Can I ask why? Not trolling you, just curious as to what you like about Edge. I found it pretty much "meh" and dont know anyone that uses it at all. Granted extensions will help it, but what would that give you over Chrome or any other browser that already has a huge extension library?
If you have a laptop, Edge is a livesaver. Chrome is a huge battery hog. Granted, I still prefer Chrome on the desktop, but Edge is decent. Extensions would make it a whole lot better.
Edge is 2 faced for me. Even after following some how to's on performance tweaking Edge, it is inconsistently slow. Sometimes it's faster than anything, sometimes I can't even scroll smoothly.
There is no doubt it uses less memory than especially chrome though. Chrome spreads itself across task manager like an infection, sometimes running 10 instances for 4 just tabs, no wonder android and chrome devices need so much RAM.
I use Edge exclusively on my Atom-powered tablet. It's noticeably faster and smoother than the other browsers, and much more touch friendly. However on my desktop and laptop systems I use mostly Vivaldi.
Edge is MUCH better on battery life. If you need Chromium and are using an untethered device, run Opera instead. Anyway with the new updates Edge seems even better overall, performance is better and it retains the same low memory usage and power efficiency. Heck with extensions I will have less cause to use anything else... even on the desktop. I'll keep FF around too though I think.
Or I could, you know, stick with the devices I have and not spend money I don't need to spend on a device I don't want and simply use a browser that works better for my needs.
You realize he could say the same to you. While I generally don't agree with such all inclusive statements as "Chrome is a bloated hog everywhere", there are more than a few places on the internet that suggest this is the case in a fairly extensive number of popular ecosystems.
My personal experience is that chrome has a detrimental effect on the battery life of several generations of Asus gaming laptops (Win7 / Win8 / Win10), a 2-in-1 (Win10), two android tablets (Asus - Kitkat / nVidia - Marshmallow), an android phone (Samsung - Lollipop), and a Macbook Pro (Yosemite / El Capitan). I will take your word that it is less of an issue in a chromebook. However, I have no desire to purchase one and I have no friends from whom I can borrow one to try it out.
I'd say that's purely a Google thing. Considering that Windows is still their major desktop/laptop platform, they should put more effort in Windows version of Chrome...
Windows isn't Google's major desktop/laptop platform though is it?, it's Linux and Android. They come first, and that's primarily what it's optimized for. Seriously ChromeOS/Chromium has no major issues with battery life otherwise Chromebooks wouldn't be lasting up to 12 hours...
Chromebooks usually have quite different hardware configurations to conventional laptops. Comparing battery life of a single application is not apples to apples.
@powerarmour: "Indeed, and likewise nor is it fair to say 'Chrome is a battery hog' when plainly isn't on a Chromebook."
Agreed. It's similar to how Safari is a much different program on MAC OS than it is anywhere else. It almost deserves a different name. Chrome is much different on a Chromebook than Windows. Certainly battery life issue are not the same for every platform and they are working to improve it. For instance, Android for a long time made use of Android browser rather than Chrome by default. While Chrome was a more fully featured browser, it also sucked far more energy to do its job. Now, the difference has depreciated to the point that Chrome is the default browser in newer Nexus devices. That said, android chrome still isn't the equal of the Windows and Linux versions and only the Windows version can be compared to Edge (which was the original topic of discussion here).
As everyone have answered @retrospooty, I have an unbranded 10.1 tablet that has 2 GB RAM with an Intel Atom CPU Z3735F BayTrail-T 1.33GHz. So Edge works great on that but the only thing stopping me from using it was adblock. Even on my desktop Chrome is a memory hog where I find each tab takes about 150-250 mb of RAM and surprisingly recently rediscovered Firefox takes a total of 350 MB with at least 10 tabs open. So yeah Edge is the fastest among them all in terms of initial load plus browsing but the ads.. the ads kill my experience.
That's a huge plus too... and that's AFTER the upgrades Google made to Chrome a while back in terms of text rendering. Couple years back Chrome's text rendering at ANY resolution was really mediocre.
Edge has the smoothest scrolling of any browser. It's also surprisingly fast, with ad-block enabled. The only downside to it is that there is no 100% popup block feature or addon.
Edge is great if you block ads.... especially VIDEO ads that even MSN loves to put 3-5 video ads ON THE SAME PAGE and slow Edge to a crawl. I finally did that in my hosts file for a short period and only rescinded that when websites started going to that blocking you from using their websites if you have adblock enabled.
I use Edge almost all the time, unless there is app or site, that doesn't support Edge. i found very few that I use besides some pages from bank, that use also external certification via smartcard... or so... Really, i just use Edge as it was installed and only few times i was forced to use IE for compatibility reasons... I have found Fox and Chrome to add only complitations for normal use unless there is something special, that needs that particular browser.
Edge is good IF you are only going to websites that are properly 'Edge Friendly' and do not have multiple HTML5 video ads on them. If the site in question (cough... Wikia) does have multiple HTML5 ads on it, then Edge slows down to a crawl unless you block all ads using your Hosts file.
I have to admit that I'll miss skipping the lock screen. There was never anything on it that I used, so it's simply a superfluous step in the login process.
That said, Arstechnica's writeup of the Aniversary update mentioned that the new lockscreen won't be swiped away to reveal the login box. Maybe the two screens have become one? Can anyone with the latest build clarify?
Yeah when you are getting ready to log in and you swipe up now (or click, press a key, whatever floats your boat) the image doesn't vanish, it just changes from the lock screen info (however you have it configured) to the login dialog and retains the same image. It's much better this way (using the same image) but it might take me a minute to get used to it.
Hi Brett, thank you for also highlighting the improvements for Windows 10 Mobile that this update brings. Though I understand your point on UWA (Universal Windows Apps), I hope it will not turn out this way for the Mobile OS: "They’ve transitioned there to providing apps and services, but Windows 10 Mobile is now pretty good at a time where it’s unlikely most people will ever use it." I actually like the productivity that my Lumia 950 offers.
If it's the same OS as people are using on their other computers then I can surely see a shift towards it provided there is attractive hardware to run it on.
Well one nice thing about UWP is that developers can reuse their code and have it run on all Win10 devices, mobile included. So app selection should continue to improve as Win10 improves and more systems run it. But we need to see more devices on carriers... Verizon is practically a wasteland. At least if you're not on Verizon (and probably Sprint) you can buy something amazing like an HP Elite X3. Hopefully HP will release a variant that supports Verizon (and vice versa, a device Verizon isn't adamantly opposed to having on their network). But that won't happen in the short term, I would bet.
Its pretty cool how the UWA approach is coming along. I absolutely love using my 950xl with continuum.
Microsoft is thinking big picture here and while they are likely to never get a hold on the consumer market I believe the UWA will help them get a strong foothold in the business market.
Office 365 and UWA are already having a impact on my company.
Edge seems *almost* usable to me now, extensions are a huge boon and the GPU accelerated smooth scrolling is some of the best I've seen on a Windows device (if your trackpad allows).
A few things still seem like leftovers from the dark ages - see the mouse speed dialog, you'll always find some areas of Windows that have never been updated to modern designs.
I got the anniversary update on my desktop just now. Upgraded from windows 8.1 for free FYI. The download size is very small, but installation took around a hour on a 4790K 4.4ghz, 32GB RAM, 512 SSD, gtx 1080
i'd hate to see how long it will take on my dell venue 8 pro xD
Just a quick reminder that if, like me, you like Windows 10 but still hate the Start menu, then a completely free (and ad-free) alternative is available at http://www.classicshell.net/
I really don`t understand what you guys love so much about 7-style Start. Outside form the weird decision by MS to remove uninstall links in program groups, the way it works it the same.
More like the "Road To Microsoft Completely Owning Your Data And Knowing What Your Do On Your PCs And To Becoming Governments' Favorite Surveillance Tool"
I hope you don't use any google services, or heck even just have a continual web presence at all since no doubt you're being run through a number of analytics programs already.
Me, I couldn't care less that some anonymized telemetrics are sent to MS. It already happened with earlier error reporting.
Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind a camera being placed in every public toilet, so that the government could watch you do your business, you know, just in case a terrorist decides to attempt to blow open another toilet with explosives. I mean, everyone uses the bathroom, right? There's nothing wrong that you're doing, so you wouldn't abject to being monitored while you do your business, right?
Here's my point: Just because you're doing nothing wrong gives nobody any right to monitor your every movement across the net. Being blind to the fact that Microsoft is literally spying on millions of people and also monetarily PROFITING from that surveillance just makes the situation worse by establishing that online surveillance is "OK" for millions of normal people using their computers and internet services in law abiding ways.
