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Per my Rant in the forums (Exit ramp from WinX & Glide path to… – April, 2017), this solidifies my decision to move away from the Windows platform. It appears more and more to me that Apple may be a viable alternative, even with the higher forecast costs. What is trust worth? Looks like I might be finding out at my local Apple store sooner than I thought.

I wonder when my employers will arrive at the same decision point. History does have a way of repeating itself – I recall quite vividly how Windows established a beach head in the early 90’s.

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Bill C.

I must have written that right after I stubbed my toe. I apologize for the angry tone. See my explanation above in a response to Woody. Respectfully, there is an error in your reasoning – as long as MS can update my machine without notice or approval it’s not really my ‘windows device’.

Actually, my mind is not made up. In my passive aggressive manor, I’m hoping someone will say something that convinces me to give MS more time to get it’s act together and fix some of these issues in a way that meets both our needs. I am really too lazy to move to Linux, unless MS forces the issue. That point is approaching, but we aren’t quite there yet.

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teuhasn

I certainly meant no disrespect. In my frustration my words were, if not ill considered, not ordered in a friendly, persuasive manner. I apologize to AElMassry and you Woody, and the other forum participants.

I am frustrated with MS. I’m frustrated that I no longer have control over my computing experience. Perhaps that is just the destruction of a misconception I’ve held since the 1990’s. I imagined that MS was a partner, providing an improving series of products that improved my productivity and expanded my horizons. That business model was beneficial to both MS and me.

I understand the risks associated with an unsupported OS. I’m attached to reality, and occasionally the internet – and I fully appreciate the risks associated with detaching from the former while attached to the latter.

Nevertheless, I value ownership of my computing experience – I prefer to master my own ship. I spoke rhetorically in a poorly veiled attempt to muster fellow rebels. That’s right, I now imagine a rebellion against the dastardly business practices and poor OS stewardship of the Redmondians. They are the generators of the majority of computing anxiety in the US today.

My strategy is to store all of my data on external hard drives. I will continue with 1511, regardless of the risks, unless/until the Redmondians produce an OS that fits my concept of usability within a reliable and trustworthy business model, or unilaterally terminate my ability to continue using 1511. I am also moving towards Linux. I will measure that move against the lifespan of my current computer hardware.

It is always good to understand, within reasonable prudence and discretion, the motives of those you do business with. Those that use Windows are most certainly in business with MS regardless of whether or not $ changes hands. You Woody are my most trusted source of computer advice. I admire your level demeanor, informed opinions, and measured words. Thanks for sharing your computing knowledge with me on your forums and in Computer World.

I am not resisting or rejecting your advice. I am resisting the poor business practices of MS.

Fare well.

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Elly, teuhasn, Kirsty

Yes, maybe it does expire. So? Why do you need to upgrade? Seriously – are you just going along or are you managing your machine? What is the downside to using an ‘expired’ OS? How do you know? Who told you? Why do you believe them? What do they gain from telling you?

What do you think you will get in 1703 that you don’t have in 1511? How will 1703 make your life better?

I don’t care. I have a computer that meets my needs right now. Convince me, without using Chicken-Little security fear mongering, that I need to upgrade. And ‘because MS says so’, doesn’t count either. Go slow, I want to take a picture of your facial expressions while you express your dearly held opinions but still fail to justify any reason for ME to upgrade. I’ll upgrade on my schedule based on what benefits I perceive.

You are absolutely correct, sadly so. In a few years WinX build 6,468,432,123.1563.432 will be the only ‘supported’ show in town. What an opportunity for some young entrepreneur to form a company and start a new OS, call it Sliding Glass Doors. I’d pay $ for an OS that was only an OS – not an ‘Information gathering platform that also runs programs that only we approve of and profit from and kinda rips off the smartphone interface that either Google or Apple make billions from but that we can’t get right or make money from so we’ll just kill the desktop paradigm trying’. Maybe it would look like Win 286 – or even 3.1, or…XP…7 (before it was mutated into the former).

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SueW, Charlie, Elly

I’m  sitting on 1511, all fat and sassy. Don’t care about security. Don’t are about the latest features. Don’t care about MS. All I need is a computer and OS that can run the programs that I want. Thank Bill Gates for WUSHOWHIDE.

 

P.S. I do worry that big bad MS will sabotage my system and leave me stranded. It’s not paranoia if they really are all out to get you.

INTEL SYSTEM update 10.1.1.38 was offered on my 10/1511 system on the 23rd. I hid it using wushowhide. Thank IBM for that utility.

I’m on 1511 – still. I run wushowhide everyday. All I’m seeing lately is an update for silverlight and defender. I leave them unchecked – meaning that I’ll accept them when offered. I’m not being offered anything else. Is that weird?

It wasn’t I that started the argument about taste – MS and JLG did. They argued that their idea of an improved UI in Office and Windows was better than mine. I lost. So much for a non-argument – how can there be winners and losers if you shouldn’t argue about tastes?

