back to article Microsoft rolls out first 'major update' to Windows 10

Microsoft has released an update it says is the first major release for Windows 10. Redmond said the new version of Windows 10, version 1511, will offer better performance and compatibility with third-party hardware. "With this update, there are improvements in all aspects of the platform and experience, including thousands …

  1. Innocent-Bystander*

    Wonderful :\

    Another update that will restart my system in the middle of class while I'm trying to take notes.

    1. glussier

      Re: Wonderful :\

      You don't have to do the update while in class. First, you'll have to download over 3gB of data before being able to do it, and then you can postpone this update until class is over.

      1. Paul Shirley

        Re: Wonderful :\

        Is that another 3Gb Win7&8 machines will download whether they need it or not?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wonderful :\

      Better ask your mom for help upgrading.

      1. jonathanb Silver badge

        Re: Wonderful :\

        Mothers usually ask their kids for help with these things.

        1. h4rm0ny

          Re: Wonderful :\

          Mothers these days had their teenage and university years the Nineties. Given how much simpler technology has become these days (I can install and use GNU/Linux without even touching a compiler, and say what you like about Windows 7,8 or 10, compared to the Hell that was Windows 98 using and configuring it is easy), I think parents now are probably more technically adept than most kids. Or close.

          The tech-illiterate parent syndrome can probably start to enter its dying decade, I hope.

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge
            FAIL

            Re: Wonderful :\

            > Mothers these days had their teenage and university years the Nineties

            And mine were the 80's. Your point is?

            (Hint - age isn't really a reliable indication of technical skill levels)

    3. Terry 6 Silver badge

      Re: Wonderful :\

      You should take notes with a pen and paper,and review them later; it works better, believe me.

      Anyway Win 10 schedules a restart, it doesn't just fold up while you are using it.

      I'm no fan anymore, but you can't moan about that aspect.

    4. d3vy

      Re: Wonderful :\

      Or you know... When it pops up saying it wants to restart it gives you the option to change the time...

      It also tries to select a suitable time based on your usage... So far I've not had one restart during business hours...

      1. PeeKay
        FAIL

        Re: Wonderful :\

        Two days ago I was unable to work on my Surface Pro 3 because windows decided that it was a good time to patch. The Surface was unavailable for over an hour while it did this (and it wasn't due to lack of patching). I ended up using a unix device to complete the job.

        So, hating to disagree with you there fella, but the kid has a point...

        1. d3vy

          Re: Wonderful :\

          "The Surface was unavailable for over an hour while it did this"

          Really? an hour? My laptop is about the same spec (yoga2 pro) and doesnt take anywhere near that long - my kids i5 with a really slow spinny disk hdd only took 15 minutes and that was to apply a few months worth of updates..

          I think you need to have a look at your machine, there is clearly something wrong.

        2. d3vy

          Re: Wonderful :\

          Forgot to mention:

          "Two days ago I was unable to work on my Surface Pro 3 because windows decided that it was a good time to patch"

          This does not disprove my point - it just proves that you have not taken the minute required to schedule a time for the patching to happen, its three maybe four clicks (taps on your surface).

          Of course, if it makes you feel better im sure there is a command line command that you can run to do the same thing - to make you feel more at home..

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    W00t!

    The best OS just got better! MSFT has totally got its mojo back.

    1. nexsphil

      Re: W00t!

      Jesus H Christ. Mods?

    2. a_yank_lurker

      Re: W00t!

      off your meds?

      1. Bluto Nash

        Re: W00t!

        off your meds?

        Or perhaps ON them...

    3. RAMChYLD Bronze badge

      Re: W00t!

      Except that they pulled the music and movie store from Malaysia shortly before and Cortana is still not available (but is available in India?!? WTH?).

      Also, it rolled the graphics card drivers on my laptop back to pre-release July 15th, 2015 ones (that's my main beef with Windows 10. AMD released updated drivers on August 3rd and again on August 21st. Windows keeps pushing the July 15th drivers despite the drivers being already newer). Also, it did something to the drivers- AMD Quickstream keeps complaining that it couldn't find the license to operate the software.

      1. Test Man

        Re: W00t!

        AMD QuickStream - reinstall it from the abc.exe download from AMD's site.

        Fixed it for me.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: W00t!

        "but is available in India"

        If you think about it thats the perfect country to launch a service that sounds like its reading a badly written script and when you ask it for help it either asks you a stupid question in response or it gives you a completely irrelevant reply.

        1. hoveringfalcon

          Re: W00t!

          [Quote]

          If you think about it thats the perfect country to launch a service that sounds like its reading a badly written script and when you ask it for help it either asks you a stupid question in response or it gives you a completely irrelevant reply.

          [\Quote]

          AAA

          Although I am not good in it myself, English is a stupid language. GET IT. If you do not know the criteria of judging languages, then don't even think of replying or thumbing down.

          BBB

          I bet you Rothschilds fortunes that your accent in the major Indian language - Hindi - would be WAY MORE funny and less understanding than any Indian's english accent.

          CCC

          Quit moaning about India taking your country jobs. Instead, India is suffering from huge brain drain from entire West collectively.

          Apart from draining best minds, West lobbies Indian education committes to degrade the syllabus content and methodilogy. Another bump. Don't ask for proof.

          DDD

          .....

          EEE

          .....

          [I am not anymore in mood to put all that I wanted. Suck that for now]

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: W00t!

            "Although I am not good in it myself, English is a stupid language."

            Well when you become good at it , get back to us.

            "I bet you Rothschilds fortunes that your accent in the major Indian language - Hindi - would be WAY MORE funny"

            Indian languages are already funny even when spoken by the natives. And when they do the head wobble its just pure comedy gold. :o)

            "Instead, India is suffering from huge brain drain from entire West collectively."

