Windows 10

[Wag]

Functionally, it's not difficult to use.

You can turn off most, but not all, of the snooping stuff that MS put in there.

Linux is pretty straightforward these days. If you can, install it on an old computer and see if you like it and then decide.

--Wag--

[ThomR]

If you want to give Linux a try you can run it off of a dvd or usb without actually installing the operating system.

[Traffer]

Updates are a pain but more in the office environment than at home. I believe that it is a vast improvement over 7, not to mention the 8 and Millennium disasters. Apple is a personal choice, I don't like it because they have decided what you can and can't do. Linux tends to be better for techies or at least people with some computer knowledge.

Most of all, we are fast approaching the end of support for WIN7 at which point the security upgrades taper off and cease. Make no mistake, the crooks are attacking the legacy operating systems. Those of you that aren't up on maintaining your own security will be at an increased risk. WIN 10 may be designed to snoop but that can easily be turned down, Microsoft isn't going to drain your bank account and what do most of us have to hide? For those of you without commercial anti-virus, Windows defender is free and pretty effective. Do a search and download directly from a Microsoft site. Be careful of the other sites that pay to be first in line on your search answers. Respectfully, Wayne - corporate VP of Information Services

You have the credentials of a VP. I have the experience of a small time Computer repair person since Windows 3.1. I have set up many "first computers" for folks and have done a lot of work for people who do not have high level computer skills. Most average people are not aware of the fact that "all those" convenient sounding apps on Windows 10 are actually tools for Microsoft (and whoever thy chose to share/give/sell it) to gather your personal information AND personal habits. I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of Win 10 users never turn off the info gathering settings. And as some here have stated, every time it updates it reverts the settings back to default which is full on Microsoft gets your data. As far as it being a better operating system, it is designed to work more like Android for the touch screen convenience. That I will grant you. If you have a touch screen and want an operating system for it (and don't want the very efficient Android) Windows 10 is for you. For the rest of us keyboard users... it is my opinion that you would be better off with Win 7 (until the end of support) I will continue to use Win 7 well after they stop supporting it. Then...linux. No Win 10...ever. I guess you could say that I am a "never 10er".

[M-Tecs]

I love Windows 10. I do have a very fast cable connection so updates are not an issue. It did take a little getting used too but it has been the most trouble free system I have used. I started with an Apple Macintosh in the 1987. I would have probably stayed with Apple but work used Microsoft products so I switched to MS around 1994.

[DougGuy]

Anyone that can run win10 can run Linux Mint. It is SUPER EASY to move from windows to Linux Mint. Download the free Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon iso, use a free program called Etcher and burn the iso to a usb stick which will then be bootable, you can boot into linux and run it without installing, it will not make ANY changes to your computer, -unless- you decide to install it by clicking on the desktop icon that says "install linux mint"

[bob208]

I am a computer Neanderthal. but I have no problems going from windows 7 to 10.

[Huskerguy]

I switched to 10 on both home computers and still have 7 at work. 10 is really hard to beat. It has a ton more features that probably most do not use. I find it easy to use, stable and I don't have virus problems.

[kayala]

I've played with 10 in VM at work - even without all the snoopers I couldn't find a single thing to like. I went OS X about 8 years ago and couple years ago my wife's laptop finally died and it was the last nail to microsoft products in my house

[coloraydo]

You have the credentials of a VP. I have the experience of a small time Computer repair person since Windows 3.1. I have set up many "first computers" for folks and have done a lot of work for people who do not have high level computer skills. Most average people are not aware of the fact that "all those" convenient sounding apps on Windows 10 are actually tools for Microsoft (and whoever thy chose to share/give/sell it) to gather your personal information AND personal habits. I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of Win 10 users never turn off the info gathering settings. And as some here have stated, every time it updates it reverts the settings back to default which is full on Microsoft gets your data. As far as it being a better operating system, it is designed to work more like Android for the touch screen convenience. That I will grant you. If you have a touch screen and want an operating system for it (and don't want the very efficient Android) Windows 10 is for you. For the rest of us keyboard users... it is my opinion that you would be better off with Win 7 (until the end of support) I will continue to use Win 7 well after they stop supporting it. Then...linux. No Win 10...ever. I guess you could say that I am a "never 10er".

So, to a computer neanderthal, what and how are the gathering tools shut off?

