Modern UI as the primary interface.
Rant over. Not enough coffee yet.
Samantha
ha!
I was given a message to upgrade my os back in 1998.
I installed Mandrake linux 6.1 and have never downgraded to windows since.
though currently it is usually linux from scratch or pclinuxos if I don't want to take a few days to compile my own distro.
a couple of boxes run openBSD ( since it is by all quantifiable criteria THE most secure os ever created by humans* )
* 4 exploits in default install in over 20 years, as compared to hundreds of exploits in win 10 in first month after release or a dozen or more in osx in first month. ( the exploit count for LINUX is badly inflated by the tracking sites inclusion of 3rd party software as an exploit against Linux. )
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Alas no OS is perfect.
One reason so many exploits are found in windows is its sheer adoption rate. The biggest target will always have the most known exploits.
Mac does have less known exploits but there are still many that are dangerous there. same with any version of linux. The more popular an OS becomes the more exploits will be found, because more people are looking for them to use them against it. Since linux distrobution releases have become the most popular for enterprise servers more holes in its security have been found and will continue to be found. Patching one hole or adding a new feature can create new security holes somewhere else.
"Cortana is watching you!"
not only about security
thing is I do not trust mickeysoft's new business model for their OS. The user has become the product.
that i 100% agree with you on.
that is the thing that gets me the most, the adds on the start menu and screen saver. also the fact that they want to see everything i do on my computer to target adds at me, it is insulting. if you give me a choice between adds and something that costs more i will pay the extra to loose the adds. also the fact that my internet connection stinks so bad at my house i do not want the OS using up the bandwith that i need for my self.
"Cortana is watching you!"
not just adoption rate
design has a huge part of why MS products are so flawed.
1) ActiveX: SYSTEM level tech that is network aware, can be triggered remotely and can change ANYTHING in the os.
2) Target usage: Windows has always been targeted at playing video games, security still has yet to make a change in the design.
3) Monothic system: with windows being monolithic instead of truly modular in design, it becomes easy for different segments of the code base to introduce problems with other segments.
4) Users: Windows still lacks the multiuser functionality the Unix and Unix like operating systems have, this weakness makes running as admin pretty much required to have use of your installed programs.
yes, the fact that hardware vendors are pushing the bad for the consumer monopoly and NOT offering any os option besides windows makes the sheer number of vulnerable windows systems a target of choice for those with criminal intent.
I agree no os is perfect, the Unix options come closer than microsoft's offering does. openBSD is the best if security is desired, freeBSD adds some user friendliness at cost of security ( same with the other BSDs ) while maintaining 100% compatibility with openBSD for executables. ( also the rest of the BSD options do this ) Linux/GNU has one strength when it comes to security the other options lack. the minimal install of the kernel ( Linux ), base system ( GNU ) and gcc ( also GNU ) still has a lot of version differences possible, adding in the package manager options and versions, the xserver versions, the gui options and versions it makes truly widespread exploits extremely unlikely. Windows and Macos both will have greater impact in how widespread an exploit is simply because the version options and multitude of other options are not available.
The reason openBSD is the most secure, that is the design intent of the developers when they forked from freeBSD originally. They do continual security audits of their entire code-base and configuration options to ensure security.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Some people like having a 1-800-HELP-ME number to call...
when their computer goes wonky, instead of putting a problem up on the web and having to sort through crowdsourced fixes authored by "rooter_86" or "yourbasesareoursmuhahahaha".
Unfortunately, it's not all
Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and roses. I've just spent two days bouncing from site to site fixing damage caused by the latest Windows 10 update(s). Corrupting apps, requiring removal and reinstall, incomplete updates that don't actually show up until you force the issue, printer damage, new incompatibility with EKG software requiring extra workarounds (which worked _fine_ before). At least one case was "I'm sorry. You'll have to pay the $200 for a new version of the software. It's cheaper than my reinstalling the computer with a working OS and your old software, even though you won't be using the software any more after November."
Windows 10 is mostly stable. It's still worse than Windows 7. With Win7, if the program worked at all, it stayed working. With Win10, it's whatever they feel like crashing that week.
I'd have been more willing to give some kudos for Win10 if Microsoft had done the _smart_ thing and only released two versions. One "home" version with everything in the world, and one "business" version that's Windows 10 LTSB. (yes, it's out there. I downloaded an evaluation copy to try out.) No fake 'home' versus 'pro', etc. They're the same code base, differently crippled just to create a new 'version'. Better yet, go the Windows 2000 route and just have a workstation version, and a server version. Even their _server_ versions are crap now. (Foundation vs Essentials vs Standard, etc)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Perfectly put
windows 10 - what do you want me to break this week?
as opposed to
Window 10 - Where do you want to go today?
Last time I heard...
no Microsoft operating system was cleared for real-time, life critical or life support applications.
That has not stopped people
That has not stopped people using it for RT or worse operations.
For starters, interrupt latency of Windows is .... Stick a finger in the air and guess especially if there is something to draw on the screen at the same time becuse the Graphics drivers run as part of the kernel.
I can recall being grilled about interrupt latency when we wanted to put a VAX into an Air Traffic Control System (far too many years ago....)
Back then we had Operating Systems that were designed for RT use and others for General Purpose use. Now... it seems that Windows is it and it is clearly not up to scratch in many areas not that the average punter will care at all.
EKG machines aren't real-time
EKG machines aren't real-time, or critical medical systems. They're just used for running a test. if the thing crashes, you re-run the test.
Windows 10 is non-HIPAA compliant, due to its privacy policy. It states straight out that they reserve the right to root around in your files, what you're doing, and your email, and pass the information on to someone else if they deem it necessary.
Until they remove that, any doctor using it is vulnerable. With Win10 soon becoming the only OS you can buy for the bulk of the EMR programs, that means that Microsoft _will_ be used as the reason for HIPAA violations, and brought into every lawsuit involving a Windows EMR system.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.