If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you already know I finally downloaded Windows 10, primarily to stop the nagging. The download took awhile, which messed with my internet service. I should’ve done it in the wee hours of the morning, during free time.
In case you’re wondering, I live out in the country, and my internet service is provided by Wild Blue/Exede. Its receiver is mounted on my roof right next to the one for Direct TV. Ordinarily, the basic service is enough for a month, but last year, I had to increase it–not that my use of the internet changed, but (I suspect) the amount of time I was getting for the amount of money decreased. Can’t prove it, but . . . well, there ya go.
But this download wrecked me, and kicked into the “overtime” service that I’ve been paying for since last year. This service allows me to continue functioning as I always do, but at a slower rate.
Add that slower pace to the glacially slow performance I was experiencing when I first downloaded W10, and you can see my frustration. First thing I tried to figure out (after struggling to get used to that monstrosity of a menu they forced on me) was how to shut down some of the things on the start menu. Most computer wizards know better than I what is safe to shut down and what isn’t, what to uninstall and what will send your computer into paralyzing spasms if you do uninstall it. But, based on what little knowledge I have, I forged onward, unpinning things from the start menu, from the short-cut screen, from the task bar (they put the Trivago icon on my task bar–like I travel on a regular basis, and must have that button handy. Uh . . . no).
That much helped. My computer is starting up a bit faster now and running better.
During set-up, I was asked to let Microsoft and whoever their buddies are receive information about the sites I visit, my surfing habits–all that stuff that allows them to personalize their ads to me. Wait. Who said I wanted ads? Who said I wanted them that involved in my life? It freaks me out enough when something I’ve shopped for on the internet shows up on the sidebar on Facebook. What makes them think I want them to advertise to me at all?
That one burned my biscuits. My answer? “Oh, hell no!” And trust me, you don’t want to mess with a Texas woman when her rejection is worded that forcefully.
Besides, I’m an author. I search for a wide variety of things. Right now, I’m working on a short story in which my main character tries sky diving–not something I’ll ever get to do, but I’ve been researching parachutes and jumping schools, etc. I can imagine the pop-ups, or whatever, advertising cute little jumpsuits, pretty parachute canopies, and accidental death-and-dismemberment insurance.
Can you imagine the pop-ups if I were a mystery/suspense author?
Anyway, Microsoft decided I didn’t need ccleaner anymore–they’re wrong, but that doesn’t matter. They took it off my computer, I’ll put it back on. I had to update Avast to the W10 compatible version, which is fine, I guess. Microsoft wants me to use McAfee, which came with my new HP notebook (which had W10 already installed), but frankly, I like the combination of Avast and ccleaner. Even the free versions do their jobs, and I’m happy with them.
Microsoft wants me to use dropbox. That’s fine, I guess. I have to use it for some of my business, but my preference is “My PC Backup.” I like it, I’m used to it, so I’m keeping it. So there.
Otherwise, so far as I can tell, everything else is fine–except they stole Hearts from me. I don’t know why they stole it from this computer when another version of it is on my new notebook, but they stole it. The dirty birds.
I’ve gotten into the habit of playing a game of solitaire or Hearts between jobs to clear my mind and make the transition easier. Sometimes I play when I can’t come up with an effective word or phrase while I’m writing. And sometimes I play because I’d rather not work at all.
Actually, I mentioned that to God recently. I needed to take Hearts off my computer because I spent too much time playing it. Well, sure enough–it’s gone. Is that Microsoft overstepping their bounds, or God agreeing that I spend too much time on Hearts?
I do have the other solitaire games I like, but their format is different. No biggie, I’ll get used to it.
One of the really cool things about it is that I was having a private conversation on Twitter with Susan Brannock yesterday, and whenever she wrote to me, her avatar and note popped up on the screen. I imagine if I were more active on Twitter, that would make me crazy, but it was fun for the time.
Another thing that keeps popping up is a note from Microsoft begging me to pat them on the back. Don’t you love W10? Won’t you rate it for us? Would you recommend it to your friends?
Are they insane? Not fifteen minutes after I had it fully installed, they started wanting me to fill in a satisfaction questionnaire, and that’s just plain nuts. It’s different from what I’m used to. It adds things I don’t know diddly about and takes away things I’m accustomed to. Of course, I hate it!
But that was then.
Right now, I can’t complain–I’m not going to answer their questionnaire, but I can’t complain. I’ve read others’ comments about how W10 crashed their systems, or about how they had to pay to return to an earlier version like W7 or W8. By now, I’m kinda used to this thing, and it hasn’t given me any real problems.
