Windows 10 turns five years old

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Hard to believe how much has changed in five years. For a bit of nostalgia (not necessarily good nostalgia, mind you!) take a look at Terry Myerson’s
[See the full post at: Windows 10 turns five years old]

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Elly, Microfix

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Wood is a traditional gift for the 5th anniversary..certainly not oak

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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woody

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In Microsoft’s case the wood they get…balsa.

Windows 10 Pro x64 v1909, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, Windows Vista Home Premium x64

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Woody, I knew there was some reason why I did not upgrade from Win 7 to 10 and moved on instead to the other two OS listed below, but couldn’t remember why. Thanks for reminding me.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

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Don’t know where that number came from, but five years later Microsoft claims that Windows runs on “more than 1 billion devices around the world.”

The latter says, “Windows 10“.

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You’re right, and I’ve modified the original post to match.

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A question that surely must come up is – Do you feel any better about Win 10 five years later?

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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fk5353, Microfix

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[geekdom]

The computer is currently five-for-five:

• Microsoft Edge Ignored. If I could uninstall it easily I would have done so.
• Office on Windows No Microsoft Office product anything.
• Windows Continuum Does not compute.
• Windows Hello Uninstalled.
• Windows Store Uninstalled.

On permanent hiatus {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1992 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox116.0b3 MicrosoftDefender

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by geekdom.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by geekdom.

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I won’t say it (there have been complaints).

And I still use a Microsoft Lumia 950 (I’ve got the dock, as well) running Windows 10 Version 1709 OS Build 10.0.15254.603.  Cortana is quite handy for GPS navigation, texting without taking my hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road, as well as receiving and placing calls.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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[gborn]

Well, what Terry didn’t tell: Their nasty attempt for one year to force/trick Windows 7/8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10 – that was the point where things are started going downhill.

Then the latest (marketing) approach, to connect all things with a Microsoft Account – recently we have hat blog posts, that a fresh install of Windows 10 Home won’t allow an ordinary user a local account.

I’ve addressed the dark side for consumers within my blogs. Some other MVP and me, we are collecting cases, where Microsoft Accounts are deactivated from Microsoft for some users (it was a machine learning program that made this decision). There is no way for an affected person to gain his Microsoft account back – the user is facing a ‘digital dead’  in Microsoft’s universe.

Feel free to add more mess …

2025 will the the date, when one premises products like Office 2019 and other are reaching end of life. My guess: Microsoft will force people to migrate to the cloud and subscription services. There are enough signs.

Ex Microsoft Windows (Insider) MVP, Microsoft Answers Community Moderator, Blogger, Book author

https://www.borncity.com/win/

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by gborn.

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AlexEiffel, Charlie, Ascaris, OscarCP, Coldheart9020, fk5353, PKCano, Microfix

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I have been saying the same thing for at least five years. And now, we have Microsoft365, which I predict will become a cloud service for Windows, Office, and all the other MS products. Your “computer” will become similar to a Chromebook (or dumb terminal), with a Virtual OS on MS servers and the subscription price will depend on how many “Features” you add on. You will have no control of the environment at all.

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AlexEiffel, Charlie, OscarCP, fk5353, Microfix

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I am a witness to what @PKCano speaketh, we have discussed this and came to the same conclusion, which is why I no longer pursue W10. The underhanded GWX campaign from the outset was indeed a forewarning of things to come, I’m done with it. I’ll bet if one has an MS account, upgrades will be succesful opposed to local accounts (that’s just a hunch)

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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I tend to agree with your perspective because MS stock price has largely been rewarded for the growth in Azure revenues. Market expectations for cloud computing growth have intensified, particularly since the Covid 19 lockdowns, to the point where revenue growth north of 50 percent annually is anticipated. Force feeding more consumer computing into Azure would easily be consistent with satisfying investor expectations. This was illustrated in the latest quarterly report for MS where growth in Azure revenues were up 40 plus percent but some analysts were disappointed because it was a lower than expected growth rate. So Mr. Nadella is in the situation where he needs to grow the rate of growth of the growth rate in Azure revenue as his revenue base expands. Non-linear math anyone?

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[Coldheart9020]

I held back on updating from Windows 7 all throughout the campaign of chicanery that was GWX, and even well beyond that.

I’ve only been using Windows 10 (1909) for about six months, after Windows 7 went EOL, and since my PC hadn’t had a fresh install for a number of years I decided to grit my teeth and go ahead with the update.

This was of course long after the whole ‘you are eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10’ had officially ended, but of course at no point was I prompted to pay when I used the USB media tool method.