I don't understand the criticism from people here, lot of people seem to think MS can do no wrong even if they are copying tactics that other companies use that are criticized by everyone ? What Google and Apple do is not right and by MS copying them it still doesn't mean that it is right ! Didn't you mom ever tell you that two wrongs don't make a right well let me tell you a little secret three wrongs still don't make a right either ! And who in their right mind doesn't think MS doesn't profit directly from its surveillance needs to goto the funny farm ASAP - Indirectly or directly it doesn't matter - Yes I'm talking aboy both MS and going to the funny farm ! Yes I have used MS Windows since Win 3.0 and have used most but avoided Vista, Millienium, and Win 8.0/8.1 - I jumped straight from Win 7 64 Pro on day 1 of Win 10 release obviously after imaging my SSD to another SSD, I went through the pain of trying to be acclimatised to Win 10, I gave it 3 months but finally gave up and went back to Win 7. Even then it took me a day or two to become re-familiarized with Win 7, then slowly over the next 3-4 months I noticed Windows updates taking longer and generally my i7 Alienware was starting to feel generally sluggish. I had heard about the backporting of telemetry to Win 7 also and finally I had enough one night thought I would just give Linux a bash on the Win 10 SSD and I haven't looked back since. No this is not a Win 10 bashing, no it is not a Linux advert. All I can say is that in my opinion and OS should just be that - An OS, nothing more nothing less. It can have a GUI or not, its your choice. But it should not spy on you - hey Google and Apple and Microsoft are you listening - That is what all Governments do even though they never like to admit it and I don't agree with that either unless it is done with a warrant from a Judge - But I digress ! An OS should be an OS and nothing else, the apps that you want you install or maybe a selection are installed for you but these can be uninstalled to be replaced with your chosen one's or not - whatever the case maybe ! An OS should not lock you into a particular browser or search engine or whatever, this is taking choice away from the user and the excuse that well if the user doesn't like it then they can always use another OS is not the right attitude. Also stopping the uninstalling or removing of certain features is not good for the user only the OS supplier who is collecting your private data ! Remember when a certain company was forced to have it's browser removed in Europe as it was seen as being unfair to the competition ! Well, MS needs to be careful as it could happen again, EU is already looking into MS with Win 10 and its data mining and transferring said info back to the USA as a breach of EU Laws ! I'm sure I could say many other things and some clever spark with counter my comments with sarcastic one's or just call me a Windows hater but I have been using Windows since 1990 so I can counter that point, what I will say is I just prefer the old Win 7 64 Pro, its style, its responsiveness before Win 10 came along ! Because whatever MS was doing via the WU it certainly slowed my i7 Alienware (16GB Ram 512GB SSD 980M GPU) and its not a low spec machine aswell as Win Updates were taking ages to download aswell as all the other stuff MS were trying to do to get people onto Win 10 - MS is the reason I decided to leave the Windows ECO system - its is that simple - Linux serves my purposes 100%, it can do everything that Windows did for me and more, it even has a lovely Win 7 style GUI called Cinnamon. But the one reason alone that I love it above all else - What I do on my machine is private, what I do on the Web is not, what search engine I use means they can data mine that, what websites I visit will data mine me etc, I don't use cloud services so no worries there , I don't have Cortana or any other mic software listening or viewing my webcam without my express permission. If I use email and I acknowledge that its not private unless its encrypted. But what I do on my PC is private, its that simple !
Well, the article was about the update, and what has changed. There are plenty of articles from a year ago outlining your concern, so methinks you are just a hater.
You're totally ignoring the fact that with update things got a whole lot worse: As usual Microsoft decides for you that for the things you actually still can opt out and have opted out before you probably wanted to opt-in with the update and is happily applying your changed mind to the configuration for you. Also Cortana can *not* be disabled; yes, you can sign-off but the option to automatically share your local searches with Microsoft is gone and instead all searches will be shared with Microsoft.
Some of the changes are actually illegal in Europe (like the automatic opt-in to previously opted-out items) and at best dubious but as usual it will require a lawsuit before Microsoft decides to reverse the bogosity. Meanwhile all systems have automatically upgraded and applied the privacy downgrades -- clever. Hope some court actually slaps them with a hefty fine instead of just on the wrist...
I don't want Cortana, I want to be able to select my search engine, and so on - it's like MS is trying to go OSX by removing much choice from the end user - see their Store which I avoid like the plague. I am surprised they locked Edge into Bing, as I recall one of the many lawsuits they lost was related to similar issues back in (I think) the XP era. Also does this mean legacy IE is gone? If so I literally cannot update as one of my jobs requires the usage of a particular website which is not compatible with anything but IE and my other job's web portal and a few apps are the same.
> it's like MS is trying to go OSX by removing much choice from the end user
This claim is getting long in the tooth without anyone seemingly being able to back it up. Please, in gods name, tell me as an "any OS" power user (mostly OS X throughout the day, though) where OS X is removing choice. The only OS allowing more choice than OS X would be Linux but for many this is actually too much choice...
Reading that they remove the ability to prevent bloatware like Cany Crush Saga from getting installed, why are we being forced to have stuff we don't even want ot use?
Microsoft has painstakingly monitored the OS usage of its users for a year now. Based on highly granular and detailed data they've collected, they build the best possible mix of software tailored to what they know best as the needs of the end user. Although you're getting things you think you don't need and feel like are being forced upon you, it's clear that eventually you'll realize your error and start using the things the company has decided are necessary.
If MS wanted me to see zombies under the bed I'm sure they could arrange it!
Updated on Thursday and had some minor issues but it feels like one step forward and one step back. What is partly making me seriously consider rolling back to 8.1 is the fact they are removing features from the Pro version with this update. I suspected this might happen as you are buying into an open ended platform rather than a more static OS. If I still trusted MS to be competent and to do the right thing I'd stick with them but I don't trust them to do either. Maybe it's time to look at Linux and even a Hackintosh as I feel this chapter is closing. I still remember when I first installed NT 3.51 and was blown away. Many good years after with NT4, Win2K and then a slow decline since they stopped making a workstation OS and it was tainted by the merger with the consumer OS's needs.
Surely you can't be serious? I mean I know nerds are not known for recognising sarcasm but common! On a separate note, in reply to an earlier comment: all of my opt out choices (that would pretty much be all of them), have been preserved. No reset. Cortana and voice recognition: I'm hoping we won't end up with a similar fiasco to the early Samsung smart TVs capturing voice data randomly and without permission for optimisation and analysis.
I hate to agree with you Michael, but yes, you are right.
This is why it matters to us so much that new verison of Windows are 'fair', secure, compatible, rather than forced, leaking our contacts, keystrokes, and wifi passwords, to name just a few.
Since I'm convicned you are an MS employee (not a bad thing), it is through the likes of you, we hope our displeasure regarding Win 10 privacy issues is both heard, and passed on.
Are you not aware, how many of us want a private, customizable (think no Cortana / Store / forced updates / automatic removal of programs) OS? We would PAY for that. You wouldn't have to give it away.
Unfortunately, looking at Android and the app stores, practically all value has been sucked out of software. Software just isn't something people are willing to spend money on; they expect it to be free these days and monetised in some other way. Sadly, those other ways tend to be adverts, or paid product placements etc, which some of us don't actually want but have no choice but to accept (apart from where we can do something about it, such as adblockers all around etc).
- how many of us want a private, customizable (think no Cortana / Store / forced updates / automatic removal of programs) OS?
It is not because they are idiot people out there that Microsoft should cater their OS for those.
Cortana is nothing more than a search if you disable all the tailor made options. Removing Windows Store is like asking that OS would run without softwares and cars without wheels. Store apps have inherent advantages compared to Win32 programs (more secured, uninstall without leftovers, free up memory automatically, scale perfectly, support all input types, integrate with notification center / share API / Cortana, roam the settings accrias devices...) that make them (when they do what you want) factually better that Win32 programs. Nobody is forcing anyone to install them but removing the Store is just an utterly silly request. And at last, regarding automatic updates, we all know, reading those forums what is the perception of average Joe toward Windows PCs being prone to viruses / malwares / slow down compared to tablets like iPad and this is the smartest decision from Microsoft to force update and back in Windows Defender plus Store apps to give people the same advantages as iPad in term of simplicity / security / continuity of performance while still allowing users to use the millions of legacy Win32 programs if necessary.
What is Cortana if you removed all points of interest except a glorified search? Why people are asking the possibility to disable Cortana? This is beyond me especially people that do think they understand computer better that my mom. Do not want to use search, do not. Simply as that.
Call me paranoid, but I see the combination of project Centennial and the impossibility of rejecting Windows updates as a surefire way to block Win32 apps in the distant future. "We know better than you, boy. Don't try to do as you wish to do with your own computer." In other words, an Apple world.
Sure, there will be jailbreaks and stuff but we all know it's not the same as having legitimate access to your whole system.
If you`re not using some banking client from 80s, there is little use in holding on tightly to win32. It`s not like they are restricting your ability to develop under winrt and will likely start some kind of transition program for developers like Apple did.
Win32 programs are for regular desktop or laptop PCs. UWP is for tablets and phones. There's already too much of the horrendous UWP "design language" in desktop Windows 10-- I'm certainly never going to add to it with anything "app." When I had a Windows 10 installation on my test PC, I uprooted Windows Store, Cortana, Edge, and all of that kind of stuff... most satisfying thing I ever did with 10, other than wiping the drive when I finally gave up on 10 ever becoming a usable OS.
All the stuff about "it uninstalls cleanly" that we hear about UWP is certainly a good thing, but there's nothing inherent about Win32 that makes this inevitable (other than the existence of the registry in general). In the Win 95 days and prior, Windows pretty much allowed any installer to make any change it wanted. It was common for installers to sprinkle DLLs into the Windows directory, sometimes overwriting system files. They were allowed to do most anything with the registry. There was no enforced or even theoretical schema to any of it... it was just "do whatever you want."
A big part of Windows 95's crashiness can probably be directly attributed to this.
Later versions tightened it up some, but installers still have considerable authority to make changes that are not adequately tracked by the system. That doesn't have to be.
If the changes with UWP were mainly about fixing this, that would be one thing, but that's not the main reason for it. It's so "apps" can run on multiple platforms. Maybe some people will be happy running phone apps on their PCs, but I won't. Too many compromises have to be made to make it sorta-work on devices as dissimilar as a touch-screen 5 inch phone (that is usually held in portrait) and a PC with three times the CPU and GPU power and nearly unlimited local storage with a 24" screen that is always in landscape, with input via an actual keyboard and a mouse.
Of course, I know that the idea is that some "apps" will be strictly PC, but those are not the point of UWP. The point is trying to unify dissimilar and ergonomically incompatible computing platforms, even though there are good reasons why PC and mobile UI design parameters are different and distinct.