            Well since your women are unable to keep their knickers on and the men to keep their dicks in their pants for more than 5 minutes and with the consequence your population is over a billion , I don't think you have too much to worry about there.

    4. Paul_Murphy
      Facepalm

      Re: W00t!

      Don't feed the trolls please.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: W00t!

      Alert, Alert !

      Rabid delusional lunatic on the lose, call the men in white coats.

    6. Planty Bronze badge

      Re: W00t!

      Making something that's less shit than windows 8, that's not getting your mojo back, its just not being as bad and out of touch as before

  3. Camilla Smythe

    These Days...

    I have discovered Linux appears to be quite stable.

    This afternoon the Cat tried to interface with the keyboard and I did not manage CTRL|ALT|LOCK under his tum before his bum reset the computer. When interrogated about which key combination he had used he resorted to extreme purring.

    Can someone remind me why everyone uses Windows... or is that a Facebook thing?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: These Days...

      I will endeavour to oblige.

      I try out Ubuntu (and K), Mint and Fedora on a regular basis to see 'if the time has finally come'.

      Over the weekend I clean installed Ubuntu 15.10 on a dedicated drive. The FIRST of the non-ubuntu 'store' programs I installed refused to work because some dependancy was not included anymore, and I couldn't find it through their software management system.

      Luckily for me, I still have a fully functional Mint system.

      Last week I did a Win 10 install, and a Win 7. All the software required by the user installed. 10 had all the requirded drivers on board, all the drivers required for the 7 system were available for download from the OEM's and all of them were recent versions.

      YMMV. just saying because you asked.

      1. Zog_but_not_the_first

        Re: These Days...

        @Peter R. 1

        Very unreasonable downvotes in response to an honest view. My experience is pretty much the same as yours - regular assessment but stumbling over issues that make the Linux experience less than the seamless transition many commentators would have you believe that it is.

        I find Microsoft's recent change of tack into data mining etc., deeply troubling and I will probably leave them at some point when Windows 7 becomes unsustainable, but Linux isn't there yet. For me at least.

        1. Arctic fox
          Windows

          @Zog_but_not_the_first "..... into data mining etc., deeply troubling ........"

          You are not the only one. However, if you are using the "Enterprise" edition MS are now committed to permitting you to completely strangle all telemetry with this latest update. If you are running the Pro-version you might care to take a look at "Spybot Anti-Beacon" to see if it might serve your needs. From their site:

          "Spybot Anti-Beacon is a standalone tool which was designed to block and stop the various tracking (telemetry) issues present in Windows 10. It has since been modified to block similar tracking functionality in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems."......."Simply clicking “Immunize” on the main screen of Anti-Beacon will immediately disable any known tracking features included by Microsoft in the operating system" ***

          https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

          ***I should underline the point that I have no connection with that site of any kind whatsoever.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @Zog_but_not_the_first "..... into data mining etc., deeply troubling ........"

            ref. spybot anti-beacon

            Simply clicking “Immunize" - this somehow it makes me feel uneasy. Yes, I remember spybot, but these days nothing appears to be what it seems, and often by design :(

            1. Arctic fox
              Windows

              Re:"Simply clicking “Immunize" - this somehow it makes me feel uneasy. "

              Well whilst I am in no position to guarantee anything I can say that it is the original spybot team who have been in the business for something like a decade and a half. A quick search reveals that it has been tested by a number of known and respectable sites. Whether or not it would meet your needs is of course up to you to evaluate.

            2. Ilsa Loving

              Re: @Zog_but_not_the_first "..... into data mining etc., deeply troubling ........"

              Does anyone know if this deals with the fact that some of Microsoft's telemetry is so deep that it can't be shut off (unless you're using Enterprise)?

          2. Nunyabiznes

            Re: @Zog_but_not_the_first "..... into data mining etc., deeply troubling ........"

            @Artic Fox,

            Thanks for the heads up. I'll be looking into this.

            1. Arctic fox
              Windows

              @Nunyabiznes Re:" Thanks for the heads up. I'll be looking into this."

              My pleasure. My personal take after having installed Win 10 on two SP3s and our home office heavy lifter is that there is a lot to like if one can get it to shut up!

      2. Teiwaz
        WTF?

        Re: These Days...

        "non-ubuntu 'store' programs"

        You mean some 3rd party 'app' from the Software Centre? If so, It would have been nice if that had been 'caught' before 15.10 was released, but hardly an indicator of whether an OS is stable or not.

        This might have been the responsibility of whoever submitted it, not Ubuntu/Canonicals.

        Ubuntu is moving to 'Snappy' packages in a release or two, which should prevent those issues in the future.

        "Luckily for me, I still have a fully functional Mint system."

        Yes, lucky. You found the token problem you were looking for so you could dismiss an entire OS as 'refusing to work'. Although it doesn't sound like you even use Mint much by you choice of terminology.

        With Linux, drivers mostly depend on how well (if at all) the kernel supports the hardware. If you have mainstream hardware your generally good to go, no fuss. If you have something exotic or very very new there is a chance of issues as hardware vendors rarely consider it worth the effort to provide anything at all.

      3. Whistlerspa

        Re: These Days...

        And I tried to install firstly Suse Leap 42.1 and then Mint 17.2 on my Intel driven 5yo laptop that I decided to blow Win 10 32 bit away on. The Suse download produced an errored dvd that stalled mid way through the install ( tried two burns) twice, and and Mint 17.2 disc which I'd used before wouldn't progress past the splash screen. My original Ubuntu 14.04 installed flawlessly however - still the best distrowatch imho.

        1. Chemist

          Re: These Days...

          "The Suse download produced an errored dvd that stalled mid way through the install"

          In my experience if there's any kind of error on a DVD then installation is probably a waste of time

          Was the .iso checksum OK ?. If it was and your hardware will support it why not use a USB install ?