Aside from an annoying audio glitch that I’ve not yet been able to permanently get rid of, and after the obligatory (and in this case, extensive) user configuration/tweaking on a fresh install,Windows 10 does pretty much everything I want it to.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Coldheart9020.

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My biggest concern with Windows 10 has been Microsoft’s seeming lack of planning and direction with the OS. Five years ago, Microsoft had some very pie in the sky dreams for Windows 10. Now, we’ve seen Microsoft shift gears numerous times over feature upgrades, update terminology, what devices would run Windows, etc. During those five years we’ve seen Windows Phone die off as an unworthy competitor in a market dominated by iOS and Android; an obsession with 3D graphics and virtual reality that Microsoft once included as non-removable apps on Windows 10; an intention to create a version of Windows that “everyone loved” that was “malicious” in its update tactics; and lots of features being announced and then being “killed”.

This doesn’t concern Microsoft at all, since their cloud computing front has seen incredible success and is making them the big bucks now. Windows may as well be an afterthought for them. It’s this lack of care, concern, and direction for Windows that made me switch to Mac. Many others here have gone to Linux. For many people, I’m sure, the decision to use Windows is not out of desire or preference for the OS, but either because 1) they need to use software that only works on Windows; and/or 2) the cost of switching is too high for them, financially or intellectually.

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gborn wrote:

I’ve addressed the dark side for consumers within my blogs. Some other MVP and me, we are collecting cases, where Microsoft Accounts are deactivated from Microsoft for some users (it was a machine learning program that made this decision). There is no way for an affected person to gain his Microsoft account back – the user is facing a ‘digital dead’ in Microsoft’s universe.

Another reason not to create or use such an account in the first place.

I do wonder if at some point MS will make it mandatory to use Windows at all. I’d be surprised if they didn’t, really. It’s been clear that they want control of machines they don’t own, and this would be another step in that direction.

I know a lot of people have been hoping that MS would eventually get the message and fix the actual issues with Windows (which can be summed up with a single acronym: WaaS) rather than churning out feature update after feature update with lots of features no one asked for, but none that users have been demanding, asking for, and begging for over all five of the years that Windows 10 has been around.  I wish them luck, but my prediction has long been that it won’t get better in time, but worse. Considerably worse.

Microsoft is still in the “trying to convince people to get on board” phase of Windows 10. With Windows 7 now out of support and Windows 8.1 never having much market penetration in the first place, and with Windows 10 now occupying the lion’s share of the Windows market, that phase is almost finished, and when it is, there is nothing stopping MS from imposing whatever it wants on any Windows user’s PC. The times that MS went too far, drew a little more backlash than they’d bargained for, pulled an “aw, shucks,” and backed off on a given trial balloon are fairly numerous by now, but going forward, my bet is that they won’t be backing off.

It was the recognition of that eventuality that led me to start the migration away from Windows back in the final quarter of 2015. By then it was obvious that MS was not going to be listening to customers and fixing what was wrong with Windows. People asked for an OFF for telemetry, but they got excuses about how they had misunderstood what it was about and why they should not be bothered by it. They asked for a return to the control they had over updates with every version of Windows prior to 10, but all they got was a few more knobs to twiddle, but very little additional control. Each Windows license was actually a draft notice… your PC was going to be part of the “one billion” strong Microsoft army, and this was, as is the norm with conscription, not open for debate.

So, no happy birthday wish from me. For all of the talk about how much Windows 10 has improved, it looks to me like the same bad deal as it did five years ago, and in some ways (like the growing importance of the MS account), it’s getting worse.  I’m not willing to share my PC with Microsoft, and certainly not on software that I have to pay for AND beta test.  If an OS is not made to serve my interests, as defined by myself, to the exclusion of all others, it’s not fit for purpose.

As the old aphorism goes, I didn’t leave Windows… Windows left me. The Windows I signed on for and used for 25 years was, generally, fit for purpose by the above definition.  While there were a few areas where MS clearly prioritized its own interests above that of the hardware owner prior to 10, it was trivial stuff compared to what was to come.

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RamRod, AlexEiffel, Charlie, wavy, kdock, doriel, Elrod

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Very well put, sir. I agree with every single point you wrote. I am concerned about mandatory MS account in order to use Windows too.
“Apple does this too”, they will say..

Also.. I really hate betatesting amongst WaaSt public we payed for… ehrm lets say “service” and still I should be a guinea pig? Thats really unfair since on the top of MSFT pyramid are very rich rich rich rich people.