- Win32 programs are for regular desktop or laptop PCs. UWP is for tablets and phones
This cannot be further of the truth. This is an arbitrary split that you are spreading as if everything should be split like Apple decided (even if they are themselves coming back from those toaster/fridge complain as the iPad Pro is proving). The one advantage you claim from UWP is real. And many others are. It seems that you would have liked Microsoft to evolve Win32 to integrate all the UWP advantages than starting from scratch. Whatever was the best way to proceed, UWP offers clear and undeniable advantages, even purely on desktop compared to Win32 apps (see some that I mentioned above).
- It's so "apps" can run on multiple platforms Exactly. And as such, that is already a very important advantage that Win32 does not share. And honestly, mobile being so important these days, it is clear that it is much more clever from Microsoft to push applications that could run as well on laptop, tablet or even mobile phone than legacy Win32 softwares.
- Maybe some people will be happy running phone apps on their PCs, but I won't I am. Because there are nothing specifically phone related. For instance, Drawboard PDF has simply no Win32 equivalent. And there are plenty examples of those. And there is no reason why phone apps advantages would not be valid when used on a tablet or desktop or laptop.
- Too many compromises have to be made to make it sorta-work on devices as dissimilar as a touch-screen 5 inch phone Not really as the interface can morph and adapt to the screen size so indeed, UWP are quite flexible on tis regard. You are trying to create a dichotomy that simply does not exist anymore. Many people are using tablet or laptop with touchscreen. Keyboard is natural input method, even on phones (be it on-screen keyboard). Pen can act virtually like a pointing device making applications benefiting from a mouse very much as usable with a pen on a tablet. Also, even if laptop or desktop have bigger screen, they are also used from further away. You are mentioning the aspect ratio but this is something UWP manage very well. A good example is for instance Outlook which is using 3 different vertical panes on phones (account and forlder list,mail list, mail content pane) that can be all displayed at once on a desktop / laptop landscape screen. Indeed, UWP is an evidence that there is so much overlap that the distinction that Apple is still trying to promote (even if contradicting themselves with the iPad Pro) is not making sense anymore. Google has realize that as well with Android apps running on Chromebook.
- here are good reasons why PC and mobile UI design parameters are different and distinct.
If there were "PC" on one side and "mobile" on an another, where does tablets and laptop fits ?
lol, Microsoft passed Apple a *long* time ago when it comes to restrictiveness and lack of privacy. Actually it was right at the time when they introduced "Genuine Advantage"...
Yeah in large parts, any how Centennial is still using the Win32 VS CRT and all and not Windows Runtime with it's own C++ runtime and framework aka UWP/UWA/Store-app/Modern/Metro/WinRT. As the binaries aren't converted but rather packed into an AppX package. Nothing would work without Win32. You can't even use Windows Runtime to build a Windows Runtime (UWP) app as the development tools won't move to it.
API's (some of them) previously only available to Store apps have been made available to Windows/Win32 applications like the inking API so I don't think freezing out Win32 apps by moving new features to WinRT/UWP and to UWP apps only would work or be desirable either. Would only cause fragmentation and vendors would start to replace deprecated or stalled API's with their own stuff which might just make it more difficult to develop for the platform with more stuff you need to support, but probably not as difficult as porting to UWP but still frustrate users and developers.
Still on windows 7 for my main PC. My old laptop still runs Windows XP.
Can't see myself ever upgrading to Windows 10, except when a DX11 game absolutely requires Windows 10 (and DX 11) to make 60 FPS. Even so, I'd return back to the Windows 7 partition after gaming on Windows 10.
There is nothing I need to do that cant be done in Win7, or even WinXP for that matter. Not having that b1tch Cortana in the background spying on you the whole time is a huge relief.
Your reasoning is perfectly sensible. If your laptop works for you with its given OS and hardware, then you should continue to use it in a way that suits your needs.
The point of computer technology from its inception was to assist people in accomplishing tasks more efficiently. To that end, the computer should kowtow to the needs of the person using it by fitting a variety of requirements for mobility, interface, and functionality. I think we've lost sight of a lot of that since the industry has grown in size and gained something of a life of its own. Windows 10 seems something of an outgrowth of computers being mistreated as devices that serves the company making the software they runs rather than supporting the needs of the end user. In the end, Windows 10's master is Microsoft rather than the system owner. The justifications Microsoft will offer are numerous (telemetry gathering, system security, ease of use, following the trend of closed-system modern phones, etc) and other tech companies are just as guilty of lacing services they offer with self-serving capabilities (thanks for being the industry leader on that one Google/Alphabet) that simply don't benefit the end user. What you end up with is a mutually-destructive relationship where end users aren't happy and companies offer polarizing, unsatisfactory products in an attempt to incorporate their own needs into things that are supposed to be all about the customers they serve.
Well, I was borderline with my install of Windows 10 but there are just too many negatives vs positives with this release so I regressed my system back to Windows 8.1. I"ll stick with 8.1 till end of support. I just want to operate my machine my way, not Microsoft's way.
I did like the idea of the Linux subsystem but that would have been the only plus. As it is, I can continue using MSYS2 for my 'Bash'ing on my Windows box.
And speaking of Bash, I've had Mint Linux on my Vista era laptop for ~9 months and it seems to do everything I need for my daily computing needs (no gaming or Photoshop are done on the laptop). There's even a device driver from Brothers for my multifunction printer.
Mint is a good alternative for people willing to roll up their sleeves on occasion. I've been using it full time on everything but my headless desktop which really only exists to stream Windows-only games to my Linux box through Steam.
Does that work well (streaming of games to Linux)? I've never tried it but it might be a viable option. I'm planning on only using Windows for steam gaming and Photoshop, all my normal computing needs can readily be handled by Mint. Was originally thinking of just dual booting but if I could setup a reasonable workflow on Mint for photo editing I could then use the streaming option for games.
Getting streaming setup was painless. Install the Steam client on both computers and have them running at the same time. They'll see one another on your local network and on each respective machine's library, there's an option to stream the game. You can also stream non-Steam games and even random applications like Internet Explorer or MS Word over it by manually adding them to your game list.
It's not perfect though. Your mileage will vary greatly based on the performance of your local network. In my case, my desktop is connected via wired ethernet at 100mbps to my crappy DSL router and my laptop can connect at up to 144 mpbs over wireless. Streaming is doable up to 1366x768, but there's the occasional hiccup in network performance that'll cause the video stream to pixelate or hesitate. Even then, the encoding process reduces image quality slightly so things just don't really look as good. There's also added latency between 10-20ms which might put multiplayer shooters out since you'll be a bit behind in reacting to what's happening in-game. Steam recommends doing the streaming thing purely on wired connections and they're probably right that it'd work better under those conditions, but I think I lose too much flexibility by being wired to the laptop. Oh and some games refuse to stream at all, but I've only seen that happen with MMOs. There's a few that are oddly picky about slinging their video to another computer.
Now on the good side of things, just about any piece of garbage laptop made since 2008 running linux with a decent wifi nic has the compute power necessary to decode the incominng stream. Its nice to keep upgrade pressure off every box but the headless desktop and a little cheaper too. Plus, with summer heat bearing down on the US, I like not having my desktop in the same room, baking my proverbial beans with its heat output. I still keep Tight VNC installed on the desktop so I can remotely access the desktop from outside a Steam session.
In the end though, the best advice I can suggest is to just fire up Steam and play with it a little to see how it works for you.
Thanks, I'll have to give it a shot. I've got a gigabit wired home network so that should help some. I'll have to fire up Fallout 4 and see how it plays.
:-) Sounds like UT2K4 would be out, I've already got a ping of over 100 talking to the server I play on in Chicago (I'm in California).
I have two streaming windows PCs at home (GbE) (one for my wife and I) and i will say categorically that your results == how good your network is. I have two lappys that effortlessly stream over 5ghz and struggle on 2.4ghz.
Otherwise steam streaming is the greatest lock-in that steam has on my gaming purchases. Love playing AAA/indies/etc. on the couch with an xbox controller. A pain when i have to actually sit at my desk to game
I had an unused 8.1 Pro license lying around that shipped with my machine, so I installed it, and upgraded it on the last free day, so when I do sell my laptop (I change 'em every 2yrs), it would have the latest s/w for the new noob user.
Anyway, I couldn't resist trying to run the Time Spy DX12 benchmark. What a mess. DX11 titles did work though without issue (but tried for short period only though). Tried updating Nvidia drivers - Nvidia 'Experience' was unable to sucessfully complete. Manually downloaded & failed also. Deleted existing, ran the install package as admin, failed again.
So no video drivers for Win 10 now at all. Even Windows itself is unable to update the GPUs.
Anyway, volume backed-up with Macrium Reflect for possible new machine owner, and partition deleted.
"For now, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out in waves today, so check your Windows Update."
What version of Win10 is going out with the media creation tool? I need to clean reinstall Win10 on a PC and wanted it to be the Anniversary update version right off the bat.
Wait so now Cortana only uses Edge and Bing? And you can't disable Cortana? Isn't EU going to be all over this mess again? Am I not understanding something? Because that seems like lesson NOT learned...
Windows is, and this is the latest version of Windows. They also aggressively pushed W10 out to older versions via Windows Update until very recently. If you combine those two points, it's definitely not going to be viewed in the most positive light by the EU regulators. They've definitely used their market position to leverage this update, and it can arguably be considered a bait and switch manoeuvre since earlier builds didn't have this limitation.
EU regulators are just a bunch of corrupt moneygrubbers who look at big American companies as a source of revenue. All they have to do is "decide" that a company has violated their anti-monopoly laws (the criteria for such violations is very subjective) and bam! Hundreds of millions of euros into their coffers. It will be good for Europe and the world if that corrupt organization falls apart after Brexit.
