Microsoft hits new low – sneaks Win 10 ads into IE security patch(betanews.com)
betanews.com
Microsoft hits new low – sneaks Win 10 ads into IE security patch
http://betanews.com/2016/03/09/windows-10-advertising-in-ie-security-patch/
17 comments
Earlier HN discussion about this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11262037
As much as I don’t like Microsoft, they are far from the first to create “updates” or “fixes” that have other crap bundled into them, and plenty of developers should be blamed for this anti-user practice.
Still, it’s a shame. Technologically, near-instant software updates ought to be fantastic. In reality, developers have abused this power.
And when there is abuse, you need a system that returns power to the users.
For instance, an update protocol should probably use cryptography, with keys distributed across a web of trust that the user is part of. If the web of trust collectively distrusts an update (e.g. because several people had problems with updates signed by that key), it should automatically raise red flags for other users and not be installed automatically. For random 3rd-party developers, this would make it hard to push unwanted updates; and for big companies that don’t want to have a poor public image, it would be incentive to not push updates that aggravate a lot of users.
Still, it’s a shame. Technologically, near-instant software updates ought to be fantastic. In reality, developers have abused this power.
And when there is abuse, you need a system that returns power to the users.
For instance, an update protocol should probably use cryptography, with keys distributed across a web of trust that the user is part of. If the web of trust collectively distrusts an update (e.g. because several people had problems with updates signed by that key), it should automatically raise red flags for other users and not be installed automatically. For random 3rd-party developers, this would make it hard to push unwanted updates; and for big companies that don’t want to have a poor public image, it would be incentive to not push updates that aggravate a lot of users.
Also, automatically starting the Windows 10 upgrades without permission: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/4a5edx/psa_window... Any goodwill they gained this week by other actions, such as porting SQL Server to Linux and R tooling for Visual Studio, is now lost. How do you trust any company that starts behaving like that?
By having worked in companies of similar size and learning how they are schizophrenic.
Agreed. Microsoft keeps going on back and forth on this...
Just like some people mentioned in the comments on the previous article.
I have every important update installed. And every optional/recommended update hidden. I can't replicate the behavior.
The older GWX update (KB303555XX something) is still tagged as recommended, not important.
The only time I saw the ad, is when I visited msn.com before updating. Now I can't seem to replicate even that.
I have every important update installed. And every optional/recommended update hidden. I can't replicate the behavior.
The older GWX update (KB303555XX something) is still tagged as recommended, not important.
The only time I saw the ad, is when I visited msn.com before updating. Now I can't seem to replicate even that.
This article seems to have been written like clickbait. It's kind of hard to take seriously because if that. Plus Apple has done this with Safari, and no one has batted an eye at that. This just seems like an overreaction.
Can you link to a case where Apple did this? Not doubting you, just curious.
Why do so many people not want to upgrade to Windows 10? It looks better and will be supported for longer. And the upgrade is free. What is all the fuss all about?
The fuss is about the fact that Microsoft is employing dark patterns and aggressive tactics to trick and nag people into upgrading their operating systems, sometimes against their will. That and the telemetry, embedded advertising, extreme bandwidth use, privacy concerns, etc, but for me personally, just the fact that they're working so hard to make it not an option leads me to never want to touch it or any future version of Windows again.
Which is unfortunate because I actually don't hate Windows. Microsoft, though...
Which is unfortunate because I actually don't hate Windows. Microsoft, though...
Interesting. I dislike Windows in general because it is too complicated, but I like Microsoft in general for things like C#.
I upgraded my laptop, and the display looked horrible in low resolution afterwards. There was an accelerated video driver for my video card in windows7, but not for windows10, so it falls back to vga. So i had to revert back.
My desktop is often used to watch live TV from my cable-card device in WindowsMediaCenter. There is no WindowsMediaCenter for windows10, so I guess that machine is staying on windows7 also.
Just because you could upgrade to windows 10, does not mean everyone can.
Every day i get a popup, telling me to upgrade. I say no thanks, i cant. Why does it keep asking me? That's what the fuss is about.
Is it common for people to have hardware issues with a new version of Windows? I can't see Microsoft ignoring a large issue with hardware compatibility and nonetheless nagging people to upgrade. I feel like an effort to convince people to stay on the latest software has good intentions overall, and for the most part, maybe people would benefit from it.
In my case, I want a stable OS. Also there's a high chance the Windows 10 video driver for my 4 year old Dell laptop is broken, just like the last 3 versions Dell released for Win7. Only the first one from 2012 has no bugs.
What makes Windows 10 unstable in your view? I'm no Windows fan, but I've been using it on my work laptop for a few months and have had no issues. I'm actually surprised by how much I'm not hating it.
If history serves right, I upgraded to Windows 7 around 2-3 years after it was released, and I still had occasional blue screens or hiccups. About one year later it finally started calming down. Now, in 2016, I could run my machine indefinitely without ever restarting (if not for updates). It's that stable. Going to wait at least 1-2 years before upgrading. I don't trust big companies anymore.
I think the OS itself is stable, but once you throw in a bunch of rushed drivers, a bunch of software that was 'fixed' to run on the newest windows and another bunch of outdated software, then something is bound to break.
I think the OS itself is stable, but once you throw in a bunch of rushed drivers, a bunch of software that was 'fixed' to run on the newest windows and another bunch of outdated software, then something is bound to break.