But my advice to you? Don’t upgrade, or if you’re going to, do it when you have plenty of time to devote to it. But really? Don’t upgrade.
Several years into it, and this blog still refuses to be categorized. It's eclectic and includes everything from writing posts to snippets from my ordinary life. 
Linda W. Yezak 
I’m not going to offer my opinion on Windows 10 (I’m biased against them, so my opinion doesn’t count), but keep an eye out for whatever it is you opted out of. Windows 10 has the ability to overide whatever changes you made while setting it up, and revert back to its default status.
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Really? Dagnabbit!!!! That really burns my biscuits. I’ll have to remember to keep an eye on them. Thanks for the warning.
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There are more things to keep an eye out for with Windows 10, but if you keep track of what you changed during your first set up, you should be ok. If you’re worried about security issues (like I am), and have tinkered with a lot of things about wifi behaviour, telemetry logs, password protection, third-party apps, skype, outlook etc, then you should keep track of more things. Again, I openly state that I’m biased against them, so you may want to ask others aside from me 🙂
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Sounds like you’re more knowledgeable about it than I am–I haven’t even gathered up the nerve to try Skype yet!–but I’ll do my best to keep an eye on it. Thanks again, Chris!
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Thanks for confirming my first impression – I don’t plan to upgrade. Us country folk with slow or low internet service just don’t need ‘fancy.’ PS I found a button to stop their reminders to upgrade also
.
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Seriously? Please share with my readers where you found it!!!
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I’m avoiding it at all costs. I dislike – DISLIKE – learning a new program. Or even a new version of an old program. Who has time for that?!
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Ditto!
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Windows 10 was the worst decision I’ve made in a long time.
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I hear ya.
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I have had a few ups and downs. Most of the time I can now boot up and it will play audio/video. It is rare now that it does not work, but once in a while it fails. Much better than the way it was, but i am only now starting to explore the other features of 10. As a musician and music lover, it was hard for me to focus on anything else when the audio does not work!
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This is Day 2 for me, and it’s working okay, but I keep finding surprises. About those silly solitaire games I mentioned? They’ve all got timers with no way to turn the timers off. Generally, I’ll play a minute or two, go back to work, and come back to a game later. Except now, the timer goes off and “Game’s over! You lose!”
What ever happened to the maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
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LOL! I understand completely. Change CAN be good, but rarely good for all.
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You’re welcome, Linda.
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I love your comments. No, I haven’t upgraded to 10 yet and don’t plan on doing so until I need to .I am a creature of habit.
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Well, this’ll certainly wreck your habit! I’m not in bad enough shape to want to go through the rigamarole of returning to W7 or 8, but I still wish I hadn’t upgraded.
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Thank God for Apple computers. 😀
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I’d have to relearn my key strokes with that, so it would be frustrating too. But I’ve heard nothing but good about the Mac. It may be my next laptop.
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It’s definitely a learning curve, but well worth it.
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Ugh. New operating systems used to be fun. Not anymore. I briefly switched to Windows 8 last year when I bought a new computer. By all accounts, 10 is waaaay better than 8, but I hated 8 so bad I ended up selling my brand new computer at a loss, in large part just so I could go back to a machine with 7. I ain’t moving from 7 until this computer has smoke coming out of the casing.
Which is all to say: I commiserate 😉
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I was tempted to see what would happen if I restored this computer to an earlier point, like the day before I installed W10, but I can’t find where to do it.
It’s so funny–they added a couple of files to my “pictures” folder that I’ll never use. My pictures are already organized the way I want them. But I can’t delete these two files. They won’t go away. It’s no big deal, really, it’s just stupid.
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I tried Windows 10 for a nano second. I discovered my photo software, publishing software, and printer aren’t compatible. No way will I upgrade those again this year if I have a choice. So, I uninstalled it. It’s been a while, but it seems to me I had an option in my program set up to uninstall 10 and reinstall 8 (or 7) within 30 days or so with just a click of a button. I think I found the instructions after a Google search. The transition was easy and painless. My system is fully restored to pre 10 status.
I love new software, find it easy to learn, and would have kept 10. I routinely sit and explore all my software, for the simple pleasure of watching it work.
Oh, and as a mystery/suspense/paranormal author, I cringe to think what my personalized ads would entail. Gulp.
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So far, my printer works. I haven’t had trouble with that. Actually, no that this thing has been installed for a couple of days, I’ve been able to get used to it pretty quickly. I still hate the games and some of the stupid things they thought I’d like, but as long as I can function normally, I’m okay.
Your ads would be a riot!!!
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