- EU regulators are just a bunch of corrupt moneygrubbers
I think you would need to instruct yourself before claiming this. Micosoft definitely deserved what they had at that time with IE and if you look at Google inquiry from EU, I recommend you to read that to make up your mind if it is really unfounded: http://www.foundem.co.uk/fmedia/Foundem_Jun_2015_A...
Please, someone, come up with something to strangle and kill Cortana. I just knew it they gonna force it down your throat once they reeled everyone to upgrade to Win10. So glad I didnt do any of my Win7 machines.
Looks like we might be limited to just blocking it in our firewalls. I have Cortana and Telemetry disabled in both Group Policy and the IP's blocked in my firewall. I always have my firewall set to ask me what to do when it encounters a connection that I haven't created an Allow or Deny rule for. With that, I've caught a few more phone-home's that I've been able to disable.
To be honest I'm just waiting for the actual Windows Server 2016 to be released. Having a .edu email, I get it free through DreamSpark and the Server edition at least keeps the ability to disable all that crap. And I don't mind the slightly more complicated setup.
About Centennial, I'm pretty sure you don't actually convert the application to UWP but packages the Win32 app in an AppX package with sandboxing handled by a variant of App-V. So it's still a MFC application if you "convert" that, and a WPF application is still a WPF application too and so on. You currently only have access to a small subset of the UWP API's for your "converted apps". So it's mostly a sandboxed Win32-package with lot's of limitations, that you can sell in the store.
That's what I read among other things, btw "XAML UI | Converted apps won't have a UWP XAML UI until they are fully ported to UWP." Invalidates some of the statements made on page 6. From what I know only hybrid applications can do a XAML UI with Win32 applications like browsers are allowed to do, since W8. This statement by Microsoft implies you need to manually port the whole app to UWP to use the UWP XAML UI.
I guess this confusion is Microsoft's fault as they write "At your own pace, you can add UWP features to your app's package, like a XAML user-interface, live tile updates, UWP background tasks, app services, and many more. All of the functionality available to any other UWP app is available to your app." on another page, but statements like "All of the functionality available to any other UWP app is available to your app" are obviously not true either.
http://www.cnet.com/news/eu-resolves-microsoft-ie-... "European Commissioner for Competition Policy Neelie Kroes on Wednesday formally announced a resolution to the Internet Explorer antitrust case against Microsoft. As part of the settlement, Windows PCs sold in the European Economic Area will now present users with a Choice Screen, allowing them to install alternative browsers beyond Internet Explorer."
sounds the same to me if they bundle cortana. and a large amount of folks were coerced into upgrading to w10, so yea there's that. and of course it's not restricted to pc. any platform running w10.
I'm going to give it some time and see if it gets better but for now I notice the performance of my Surface Book is starting to choke a bit since I updated earlier today. I have the i5, 8gb, with Nvidia GPU. I notice a lot of delay on the web browser and even doing stuff on the desktop.
So... PIN doesn't work and needs to be removed and added back again. And Aster (multiple users running side-by-side on one computer) doesn't work. The later is no suprise and will get fixed soon. PIN is a shame though.
What is meant by Windows as a service? How is an operating system a service? And why would I want an operating system to be anything but a transparent home for applications and files that I can organise in directories?
I've tried twice already and the install failed. I get the black screen with the circle loading for hours and hours. I'm forced to restore to windows previous version. I've used windows troubleshooter and it detected a problem and it said it fixed it. I'm afraid to try again though. It's gonna try to update on its own though at some point. MS sucks! Fix your Windows 10 updates!
this is a pretty mehhh.... update. call me old school, i'm a desktop user. i don't use cortana, i don't use edge, i dont own an xbox, i dont use any "apps" from the app store, i dont use the action center.
Exactly. And much of the "new" being touted here that is of interest to me, is functionality I've long had from other sources -- Chrome has had extensions forever, I have both extensive Cygwin and linux VM setups, Steam installs games where I want them, etc etc.
On there no longer being a local search (cortana force enabled) - were they at least smart enough to have local results returned instantly vs waiting for net response? It's going to be infuriating if everything is laggy every time my ISP is, or there's a DDOS attack in progress, etc.
Also important to note...Windows Store Apps can now be easily installed on the hard drive of your choosing! I realized this when during the upgrade, it told me my copy of Gears of Wars needed to be repaired (which means...downloaded/installed again. fortunately I have a 250mbps connection so the 52GB download wasn't that problematic). To my surprise, when I clicked install, it listed my hard drives and asked which one I wanted to install to. This is a very welcome change.
I've found two problems with this new build, 1 major and 1 medium:
1. Major - It enables Windows Defender even if you have an antivirus program already running, causing major file contention. With Eset products, even an uninstall and reinstall does not disable Windows Defender, so I am forced to use Microsoft's crappy protection. I have not found if any other antivirus programs work.
2. Perfect World Entertainment programs, from the Arc client to any of the games on it, refuse to work at all. The repair, installer, or uninstaller also refuse to work. I can't remove it, and I can't fix it. I also can't even run my favorite game, Star Trek Online. Really annoying. Blizzard products seem to work fine, though.
Windows Defender is now considered as a backup protection if there exists 3rd party AV by Microsoft , so it is not disabled automatically. You can disable it through group policy though.
So will Windows 10 Upgrade install on my laptop or I will have a huge problem just like with the Upgrade from Windows 8 to 10? Yes, after the upgrade Windows 10 works fine but the Upgrade would lock and I don't remember anymore what I had to do to make it complete. But I wasted several days and many failed attempts to install it.
I can't seem to be able to install Edge extensions without being logged on Store. I am assuming there is no work around that one? meh, back to Firefox.
Meh... I have 2 new Win 10 Pro laptops from very different vendors (Sager and HP.) And after update, both still wake from sleep with fingerprint reader not working. Prior to update, one had periodic crashes of the 'explorer' process leading to corruption of desktop; restarting the process would fix it - haven't yet seen that issue since update, there hasn't been much time yet and I'm not holding my breath.
Microsoft continues its long-established pattern to ship half-baked, unfinished, buggy, poorly tested software and systems, so that I feel like I'm constantly running on beta software at best (and early alpha at worst.)
Or alternatively installing an efficient non-spying OS like Linux Ubuntu ! Linux works fine on my Laptops, mind you they both are i7's with 980m GPU's and have 512GB SSD's and 16GB and 32GB of ram. They were both Win 7 64 Pro Laptops thats why they have so much ram whereas Linux only really needs 8GB !
Since im on W10 im experiencing weird blue screens. It only happens on desktop start up. It always shows random issue. It will switch off computer then. After i switch on computer back again it will boot system and then it is 100% stable. Anybody experiencing the same?
Fist page: "had gone to far and toned them back." should be "too"*.
I'm still skeptical AF about Microsoft. They seem to be in bed with the US Government, NSA especially. Bill Gates has a history of backroom deals, so him being back at the company isn't comforting. The "anonymous" telemetry data is a problem no matter what you do with it so long as ISP's even have the option of data caps. Not to mention the ongoing issue of broadband in America being slow, hard to find, overpriced and just unavailable for ~80% of the geographic area of the country.
But, I will read the rest of this with an open mind.
Maybe? I went right to it from 8.1. Took several hours of research to get the installer to work. In the end the fix was to disconnect from all networks after it downloaded/verified, but before it started to install. Kept getting 0x8005007...8? Some such error that had tons of hits and an equal number of "fixes"..
first time after upgrading to anniversary update (win10pro), when login, i got greeted with WDATP
now i look anywhere but can find it anymore based the screenshot, its Edge browser right ? so i need to access to a link ? tried security.windows.com but it didnt let me access it
Underhanded? No. The Get Windows 10 prompt was intended to nudge the vast majority towards getting a superior operating system to Windows XP - 8. It worked in doing that, I upgraded all my computers a long time ago to Windows 10 and have yet to regret for even one second doing that.
Windows 10 is the bottom line best Windows OS to come out in the past 15 years and everyone should update to it as soon as possible, even if they have to pay to update to it.
Well. I said years ago with no more elp files for seven os's, Windows is like Mac in that the one is (even tablets are getting there), and if they to are working on a CPU (am sure they could buy AMD), you never know. I can tell you in Los Angeles. Many still use aluminum macs tweaked. Some have moved to PCS. It was really a bummer to find out a school I was interested in now switched to mainly s due to faster rendering. Man. Apple needs to be loyal to those loyal to them. Tired of face slapping by them. Or price taxes like $200 for a BLACK MacBook. Then I remember a MacBook came out that blew away the MBP. But they stopped production on that big time. No Macro soon. It may be a hack. As mboards have thunderbolt now.
"OneDrive, Bing, and the Windows Store." None of which I use and would remove from Windows 10 altogether if I could. I also don't use Edge or even IE. Both suck, and both monitor everything I do. Not to mention M$ likes to force me to go through MSN just to even use Google as my homepage. Not sure if they're trying to get hits or what.
And yet Microsoft STILL refuses to fix NIC teaming and VLANs in Windows 10. It's been broke for over a year now. It last worked under the initial build 10240 and they now admit even that was by sheer accident, not design. 16 pages of documentation and discussion here for the curious: https://communities.intel.com/message/319635#31963...