But 95% of time all works very well. And thats positive about it.

Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise

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Ascaris

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Very lot of MSFT ways are dead end. I get used to it. And Im amused by this sentence.

Cortana greets you by name and with a smile, letting you log in without a password and providing instant, more secure access to your Windows 10 devices.

Without any password, but PIN. What else is PIN if not a password?
Login by picture maybe. But how is that more secure? Lies upon nicely-sounding lies..

W10 went long way and they improve, they are better by my opinion. But I really dont like these public announcements about how great everything is/will be. I am like that guy who hates lies in “Interstate 60” movie..

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I look back at the last five and just think about everything that failed with Windows 10. How many features and apps are still around? Edge a failure, Groove Music still a app but a flop. Not to mention all the hit and misses with updates and upgrades. Nothing is 100% reliable all the time, and I have had months with Windows 10 that were uneventful. But overall, I have not been very impressed with Microsoft and how they have manged Windows 10. If I had to give Windows 10 a grade, it would be a C.

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Microfix

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well a lot of stuff in google is gone or changed too. It is the times

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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[BobT]

So, no happy birthday wish from me. For all of the talk about how much Windows 10 has improved, it looks to me like the same bad deal as it did five years ago, and in some ways (like the growing importance of the MS account), it’s getting worse. I’m not willing to share my PC with Microsoft, and certainly not on software that I have to pay for AND beta test. If an OS is not made to serve my interests, as defined by myself, to the exclusion of all others, it’s not fit for purpose.

As the old aphorism goes, I didn’t leave Windows… Windows left me. The Windows I signed on for and used for 25 years was, generally, fit for purpose by the above definition. While there were a few areas where MS clearly prioritized its own interests above that of the hardware owner prior to 10, it was trivial stuff compared to what was to come.

This. Still on Windows 7, still happy. PC does what I expect it to do when I turn it on. Never left wondering what’s going to happen with it. Everything is under my full control. As it should do, since it’s my PC.

I don’t put up with Russel Hobbs telling me how and when I can use their toaster, and switching out parts whenever they feel like it. Why would I allow that with my computer?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by BobT.

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Charlie, Elly

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Five years of  horror and awfulness. I dispise W10 – and Microsoft – even more than five years ago today. Back then, W8/W10 were the reason why I migrated everything that was not chess- and later: VR-related to Linux. Probably the wisest computer-related decision I have ever made. And I’m 53.

I avoid Microsoft these days. So I avoid social media, Apple, Google etc.

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And 5 years of moving madness and that AI botnet that turns one’s hardware into just another BETA testing node out of millions of others. And really Windows 7(EOL) works just fine kept offline and dual booted with Linux Mint for online usage. And maybe the same for 10/1909 home on my newest laptop and 10/1909 kept offline until I’m sure that 10/2004 will have become more stable.

If I’m not given the choice then I’m driven to Linux and that’s not really been a bad decision in my experience in dual booting Windows with Linux Mint.

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doriel, Charlie

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I must say I haven’t had any major issues with Windows 10 over the past 5 years. That doesn’t mean I’m really happy with it either. The foundation is still the same and hence the fundamental problems too.

The big question is IMO not where Windows is going, but where are the applications going? I mean, an OS is nothing without applications. It’s the applications that make an OS a success or not. More and more software vendors are moving to cloud solutions. And those cloud solutions don’t necessarily need Windows. Like a Chromebook can do most of the average office jobs. It’s the more demanding applications having trouble moving to the cloud. For instance, we use Autodesk software like Revit most part of the day. That’s a resource-hungry beast. Autodesk is working on cloud solutions for some of it’s software titles and they also have some sort of cloud-Revit. Which lacks a good deal of functionality, so its not ready for the real work by far.

I wonder if it ever will. Will everything move to the cloud? I don’t know. Maybe if internet bandwidth is no longer a bottleneck, then one big hurdle is taken for the resource-hungry applications as well.

In the case everything is actually moved to the cloud, then those cloud-apps probably run on their own, proprietary OS. And clients can run whatever OS they like. Or maybe those client’s don’t need an OS at all and have a BIOS to download the necessary stuff to run cloud applications…

For Microsoft, that’s a grim future. At least for Windows….

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doriel, Charlie

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Or maybe those client’s don’t need an OS at all and have a BIOS to download the necessary stuff to run cloud applications…

That is called NC (network computer) you are describing.
This thought originally came in the mid 90’s and now we have sufficient tools to actually make it happen. Who knows, maybe this will be the right path to follow.

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