          Leap is 42.1 is very new - I'd use 13.2 - I've installed that on a number of machines with no problems at all. I'd also use a liveDVD or LiveUSB to check everything out and then use the install option from that.

          1. Whistlerspa

            Re: These Days...

            ' Re Leap is very new. ...'

            Totally agree with you. To clarify I had already tried out the iso in Virtual Box and it had worked fine, so the problem was in the burning process. There is no Live DVD for Suse Leap so I risked it. I posted my original comment in response to someone else posting about the benefits of Mint and comments around the stability of Suse. I don't like USB installs as I can't really be bothered with all the mucking about that it takes to prepare the pen drive. Much easier to burn the iOS to disk and this is only the second time that a DVD hasn't worked.

            I've found Linux to be a matter of personal experience and it can still be a hit and miss affair with regards to variables like hardware compatibility, software bugs and glitches and the like.

            Personally had the best results from various Ubuntu versions over the years and have never had much success with distros like Arch, Fedora, Mint or Non Linux BSD.

            1. Chemist

              Re: These Days...

              "To clarify I had already tried out the iso in Virtual Box and it had worked fine, so the problem was in the burning process."

              Can I enquire if you used the 'check installation media' option from the boot menu of the .iso. In my experience that shows up all flaky disks ( unless they are so bad that they don't boot ) Also - was the .iso checksum correct ?

              My experiences over many years with OpenSUSE, installing on all sorts of machines is completely positive.

    2. Turtle

      @Camilla Smythe Re: Can someone remind me...

      Apparently you lead a very sheltered and isolated life.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: These Days...

      antiX 15 is an excellent light weight Linux distro and they in conjunction with Mepis make MX-14, 15 in beta, which is a little heavier as it has a more traditional GUI. Both are great. I should mention that I have no relationship to either distro other than being a satisfied user of those distros.

      http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

    4. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Re: These Days...

      "Can someone remind me why everyone uses Windows"

      Because it the most supported desktop OS in the world?

      Also contrary to popular belief Linux doesn't always work. I had no end end of pain getting bloody mouse to work on my system along with it being convinced I have a HDMI monitor (along with my real one) attached and deciding to use it as a primary monitor.

      2 hours dicking around with these two very basic things drove me mad. Searching shows these are not uncommon issues.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: These Days...

        @Lost all Faith - I'm astonished - that's the first time I've ever heard of anybody having problems with a mouse being recognised in Linux. I'm curious as to what caused the problem, if you'd not mind sharing, so that if I ever come across that problem I'll have some idea of what's up.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: These Days...

          @ Esme:

          Mouse Issue example

          http://itsfoss.com/invisible-mouse-cursor-ubuntu-1310/

          Same in MINT

          As par the course for Linux, had to resort to command line fixes. of course, due to the fact it thought I had a non-existent monitor, guess where the shell was coming up...so had to spend a hour finding that issue first.

    5. HamsterNet

      Re: These Days...

      The Terminal

      That's why people dont use Linux and use Windows instead.

      If you dont understand then just stop using the terminal and see how you get on with your Linux installation (hoe you don't have AMD graphic or processors), set up, drivers or almost anything else.

      1. Teiwaz

        Re: These Days...

        For most the larger and easy access distros (Mint, Suse, Puppy etc.) and some of the others (Slitaz comes to mind) you don't need to go to the terminal for much, even during initial set-up, at least for an average desktop setup. Even with AMD graphics (as long as you stick to the OSS drivers).

        If you are going to try to use hardware from firms that don't give a shit and implement stuff that can only be operated by their drivers that is your own lookout (the only peripherals I've had issues with is Logitech).

        Other distros make no effort to avoid the command line (arch, gentoo and the like). Their intended userbase are expected to be able to use the CLI - it's intended.

        1. Can't think of anything witty...
          Pint

          Re: These Days...

          "...you don't need to go to the terminal for much"

          But i think that is often still too much. I've dabbled a little in Linux over the years and i'm really impressed with the live disc operating systems (if you need to rescue a pc with a dodgy disk, Knoppix is excellent). Incredible to think that you can just boot from a CD and have a usable system in a few minutes.

          but i've never switched over fully. just feels like too much effort, plus i do want support for a few old games that i might get to play again some day. whenever i did try linux, i would always get to some point where the thing that i wanted to do required me to use the command window... and it's hard to go along with that. either i blindly trust the command as written on the net (not least, that i know what it does and that it does what i expect it to) or i have to learn a whole language just ot set a folder permission or something. That's my experience of desktop linux. great up to the point where you need to type "sudo", but that point will always come.

          in fairness to MS, i think that the windows 7 install process was impressive... load the disc, put in some info (like username, product key and WiFi / network access etc.) then just leave it for about an hour, come back and it was done. I'm sure it isn' that simple every time, but the last few times i have re-installed 7 it was very simple.

          and i never had to resort to a command window. so that's why i still use windows.

          just my opinion.. and i'm putting off going back to work on a sunny friday afternoon... :)

          1. Teiwaz

            Re: These Days...

            There will always be things more convenient to do on a command line a opposed to through a gui.

            It is why, after all, after years of ignoring the command window, Powershell was introduced on Windows.

            The casual Desktop user shouldn't have to go near the linux equivalent any more than the windows user should, and unless you are doing something complicated I think this is currently as true for linux as it is for Windows (as long as you are using a good desktop ui on a well set up distro).

            I've met a number of ubuntu users of late who are lost on the command line (didn't even know what apt-get was), but they never need to use it, and most Linux installers never drop you into the command line at any point (and indeed install in half the time (about 20-30 minutes).

            There are always going to be issues with hardware that require tweaking to work. This is difficult to sort due to the vast range of hardware in use on 'PCs' and the fact that many manufacturers only write drivers for the most popular platforms (windows), and if they do provide a linux driver it's generally very beta, not been updated for ages or doesn't support their older products.