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faizoff - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Most excited for edge extensions, hopefully the update rolls out soon to my PC.retrospooty - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Can I ask why? Not trolling you, just curious as to what you like about Edge. I found it pretty much "meh" and dont know anyone that uses it at all. Granted extensions will help it, but what would that give you over Chrome or any other browser that already has a huge extension library?mphuie - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
If you have a laptop, Edge is a livesaver. Chrome is a huge battery hog. Granted, I still prefer Chrome on the desktop, but Edge is decent. Extensions would make it a whole lot better.retrospooty - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Thanks... That makes sense. I do have a T460s, but I really dont use it on battery a ton, usually docked in the office.Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Agreed. Anything beside Edge on tablet either works woefully slow or eats battery like it`s plugged in.Samus - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Edge is 2 faced for me. Even after following some how to's on performance tweaking Edge, it is inconsistently slow. Sometimes it's faster than anything, sometimes I can't even scroll smoothly.There is no doubt it uses less memory than especially chrome though. Chrome spreads itself across task manager like an infection, sometimes running 10 instances for 4 just tabs, no wonder android and chrome devices need so much RAM.
JimmiG - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I use Edge exclusively on my Atom-powered tablet. It's noticeably faster and smoother than the other browsers, and much more touch friendly. However on my desktop and laptop systems I use mostly Vivaldi.Alexvrb - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I'm glad they implemented swipe gestures like they had in IE on 8.x. Swiping for back/forward nav is so much easier on a tablet or hybrid.Alexvrb - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Edge is MUCH better on battery life. If you need Chromium and are using an untethered device, run Opera instead. Anyway with the new updates Edge seems even better overall, performance is better and it retains the same low memory usage and power efficiency. Heck with extensions I will have less cause to use anything else... even on the desktop. I'll keep FF around too though I think.powerarmour - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Chrome isn't a battery hog on a Chromebook... That's purely a 'Windows' thing.Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Chrome is a bloated hog everywhere. Memory/battery/whatever.secretmanofagent - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Definitely is for OS X. CPU sometimes goes crazy and have to kill tabs.powerarmour - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Prove me wrong, or STFU.Michael Bay - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Countless user experiences prove you wrong every day.But keep hurtin`, please, it`s entertaining to watch.
powerarmour - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
How old are you, 12?Get a Chromebook, see how long the battery lasts.
Chrome is such a bloated hog when it runs fine on 2GB RAM and lasts 10+ hours...
BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Or I could, you know, stick with the devices I have and not spend money I don't need to spend on a device I don't want and simply use a browser that works better for my needs.BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
@powerarmour: "Prove me wrong, or STFU."You realize he could say the same to you. While I generally don't agree with such all inclusive statements as "Chrome is a bloated hog everywhere", there are more than a few places on the internet that suggest this is the case in a fairly extensive number of popular ecosystems.
My personal experience is that chrome has a detrimental effect on the battery life of several generations of Asus gaming laptops (Win7 / Win8 / Win10), a 2-in-1 (Win10), two android tablets (Asus - Kitkat / nVidia - Marshmallow), an android phone (Samsung - Lollipop), and a Macbook Pro (Yosemite / El Capitan). I will take your word that it is less of an issue in a chromebook. However, I have no desire to purchase one and I have no friends from whom I can borrow one to try it out.
nikon133 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I'd say that's purely a Google thing. Considering that Windows is still their major desktop/laptop platform, they should put more effort in Windows version of Chrome...powerarmour - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Windows isn't Google's major desktop/laptop platform though is it?, it's Linux and Android.They come first, and that's primarily what it's optimized for. Seriously ChromeOS/Chromium has no major issues with battery life otherwise Chromebooks wouldn't be lasting up to 12 hours...
Gigaplex - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Chromebooks usually have quite different hardware configurations to conventional laptops. Comparing battery life of a single application is not apples to apples.powerarmour - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Indeed, and likewise nor is it fair to say 'Chrome is a battery hog' when plainly isn't on a Chromebook.BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
@powerarmour: "Indeed, and likewise nor is it fair to say 'Chrome is a battery hog' when plainly isn't on a Chromebook."Agreed. It's similar to how Safari is a much different program on MAC OS than it is anywhere else. It almost deserves a different name. Chrome is much different on a Chromebook than Windows. Certainly battery life issue are not the same for every platform and they are working to improve it. For instance, Android for a long time made use of Android browser rather than Chrome by default. While Chrome was a more fully featured browser, it also sucked far more energy to do its job. Now, the difference has depreciated to the point that Chrome is the default browser in newer Nexus devices. That said, android chrome still isn't the equal of the Windows and Linux versions and only the Windows version can be compared to Edge (which was the original topic of discussion here).
Murloc - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
chromebooks are hardly relevant for most users, and the discussion is clearly about windows laptops since it's being compared to edge.nikon133 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Also works better with touch, imho. I mostly use Chrome on my desktop and (docked) laptop... but on Surface, it is basically 100% Edge.faizoff - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
As everyone have answered @retrospooty, I have an unbranded 10.1 tablet that has 2 GB RAM with an Intel Atom CPU Z3735F BayTrail-T 1.33GHz. So Edge works great on that but the only thing stopping me from using it was adblock.Even on my desktop Chrome is a memory hog where I find each tab takes about 150-250 mb of RAM and surprisingly recently rediscovered Firefox takes a total of 350 MB with at least 10 tabs open.
So yeah Edge is the fastest among them all in terms of initial load plus browsing but the ads.. the ads kill my experience.
Brett Howse - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
As I said in the article, Edge renders text better than other browsers, especially on a high DPI device like Surface Pro 4 / Surface Book.Alexvrb - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
That's a huge plus too... and that's AFTER the upgrades Google made to Chrome a while back in terms of text rendering. Couple years back Chrome's text rendering at ANY resolution was really mediocre.Socius - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Edge has the smoothest scrolling of any browser. It's also surprisingly fast, with ad-block enabled. The only downside to it is that there is no 100% popup block feature or addon.Lerianis - Monday, August 15, 2016 - link
Edge is great if you block ads.... especially VIDEO ads that even MSN loves to put 3-5 video ads ON THE SAME PAGE and slow Edge to a crawl.I finally did that in my hosts file for a short period and only rescinded that when websites started going to that blocking you from using their websites if you have adblock enabled.
andrejg - Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - link
I use Edge almost all the time, unless there is app or site, that doesn't support Edge. i found very few that I use besides some pages from bank, that use also external certification via smartcard... or so... Really, i just use Edge as it was installed and only few times i was forced to use IE for compatibility reasons... I have found Fox and Chrome to add only complitations for normal use unless there is something special, that needs that particular browser.Lerianis - Tuesday, August 30, 2016 - link
Edge is good IF you are only going to websites that are properly 'Edge Friendly' and do not have multiple HTML5 video ads on them.If the site in question (cough... Wikia) does have multiple HTML5 ads on it, then Edge slows down to a crawl unless you block all ads using your Hosts file.
Braincruser - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Pretend I never open Store Apps. What has changed for me since Windows 7?cpy - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
How about mentioning registry items that are being removed? Like no longer being able to disable market apps or lock screen completely?YukaKun - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I kind of would like to know a bit more about what things they are not letting us do, more than the shinny new stuff it brings.It's good to have a balanced view on what Win10 brings to the table, compared to say, Win7Pro64Bits.
Cheers!
Mr Perfect - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I have to admit that I'll miss skipping the lock screen. There was never anything on it that I used, so it's simply a superfluous step in the login process.That said, Arstechnica's writeup of the Aniversary update mentioned that the new lockscreen won't be swiped away to reveal the login box. Maybe the two screens have become one? Can anyone with the latest build clarify?
Alexvrb - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Yeah when you are getting ready to log in and you swipe up now (or click, press a key, whatever floats your boat) the image doesn't vanish, it just changes from the lock screen info (however you have it configured) to the login dialog and retains the same image. It's much better this way (using the same image) but it might take me a minute to get used to it.GTVic - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link
It does zoom in a bit and the image seems to get darker. I don't see the point of that.DParadoxx - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Seriously. I expected a whole page on things that have gotten worse.cpy - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Don't worry, you'll get more than one page of bad things once the real thing hits world.theNiZer - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Hi Brett, thank you for also highlighting the improvements for Windows 10 Mobile that this update brings. Though I understand your point on UWA (Universal Windows Apps), I hope it will not turn out this way for the Mobile OS: "They’ve transitioned there to providing apps and services, but Windows 10 Mobile is now pretty good at a time where it’s unlikely most people will ever use it."I actually like the productivity that my Lumia 950 offers.
theNiZer - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Sorry, I meant Universal Windows Platform (UWP).prophet001 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
If it's the same OS as people are using on their other computers then I can surely see a shift towards it provided there is attractive hardware to run it on.Alexvrb - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Well one nice thing about UWP is that developers can reuse their code and have it run on all Win10 devices, mobile included. So app selection should continue to improve as Win10 improves and more systems run it. But we need to see more devices on carriers... Verizon is practically a wasteland. At least if you're not on Verizon (and probably Sprint) you can buy something amazing like an HP Elite X3. Hopefully HP will release a variant that supports Verizon (and vice versa, a device Verizon isn't adamantly opposed to having on their network). But that won't happen in the short term, I would bet.cknobman - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Its pretty cool how the UWA approach is coming along.I absolutely love using my 950xl with continuum.
Microsoft is thinking big picture here and while they are likely to never get a hold on the consumer market I believe the UWA will help them get a strong foothold in the business market.
Office 365 and UWA are already having a impact on my company.
tipoo - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Nice timely overview!Edge seems *almost* usable to me now, extensions are a huge boon and the GPU accelerated smooth scrolling is some of the best I've seen on a Windows device (if your trackpad allows).
A few things still seem like leftovers from the dark ages - see the mouse speed dialog, you'll always find some areas of Windows that have never been updated to modern designs.
