BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Sep 15 - 12:08 PM

More... and more, and more....

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/analysis/2425886/windows-10-updategate-microsoft-stays-tightlipped-as-the-world-rages

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 15 Sep 15 - 08:22 AM

Leeneia (re "Music Star MIDI controller"), any external MIDI instrument only relies on a MIDI interface. Nowadays very few computers offer the original MIDI plug (round, with five pins). If your computer is one of those few, you may worry about OSes supporting it. More likely, you are already using a MIDI-to-USB adapter, otherwise you can buy it for few bucks. Then you are OK with all OSes and computers for the next, uh, 20 years.

Bad experiences can teach us lessons, but only if we ask and listen carefully.

The Windows philosophy has its principal flaws, as frequently pointed out, above and elsewhere. We need completely new strategies against spyware and other malware; the first step being not to rely on a single OS or browser whenever we can avoid it.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: gnu
Date: 14 Sep 15 - 05:47 PM

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/windows-10-1.3223168

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 12 Sep 15 - 12:41 PM

yeah - I did know that...

In fact, a couple of years casual playtime with android phones/tablets,
has finally boosted my confidence to actually install AV linux on a spare PC.

I'm happily aware now that newer versions of linux are far more consumer level user friendly than the old dark ages of the late 90s and early 2000s...

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Stanron
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 10:46 PM

Hi GUEST punkfolkrocker

Android is, of course, Linux or at least Linux light.

mobile Linux

Surrender. Resistance is futile.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 10:08 PM

oops... 'prober' ??? 'proper'....

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 10:05 PM

I got bored with it all and have been playing with a 35 quid Chinese mini computer/HD media box running on Android ..

.. basically the electronic guts of a smart phone / tablet housed in a neat little box equipped with prober HDMI, USB and ethernet connections

.. so far surprisingly capable and stable..

might install some audio recording apps to see if it can cope...

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Penny S.
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 04:49 PM

Thanks for posting those very useful links. I've already disabled automatic updates (which I thought were not automatic, anyway). Now to search for anything that has already got through.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 02:28 PM

Raedwulf, Bill Gates retired from his technical job at Microsoft in 2008. He retired as chairman in 2014.

In America, the chairman's role is to oversee the rights and profits of stockholders. Operations are the purview of the CEO or President.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Sep 15 - 02:23 PM

Yes, Backwoodsman, I agree with your about updates. I've never found them a problem. I assume they have to do with a new kind of hacker or with some small problem in a program.

"Period on top of the comma in the semicolon in Times New Roman is a bit too small."

Keeping updated is my only reason for considering Windows 10.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 08:03 PM

Yes... you can delete the update noted here (KB 3035583 ).. then hide notices asking to reinstall it. (you right-click on the notice of available updates and choose 'hide'.

To uninstall it, you bring up the list of installed updates (in control panel->windows updates->view update history) and right click that to uninstall it.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/09/microsofts_mystery_update_will_push_windows_10_onto_window_7_8_machines/

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Raedwulf
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 01:46 PM

I would like to say that I am utterly fed up with the w***ers at MicroSnot invading my PC to insist that I ought to want to reserve my free copy of... I am not the least bit fucking (pardon my Low German) interested. But is there a way of stopping this pop-up appearing?

I haven't found it, and I am certainly not IT-illiterate. Well done, Mr Gates. Yet another PR fail. Twat!

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 01:17 PM

IMHO, the vast majority of users aren't computer-geeks, conspiracy-theorists or tinfoil-hatters, and wouldn't have the faintest notion about what updates are for, or how they affect the running of the system. For them, automatic updates are a no-brainier.

I certainly didn't understand the significance of updates that I was notified were ready for installation when I was on 8.1 and XP, and I have an IT background going back to 1968, when I worked on a mainframe and was a COBOL programmer.

Towards the end of my 8.1 time, I was constantly frustrated by 'updates' which I was told needed installing, and which then fell over when I tried to install them, or required restart after restart. But then, I didn't know why they needed installing, I just did it because MS said so. What's the difference with the Win 10 'automatic' updates?

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 11:47 AM

To stop automatic updates in Windows 10 open the Settings app, select Network & Internet, scroll down, and select "Advanced options" below the list of Wi-Fi networks. Enable the "Set as metered connection" option. This option only affects the Wi-Fi network you're currently connected to, but Windows will remember this setting for each individual Wi-Fi network.

After enabling this option, Windows Update will say "Updates are available. We'll download the updates as soon as you connect to Wi-Fi, or you can download the updates using your data connection (charges may apply.)" By marking a connection as metered, you've tricked Windows into thinking it's a mobile data connection — for example, you might be tethering your PC to your smartphone. You can click the Download button to download and install updates at your leisure.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 10:42 AM

and on & on we go....