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Cybertooth

I realize that we are both pursuing the same strategy – trying to adapt new software to our preferred work methods. I will enjoy learning some tricks from your suggestions. I guess I’m fine with Classic Shell. It’s functional. I didn’t really like WinX Start. It was nice to have a choice. Truth is I don’t spend much time in either. I like my programs on the Taskbar. I prefer Everything to every other search I’ve ever used.

Be careful installing Office 2003 in addition to other versions of Office. I haven’t experienced it myself, but the web is full of complicated instructions on how to install more than one version of Office at a time. Apparently they each try to take over storage locations and file associations.

I’ve had no problem with Office 2003 by itself on WinX. Visio 2003 has a problem shutting down – it always tries to restart. It has something to do with connecting to some internal database. Or something like that. It works – it just shuts down weird. And neither has a ribbon! 🙂

I do use ‘modern’ versions of Word and Office at work. I’m just not as productive on them. I’m also often frustrated. I use many keyboard shortcuts. It still amazes me how good MS was at hiding many of the Word options I use the most. The ribbon’s inability to be customized must certainly be a feature many current users adore.

I get what you are saying. As a white (caucasian, anglo-saxon, scandinavian) American, born in Lincoln, Nebraska, I always wondered why I can’t claim to be a Native American. I am native to these shores. My ancestry diverges.

There are only two types of people – those that divide people into groups and those that don’t. I know which type of person I want to be.

Whoops, a couple of omissions that don’t really change my rant. I run Classic Shell on my WinX Lenovo. I also run Office 2003 along with Visio 2003 under WinX on that machine. I never use IE. I still don’t know or care what .Net is. Why should I ever upgrade that?

I don’t do much gaming, especially since MS Solitaire went somewhere. Did I understand right that it now includes advertisement? Ha!

And I meant Libre Office, not Open Office.

And it really angers me that MS is retrofitting Win7 & Win8.1 with spyware. Ughhhh!!!

Ok, no fanaticism here. Oh well, who am I kidding. I need a MS 12-step program.

Thanks for the replies. This was a rant and I didn’t really expect such thoughtful replies.

And now let the rant continue.

I do own a Lenovo Flex 3 with Windows 10-1511. I use WUSHOWHIDE daily to block the updates I don’t want. I use much of Woody’s advice in this strategy. I use Everything instead of windows search, including Cortana. I’ve taken all of the steps I have learned to stop Cortana. I put a piece of tape over my camera. That’s probably a little paranoid but…

I use Spybot Anti-Beacon to block WinX attempts to phone home with some of my data. Which data? I don’t know. It seems only fair that if I’m going to be forced to share my data in exchange for using Microsoft’s OS I should know which data I’m sharing. MS doesn’t share that POV.

I use a local account. It surprises me how often MS manages to get me back on to my microsoft account. Yes I have one – I didn’t realize the implications when I first started this new computer and OS. I always switch back to my local account when I realize I’ve been hijacked by the OS vendor.

I use Office 2003 because I like the UI. No one asked me if I thought a ribbon would be better. It is my money – if I thought a ribbon or a monkey would be better for my workflow I’d pay for it. Why can’t MS program multiple UI’s and allow the user to select their preference? That goes for OS’s as well as Office suites. The underlying code doesn’t care what button the user pushes, only the user cares. I don’t like being told that my choice is obsolete when it doesn’t have to be. As far as security, well, I’m not that worried. What’s the worst that can happen – someone gets access to my computer and sees all of my data, tracks my usage, and does something with it like downloading portions of it for their own advantage? Wait, MS already does that.

As far as Apple, Linux, or any other OS maker, will they follow MS’s lead? I’d rather pay a reasonable number of $ every year or two to acquire the OS and associated software of my choice, and not be forced to upgrade via SAAS or forced obsolescence. What’s the saying, ‘If it’s free, you’re the product’. I don’t care to sell myself. That’s for another group of people in our society.

So what about Google, and specifically Chrome? I use Chrome. Why? It shares data. Lots. All. Why then do I use it? Am I a hypocrite? I like the way it works. I like the UI. I understand all of the data it captures – I know every keystroke I enter into it. So how is that different than MS? Google made the rules clear from the beginning and hasn’t changed those rules. MS formerly sold me a permanent license. Then it decided that it could legally bully me into changing the programs I use by SAAS or forced obsolescence, with a healthy dose of fear mongering via the security arguments. MS uses the bad guys to their advantage. And none of it, IMHO, helps me. I reserve the right to decide what helps me.

I was a MS evangelist in the late 80’s and 90’s. I installed 3.1 on my work computer almost getting fired for it. I did the same with Word 1.1a. The WP guys hated me. But I saw something that helped me work better, faster, smarter. MS helped me for a long time. No longer. I regret that. I did my part. I didn’t leave MS – they left me. And they don’t care. If they did, IMHO, they’d give me choices, not dictates. That was the rallying cry for Windows in the early, rich days – There’s more than one way to do things. You don’t have to do it IBM’s way. Now MS is IBM.

End of Rant. Until next time. Thank you.

‘A fanatic is someone who won’t change his mind and can’t change the subject.’
— Winston Churchill

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Elly