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Font viewer file opening dialog is said to be from 3.1. Dark ages indeed.MANLEY7878 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Wonder if everyone will get it today or in waves.Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
In waves, they`ve said it many times. Surfaces first, then desktops, then everything else.MANLEY7878 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Thank you.Morawka - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I got the anniversary update on my desktop just now. Upgraded from windows 8.1 for free FYI. The download size is very small, but installation took around a hour on a 4790K 4.4ghz, 32GB RAM, 512 SSD, gtx 1080i'd hate to see how long it will take on my dell venue 8 pro xD
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Strange. I`m on i5-3570/Sandisk Ultra II here and it took maybe 35 minutes. Not much longer on i3 laptop, too.Considering tablets, I`m dreading the same on M80ta. ^_^
Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Going from 8.1 to any version of 10 would be a multi gigabyte download. It is not very small.poohbear - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
You can get it instantly by manually updating. Just go to settings and check for updates & voila, it installs the update.colonelclaw - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Just a quick reminder that if, like me, you like Windows 10 but still hate the Start menu, then a completely free (and ad-free) alternative is available at http://www.classicshell.net/Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I really don`t understand what you guys love so much about 7-style Start. Outside form the weird decision by MS to remove uninstall links in program groups, the way it works it the same.Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
It seems you are here only to respond to criticism.If you clicked on the link he gave, the website highlights many good reason why it exists.
And the lack of tiles / ads / etc is one I think is a very valid reason.
As it says 'everything can be turned on, or off'. So what is not to like about further (necessary?) customization choices?
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
>tilesNobody forces those on you.
>ads
Ahahaha.
baka_toroi - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Go away, cuck. Nobody likes you.Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Your lips are trembling way too much.Krysto - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
More like the "Road To Microsoft Completely Owning Your Data And Knowing What Your Do On Your PCs And To Becoming Governments' Favorite Surveillance Tool"tipoo - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I hope you don't use any google services, or heck even just have a continual web presence at all since no doubt you're being run through a number of analytics programs already.Me, I couldn't care less that some anonymized telemetrics are sent to MS. It already happened with earlier error reporting.
JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind a camera being placed in every public toilet, so that the government could watch you do your business, you know, just in case a terrorist decides to attempt to blow open another toilet with explosives. I mean, everyone uses the bathroom, right? There's nothing wrong that you're doing, so you wouldn't abject to being monitored while you do your business, right?Here's my point:
Just because you're doing nothing wrong gives nobody any right to monitor your every movement across the net. Being blind to the fact that Microsoft is literally spying on millions of people and also monetarily PROFITING from that surveillance just makes the situation worse by establishing that online surveillance is "OK" for millions of normal people using their computers and internet services in law abiding ways.
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
MS does not profit from it directly, you`re thinking of goog.Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
+ 48^12 upvotes.prophet001 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
TrueMeteor2 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
You best stop using computers which are connected to other ones.MrTuKer - Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - link
I don't understand the criticism from people here, lot of people seem to think MS can do no wrong even if they are copying tactics that other companies use that are criticized by everyone ?What Google and Apple do is not right and by MS copying them it still doesn't mean that it is right ! Didn't you mom ever tell you that two wrongs don't make a right well let me tell you a little secret three wrongs still don't make a right either !
And who in their right mind doesn't think MS doesn't profit directly from its surveillance needs to goto the funny farm ASAP - Indirectly or directly it doesn't matter - Yes I'm talking aboy both MS and going to the funny farm !
Yes I have used MS Windows since Win 3.0 and have used most but avoided Vista, Millienium, and Win 8.0/8.1 - I jumped straight from Win 7 64 Pro on day 1 of Win 10 release obviously after imaging my SSD to another SSD, I went through the pain of trying to be acclimatised to Win 10, I gave it 3 months but finally gave up and went back to Win 7. Even then it took me a day or two to become re-familiarized with Win 7, then slowly over the next 3-4 months I noticed Windows updates taking longer and generally my i7 Alienware was starting to feel generally sluggish. I had heard about the backporting of telemetry to Win 7 also and finally I had enough one night thought I would just give Linux a bash on the Win 10 SSD and I haven't looked back since.
No this is not a Win 10 bashing, no it is not a Linux advert.
All I can say is that in my opinion and OS should just be that - An OS, nothing more nothing less.
It can have a GUI or not, its your choice.
But it should not spy on you - hey Google and Apple and Microsoft are you listening - That is what all Governments do even though they never like to admit it and I don't agree with that either unless it is done with a warrant from a Judge - But I digress !
An OS should be an OS and nothing else, the apps that you want you install or maybe a selection are installed for you but these can be uninstalled to be replaced with your chosen one's or not - whatever the case maybe !
An OS should not lock you into a particular browser or search engine or whatever, this is taking choice away from the user and the excuse that well if the user doesn't like it then they can always use another OS is not the right attitude.
Also stopping the uninstalling or removing of certain features is not good for the user only the OS supplier who is collecting your private data !
Remember when a certain company was forced to have it's browser removed in Europe as it was seen as being unfair to the competition !
Well, MS needs to be careful as it could happen again, EU is already looking into MS with Win 10 and its data mining and transferring said info back to the USA as a breach of EU Laws !
I'm sure I could say many other things and some clever spark with counter my comments with sarcastic one's or just call me a Windows hater but I have been using Windows since 1990 so I can counter that point, what I will say is I just prefer the old Win 7 64 Pro, its style, its responsiveness before Win 10 came along ! Because whatever MS was doing via the WU it certainly slowed my i7 Alienware (16GB Ram 512GB SSD 980M GPU) and its not a low spec machine aswell as Win Updates were taking ages to download aswell as all the other stuff MS were trying to do to get people onto Win 10 - MS is the reason I decided to leave the Windows ECO system - its is that simple - Linux serves my purposes 100%, it can do everything that Windows did for me and more, it even has a lovely Win 7 style GUI called Cinnamon. But the one reason alone that I love it above all else - What I do on my machine is private, what I do on the Web is not, what search engine I use means they can data mine that, what websites I visit will data mine me etc, I don't use cloud services so no worries there , I don't have Cortana or any other mic software listening or viewing my webcam without my express permission. If I use email and I acknowledge that its not private unless its encrypted.
But what I do on my PC is private, its that simple !
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
"Every other company is doing it on the web, so it's okay for Microsoft to do it at a local level using the computer's OS." -tipooNotmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Anonymous?Your wi-fi password being shared out, because your brother has 'friended' someone on Facebook?
Your contacts being read & collected?
Your keystrokes being read & collected?
Come on.
Mr Perfect - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Or more simply put, "Microsoft catching up with Google and Apple".Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
To be honest, I only logged in to say I thought the article could have done with half a dozen pages on the data mining & privacy issues alone.But Michael, or similar will be along shortly to tell me it is all in my head.
But my firewall logs say otherwise.
jardows2 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Well, the article was about the update, and what has changed. There are plenty of articles from a year ago outlining your concern, so methinks you are just a hater.Daniel Egger - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
You're totally ignoring the fact that with update things got a whole lot worse: As usual Microsoft decides for you that for the things you actually still can opt out and have opted out before you probably wanted to opt-in with the update and is happily applying your changed mind to the configuration for you. Also Cortana can *not* be disabled; yes, you can sign-off but the option to automatically share your local searches with Microsoft is gone and instead all searches will be shared with Microsoft.Some of the changes are actually illegal in Europe (like the automatic opt-in to previously opted-out items) and at best dubious but as usual it will require a lawsuit before Microsoft decides to reverse the bogosity. Meanwhile all systems have automatically upgraded and applied the privacy downgrades -- clever. Hope some court actually slaps them with a hefty fine instead of just on the wrist...
Icehawk - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I don't want Cortana, I want to be able to select my search engine, and so on - it's like MS is trying to go OSX by removing much choice from the end user - see their Store which I avoid like the plague. I am surprised they locked Edge into Bing, as I recall one of the many lawsuits they lost was related to similar issues back in (I think) the XP era. Also does this mean legacy IE is gone? If so I literally cannot update as one of my jobs requires the usage of a particular website which is not compatible with anything but IE and my other job's web portal and a few apps are the same.Brett Howse - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
IE is still there for exactly that reason.Daniel Egger - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
> it's like MS is trying to go OSX by removing much choice from the end userThis claim is getting long in the tooth without anyone seemingly being able to back it up. Please, in gods name, tell me as an "any OS" power user (mostly OS X throughout the day, though) where OS X is removing choice. The only OS allowing more choice than OS X would be Linux but for many this is actually too much choice...
jlabelle2 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
Does Siri allow to work with Bing? I think people are confused. In the meantime, Edge is allowing you to use your search engine just fine.Notmyusualid - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Daniel Egger explains it nicely. Read on...Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
That feature exists in Windows 7 too.Teknobug - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Reading that they remove the ability to prevent bloatware like Cany Crush Saga from getting installed, why are we being forced to have stuff we don't even want ot use?BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Microsoft has painstakingly monitored the OS usage of its users for a year now. Based on highly granular and detailed data they've collected, they build the best possible mix of software tailored to what they know best as the needs of the end user. Although you're getting things you think you don't need and feel like are being forced upon you, it's clear that eventually you'll realize your error and start using the things the company has decided are necessary.CountDown_0 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Spoken like a true brain-washed Microsoft fanboy, especially the last sentence. Congratulations!Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I bet you see MS zombies under your bed!smilingcrow - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
If MS wanted me to see zombies under the bed I'm sure they could arrange it!Updated on Thursday and had some minor issues but it feels like one step forward and one step back.
What is partly making me seriously consider rolling back to 8.1 is the fact they are removing features from the Pro version with this update.
I suspected this might happen as you are buying into an open ended platform rather than a more static OS.
If I still trusted MS to be competent and to do the right thing I'd stick with them but I don't trust them to do either.
Maybe it's time to look at Linux and even a Hackintosh as I feel this chapter is closing.
