Newsletter Archives

• Betanews: Microsoft is disgustingly sneaky: Windows 10 isn’t an operating system, it’s an advertising platform

  Posted on March 12, 2017 at 12:42 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Mark Wilson just posted an interesting rant on the Betanews site:

  Microsoft is disgustingly sneaky: Windows 10 isn’t an operating system, it’s an advertising platform

  Of course, that won’t come as a revelation to you  folks, but Mark’s to be commended for not pulling any punches.

  If we’re honest, the company is doing nothing more than abusing its position, using Windows 10 to promote its own tools and services, or those with which it has marketing arrangements. Does Microsoft think we’re stupid?

  His tag line struck home for me:

  It’s time for things to change, but will Microsoft listen?

  A chorus I’ve been singing for several decades. The answer, of course, is that Microsoft has no intention of reducing the advertising. Instead, they want to make it more lucrative. Which is understandable, I suppose, when you look at the precipitous revenue drop in non-enterprise Windows 10 fees.

  Tip o’ the hat to MT.

  Windows News Windows 10 advertising

• Turn off advertising in Windows File Explorer

  Posted on March 8, 2017 at 07:25 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’m getting confirmation that this infernal ad appears in Win10 File Explorer, going back at least to version 1511.

  Fortunately, it’s easy to zap – but you have to know the trick.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Thanks to Martin Brinkmann, Ghacks.net.

  Windows News Advertising, File Explorer, Windows 10 advertising

• Privacy and advertising in Windows 10 – both sides of the story

  Posted on August 5, 2015 at 07:45 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  It’s not at all black-and-white, in spite of the dire warnings you may have read.

  Here’s the facts.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch

  Windows News Windows 10 advertising, Windows 10 privacy