            Old Windows games are not a problem (mostly) on linux either (especially dos/95 era games) and also older windows games tend to have stable support under wine.

            1. Whistlerspa

              Re: These Days...

              " there will always be things more convenient to do on a command line..."

              Not if you have typing skills and a memory for CLI commands like mine. Give me find, point and click courtesy of a GUI interface any day.

      2. Chemist

        Re: These Days...

        " then just stop using the terminal and see how you get on with your Linux installation"

        Oh, not again !

        See : http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/containing/2685979

      3. badger31

        Re: These Days...

        @HamsterNet

        That's a bit like saying 'try driving your manual-shift car without using the gear stick' when someone says manuals are better to drive than automatics.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: These Days...

        @HamsterNet - the Terminal is only there for you to use IF you want to, same as the command line is in Windows. You don't have to go anywhere near it if you don't want to.

        And if you;re talking about situations where you;re installing to the latest hardware, well, let;s see:

        - kit sold with Windows in mind; - MS and various hardware vendors work on drivers before kit is released. User buys kit with Windows installed (or installs Windows themselves) , and all is sweetness and light, fair enough.

        - user installs Linux on same kit as above. Open source coders haven;t yet had time to produce drivers to make the new stuff work as well as it might (or, occasionally at all). However, some months down the line, open source coders catch up with that kit. All is now sweetness and light.

        Or, put rather more bluntly - if you're technically able and confident enough to be installing operating systems and mess around with software, you should be bright enough to understand why Linux is best installed on slightly older kit, not bleeding-edged stuff. And if you're not, then I wouldn't want you looking after ANY kit, Windows or otherwise.

        People that keep failing to take into account the amount of time it takes to develop drivers and fail to acknowledge that the situation as it has been thus far has always disadvantaged the open-source coders will always feel that Linux isn;t desktop-ready yet.

        Those who actually want to just use desktop PCs for everyday kind of tasks will find that Linux on kit a couple of years old works fine in the vast majority of cases. Once installed, it gives a lot less problems than WIndows, is more customisable, and is likely to be more secure than Windows on the same kit for the average user (if only because they'll be getting their software from a vetted repository, instead of going to free software sites and downloading malkware-infested software, but there are other aspects to the security angle as we all know, I'm sure). Add to that the lack of data-slurping, and that's most concerns most people have with a home PC dealt with. Linux in the workplace is another matter, of course.

        YMMV, as ever, but I find it peculiar that some of the experts here seem to find Linux problematic whereas a non-expert user like me not only has seldom had problems with it in a decade of use, but neither have folk I've helped get started with Linux, all of whom are considerably less techyy than me.

        It's almost as if if you find Linux problematic, then you're too niche a computer user. Weird.

        1. Terry 6 Silver badge

          Re: These Days...

          Makes sense to me.

          I use Mint on my old XP device. New PCs are still on 10 (so far).

    6. phuzz Silver badge

      Re: These Days...

      Two reasons:

      Personally I use Windows at home because I play games, and it's still the OS with the widest support for gaming.

      At work, it's more of a legacy thing, but until the last few years Active Directory/Group Policy was one of the best ways of administering lots of users, at the right price (free).

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: These Days...

        > Active Directory/Group Policy was one of the best ways of administering lots of users

        Sadly it still is[2]. Unless there is something new that I'm entirely unaware of[1]..

        [1] Entirely possible. Despite having a brain the size of a planet sometimes I get asked to open doors and so miss stuff.

        [2] Yes yes - I know you can run Samba4 in DC mode. It's 'almost but not entirely like' Active Directory and doesn't play entirely nicely with Genuwine Winders. Admittedly, I only tried it on my home vanilla AD domain but that put me off even suggesting it at work. Especially a $EvilOutSourcer quivered with fear (then delight when they realised how much they could potentially charge us for it) would be in charge..

      2. Ilsa Loving

        Re: These Days...

        Windows server costs approx a grand, give or take depending on licensing program you're a part of. Hardly free. Although for a large corporation it's a drop in the bucket.

        But it pisses me royally off that one is *forced* to buy windows enterprise in order to not have microsoft hammer the network with garbage traffic while spying on our users.

    7. Teiwaz

      Re: These Days...

      Clearly you'll have to make sure your cat doesn't feel neglected because you are spending time wirh a penguin...I suggest a heated pillow next to the keyboard.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: These Days...

        > make sure your cat doesn't feel neglected

        Sprinkle catnip on the keyboard? What could possibly go wrong?

        1. Teiwaz

          Re: These Days...

          "Sprinkle catnip on the keyboard? What could possibly go wrong?"

          Extremely entertaining (although not conducive to productivity) until he pulls half the keys off and your left pressing those '+' pointy nubs.

    8. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: These Days...

      > he resorted to extreme purring.

      Ah - the old "I know I did it, you know I did it but look - cute! And I can purr!"

      (Handle is entirely suitable apart from maybe the 'old' part. Although sometimes I feel like [current age]+40.)

  4. Howard Hanek
    Childcatcher

    Warning Label

    Medical Researchers working on a cure for cancer please don't use a Windows 10 machine........because automatic updates always take precedence...

    1. Test Man

      Re: Warning Label

      Have you actually used Windows 10? Because if you had, you wouldn't make such a silly statement.

      1. Preston Munchensonton
        Coat

        Re: Warning Label

        Have you actually used Windows 10? Because if you had, you wouldn't make such a silly statement.

        Now, now. There's no reason to be so up-in-arms, ol' chap. You shouldn't underestimate the OP's ability to issue silly statements on the basis of the limited evidence provided. Trolls are a silly sort, after all.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Warning Label

      Classic concern troll - top marks.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows can suck my dick.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Was that Windows insider feedback or a proud boast?

    2. Chris King

      Anyone got a registry key to disable that feature ?