[Traffer]

So, to a computer neanderthal, what and how are the gathering tools shut off?

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2971...-by-piece.html
I realize that there are a lot of steps to follow there. So this place offers programs that will make it easy. I HAVE NOT TESTED ANY OF THESE. Use them at you own risk.
The way I shut off Windows 10 snooping was to format my hard drive and put Windows 7 on it.
Good luck:
https://www.geckoandfly.com/25083/fr...-tracking-you/

[coloraydo]

Thanks, Traffer. I'll look into it.

[roadie]

Updates are a pain but more in the office environment than at home. I believe that it is a vast improvement over 7, not to mention the 8 and Millennium disasters. Apple is a personal choice, I don't like it because they have decided what you can and can't do. Linux tends to be better for techies or at least people with some computer knowledge.

Most of all, we are fast approaching the end of support for WIN7 at which point the security upgrades taper off and cease. Make no mistake, the crooks are attacking the legacy operating systems. Those of you that aren't up on maintaining your own security will be at an increased risk. WIN 10 may be designed to snoop but that can easily be turned down, Microsoft isn't going to drain your bank account and what do most of us have to hide? For those of you without commercial anti-virus, Windows defender is free and pretty effective. Do a search and download directly from a Microsoft site. Be careful of the other sites that pay to be first in line on your search answers. Respectfully, Wayne - corporate VP of Information Services

The argument that Linux is for techies just doesn't wash. I don't see why it's any harder for a Windows user to learn how Linux works. I mean, the user had to learn how to use Windows, right?

As far as the snooping that goes on with Windows 10, having nothing to hide is a very, very, moot point. The fact is, it's none of Microsoft's darn business where I go, what I look at, which bank I deal with.

And given Microsoft's reputation, and the fact that they do engage in mass surveillance, I wouldn't trust any one of them with my info. The argument that anyone "with nothing to hide", has nothing to worry about is a really slippery slope.

It's one of the ways they've shoved mass surveillance on the entire world.....what're you worried about.....got something to hide?

[ThomR]

What's harder to learn to use, a Linux operating system that looks like Windows 7, or Windows 8/10 that got away from the traditional menu?

[Wag]

I forgot that you can load Linux onto a bootable USB stick. Do that and test it on your current computer and see what you think. Mint. Ubuntu. etc. There are a lot of flavors of Linux out there and many of them are quite good.

--Wag--

[David2011]

My background is similar to Traffer's. Twenty five years of supporting computers, the last 20 in a Fortune 100 corporate environment and thankfully now retired. I just got a new laptop that has 10 on it. We had started moving to 10 when I retired last year. From a modification perspective it has some challenges that previous operating systems didn't have. First, you have to learn where to find the controls that were familiar in previous operating systems.

Some things just work differently in 10. After setting up the computer I decided I didn't like my data folder structure so I fixed it which involved changing the location of the Outlook e-mail file. In previous operating systems I have done that many times without any problem. In 10 it broke the data file and I spent probably 10 hours trying to fix it. I was never able to fully fix it and instead ended up creating a new data file and importing all of the previous e-mail into it. What a pain!

Windows 10 works well once you learn to live with it.

Learning Linux would be about the same level of difficulty to a nontechnical person as adjusting to 10 but in the end I think you would have a better system that has a lot of support. Free support.

[roadie]

Windows 10 works well once you learn to live with it.

Learning Linux would be about the same level of difficulty to a nontechnical person as adjusting to 10 but in the end I think you would have a better system that has a lot of support. Free support.

Linux has come a long, long way since I first started using it and is now at the point where, yes, learning Linux would probably be on par to adapting to Windows 10. I say this based on what I've been told and read about 10, I've never used it myself and never will.

In this day and age there's just no good reason to not try Linux. The majority of Linux distributions run very well on older equipment, so no need to buy new puters. My laptop is around 10 years old and runs better than Windows 10 or any other Windows version.....and, no crashes, it just keeps running.

And, it's free and support is free.....last time I looked, Windows wasn't free, matter of fact it was kinda pricey. Actually, the cost of Windows and having to constantly reinstall when it dosed up is what turned me to Linux.

In my experience, dosing up is one of the few things that Windows does well, that and snooping. Actually, I see the snooping as not much different to identity theft.....and you get to pay them to steal your info.