Windows 10 Reportedly On 67+ Million PCs Already

[Kano]

I am not fully sure how MS counts it. If they just count the unique hardware IDs with free update then OK, but many used the update first and then did a clean install (you can change from legacy to UEFI or 32 bit to 64 bit) - not that those are counted twice... But MS really loves everyone, there is no diff if you used Win 7 OEM or Win 8 KMS keys before, you get a free licence in any way. I think only pure Win 10 preview users did not get it but could use it as long the install runs. I doubt that this will end in 1y, but i expect most updates within 3 month. Desktop systems with less than 500 apps (Powershell: Get-StartApps | measure) with

[Adarion]

"It's just the usual FSF fluff being pushed out that is all technically valid and legitimate but probably won't appeal to the masses and really make them reject their plans to use Windows 10"

Sadly that's probably true. Though I wonder if all those mentioned installs of W10 were actually done with full conscience or if it was one of these automatic updates/grades.

Either way I condemn Windows 10:
(translated from the German heise news site)
Among the things W10 transmits (phones home) by default are the location of the device (if GPS / ... capable), web browser history, web favourits, websites that are currently open, apps that are installed from W store and data for the input-personification (?) - that counts in biometric data of pronounciation or typing patterns.

They could have named it NSA-OS. I am warning friends and relatives (as far as I know they use Windows).
I feel again like somebody who gets told "Ah, come on, wear you tinfoil hat so the aliens can't read your thoughts." But then reality is far more horrible that all the warnings issued.
But a lot of people will just not listen. Running with open eyes into the abyss.

[Kano]

With the exception of the biometric data Google/Apple stores the same and nobody cares. Btw. the MS store is somehow interesting, it can be used to access on at least 10 devices the same time with the same ID. Would like to know if you can play the same (commercial) game on more than 1 device the same time. Steam blocks this...

[dragorth]

Still?

I recall this being an issue back on I think 10159, but heard it was fixed in a future build. Could be possible it was broken again though I guess.

If anything, my only driver problem was with a USB webcam (some Logitech thing). Would only show up black on OBS occasionally when Logitech's driver was (forcibly) installed. Could almost have dealt with it, but Microsoft insists that the driver is required, and even auto-installed it with a metered connection enabled.

Considering the computer I use requires that webcam working, it's back on 7.

One issue I have had, and others as well, is as an insider, the issues that would pop up would sometimes follow us between builds. This is ussually fixed by a full reset, so it isn't that bad, and it only happened to those that installed each new build. But many may not be used to thinking of reseting to fix those problems.

[dragorth]

With the exception of the biometric data Google/Apple stores the same and nobody cares. Btw. the MS store is somehow interesting, it can be used to access on at least 10 devices the same time with the same ID. Would like to know if you can play the same (commercial) game on more than 1 device the same time. Steam blocks this...

If the game is bought through the Store, the answer is yes, for the same account. I am unaware if the developers have access to change this, but it doesn't prevent them from using another authentication method. Online games could choose not to let you be logged in in two places, and you may not be able to log into the game with a different type of login.

[dragorth]

"It's just the usual FSF fluff being pushed out that is all technically valid and legitimate but probably won't appeal to the masses and really make them reject their plans to use Windows 10"

Sadly that's probably true. Though I wonder if all those mentioned installs of W10 were actually done with full conscience or if it was one of these automatic updates/grades.

Either way I condemn Windows 10:
(translated from the German heise news site)
Among the things W10 transmits (phones home) by default are the location of the device (if GPS / ... capable), web browser history, web favourits, websites that are currently open, apps that are installed from W store and data for the input-personification (?) - that counts in biometric data of pronounciation or typing patterns.

They could have named it NSA-OS. I am warning friends and relatives (as far as I know they use Windows).
I feel again like somebody who gets told "Ah, come on, wear you tinfoil hat so the aliens can't read your thoughts." But then reality is far more horrible that all the warnings issued.
But a lot of people will just not listen. Running with open eyes into the abyss.

The web browser history is shared with your other devices. This is no different than chrome's sharing of your history between devices, or Firefox's for that matter. Both of those browsers also share currently open tabs.

Apps that are installed from the Windows Store? Really? They are the ones you bought the app from, they have it logged that you purchased the app, just like every other store front. The keep track of how many devices you install it to, and limit it to the terms you agree to by purchasing on the Windows Store.

They share the pronounciation data to improve their speech recognition, just like Google, Apple, Amazon, and anyone else that does Speech Recognition in the cloud. I don't know if it really stores your typing, or if it is personalized. Can that be detected? Yes, on every webpage you type something into, it can be analyzed. I just don't know if they do it.

The whole location thing is a red herring, as you have to enable it to be on in the first place, and you can turn it off at any time.

Now, do you have to use it? No. You don't have to like either. But most of that stuff is reasonable tradeoffs to the majority of users. After all, they are already trading that stuff on their phone, something I would worry much more about, since Desktops stay on desks, laptops tend not to have builtin GPSs, and my Internet always says I am three counties over. If it doesn't say I am in Canada.

[Akka]

"It's just the usual FSF fluff being pushed out that is all technically valid and legitimate but probably won't appeal to the masses and really make them reject their plans to use Windows 10"

Sadly that's probably true. Though I wonder if all those mentioned installs of W10 were actually done with full conscience or if it was one of these automatic updates/grades.

You need to apply for the update and it has been some sort of queue system. I installed the oem windows 8 on a laptop on the realese day of windows 10 for the first time after I bought the computer two years ago so I could update and try out windows 10. As I was late to apply for there queue they have still not updated my computer.

[BrollyLSSJ]

For instance, realtek drivers seem to break if you try to change any of the device settings...

My brother already upgraded to W10 and has DNS resolving problems after some time. His WLAN Adapter uses a realtek chips. Maybe that is the case. Thank you for the explanation.

I will stick with Windows 7 (and of course Fedora, but my PSU died on that computer).

[GreatEmerald]

I wonder how they calculate the number. If my download counts, then those can be quite misleading: I had to redownload the images several times because the installer kept crashing or erroring out.

[valeriodean]

What would you expect?
Who has installed a Ms OS is someone that need a windows system (for a reason or another) so why he/she should refuse to accept a *free* update the the new version? Should be very strange the opposite.