      Win10 has already extracted enough blood, sweat and tears out of us [1], damned if they're getting any more samples.

      [1] Not to mention telemetry data if we forget to switch it all off.

      1. RAMChYLD Bronze badge

        Here you go: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351

        Google and 10 minutes. Not sure why this entry wasn't showing at the top of the page.

    3. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Damn! Where's that in the start menu? Or do you have to use a seductive voice and ask Cortana nicely?

      TELL ME! NOW!!!!!

    4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      DNA based login

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Windows can suck my dick."

      Is your name Caitlyn?

    6. Bluto Nash

      There's likely a Linux command line instruction that will do the same thing...

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      And Linux can't!! Major failure.

  6. Terry 6 Silver badge

    Meh

    I read this and I shrugged, I read a more detailed description. I shrugged again.

    So the unloved Edge now integrates with the unlovable Cortana. Wow.

    And the kludgy start menu will now show all of the programme links, so that there is enough room to show all your programmes in their own unwanted folders without removing the crap links that you never wanted anyway ("My progname on the web" "Get more of our stuff" and so on).

    But we still won't be able to actually set the start menu up in some kind of order, or get rid of those built-in (cr)apps that only a command line instruction can even appear to remove without some pretty fierce tinkering

    Pity there's no icon for ex-Windows fan.

    1. Preston Munchensonton
      Mushroom

      Re: Meh

      My gripe from the beginning about Windows 8.x and now 10 has been about user choice. Why must Microsoft eliminate widely used features because they think other, replacement features are in fact better? This isn't just a rant for Microsoft either (I'm looking at you, Adobe, Google, etc.).

      If you want to make money as a developer, you have to produce a product that people want. Feel free to innovate, but continue to give people what they want. Is that so hard to understand?

      /rantover

      1. Terry 6 Silver badge

        Re: Meh

        As you might guess, I'd go further. The gripe to me is more that they eliminate an option because someone in a design team thinks we ought to want their choice - nanny knows best.

  7. Slions

    Does it fix Creative Labs SBZ Dolby Digital Live?

    Dolby Digital Live keeps crapping up since Windows 10 on my SBZ hardware. It was working just fine on Windows 7. Though I'm pretty sure it must be Creative Labs issue it does no harm to hope.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Does it fix Creative Labs SBZ Dolby Digital Live?

      I've attempted to move from Win 7 to Win 10 twice and both times I ended up rolling back because I couldn't get my Creative sound card working properly. I've researched it very thoroughly and the official Microsoft standpoint is (in not the same words): Creative have made a complete mess of this, probably deliberately in an attempt to force people to buy new sound cards ...

      1. Slions

        Re: Does it fix Creative Labs SBZ Dolby Digital Live?

        Except that SBZ is Creative Labs latest hardware. Last I checked anyway.

    2. Slions

      Re: Does it fix Creative Labs SBZ Dolby Digital Live?

      Creative Labs Dolby Digital Live on SBZ is indeed fixed by that upgrade.

      Small victory...

  8. Syntax Error

    Work In Process

    So MIcrosoft has rolled out its new OS which does not work properly. Have they actually produced a version of Win 10 that is actually finished? Is this the new Microsoft culture? Perpetual fixes for bugs. Going to be fun on a phone LOL.

    Windows is a mess.

    1. cambsukguy

      Re: Work In Process

      It will always be a WIP, I just installed another update to a Win8.1 machine. No doubt updates are still occurring for W7 too.

      The initial release of W10 definitely had rough edges. Edge is very fast but limited for instance. But W10 it is definitely stable.

      It is like saying W7 wasn't finished because they added BT4.1 support years later.

      And W10 isn't complete per se perhaps but changes will be bug fixes and additional features like this lot coming I guess. I don't have massive requirements, not a gamer although this laptop has a GeForce thing in it, supported and updated several times already. The fingerprint reader works for instance without the HP additional sw, very useful for that Windows Hello business.

      Some fancier BT support would be good, I just installed a W7 thing that added some, worked too, which says a lot on its own.

      1. a_yank_lurker

        Re: Work In Process

        Windows 10 was hyped as being the last Windows release. This implies that Slurp is using a rolling release model rather a scheduled release model. The best rolling release Linux distros are not considered stable enough for regular Linux users. Assuming the Linux experience is valid, rolling release distros are trickier to keep running than scheduled release distros then W10 stability will be somewhat erratic compared to previous Windows versions. Thus W10 will act more consistently like a very late beta/release candidate over time; which is the nature of rolling release Linux distros.

        I use a rolling release Linux distro (Antergos, Arch derivative) and can confirm one has to be more alert and willing to fix minor issues than with scheduled release distro like Linux Mint. If this behavior rears its head with W10 there will be more user complaints when less skilled users start using it. Compounding this, is Slurps relative inexperience with a rolling release compared with Arch Linux' 8+ years.

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Work In Process

          "Thus W10 will act more consistently like a very late beta/release candidate over time; which is the nature of rolling release Linux distros."

          AFAICS that was the plan for the consumer versions. The business versions get the fixes after the beta testers have checked them out. They've learned from Red Hat/Fedora.

          1. a_yank_lurker

            Re: Work In Process

            Actually Fedora and Red Hat are separate projects/products. While Red Hat does push the envelope more with Fedora it is a not the beta version of RHEL in the manner the W10 Home/Pro are real beta versions for enterprise. Fedora is intended to a more advanced but stable distro with newer features than the much more conservative RHEL. Also, there are several distros which are basically rebranded RHEL such as Centos

      2. cambsukguy

        Re: Work In Process

        reply to my comment...

        I installed it yesterday, took ages, two hours. Worked. Visible differences:

        1. Context menu on start button more W10y.

        2. Edge has tab previews on hover (which is nice because they disappeared from the task bar).

        3. Title bars are smaller and neater, big enough to use touch but not as big as previously I think.

        4. Selecting a directory for screen background now allows top-of-tree dirs so you can shuffle (also new I think) all the photos in a tree if you desire - which is obviously how it should have been in the first place.

