Windows 10: A Rant: Win Updates and their frustrations.

Yes, there are a lot of threads like that on TenForums, in fact I have provided support on quite a few. On commonly recurring theme I've seen these on these 'problem' threads is the use of tweaking tools, registry hacks and third party shells to bend Win10 into something that resembles an older more familiar version.

On the other hand I've upgraded my machines with no problem at all, first from Win7 to 1507, then on through each subsequent version up to 1709. Where I've customised Start to my liking it's been done by working with the Microsoft OS, not fighting against it.

 

The only hacks I used were provided by this forum although I do use Classic Shell--Only the menu part of it.

 

I’ve resigned myself to simply backing up and fresh-installing After a major Windows 10 release. It’s a PITA, but the system as a whole runs much better and the difference in time for me between the in place upgrade isn’t terribly longer.

If I wasn’t into emulation retrogaming and modern PC gaming at home, I’d probably have switched to Linux Mint long ago. Emulation is doable on Linux but PC gaming just isn’t there yet.

Linux has definitely has its own set of problems, but it’s perfect when your needs are web, email, YouTube and Facebook. I recommend it for older people who routinely get infected.

 

I have way too many programs other than windows apps to do that but it is in fact better.

 

Yes, that one seemed one of the more benign shells, pity it's no longer being developed. *Sad

I don't use it though, I've adapted to using the new Start, particularly the use of tiles and my own custom groups.

 

I saw no need to use CS's Explorer as I see nothing wrong with Windows 10 File Explorer and I would think that may have caused some issues.

 

Well said!

Today, occasionally using Windows 7 on virtual machines after been used to this excellent, adaptive, flexible and customizable Start in Windows 10, I notice the difference. I would not want to go back, I see no reason to use any third party Start alternatives.

Of course I have to admit that when I install Windows 10, I do not start stopping services, editing DLLs, replacing system files and native tools as soon as I hit the desktop, which seems to be origin for most issues users are experiencing. This tweak does not work, that optimizer crashes Windows, another third party replacement for this or that Windows feature makes it unusable.

Instead I let Windows take care of itself, update when necessary, don't mess with registry, services and policies. Even with some known issues with Insider builds, I've had no such issues that they would affect my daily usage. I've run the latest Fast Ring Insider builds as my main OS on all machines since first preview was released October 2014, being a very happy Windows 10 user and Insider, extremely satisfied with it.

 

I keep it pretty simple at home. Don’t even have Office installed. OS, game clients, emulators and my personal data. Total digital footprint is just under 1TB, not counting full Steam library. For those, I install what I play and uninstall when finished with them.

 

Personally, I don't get all the hate the Start Menu on Windows 10 gets... I mean, thanks to the tile pinning I now have no use for Winstep Nexus... I have everything I need at hand!

Windows 7 Start Menu was pretty useful too, no doubt on that, I use it when I fire up my VM, but well, they are different, no? Why hating one or the other?

Probably the only complain I have for the Windows 10 version is that sometimes, shortcuts are recognized in a weird manner, and even renaming or moving the path they are pointing to can lead you to some troubles. If they were to fix that, this Start Menu would feel solid as a rock.

Other than that, people should give this a try before hating it, you can never know if you like hamburgers if you haven't had one before, right?

 

TBH although i like win 10 start as eyecandy the real difference i notice with win 7 is that i can no longer search
as effectively as in win 7.
I use a simple ssh client (i.e. putty.exe) that i can simply search and launch from windows 7/8 start and i cannot do this simple task with windows 10, how can this be better i do not understad.

Nonetheless i find the overall experience better with win 10 than win 7 but it's not better as desktop OS, it just
has virtual desktop that i use a lot and windows 7 don't.

 

Too me the live tile idea worked well in Windows phone 8.1. On the desktop Start menu, the first thing I do is unpin everything so there’s nothing.

When I sit down to use my PC, if I want to check my mail, I open the program. Same for news or weather. There just isn’t enough info displayed in the tile to make it useful and I don’t spend that much time in the menu anyway. It exists to allow me to search/execute applications. It’s not a media consumption hub.

The core issue is that MS is leveraging the Start menu as a vehicle for displaying/advertising apps and search through Cortana (and all other assistants) exist to gather info about me under the guise of being an assistant.

The core purpose of the menu has been corrupted.

Until Microsoft gets out of the “people as a product” model, it’s only going to get worse. The OS shouldn’t be used as a means of generating ongoing income beyond continued sales of the OS.

 

Imagine producing a toaster of your own design, people keep on changing parts, handle, switch, heater, cover, timer etc. and use it to toast ice-cream. That's what most complaints about W10 look like.
MS elected to upgrade parts of toaster and add new add-ons instead of throwing out on the market new "improved" version every few years.

 

amen

 

The supposed "culture shock" of the Start screen is complete rubbish. My Start Menu Tiles (Windows 10) is grouped in a very similar way to Windows 3.1 Program Groups way back in the 90s.
In fact some Live Tiles are actually useful.

"Linux has definitely has its own set of problems, but it’s perfect when your needs are web, email, YouTube and Facebook. I recommend it for older people who routinely get infected"

I am a real live "older person" and that is no more true for older people than it is for young ones, in fact the former's experience and caution puts some of them in to a rather better position.

"The core issue is that MS is leveraging the Start menu as a vehicle for displaying/advertising apps and search through Cortana (and all other assistants) exist to gather info about me under the guise of being an assistant."

Paranoid nonsense - There is no advertising on my Start Menu, as I said have it like Windows 3.1 from 20 years ago.

MS is not alone in gathering data to make an income how about Google and many others doing exactly the same thing.

 

I do not understand it either? Screenshot from my Start Menu showing Putty where it was automatically added when I installed it now from official site to test if it really can't be added to Start. I can pin it as a tile in Start with right click > Pin to Start, or pin to Taskbar with right click > More > Pin to Taskbar:





Totally searchable, can start it with pressing the WIN key, typing Putty and hitting Enter.