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What a clumsily written article! It was a sheer torture to read.

Thanks, Robbins. It seems I need to look closer at specifically in Germany available brands.

The good thing is I have no time pressure at all.

I've found the trickiest components for Linux are wireless network cards and printers. There is some high-falutin graphics scheme that requires an i7 processor and has problems with Linux.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/307...no-reason.html

http://www.askwoody.com/2016/the-get...35583-is-back/

It's never gone away that bad smell.

Actually I have the XPS15

For the max everything.

At some point in the future, I may look into a Linux machine. I don't have the time to invest in learning that now, but the way MS is going, Windows could be extinct in 5 years. All we need if Google to make an Android OS for the PC and give it away free.... surprised that hasn't already happened.:hmm2:

If Google does anything I think it would be a hybrid ChromeOS/Linux/Android and it would be a giant killer. With Steam paying developers to port mainstream games to Linux and Google behind the killer operating system Microsoft would be doomed, banished to the hell of cloud services, which I hope we would all avoid like bubonic plague.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a long term MS hater, :oops: I just am appalled by the direction they are taking their OS in. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and change everything in the UI for the sake of changing it (and confusing the end user, Steve Jobs would be livid), MS should be focusing on the user experience. Make Windows 10 so appealing that people want to upgrade, don't use extort them.

And now I am officially a MS hater :down:

Well, I just got another $45 Windows 10 upgrade forced on me. I did have the setting that disallowed downloads over a metered connection checked, but Windows downloaded it anyway without letting me know it was doing, without letting me know that it was starting a large download over my cell phone account, just told me Windows will upgrade your system now. I am all for upgrades but this costs me money, and I don't like having no notification or control of what Microsoft decides to download onto my PC.

Now I am unable to find the setting at all, this has all changed
http://www.pcworld.com/article/29531...-own-pace.html

I cannot even find what version of Windows my PC is now running, I looked in Control Panel/System, and I tried Start/Search programs and files.

It shouldn't be this difficult. Or costly.

Neal, try clicking on the four squared MS icon (bottom left) then Settings (gear wheel) and the page that comes up (on my pc anyway) 'System' at the bottom left there is the option About, click on that and this is what I see on my screen.

http://i.imgur.com/q9BFTG9.jpg

Thanks, Jim. Looks like I have the same version as you.

You're welcome matey :salute:

Well. Maybe this costly event increases the chance for a sudden moment of enlightenment. ;)

Don't trust neither Microsoft's words, nor the settings in their software. Your system does not belong to you anymore - it belongs to them. Your privacy as well. Because YOU are the product now.

Welcome to the brave new world. - Go Linux. Apple, Google are not any better than MS - MS trails them.

Linux Mint has been developed to be as similar to Windows as they could make it, by this helping the migration from Windows to Linux. Its the Linux distribution of choice, if you are new to Linux. Saving an ISO to a bottable USB stick allows you to boot with Linux and check all its offers without needing to install it on HD. You can also test whether your laptop likes it or not. Testing several drivers for gfx card may be needed. Before installing to HD, mayke sure you got some edcuation on how to partition the HD best for Liunux, and how to avoid messing up the boot loader in case you chose a dual installation with Windows. Also, UEFI and BIOS need different procedures - UEFI was pushed by MS last but not least to make it more difficult for Linux advancing into Windows territories.

That was clear to me when they said it was free for a year. :03:


Sorry to hear you got stung Neal.

Steve, Sky, what do you know about GWX Control Panel ?
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/201...ly-remove.html

A PC guru suggested this would prevent Windows 10 from initiating stealth upgrade downloads. I will look into it tomorrow when I get home.

I apologize if this was discussed earlier in this thread, I am only extremely limited internet access today and cannot go look. :oops:

GWX Control Panel I saw first mentioned in Woody's blog.

It is a background tool running and monitoring all the time whether your system receives any of the KB updates critical for preparing and downloading the pesty advertising of "Get Windows X!"

Since you already have W10 running, i fear this "control" tool is of no use for you.

Also, while it increases the chance for W7 and W8 users to avoid getting targetted by those critical KB "updates" that first advertise and later automaticaly try to install W10, I seem to recall that in the past there were changes by Microsoft that led to people using GWX CP fetching the unwanted malware nevertheless. It'S good to have it if you are a W7 or W8 user - but do not put all your money on this one alone.

Latest development this year have confirmed me in my scepticism that MS will even mislabel patch content and update descriptions in an effort to lure people into downloading GWX and W10. Its not just shouting and yelling when I say that MS have crossed the red line to right-out cheating and criminal behaviour, imo. People get openly lied to regarding what they download - or are made to believe to download.

The only way to be safe is to cut ties with MS servers, especially all and every download service like Windows Update Service. I myself decided that it is not worth for me to read one hour every day only to keep myself updated about the latest news and tricks in MS' war against its customers, the ratio between time invested and benefits gained calculated extremely badly in the end, so I stopped all updates alltogether, use W7 only as a game launcher and for NOTHING else, and do all surfing, working, writing, editing and so forth via Linux installation. There is a risk involved, since Explorer is deeply embedded in Windows and always does some minor stuff in the background and via internet even when you use another browser or do not browse under Windows at all (thats why your CCleaner always deletes some minor, small Explorer files when you run it, even when you never open Explorer at all and have disabled or maximised all its critical options), but it is the lesser evil. And if my Windows game launching installation gets corrupted, I simply delete it and copy over an image.

Note to all: Windows on-board solution for cloning an image of your HD to an external storage, never was a 100% reliable solution anyway, but since months gets reported to suffer from growing numbers of users saying that they now canno9t even create an image with Windows onboard tools (W7) from start on. Sometimes it is due to lacking virtual memory, it seems, or they messed up their background service settings. But I want to say that here is another tempting opportunity for Microsoft to erode the Windows7 user basis even more - by preventing people from creating security images of their W7 installations so that they cannot install W7 freshly via such an image. I'm just saying. Be on your guard, Microsoft plays stinking foul, and they certainly have not missed this chance to damage W7 this way. If you do a HD image, use a separate software solution, not Windows onboard solution.

Windows 7 was the best OS - and the last operation system! - they ever put together, and now they try so hard to kill its reputation and to destroy it. Shows what crazy lunatics are at the helm on Microsoft's bridge. Its really high time that this ship sinks. And who knows - maybe that would deliver a healing shock to the user community worldwide who still takes it for granted that MS software will be around forever. Or services. Or free use of XYZ. LOL