        Probably loads of other stuff I don't see, won't see or haven't seen yet but nothing radical.

    2. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: Work In Process

      Name me a desktop OS that is finished (ignoring those that get 'finished' through abandonment or those burned into hardware)?

      All OS, whether distributions of Linux, OSX and Windows remain largely unfinished. The earlier they are in their release cycle, the more issues crop up. I'm not saying Windows is perfect, but over the last 20 years, I've yet to find a completely flawless OS.

      Perpetual fixes for bugs - ah, you mean patches. So these don't exist outside of Windows either? And as for phones, well, do we really need to go into flaws and bugs in Android or iOS, let alone Windows Phone/Mobile/Telex/Fax...?

      The more features and twiddly bits people want, the more complexity rises and the greater the risk of faults creep in. Unless you want a really small, functionally hobbled install (which can really only be achieved with Linux), then its an inevitable evil.

    3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Work In Process

      Software is usually work in progress and people sneer at it for not being finished. When it stops being work in progress it gets called legacy & people sneer at it for not being new shiny.

      1. Teiwaz

        Re: Work In Process

        And God help you if you release a new OS version and not put a new icon set on...

  9. Slions

    Windows 10 works just fine

    Got it setup since August on three machines, some quite exotic, and it's been working great so far. Two are upgrades from 7 and 8.1 and one is a new installation following SSD crash - bloody OCZ Vertex 2, that's just the second one giving up on me. You still get the odd bug - see above post - but all in all it's been a really smooth experience for me. I never could get used to Windows 8 without proper start menu but 10 really brings the best of both 7 and 8 together.

    Looking forward for that upgrade.

    Also running a couple of Linux servers. They are working fine too.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Windows 10 works just fine

      I don't see your point in mentioning Linux here.

      1. Hellcat
        Linux

        Re: Windows 10 works just fine

        I don't see your point in mentioning Linux here.

        Because for each article here about Windows, every other comment seems to talk about Linux. They probably thought it was mandatory to include at least some mention.

        /s

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Windows 10 works just fine

          /cynic

          Or... could it be that it was mentioned just for the sake of appearances? A cynic might suspect that it was thrown in in order to make it appear like a more balanced post so that nobody questioned the "Win 10 went smooth for me" comments!

          /cynic

        2. Teiwaz

          Re: Windows 10 works just fine & huge penguin (not) in the room.

          The Shadow of the Penguin

          You mentioned 'Linux' just then. So you can't moan about it being mentioned in other comments.

          It started (in this thread) with one poster talking about their cat and using linux (her, not the cat - maybe ). Since then, most of the posts about 'linux' have been people mentioning 'linux' in order to complain that 'linux' was being mentioned.

          Linux is clearly most talked about, unfortunately those most talking about it don't have anything relevant to add to the discussion, either about linux or Windows 10.

      2. Slions

        Re: Windows 10 works just fine

        Just trying to show I'm not sold to MS I guess.

    2. RAMChYLD Bronze badge

      Re: Windows 10 works just fine

      I have a common machine, and Windows 10 cannot run on it. Phenom II rig with nForce980a motherboard with a pair of GTX650 Ti Boosts. The rub comes in that the onboard GeForce 8100 which I have been using for CUDA cannot work in tandem with the 650 Ti Boosts. Microsoft insists on installing two separate video driver packages, of which only one can be active at a given time. This means that if I choose to use the 650 Ti Boosts, I cannot use the 8100, and if I choose the 8100, well, broken system- the motherboard is an Asus M4N98TD-Evo- which left the 8100 active but not have any video headers whatsoever- Asus expects one to use the 8100 only for CUDA. The last working driver for the system is 341.44, the exclusive 341 drivers for Win10 strangely omits supporting anything newer than GeForce300 cards, while the newer 350 drivers offered for the 650 Ti Boosts omit support for the 8100. If I install 341.44 for Windows 8.1, it will only get undone as Microsoft will smugly "try to help" by upgrading my drivers automatically every now and then given that Win10 does not allow one to turn of automatic updates, even if it's drivers. It seems that my only resolve is to downgrade the 650Ti Boosts to the pair of 260 GTXes in the store room (and even that I don't know how well it would go, I think the 260 have overheated and burnt out given the frequency of BSODs and graphical glitches on them- why I threw them aside for 450s and then 650s).

      And oh, regarding the SBZ comment above, it's more or less the same issue with the X-Fi Platinum. Except that even digital passthrough doesn't work.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Windows 10 works just fine

        But nanny Microsoft knows best....

        so do what she says or get the hell out of town.

        That's the impression I get from seeing reviews/comments/articles and some limited experience with W10.

        I just don't see the need to use it at all.

        I have just rebuild my Work Laptop after an HDD failure. I installed Server 2012 rather than W7 (or later).

        Yes I have a legal license. It came from a canned project.

        Got it tweaked to my wants and not a stupid tile anywhere to be seen.

        Dear Satnad, can we have the option to have the Server Desktop on W10?

        Do that and I predict the uptake will be a lot more than that measly 8% it is currently at.

        Go on, take a punt. you never know it might be a success....

        Give people a choice. Not everyone wants to drive a Black Model 'T' you know.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've never used Windows 10

    But I know I don't like it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I've never used Windows 10

      There is a lot not to like without ever using it e.g. telemetry, forced updates, overwriting drivers, Cortana, etc. Plus I'd never agree to the Win10 licence agreement in a million years.

      So, it doesn't matter how good the Win 10 OS is now or in the future, the above points are deal breakers for many users.

      Personally, I've found a way to end my decades long association with MS rather than upgrade any of my machines to Win 10. MS forced my hand and I wasn't locked in so I left.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I've never used Windows 10

      I've used W10 and it still has the same shit, slow, antiquated update engine of previous incarnations of Windows but now with brand new added stupidity.

      Windows update is an embarrassment and Microsoft should be ashamed. I can have a brand new Linux system installed, patched and fully configured even before Windows has gone through it's first patch reboot.

      Instead of arsing about with icons and twiddling with colours, fix some really important things.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows 10 turned me into a NEWT!

    .....................................................I got better.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is that the one that came down this week?

    I have two dead Win10 computers from clients on my desk and neither will work. One has the 'left mouse click doesn't work' bug and the other has the 'screen flash' bug. Revert to Win7 and 8.1 for both of them, because older operating systems which haven't been released 12 months before they're stable don't crash and burn like this.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Flatmates Xbox one was bricked by this "update"

    Microsoft are collecting his console tomorrow for repair.

    So much for the update.

  14. originalucifer
    Windows

    Oh yeah, enterprise, almost forgot about them...

    I really don't understand Microsoft on this. This update appears to finally add something for "enterprise" when enterprise is their fucking bread and butter. This kind of shit should have been priority 1.

    You get businesses on board, and usage of windows would naturally trickle down... Nope, not with the new function-follows-form Microsoft...lets release a half-assed retail version of windows and then bolt on what our *paying* customers want after the fact.

    I've had a long career shoveling Microsoft's crapware, but it's getting harder and harder. I'm secretly hoping Microsoft has a plan B, for those customers who have absolutely no plans to upgrade to their latest flagship shit show but really, I know there isn't.

    sigh

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Oh yeah, enterprise, almost forgot about them...

      "I really don't understand Microsoft on this."

      It's not difficult to understand. Enterprise doesn't want untested software so the little people get to be beta testers. It's not enterprise coming second, it's non-enterprise clearing the minefield first.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    For shame!

    Windows 10 gave my nan a wedgie!

  16. BigAndos

    Didn't even notice!

    This must have been what the very brief "configuring windows" message that flashed up on PC last night was all about. They do seem to have made the update process less intrusive than it used to be, just as well as they force them on you!

    I must say Windows 10 has been very smooth for me since upgrading from Windows 7. It boots up in half the time W7 did and no crashes or bugs that have affected me. To be honest though, apart from improved boot up time there are no new features I've actually used :-\. Oh well I'll take a 50% boot time improvement for free!

  17. Halfmad

    Here for the MS hate..

    Just here to see the linux fanboys hating on anything that's not linux as usual, get those outdated comments in quick guys, give me something to laugh at.

    Windows 10 is fine, I use it on my gaming PC. I use Linux Mint currently on my laptop. Each to their own.

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Here for the MS hate..

      You are just so unfashionable.

      Don't you know it's the done thing to hate on Windows? Haven't you had the sanctimony upgrade yet? Try downloading the superciliousness add-in.

      Restyle yourself to look like comic-book guy from the Simpsons.

      Linux FTW.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Here for the MS hate..

      'Hate', no.

      Derision, Disbelief and mockery yes.

    3. Teiwaz

      Re: Here for the MS hate..

      Most of the hate seems not to be coming from the linux userbase, but from those still on Windows.

      The posts that mention linux are mostly testimonials and the usual FUD or old issues in response from those that feel threatened by it.

      I am confused by reference to outdated comments...But then it's lunchtime (and a Friday) and I've already had a half pint.

      1. a_yank_lurker

        Re: Here for the MS hate..

        @Telwaz,

        Some of the harshest criticism is from those who value privacy and a minimal amount of corporate ethics. The concern is genuine and based the Slurp's behavior with W10 and before. Many have been burned by Slurp numerous times before (do not ask my opinion the Slurp's user help - not fit the public) and are fed up with being burned again. My Windows boxes will not be updated to W10 but will remain with their current versions. Because of Slurp's antics they will be permanently banned from the Internet and they will never again phone home. They are currently dual boot with Linux Mint which is the primary OS on them.

    4. Bluto Nash

      Re: Here for the MS hate..

      I have a feeling that I'll be in the same situation as time goes on - a Mint laptop for "work," and a Win box for gaming. There's no doubt in my mind that <u>at this point in time,</u> a Windows box is superior to a Linux machine for most / high end gaming, though that may change as time goes by. However, for "real work," such as web browsing, office-type apps, balancing my check (-que?) book and other mundane day-to-day tasks, the Mint box does exactly what I want, without the faffing about of the tiles, weird interface (compared to 7) and other humbuggery that WX brings to the table. My PC is a tool, not a plaything for MS to muck about with as they see fit. The rest of the household is perfectly happy with their Windows 8.1 machines - but they've no updated to 10 yet. Nor will they until there's no choice.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Here for the MS hate..

      I don't use Linux and I never have done. I don't hate MS. But let me tell you about my week.

      Last night about 9:30pm I logged on to my computer for the first time all day to find that Outlook was broken. It turned out that an update had borked it. Cue 60 minutes of tech troubleshooting at the very end of a very long day indeed.

      This morning I picked up a computer running Office 2013 which refuses to acknowledge the licence that was installed on it last week. This morning I fixed a Windows 7 Pro machine which had somehow decided it had an illegal copy of Win7 on it.

      This afternoon I'm backing up the files from one machine which has totally failed (due to MS updates in Win10). Yesterday I did the same to another machine which has totally failed (due to MS updates in Win10). This weekend I will be - guess what - restoring those machines to factory settings and restoring all the files and then I can return them to the customers next week.

      It's my job. Fine. But my job is being made 20 x harder by Microsoft NOT DOING SOME BASIC FUCKING TESTS BEFORE THEY ROLL OUT A NEW OPERATING SYSTEM OR A FEW UPDATES.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  18. Alan Sharkey

    Classic Shell

    For those who want the old menu system back, Classic Shell (www.classicshell.net) works fine and it's free.