I still remember when I first installed NT 3.51 and was blown away.
Many good years after with NT4, Win2K and then a slow decline since they stopped making a workstation OS and it was tainted by the merger with the consumer OS's needs.
Mr Perfect - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
That was clearly sarcasm on BrokenCrayon's part.MrSpadge - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Dude, switch your irony & sarcasm detector on!fanofanand - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Just because a statement doesn't have /s behind it doesn't mean it isn't sarcasm.....K_Space - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Surely you can't be serious? I mean I know nerds are not known for recognising sarcasm but common!On a separate note, in reply to an earlier comment: all of my opt out choices (that would pretty much be all of them), have been preserved. No reset.
Cortana and voice recognition: I'm hoping we won't end up with a similar fiasco to the early Samsung smart TVs capturing voice data randomly and without permission for optimisation and analysis.
Ascaris - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Common? What's common? That nerds don't get sarcasm? Only Sheldon seems to have that problem...vanilla_gorilla - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. That's terrifying.Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Nor me...retrospooty - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
"I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. That's terrifying"- That means it was sarcasm... but really well done. Props to BrokenCrayons
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Which MS department do you work in?BobSwi - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
They really, really want you to spend money in their app store.Meteor2 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
A bit like Apple then. Or Google.powerarmour - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Indeed, and along with Cortana this is complete BS. They've even removed the ability to prevent it with group policy on Pro editions.Well, thanks MS for pushing the viability of Linux systems further, great job!
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Viability of loonix anywhere else than on server is a great, if tired, joke.powerarmour - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Likewise with you it seems judging by the rest of your fanatic comments.Notmyusualid - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I hate to agree with you Michael, but yes, you are right.This is why it matters to us so much that new verison of Windows are 'fair', secure, compatible, rather than forced, leaking our contacts, keystrokes, and wifi passwords, to name just a few.
Since I'm convicned you are an MS employee (not a bad thing), it is through the likes of you, we hope our displeasure regarding Win 10 privacy issues is both heard, and passed on.
Are you not aware, how many of us want a private, customizable (think no Cortana / Store / forced updates / automatic removal of programs) OS? We would PAY for that. You wouldn't have to give it away.
Good day to you.
mrochester - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Unfortunately, looking at Android and the app stores, practically all value has been sucked out of software. Software just isn't something people are willing to spend money on; they expect it to be free these days and monetised in some other way. Sadly, those other ways tend to be adverts, or paid product placements etc, which some of us don't actually want but have no choice but to accept (apart from where we can do something about it, such as adblockers all around etc).jlabelle2 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
- how many of us want a private, customizable (think no Cortana / Store / forced updates / automatic removal of programs) OS?It is not because they are idiot people out there that Microsoft should cater their OS for those.
Cortana is nothing more than a search if you disable all the tailor made options.
Removing Windows Store is like asking that OS would run without softwares and cars without wheels. Store apps have inherent advantages compared to Win32 programs (more secured, uninstall without leftovers, free up memory automatically, scale perfectly, support all input types, integrate with notification center / share API / Cortana, roam the settings accrias devices...) that make them (when they do what you want) factually better that Win32 programs. Nobody is forcing anyone to install them but removing the Store is just an utterly silly request.
And at last, regarding automatic updates, we all know, reading those forums what is the perception of average Joe toward Windows PCs being prone to viruses / malwares / slow down compared to tablets like iPad and this is the smartest decision from Microsoft to force update and back in Windows Defender plus Store apps to give people the same advantages as iPad in term of simplicity / security / continuity of performance while still allowing users to use the millions of legacy Win32 programs if necessary.
jlabelle2 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
What is Cortana if you removed all points of interest except a glorified search? Why people are asking the possibility to disable Cortana? This is beyond me especially people that do think they understand computer better that my mom. Do not want to use search, do not. Simply as that.looncraz - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
This is basically an article highlighting all of the things I remove from Windows 10 to make it a palatable platform. Except Bash.Dark mode also works in the original Windows 10, you just have to manually set a registry key.
baka_toroi - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Call me paranoid, but I see the combination of project Centennial and the impossibility of rejecting Windows updates as a surefire way to block Win32 apps in the distant future. "We know better than you, boy. Don't try to do as you wish to do with your own computer." In other words, an Apple world.Sure, there will be jailbreaks and stuff but we all know it's not the same as having legitimate access to your whole system.
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
That day sure is coming, but not any time soon. Way too much legacy sw still in active circulation.prophet001 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Why do people just swallow this hook line and sinker?I know why: Ignorance.
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
If you`re not using some banking client from 80s, there is little use in holding on tightly to win32. It`s not like they are restricting your ability to develop under winrt and will likely start some kind of transition program for developers like Apple did.Ascaris - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Win32 programs are for regular desktop or laptop PCs. UWP is for tablets and phones. There's already too much of the horrendous UWP "design language" in desktop Windows 10-- I'm certainly never going to add to it with anything "app." When I had a Windows 10 installation on my test PC, I uprooted Windows Store, Cortana, Edge, and all of that kind of stuff... most satisfying thing I ever did with 10, other than wiping the drive when I finally gave up on 10 ever becoming a usable OS.All the stuff about "it uninstalls cleanly" that we hear about UWP is certainly a good thing, but there's nothing inherent about Win32 that makes this inevitable (other than the existence of the registry in general). In the Win 95 days and prior, Windows pretty much allowed any installer to make any change it wanted. It was common for installers to sprinkle DLLs into the Windows directory, sometimes overwriting system files. They were allowed to do most anything with the registry. There was no enforced or even theoretical schema to any of it... it was just "do whatever you want."
A big part of Windows 95's crashiness can probably be directly attributed to this.
Later versions tightened it up some, but installers still have considerable authority to make changes that are not adequately tracked by the system. That doesn't have to be.
If the changes with UWP were mainly about fixing this, that would be one thing, but that's not the main reason for it. It's so "apps" can run on multiple platforms. Maybe some people will be happy running phone apps on their PCs, but I won't. Too many compromises have to be made to make it sorta-work on devices as dissimilar as a touch-screen 5 inch phone (that is usually held in portrait) and a PC with three times the CPU and GPU power and nearly unlimited local storage with a 24" screen that is always in landscape, with input via an actual keyboard and a mouse.
Of course, I know that the idea is that some "apps" will be strictly PC, but those are not the point of UWP. The point is trying to unify dissimilar and ergonomically incompatible computing platforms, even though there are good reasons why PC and mobile UI design parameters are different and distinct.
jlabelle2 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
- Win32 programs are for regular desktop or laptop PCs. UWP is for tablets and phonesThis cannot be further of the truth. This is an arbitrary split that you are spreading as if everything should be split like Apple decided (even if they are themselves coming back from those toaster/fridge complain as the iPad Pro is proving).
The one advantage you claim from UWP is real. And many others are. It seems that you would have liked Microsoft to evolve Win32 to integrate all the UWP advantages than starting from scratch. Whatever was the best way to proceed, UWP offers clear and undeniable advantages, even purely on desktop compared to Win32 apps (see some that I mentioned above).
- It's so "apps" can run on multiple platforms
Exactly. And as such, that is already a very important advantage that Win32 does not share. And honestly, mobile being so important these days, it is clear that it is much more clever from Microsoft to push applications that could run as well on laptop, tablet or even mobile phone than legacy Win32 softwares.
- Maybe some people will be happy running phone apps on their PCs, but I won't
I am. Because there are nothing specifically phone related. For instance, Drawboard PDF has simply no Win32 equivalent. And there are plenty examples of those.
And there is no reason why phone apps advantages would not be valid when used on a tablet or desktop or laptop.
- Too many compromises have to be made to make it sorta-work on devices as dissimilar as a touch-screen 5 inch phone
Not really as the interface can morph and adapt to the screen size so indeed, UWP are quite flexible on tis regard. You are trying to create a dichotomy that simply does not exist anymore.
Many people are using tablet or laptop with touchscreen. Keyboard is natural input method, even on phones (be it on-screen keyboard). Pen can act virtually like a pointing device making applications benefiting from a mouse very much as usable with a pen on a tablet.
Also, even if laptop or desktop have bigger screen, they are also used from further away.
You are mentioning the aspect ratio but this is something UWP manage very well. A good example is for instance Outlook which is using 3 different vertical panes on phones (account and forlder list,mail list, mail content pane) that can be all displayed at once on a desktop / laptop landscape screen.
Indeed, UWP is an evidence that there is so much overlap that the distinction that Apple is still trying to promote (even if contradicting themselves with the iPad Pro) is not making sense anymore. Google has realize that as well with Android apps running on Chromebook.
- here are good reasons why PC and mobile UI design parameters are different and distinct.
If there were "PC" on one side and "mobile" on an another, where does tablets and laptop fits ?
Daniel Egger - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
lol, Microsoft passed Apple a *long* time ago when it comes to restrictiveness and lack of privacy. Actually it was right at the time when they introduced "Genuine Advantage"...Penti - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Centennial is still Win32.Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
UWP is still based on top of Win32 as well.Penti - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Yeah in large parts, any how Centennial is still using the Win32 VS CRT and all and not Windows Runtime with it's own C++ runtime and framework aka UWP/UWA/Store-app/Modern/Metro/WinRT. As the binaries aren't converted but rather packed into an AppX package. Nothing would work without Win32. You can't even use Windows Runtime to build a Windows Runtime (UWP) app as the development tools won't move to it.API's (some of them) previously only available to Store apps have been made available to Windows/Win32 applications like the inking API so I don't think freezing out Win32 apps by moving new features to WinRT/UWP and to UWP apps only would work or be desirable either. Would only cause fragmentation and vendors would start to replace deprecated or stalled API's with their own stuff which might just make it more difficult to develop for the platform with more stuff you need to support, but probably not as difficult as porting to UWP but still frustrate users and developers.
