solution. Now, depending on the situation, I’m just as likely to grab my iPad Pro as I head out the door, or curl back with a Chromebook to watch Netflix. I use Android smartphones and iPhones, too, all the time.
If you’re in the market for a new machine, drop by your favorite hardware store and just look around. You might find something different that strikes your fancy. Or you may decide that you just want to stick with a boring desktop machine with a mechanical keyboard and a wide monitor the size of football fields.
Guess what I work on.
What’s Wrong with Windows 10?
Microsoft made a lot of mistakes in Windows 10’s first year of existence. Chief among them was the widely despised “Get Windows 10” campaign. Combining the worst of an intrusive approach, forced updates, bad interface design, presumptive implementation, and a simple lack of respect for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers, Get Windows 10 (GWX), to me, represents the lowest point in the history of Windows. Microsoft just didn’t give a hairy rat’s patoutie who they stomped on, as they pushed and pushed and pushed to get everybody on Windows 10. Which is a shame, really, because Windows 10 is a good operating system.
Trust in Microsoft is at the core of what you need to understand about Windows 10. Here is what I feel every Windows 10 customer should know:
Forced updates: Initially, most Windows 10 customers did not have any choice about updates; when Microsoft released a patch, it got applied, unless you went to near-Herculean lengths to block them (see www.computerworld.com/article/3138088/microsoft-windows/woodys-win10tip-block-forced-win10-updates.html). I’ve railed against automatic updating for more than a decade — bad patches have driven many machines and their owners to the brink. Luckily, starting with Windows 10 April 2019 update (codenamed 19H1), all Windows 10 users can pause updates. If you use Windows 10 Home, you can pause them for up to 35 days. If you're using Windows 10 Pro, Education, or Enterprise, you can pause them for up to a year.
Privacy concerns: Microsoft’s following the same path blazed by Google and Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Apple and many other tech companies. They’re all scraping information about you, snooping on what you’re doing, to sell you things. I don’t think Microsoft is any worse than the others, but I don’t think it’s any better either. I talk about reducing the amount of data that Microsoft collects about you in Book 2, Chapter 6. I think that data snooping will be the focus of extensive legislation over the next decade and one of the major battles of our time. The problem, of course, is that the people who control the laws also control the organizations that circumvent the laws.
Massive dearth of apps: A few years ago, apps were a nice part of using an iPhone or iPad. Now, many people rely on them to get their work done and to keep their lives sunny side up. Microsoft missed the ball with UWP apps — they never caught on, and with the demise of a viable Microsoft smartphone ecosystem, developers had little incentive to make UWP apps. That means we get to use two kinds of apps in Windows 10: desktop apps or programs, and Windows 10 apps, which are touch-friendly and similar to past UWP apps. The problem is that users can't tell them apart, and the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 distributes both types of apps. Even Microsoft’s Skype team has not decided on what it wants us to use: their Skype Windows 10 app or the classic Skype program. We have both, and most people can’t tell which is which, or which is better.
But that’s just me. You may have good reason to want to switch to another computing platform. Certainly, Windows 10 is going to give you more headaches and heartaches than the alternatives. But it gives you more opportunities, too.
Welcome to my world!
Chapter 2
Windows 10 for the Experienced
IN THIS CHAPTER
If you’re among the 1.7 billion or so souls on the planet who have been around the block with Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, or Windows Vista, you’re in for a shock.
On the other hand, if you’ve been using Windows 10 for a while and want to see what’s new, you’ll find a few new features and some stuff that’s been moved around, but the changes won't be so extreme. This chapter points out the high points.
Although Windows 10 will look relatively familiar to long-time desktop users, the details are different. If you’ve conquered the Metro side of Windows 8.1 (which is the only side of Windows 8), you’re going to be in for a pleasant surprise. And if you’re upgrading from one version of Windows 10 to another, the ride may or may not be what you expect.
If You Just Upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10
Before digging into an examination of the new nooks and crannies in Windows 10, I’d like to pause for a second and let you know about an option you may or may not have.
If you upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 in the past 30 days, and you don’t like Windows 10, you can roll back to your old version. This works for only 30 days because a scheduled program comes in and wipes out the backup after 30 days. But if you’re in under the wire and want to roll back, here’s how. Note that this technique is only for upgraders; it doesn’t apply to new Windows 10 systems or computers in which you installed Windows 10 by wiping out the hard drive. If you love Windows 10 or don’t qualify for the rollback, jump down to the next section.
The method for moving back is easy:
1 Make sure you have your old password.If your original Windows
