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Next week Microsoft will begin the slowish rollout of its big update to Windows 10, the Creators Update.
Right now, it's doing a little damage control, and preempting complaints about privacy, by listing the types of information its operating system will automatically and silently leak from PCs, slabs, and laptops back to Redmond.
When Windows 10 came out, Reg readers were alarmed by the volume of information the software was collecting and sending back to base. Ever since then, Microsoft has been fighting a PR battle to reassure people that such data slurping isn't all bad – it's "just" telemetry and diagnostics and potentially your files.
Now Redmond's had a little rethink for the Creators Update, and decided to come clean on exactly what the software will phone home – even insisting the closed-source operating system will scoop up less surveillance this time.
What makes you think it's your data?
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Saturday April 08 2017, @05:01PM (5 children)
I haven't installed Win10 on my machine, nor do I plan on ever buying a machine with Win10 on it.
As far as I can tell, a laptop without Windows 10 is either a MacBook, an oversized smartphone running Android or iOS, a Chromebook that threatens to wipe itself if you install anything other than a web browser, or a System76 or Dell purchased sight unseen. Which of these would you recommend for developers who currently use Windows and for non-developers who currently use Windows?
(Score: 1) by ShadowSystems on Saturday April 08 2017, @09:09PM (3 children)
System76 is your best bet, they make laptops to your specifications (the configuration pages are neat!) & you can get one built as you want.
They offer lots of different hardware, you can get your favorite distro installed (they use Ubuntu as default but are willing to install something else if you ask), & they'll even set up any RAID, VPN, or special bits you need running out of the box.
If you call them up & ask nicely, they'll bend over backwards to give you the system you want/need.
I had to decide between one of their laptops & their desktops, I need the power more than the portability, but even their *laptops* can be given a super fast 7th gen Intel with 64GiB of smokin fast ram & an NVMe SSD of capricious capacity.
*Tries to stop my geeky drooling*
Even if you don't go with System76 there are others like Emporer, Think Penguin, & more.
You can get a modern (laptop/desktop) system with great specs at an awesome price, your choice of distro, & support that comes from real people with actual knowledge of the stuff they're supporting.
So give one of them a try, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the levels of professionalism you get out of a vendor that can't fall back on it's giant piles of money & treat you like crap.
*Cough*Microsoft*Cough*
=-)p
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday April 09 2017, @01:17AM
I've used EmperorLinux for about a decade now. They're excellent.
Haven't tried System76 yet, but all of us linux users should support them wherever possible.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Sunday April 09 2017, @05:13PM (1 child)
a laptop without Windows 10 is either a MacBook, [iPad + keyboard, Android tablet + keyboard, Chromebook], or a System76 or Dell purchased sight unseen.
System76 is your best bet, they make laptops to your specifications (the configuration pages are neat!) & you can get one built as you want.
By "sight unseen" I meant that I don't think a customer gets to try the screen or keyboard before committing to buying. And unless I'm seriously misreading the starting page [system76.com], a customer still has to start from a limited set of sizes, with none smaller than 14 inches available as of today.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Thursday April 13 2017, @11:24AM
FYI, they just introduced a 13" model yesterday:
https://system76.com/laptops/galago [system76.com]
(Score: 1) by DeVilla on Friday April 14 2017, @05:07AM
I'm way too late, but I've had good luck with ZaReason.