  19. Jess

    I've updated 3 machines to 10 and one to el cap

    The 3 machines on 10 seem to work fine, upgrade went smoothly (apart from having to force it with the media creation tool) a fourth one wouldn't upgrade by that route, not investigated further yet.

    The upgrade to EL Capitan was dreadful, basically it trashed the machine. It worked once then wouldn't complete a second boot. (Not a unique situation, I have since found.) It also seems like a lot of software won't run. End result after a LOT of faffing around was a dual boot system (fresh installs) of Snow Leopard/El Capitan.

    It is like Microsoft and Apple have traded teams. The WIn 7/8 update to 10 was as smooth as pretty much every previous OS X upgrade I have done, while the SL to El Cap upgrade was as bad as the worst windows upgrade I've ever done.

    Typically an over the top upgrade for Windows is something I would avoid, (but obviously required to get the free Windows 10 activation). But it worked fine twice and had a trivial issues once. (And refused once).

    Anyone planning an El Cap upgrade, I suggest waiting, or doing an install on a separate drive or partition.

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: I've updated 3 machines to 10 and one to el cap

      > Anyone planning an El Cap upgrade, I suggest waiting

      Or, do what I did and upgrade. Worked first time (even on my end-user install SSD which now has native TRIM support).

      Hint: Andecdotal evidence is.. anecdotal.

    2. Ilsa Loving

      Re: I've updated 3 machines to 10 and one to el cap

      Wait... did you go straight from snow leopard to El Capitan? No wonder you had problems. It's risky to jump 5 major revisions of an OS, regardless whether it's windows, mac, linux, or plan9.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Linux... Bah

    Cant believe no one has mentioned apple/Mac's yet ....

    lol.

    Come on guys n tard's make it a proper slagging match.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Believe it's Linux fanboys moaning, if that makes you happy.

    Believe it right to the last moment, right to the second MS announce they are dropping legacy "desktop" software support or something similar.

    It will happen.

  22. RFC822

    Why is an OS update changing my applications?!

    I'm no Microsoft basher - I run their operating systems and applications on all my PCs and I am generally happy with their product set.

    BUT the latest Win 10 update has made changes to my non-Microsoft applications - a space where the Operating System should not be dabbling.

    The two issues that I've noted so far (I've only been running it since this morning) are:

    1) It removed Piriform's Speccy application from my PC and put it in windows.old - displaying a message about this for all of 5 seconds, which I was lucky to see, but not offering me any option to prevent this

    2) It changed the association for .PDF files from Foxit Reader to Microsoft Edge - again, without warning or permission

    An operating system update should not be dabbling in the user/application space without permission. I've no idea what other changes could have been made, but it's not acceptable behaviour.

    1. GrumpenKraut
      Facepalm

      Re: Why is an OS update changing my applications?!

      > ... association for .PDF files from Foxit Reader to Microsoft Edge ..

      Dear EU, we are in serious need for a long and robust round of LARTing, again. Yours Microsoft.

      You could not make it up.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Why is an OS update changing my applications?!

        "You could not make it up."

        Far from it. It's common to large organisations of all kinds. They are unable to learn from experience. The people involved in one cycle might be badly burned enough to learn but next time round they've gone on to other employers or left to spend more time with their money. There's no mechanism which records "we don't do that because..." so a whole new lot of people come along to make the same mistake.

        Of course there may well be people in the organisation who do remember but they're in pay grades which rate their knowledge as irrelevant.

        1. a_yank_lurker

          Re: Why is an OS update changing my applications?!

          More likely the PHBs running Slurp do not care what those in the trenches are saying.

  23. CrashM

    How about bringing back some of the features that are in windows 7 but not windows 10 (like customization)

    Each version of windows since 7 seems to include less and less features and more useless crap that no one is going to use.

  24. Brian Allan 1

    A couple more to go...

    Only a couple of more updates then we'll consider whether we upgrade to Win 10...

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    Rebooted for the last time...

    'Jihadi John' clearly unaware of the telemetry transmitted during an upgrade Windows 10

  26. Diodelogic

    Ran the 1511 update last night

    Zero problems during or after. I must be living right.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Windows

      Re: Ran the 1511 update last night

      I now have 6 machines on the Fall Update, everything from an HP Stream 7 to a self-assembled quad-core tower. Everything running fine.

      For peeps who have problems, all I can say is bad workmen blame their tools.

  27. Gordon 11

    Still can't handle two-disk, dual-boot setups

    This is a full install of a new version. Similar process to the original Windows10.

    And it still assumes that Windows is installed on the disk the system booted from.

    Clearly Microsoft has no imagination.

    I boot from disk 2 so I get a grub menu, with timeout, and can manually chose Linux.

    The default boots Windows from disk 1 (so my wife doesn't have to do anything to get t where she wishes to be). This update/install can't handle this.

    All 3GB downloaded, installed, and I restarted. The box came up, a big 0 showed for a split second, then a "normal" looking boot occurred.

    Windows told me the update had failed.

    So into Windows Update - that re-applied what it had already downloaded but with the same effect on rebooting. Then I remembered the boot order, so changed it in the BIOS.

    Reboot and back into Windows Update. This was convinced I was "Up to Date", but when I asked it to check it agreed I wasn't - and decided to download all 3GB again!

    At least it looks more promising now. - it's reached 54% after ~30 mins...I still have Configure Settings got come - I'm hoping it remembers what I had...

  28. Bladeforce

    So many...

    ..spoon fed windows users. It's no surprise Daddy wants to surround you in wool. Pretty sad and pathetic really

  29. Dr Scrum Master
    Childcatcher

    Parental Controls

    How can we make it difficult for parents?

    Let's harvest e-mail addresses of children and then not make the new accounts not work at all!

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