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Two Soylentils wrote with a caution about a new strategy in Microsoft's playbook to get people to upgrade to Windows 10.
If you Click on the Red "X", You're Getting the Windows 10 Upgrade
That pesky Windows 10 forceware box...
This notification means your Windows 10 upgrade will occur at the time indicated, unless you select either Upgrade now or "Click here to change upgrade schedule or cancel scheduled upgrade". If you click on OK or on the red "X", you're all set for the upgrade and there is nothing further to do.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3095675
New Windows 10 Nag Screen May Trick 7, 8.x Users
Windows 7 or 8.x users that want or need to hold on to their current operating systems may be in for a very unpleasant surprise. Microsoft has essentially changed their Windows 10 update notification from a very pushy "opt-in" to an "opt-out". The new notification automatically schedules a time to receive Windows 10. Clicking the "X", as many have gotten used to, no longer prevents installation. Those that do not pay close attention to this new notification may inadvertently wind up with Windows 10 even if they did not want it. Very sneaky stuff.
Microsoft has published an offical article describing the changes.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Saturday May 21 2016, @04:16PM
Our laptop with Windows 8.1 just started upgrading to Windows 10 while we were AFK. Came back to find a progress screen showing 35% done. Shut the computer off in the midst of this, as there seemed not to be any cancel button or anything.
On boot, it announced that the upgrade to Windows 10 had failed and it was restoring the previous version of Windows. That went okay. Then I went into the Windows Update interface and sure enough, in the list of recommended upgrades was Windows 10, already checked. I unchecked and hid it. On reboot, Windows 10 was once again visible and checked, so I unchecked and hid it again. 2nd time seems to have stopped it.
But there's no trusting Microsoft to listen to customers, or take no for an answer. They sure didn't listen when users screamed about them taking away the start button, only half assed bringing it back in Windows 8.1.
I can't believe any smart tech company would be so stupid as to push such a risky move so hard. Upgrading is a major move, with all kinds of potential to break all sorts of things that were working fine. No sane sysadmin would pull a stunt like that on working equipment, not without extensive testing of the hardware first, more like not at all because there often aren't resources or time available to do it properly. It's risky enough just applying one little patch, and I never did so unless it fixed a problem we were currently having, and even then I would wait as long as possible. No, the smart way to do an OS upgrade is as part of a migration to new hardware, then swap servers when everything tests out and appears to be working. Easy to swap back if there is a major problem.
But then, MS has repeatedly shown that they can be really stupid. They aren't a smart tech company. The sorts of mistakes MS makes are rather characteristic. They're basically an unenlightened dictatorship, and when the dictator makes the wrong call, he sometimes doubles down. Has the gall to try to say he's right and it's the rest of the world that is wrong and stupid. They also have serious religious hangups over the business model of selling copies. Why else would they get in bed with a bunch of reviled music businesses, actually listen to their cretinous logic as if music industry executives understand technology better than MS? MS wants to hang with the RIAA and MPAA, and Big Pharma and Monsanto too.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Saturday May 21 2016, @04:25PM
You're mistaking evil for stupid. In this case the old "Never attribute to malice" does not apply.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday May 21 2016, @04:55PM
Of course the rule still does apply. Microsoft's behaviour in this case cannot be adequately be explained by stupidity, therefore malice may be assumed. The rule works as intended.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Saturday May 21 2016, @10:59PM
Of course the rule still does apply. Microsoft's behaviour in this case cannot be adequately be explained by stupidity, therefore malice may be assumed. The rule works as intended.
Actually, microsoft's current behaviour can only be explained by great malice AND gross stupidity.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Saturday May 21 2016, @07:20PM
at this point in the game, you are the stupid one if you don't realize that this is malice.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Saturday May 21 2016, @07:45PM
You all misunderstand me. The expression is "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence" or something of the sort. This is in no way incompetence. I haven't used Windows at home for ten years now, I'm well aware of Microsoft's level of Evil.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @12:08PM
Defensive sociopathy as historical example of emperor Claudius taught us:
ALWAYS attribute to malice, but pretend to attribute to ... benign omission. Never hold grudge nor vengeance. There is no point in spilling your beans to probable enemy of yours, keep your "naivety" as a cover until they force you out in the open, and by then make sure you have plan B and aces up your sleeve. If they catch you successfully evading their "hit" again, try to persuade THEM to attribute that to lucky coincidence. Never consider others dumb in "harmless" sense of that word, only in the "useless" sense - if they are really dumb or play dumb, then they are useless for you either way.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Saturday May 21 2016, @04:47PM
I have a suspicion that this is our first real taste of Microsoft's "rapid release" plans. Basically, these recent actions from Microsoft make it clear Windows is no longer a platform for which developers can reliably write very long term supported software.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Dunbal on Saturday May 21 2016, @07:09PM
The don't want anyone writing software anymore. They want to lease you their "cloud" software.
(Score: 2, Informative) by gmrath on Saturday May 21 2016, @08:22PM
It's not so much about folks writing software just so long as the folks that do write software work for them. It is more about Microsoft and I'll bet many other companies, too, wanting to generate predictable revenue streams to impress investors. So they no longer want to make a one-time sale, but want to sell subscriptions ("software as a service"). This has been the dream for years, no doubt: How to channel EveryOne into monthly or yearly subscriptions, not merely businesses paying license fees. The downside for end users: you don't make a payment, your software won't work and your data is in limbo, unreachable, held hostage. Another big downside for you, the user: Microsoft apparently can upload anything it wants from your system so they can "improve the user experience" which likely means your data will be sold to advertisers without your permission so they can send "targeted ads" and the like to you that you can't stop, et cetera, et cetera. Can't think of any upside for the end user.
But how they are going about this seems heavy-handed. Sort of like a couple of big guys in dark suits, fedoras, and sunglasses walking into your business one night, looking around and saying, "Really nice place you got here. Be a real shame if something bad happened to it. For a monthly fee, we'll see that it stays nice and safe. Oh, and by the way, one of the boys will stay here to see who comes and goes; maybe we'll approve and maybe we won't. Don't like it, well . . . "
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Saturday May 21 2016, @08:08PM
Maybe they're figuring that Windows developers will mostly switch to using the shiny new built-in Ubuntu environment, which should have way fewer breaking changes over time?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Whoever on Saturday May 21 2016, @08:14PM
I can't believe the amount of abuse that Microsoft users are prepared to take from Microsoft and just think that it is normal.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Saturday May 21 2016, @09:07PM
Just like abused spouses, stuck, trying not to be noticed, trying not to upset the violent partner, lest they get another beating..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex