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The administrator of AE News (an online news portal for Czech and Slovak expatriates) writes a very revealing article regarding the Windows 10 collection of user data. Here is the original Czech article. Here is a Bing translation to English. Here is a English condensed version translated by a blogger. And finally a PDF of the original Czech article.
In the post the AE News administrator states:
With the advent of Windows 10, I decided to undergo several tests. The collected knowledge for someone may be alarming. The Windows operating system 10 is essentially the end terminal, more than the operating system, because many of the processes and functions of this system is directly or indirectly dependent on remote servers and databases to Microsoft.
All text typed on the keyboard is stored in temporary files, and sent (once per 30 mins) to:
oca.telemetry.microsoft.com.nsatc.net
pre.footprintpredict.com
reports.wes.df.telemetry.microsoft.com
AE News also references an arstechnica.co.uk article which states it might be impossible to stop this communication:
And finally, some traffic seems quite impenetrable. We configured our test virtual machine to use an HTTP and HTTPS proxy (both as a user-level proxy and a system-wide proxy) so that we could more easily monitor its traffic, but Windows 10 seems to make requests to a content delivery network that bypass the proxy."
arstechnica.co.uk also "asked Microsoft if there is any way to disable this additional communication or information about what its purpose is". Microsoft did not reply as to a way to disable this chatter but did respond to the 'additional communication' stating Microsoft is now 'delivering Windows 10 as a service'.
Although the original source for this story is skeptical, Smart nerds on soylentnews can easily fire up Wireshark and reveal the communication for themselves. It appears that MS has fully embraced the cloud where your OS is now a terminal. And regarding privacy? Well, according to arstechnica.co.uk: Windows 10 privacy policy is the new normal
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Tuesday August 25 2015, @04:04PM
I have been following ReactOS for about a decade. They have improved things greatly in the meantime, but it is extremely slow going. They are open source and I think that's the only reason Microsoft hasn't snuffed them out, yet. Whenever I even mention ReactOS in FOSS circles it's usually shot down immediately. Personally, I applaud what ReactOS is doing. Though, I haven't actually put my money where my mouth is and backed their kickstarter or even bought a flash drive from their shop. ReactOS could be something great, a free Windows Clone that just works. What I really want it to be able to do is run all of my old windows software natively. That's something that Microsoft hasn't gotten right and I don't know that they have any incentive to get it right. Microsoft is quickly becoming a "social OS" and likely morphing into a "subscription based service". That is a model that I have hated as a gamer and as a consumer. Certain things work well as a "subscription based service" like Netflix which provides a library of videos I don't have to purchase. My Operating System shouldn't require me to spend $10, $20, $30+ a month or year to work. I shouldn't need to worry about my OS being the Malware on my computer. Windows has been notorious for it's security issues, but to my knowledge they haven't been actively Sabotaging your computer. Having a Keylogger that sends all of your keystrokes anywhere outside of your control is by default Sabotage / Malware. I expect for my messages I type in Steam, Facebook, Twitter, to have at least some interaction with those services. The data I type on my keyboard Shouldn't Ever be sent to Microsoft by Default or as a part of "standard practice" to improve quality / service. I am waiting for Windows to actually come out with hopefully something as good as or better than Windows 7. Assuming, they don't ever, Windows 7 could be the last Windows I ever use.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday August 30 2015, @02:35AM
Whenever I even mention ReactOS in FOSS circles it's usually shot down immediately.
How so?
Personally, I think people should work on whatever projects they want to work on. If some people want to spend their free time making a Windows clone, more power to them. I wouldn't waste my time doing that, though, because I don't actually like Windows, so why would I want to make a clone of it? If I did like Windows, I'd just buy a copy of it; it's not *that* expensive. If I had a bunch of free time to spend on FOSS work for free, it'd be doing things *I* am interested in; maybe it'd be contributing to KDE, and cloning some select bits and pieces from Windows that I do like (it's not *all* bad...), but it sure wouldn't be with the goal of making a clone. I don't care much for GM cars either, but if I were an automotive engineer I'm sure I could find something in them I liked and wanted to copy, but that doesn't mean I want to make a car that looks as ugly as an Aztek.
I suspect most FOSS contributors are similar. They work on things that interest them; they're not trying to make a better Windows. There's a reason all the FOSS desktop environments have diverged significantly from both Windows and MacOS, while copying bits and concepts from both.
What I really want it to be able to do is run all of my old windows software natively.
I'd like a lot of things, but I don't expect people to spend millions of man-hours giving them to me for free. If they do (like with Linux, or DD-WRT), that's great, but I don't feel entitled to it, just lucky there's so many people willing to contribute to a project I like.
My Operating System shouldn't require me to spend $10, $20, $30+ a month or year to work. I shouldn't need to worry about my OS being the Malware on my computer.
You shouldn't, but apparently you do. As long as you give MS power by patronizing them, they're going to do whatever they can. The only way to break the cycle is to pull your support. But as long as so many people keep sending their money to Redmond, because they just *have* to be able to use their Windows apps, MS will keep pulling these shenanigans.
If I had a highly successful business making money hand over fist, and my customers complained about how poorly I treated them, but refused to stop buying from me, why would I bother improving? Where's the incentive?