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2425381/microsoft-is-downloading-windows-10-to-your-machine-just-in-case


"MICROSOFT HAS CONFIRMED that Windows 10 is being downloaded to computers whether or not users have opted in.

An INQUIRER reader pointed out to us that, despite not having 'reserved' a copy of Windows 10, he had found that the ~BT folder, which has been the home of images of the new operating system since before rollout began, had appeared on his system. He had no plans to upgrade and had not put in a reservation request.

(I have the automatic update 'feature' disabled.... one has to be VERY careful which updates are permitted)

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Sep 15 - 12:29 AM

Maybe having an almost-new, non-budget, high-spec machine has helped? Dunno.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Sep 15 - 12:26 AM

If MS had continued to support XP, I'd have been more than happy to stick with it. However, my old PC was creaking and the new one I bought last year came with 8.1, which was an improvement on 8, but still a bit clunky.

Win 10 seems less clunky than 8.1. If I hadn't been driven out of my mind by lumbering daily 8.1 updates which didn't, (update, that is) and which kept requiring seemingly constant re-starts, I would probably have stayed with 8.1 but, having 'upgraded' to 10, I have no regrets so far. Whether that will continue to be the case, only time will tell but, as yet, I haven't been afflicted with any of the problems others have reported here.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: meself
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 11:39 PM

Okay, so from what I've read on this thread and a page linked to, the big benefit of Windows 10 is that it allows Microsoft and its friends to track you more effectively and efficiently - and, in the case of some computers, it seems to speed up some functions very slightly .... Is there any particular reason to install Windows 10 if you're not one of them there 'early adapters' or if you don't have any particular reason to install it? Is Microsoft going to force us to in a few months anyway, or what?

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Greg F.
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 10:39 PM

Uh-Huh, Bill. See post of 06 Sep 15 - 10:35 AM

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 08:46 PM

FYI!!!

windows-10-worst-feature-now-installing-on-windows-7-and-windows-8/

It's true... I went to the update area on Win7 pro and found a couple of the recent updatse were specifically designed to, as the link says "add "customer experience and diagnostic telemetry" to Windows 7 and Windows 8. This is shorthand for monitoring how you use Windows and sending that data back to Microsoft HQ for evaluation."

I don't know if any of that could really hurt me... it's just the principle of the sneaky, deceptive naming & installation tricks.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Stanron
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 07:32 PM

Tonight I installed Linux Mint 17.2 with the Cinnamon desktop on my laptop. It took one hour and five minutes to install and download about 70 updates. It will be supported until 2019 I think. It is free to download and install and it comes bundled with a range of free software, including Libre Office. Libre Office covers most of Microsoft Office functions and can open and save files in Microsoft Office formats and with Microsoft extensions. You no longer need a masters degree in computer science to install Linux systems because the user interface is really user friendly and there is no need to deal with command line instructions. Because there is no product key, licence or registration required I find the installation a lot less stressful than I used to find installing Windows.

There is a program called Wine which can run some Windows applications directly and there is a facility to run Windows itself inside the Linux environment.

I use a USB hard drive for my data and files and if I don't like an operating system I can download another and try that at no cost other than time. It's all very liberating.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 06:27 PM

Greg, you do realize that you are quoting the most-despised modern folk song there is, don't you?
====================
I see that Cortana is a voice-based personal assistant. Based on my experience with software and phones, I don't think that's going to work well for me.

Phone: For account information, say "Accounts."
Me:    Accounts
Phone: Did you say "Bounce?" Bounce is not an option.
Me:    ACCOUNTS!
Phone: Pounce is not an option.
Me:    F**K You!
Phone: Duke University is not an option.

But it's no problem. I feel sure I can get along without it.

I would like to know what a raspberry pie is.
--------------
As for my original question, Joe says Windows 10 works fine with MIDI, Airymouse lost all her sound for a while, and others point out that Microsoft offers support to people who have lost theirs.

Ya know, it's not that comforting that so many people lose their sound that they get their own web page. Microsoft should just not lose customers' sound in the first place.

I know, I know. They just wish everybody would download mp3's by approved celebrities. MIDI is just so COMPLICATED.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Greg F.
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 05:40 PM

Don't think twice, Airymouse - it's all right.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 05:02 PM

Cortina was a model of Ford automobile.
It's Cortana!
Cortana looked like trouble waiting to happen, and totally unnecessary, so I disabled it during the upgrade.
I'm glad I did.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 04:24 PM

Did you run the troubleshooting function?

Microsoft also gives instructions how to restore sound after upgrade on their support website.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Airymouse
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 04:14 PM

I'll say this much for Windows 10: they make it easy to go back to Windows 7, where I have sound once more. Perhaps Cortina could have told me how to get sound in Windows 10, but as Bob Zimmerman put it, I was willing to give her my heart but she wanted my soul.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 03:10 PM

"I'll just make an observation here. Shimrod, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Fair enough, leeneia ... but for all you know I may not know what I'm talking about. Aha! Got you there!

Anyway, I really, really, really want a Surface Pro 4 (with Windows 10)!

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 10:54 AM

I'll just make an observation here. Shimrod, I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never heard of a surface tablet. But that doesn't bother me.

I have a nice life. I have my desktop at home and my MIDI controller. I make music, use the Internet some, and I'm happy. My husband used to have a smartphone (provided by employer) and we both hated it.

Upthread, Punkfolkrocker linked to a presentation by a man from IBM who was talking about audio applications. He actually said this:

"We plan to support the entire spectrum of devices, from raspberry pies to hollow-leg (or maybe Hello Lamb) screens such as corporations use in conference rooms." [shows picture of a lot of similar black devices, from small to great big]


I have no idea what he's talking about, but I don't need to know. I just think that if he's the MIDI guy, he should talk about MIDI.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 07 Sep 15 - 03:15 AM

"Shimrod, I have just been given a surface for Windows RT."

Yes, Windows produce/have produced 'Surface' tablets and 'Surface Pro' tablets. The first couple of generations of the 'Surface' line used the Windows RT operating system which was a (failed) attempt to produce a limited operating system for tablets. But the first 3 iterations of 'Surface Pros' came with full-blown Windows 8/8.1 - and they are all upgradeable to Win 10. Rather confusingly, the third generation of 'Surface' comes with Win 8.1 (which is upgradeable).

It's worth pointing out, of course, that 'Surface Pros' are more powerful and more expensive than 'Surfaces'.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 10:42 PM

Airymouse, your situation is my worst fear. I'm sorry you've lost your sound.

Too bad we don't have System Restore any more.

Just to give you an idea of how quirky computer sound systems are: any time I click on a link to a program on BBC radio and listen to it, I've found that my MIDI does not play. I could get Noteworthy Composer to work by shutting down and restarting, but I shouldn't have to do that. (I no longer listen to anything from the BBC.)

If the BBC can screw up my system with a radio broadcast, what might Windows 10 do? And surely it won't be so easy to fix.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Greg F.
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 08:37 PM

Frankly I'd rather run XP which mostly does what I tell it to do.

Can't argue with you there, Richard. Unfortunately, that's becoming less practical by the day.

I use 7 for the Internet & still run XP on another machine for most everything else. Am also running a trial on one of the Linux versions, which so far actually looks pretty promising and also does what you tell it to do.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 06:34 PM

Well, I am not enthused by 7. I have had "experts" return all my 8 or 8.1 devices to 7. Frankly I'd rather run XP which mostly does what I tell it to do. But I have just been bought my first recent i-sheep (I did have a big G5 but its watercooling leaked) so perhaps I will go that route. My last android was definitely sub-human.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Greg F.
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 06:16 PM

Some might question just how and why win 10 is actually superior to win 7...???

I did that, above, and got taken to task for it

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Bert
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 04:54 PM

I have great problems with people who can't do things right the first time. When I left school I served a five year apprenticeship as a boilermaker. When you work with steel plate, you lay it out on the floor, mark it out, cut it and take it to a machine to form it into its final shape. It has to be RIGHT, or you have wasted the steel. There is no second chance, there is no on line debugger, there is no version two.

You have to get it right the first time.

I have no time for software companies that are releasing version ten of their operating system and you know that it still isn't right.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 12:01 PM

Shimrod, I have just been given a surface for Windows RT. RT? On the box, it states that in order to get it to work, you have to sign in and buy the service--Cloud only. A little research shows that it can be upgraded to 8.1 but not to 10. Seems like a piece of crap to me. Plus, it can only be used with apps from the Microsoft store.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Airymouse
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 11:27 AM

If there was any point to watching "The Guns of Navarone," it was to learn the lesson the German soldiers learned: Beware the grease-bearing lifts. But Windows 10 was free and I was suckered in. Now I have no sound, not from You Tube and not even from my own files on the desktop. It used to be a piece of cake to restore the sound: select hidden icons on the right side of the task bar and click on the speaker symbol. AS someone has observed Cortina doesn't know "task bar." Can anyone give me back my sound or my old version of Windows?

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Greg F.
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 10:35 AM

Windows 10, eh? Good Luck

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 06 Sep 15 - 03:35 AM

It's on the task bar, but not yet installed: downloaded yes, ready to install when I give it the go-ahead, which won't be for a while yet, but not yet installed.

The App is installed. That's the first tstep but most importantly, before you start the process, the app will let you test the suitability of your system. That's all I said.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 06:20 PM

I'm always afraid of pushing the wrong buttons. Learned that from my ex wife.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 06:10 PM

It's on the task bar, but not yet installed: downloaded yes, ready to install when I give it the go-ahead, which won't be for a while yet, but not yet installed.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 06:06 PM

I tried windows 10 and found it very confusing, so I went back to windows 7 and it still has a load of changes that I don't want. BAH! Humbug!

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 04:45 PM

If you are receiving messages about the upgrade, I assume the upgrade app has been installed on your machine. Look for the Windows logo on the right of your taskbar. This app provides the routine for checking if your machine is compatible with Windows 10.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 03:01 PM

Sorry, I searched for the check routine and that was what came up! I'm on my iPad, so didn't try hitting the button to see what happened!

Do you still have the 'Get Windows 10' app in your toolbar? If you have, the check system routine can be run from there (that's where I got it from, but it was before the release of Win 10, and I was advance-reserving a download/update.

If you don't have the app,my pu could try running the compatibility appraiser, following the instructions here.

If that doesn't work, I'm out of ideas other than to call MS Support and talk it over with someone there.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 02:31 PM

Thanks for trying, but that is to see if I can download Windows 7. I've been using Windows 7 for a long time.

I searched for the same thing for Windows 10, but I wound up on a hinky site. I'd like to find the routine you are suggesting, however.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 01:46 PM

Before you update, it makes sense to run the routine that checks if your PC is up to it. Attach any devices you want to include in the check, then run the routine.

I attached my external HDD and my BluRay drive and ran the check. It initially told me that my Nvidia card wasn't compatible but, when I ran it again a few weeks later, it checked out OK - presumably a new driver had been installed in Windows Updates - and I had no problems with the installation, or since.

If you're on 7, here's a link to the check routine download.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Sep 15 - 12:45 PM

Thank you, PFR and Joe. How nice to have somebody talk sense. (Ed, my concerns are founded in painful experience.)

The site PFR linked has this to say:

"Windows 10 is a free update for users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. Details on upgrading are available at the Microsoft site. Make sure your music apps and hardware are compatible before you update."

Please note that far-from-reassuring last sentence.

Fortunately I have Joe's word, based I hope on experience, that Noteworthy Composer and Windows 10 are compatible. Now, will it be compatible with my darling little Music Star MIDI controller? It's very old, but it fits on my desk.

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 04 Sep 15 - 06:24 PM

Like Joe, I generally like MS products.

What I'm waiting for, with bated breath, is the Surface Pro 4. I bought the first SP and thought that it was great ... except for the crap battery life. Eventually I acquired a SP 2 which has (slightly) better battery life. I was intrigued by the idea of docking these devices so that I could add a second monitor and USB peripherals when not carrying them around. Annoyingly, MS did not make their docking station available in the UK but I eventually managed to find a dock, made by Belkin, which does the trick. MS markets SPs as 'tablets that can replace your laptop' but when docked, and linked to a bigger monitor, wi-fi keyboard and mouse, they make excellent small-form desktop PCs.

I skipped buying a SP 3 (I got my SP 2 at a reduced price when the SP 3 first came out). But I will be very tempted by the SP 4 - which should have some very high specs. And, of course, it will also come pre-loaded with Win 10. Phew! Back to the thread topic!

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 04 Sep 15 - 02:00 PM

Despite my recent negative experience, I actually want to try win 10 again.
But I'll leave it until nearer the deadline of the 12 months free upgrade offer.

Though, now not quite as enthusiastic about the Win 10 upgrade for Lumia mobile phones, whenever it's due to happen...???

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 15 - 01:52 PM

Noteworthy Composer works very well with Windows 10. Every time a new operating system comes out, there's a period of adjustment when Microsoft and the software and hardware manufacturers have to tweak their drivers and such so things work together smoothly. Usually after about 6 months, it's smooth sailing.

I find the Windows 10 Start menu to be the best design they've had yet. I like the active tiles that give me news and weather and stocks. I didn't mind the dual-desktop setup of Windows 8.1, but this is far more to my liking. Everything seems very easy to get to.
I also like the new file manager, and find it much easier to use. Of course, much of the operating system is invisible to us users - but to me, that part also seems to work very well.

I know it's fashionable to rant about Microsoft, but I have to say that I generally like their products and I don't believe they're conspiring against me.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Is anybody using Windows 10?
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 04 Sep 15 - 11:30 AM

leeneia,

Why do you have this obsession with MIDI not working?

Years ago you kept worrying about Microsoft no longer supporting it, but it did.

It still will. MIDI under Windows will last longer than you, or I.