Achaios - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Still on windows 7 for my main PC. My old laptop still runs Windows XP.Can't see myself ever upgrading to Windows 10, except when a DX11 game absolutely requires Windows 10 (and DX 11) to make 60 FPS. Even so, I'd return back to the Windows 7 partition after gaming on Windows 10.
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I can kinda sorta understand this 7 attachment, but why would you need the fossil?SteelRing - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
There is nothing I need to do that cant be done in Win7, or even WinXP for that matter. Not having that b1tch Cortana in the background spying on you the whole time is a huge relief.smilingcrow - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
XP? Yikes, you can keep that 32 bit over-rated POS and yes there was a 64 bit version which was hardly supported.Achaios - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
My 2003 laptop can't run anything else. Specs below:CPU: Intel Pentium [email protected] GHz with HT (1 core two threads)- GPU: NVIDIA Geforce4 460 Go AGP 64 MB DDR RAM - MOBO: Intel 845 PE chipset based - RAM: 2GB DDR RAM@333 MHz -
http://i.imgur.com/Y9oQ6xW.jpg?1
This laptop is all I need to work. It can run Firefox with Ad Blocker, MS Office, and GOM Player and it comes with a 16 inch screen too.
BrokenCrayons - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Your reasoning is perfectly sensible. If your laptop works for you with its given OS and hardware, then you should continue to use it in a way that suits your needs.The point of computer technology from its inception was to assist people in accomplishing tasks more efficiently. To that end, the computer should kowtow to the needs of the person using it by fitting a variety of requirements for mobility, interface, and functionality. I think we've lost sight of a lot of that since the industry has grown in size and gained something of a life of its own. Windows 10 seems something of an outgrowth of computers being mistreated as devices that serves the company making the software they runs rather than supporting the needs of the end user. In the end, Windows 10's master is Microsoft rather than the system owner. The justifications Microsoft will offer are numerous (telemetry gathering, system security, ease of use, following the trend of closed-system modern phones, etc) and other tech companies are just as guilty of lacing services they offer with self-serving capabilities (thanks for being the industry leader on that one Google/Alphabet) that simply don't benefit the end user. What you end up with is a mutually-destructive relationship where end users aren't happy and companies offer polarizing, unsatisfactory products in an attempt to incorporate their own needs into things that are supposed to be all about the customers they serve.
sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Well, I was borderline with my install of Windows 10 but there are just too many negatives vs positives with this release so I regressed my system back to Windows 8.1. I"ll stick with 8.1 till end of support. I just want to operate my machine my way, not Microsoft's way.I did like the idea of the Linux subsystem but that would have been the only plus. As it is, I can continue using MSYS2 for my 'Bash'ing on my Windows box.
And speaking of Bash, I've had Mint Linux on my Vista era laptop for ~9 months and it seems to do everything I need for my daily computing needs (no gaming or Photoshop are done on the laptop). There's even a device driver from Brothers for my multifunction printer.
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Mint is a good alternative for people willing to roll up their sleeves on occasion. I've been using it full time on everything but my headless desktop which really only exists to stream Windows-only games to my Linux box through Steam.sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Does that work well (streaming of games to Linux)? I've never tried it but it might be a viable option. I'm planning on only using Windows for steam gaming and Photoshop, all my normal computing needs can readily be handled by Mint. Was originally thinking of just dual booting but if I could setup a reasonable workflow on Mint for photo editing I could then use the streaming option for games.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Getting streaming setup was painless. Install the Steam client on both computers and have them running at the same time. They'll see one another on your local network and on each respective machine's library, there's an option to stream the game. You can also stream non-Steam games and even random applications like Internet Explorer or MS Word over it by manually adding them to your game list.It's not perfect though. Your mileage will vary greatly based on the performance of your local network. In my case, my desktop is connected via wired ethernet at 100mbps to my crappy DSL router and my laptop can connect at up to 144 mpbs over wireless. Streaming is doable up to 1366x768, but there's the occasional hiccup in network performance that'll cause the video stream to pixelate or hesitate. Even then, the encoding process reduces image quality slightly so things just don't really look as good. There's also added latency between 10-20ms which might put multiplayer shooters out since you'll be a bit behind in reacting to what's happening in-game. Steam recommends doing the streaming thing purely on wired connections and they're probably right that it'd work better under those conditions, but I think I lose too much flexibility by being wired to the laptop. Oh and some games refuse to stream at all, but I've only seen that happen with MMOs. There's a few that are oddly picky about slinging their video to another computer.
Now on the good side of things, just about any piece of garbage laptop made since 2008 running linux with a decent wifi nic has the compute power necessary to decode the incominng stream. Its nice to keep upgrade pressure off every box but the headless desktop and a little cheaper too. Plus, with summer heat bearing down on the US, I like not having my desktop in the same room, baking my proverbial beans with its heat output. I still keep Tight VNC installed on the desktop so I can remotely access the desktop from outside a Steam session.
In the end though, the best advice I can suggest is to just fire up Steam and play with it a little to see how it works for you.
sadsteve - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Thanks, I'll have to give it a shot. I've got a gigabit wired home network so that should help some. I'll have to fire up Fallout 4 and see how it plays.:-) Sounds like UT2K4 would be out, I've already got a ping of over 100 talking to the server I play on in Chicago (I'm in California).
doggface - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I have two streaming windows PCs at home (GbE) (one for my wife and I) and i will say categorically that your results == how good your network is.I have two lappys that effortlessly stream over 5ghz and struggle on 2.4ghz.
Otherwise steam streaming is the greatest lock-in that steam has on my gaming purchases. Love playing AAA/indies/etc. on the couch with an xbox controller. A pain when i have to actually sit at my desk to game
Notmyusualid - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
I had an unused 8.1 Pro license lying around that shipped with my machine, so I installed it, and upgraded it on the last free day, so when I do sell my laptop (I change 'em every 2yrs), it would have the latest s/w for the new noob user.Anyway, I couldn't resist trying to run the Time Spy DX12 benchmark. What a mess. DX11 titles did work though without issue (but tried for short period only though). Tried updating Nvidia drivers - Nvidia 'Experience' was unable to sucessfully complete. Manually downloaded & failed also. Deleted existing, ran the install package as admin, failed again.
So no video drivers for Win 10 now at all. Even Windows itself is unable to update the GPUs.
Anyway, volume backed-up with Macrium Reflect for possible new machine owner, and partition deleted.
Still happy on 7 Pro.
PROUD tin-hatter here!
inighthawki - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Sounds more like a driver issue than an OS issue. What video card are you using?Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
"For now, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out in waves today, so check your Windows Update."What version of Win10 is going out with the media creation tool? I need to clean reinstall Win10 on a PC and wanted it to be the Anniversary update version right off the bat.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/w...
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
10586 for now, I believe. I`d like to have a 14939 ISO myself.Hopefully those will soon show up on MSDN.
Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
The Windows Blog posted on how to get build 14393 ISO :)https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/0...
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Well, damn. When I run this upgrader thing it congratulates me with 10 being already upgraded to 14393. :/Jaths - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
"but with support now for variable frame rates and V-Sync, the composting in Windows 10 is the best compromise for a tear-free gaming experience."Composting in Windows 10.. Who knew it could garden!?
Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Hey cortana, go tend to the crops.stux - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Yeah, I'm hoping the author meant compositing :)darckhart - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Wait so now Cortana only uses Edge and Bing? And you can't disable Cortana? Isn't EU going to be all over this mess again? Am I not understanding something? Because that seems like lesson NOT learned...id4andrei - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
W10 is not a monopoly.Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Windows is, and this is the latest version of Windows. They also aggressively pushed W10 out to older versions via Windows Update until very recently. If you combine those two points, it's definitely not going to be viewed in the most positive light by the EU regulators. They've definitely used their market position to leverage this update, and it can arguably be considered a bait and switch manoeuvre since earlier builds didn't have this limitation.inighthawki - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Why is it that nobody knows what a monopoly is? A monopoly doesn't just mean "wowee they have a really large market share!"jardows2 - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
EU regulators are just a bunch of corrupt moneygrubbers who look at big American companies as a source of revenue. All they have to do is "decide" that a company has violated their anti-monopoly laws (the criteria for such violations is very subjective) and bam! Hundreds of millions of euros into their coffers. It will be good for Europe and the world if that corrupt organization falls apart after Brexit.jlabelle2 - Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - link
- EU regulators are just a bunch of corrupt moneygrubbersI think you would need to instruct yourself before claiming this. Micosoft definitely deserved what they had at that time with IE and if you look at Google inquiry from EU, I recommend you to read that to make up your mind if it is really unfounded: http://www.foundem.co.uk/fmedia/Foundem_Jun_2015_A...
jlabelle2 - Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - link
- Wait so now Cortana only uses Edge and Bing?As much as Google Now on Android only use Google, and Siri is only using Safari and...
Gurdas - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
For those who can't wait, here's how to get the update right away:https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/0...
SteelRing - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Please, someone, come up with something to strangle and kill Cortana. I just knew it they gonna force it down your throat once they reeled everyone to upgrade to Win10. So glad I didnt do any of my Win7 machines.Michael Bay - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Nobody`s forcing you to use it. First thing I did after installing 10 was killing the icon and fogetting it existed.Freakie - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Looks like we might be limited to just blocking it in our firewalls. I have Cortana and Telemetry disabled in both Group Policy and the IP's blocked in my firewall. I always have my firewall set to ask me what to do when it encounters a connection that I haven't created an Allow or Deny rule for. With that, I've caught a few more phone-home's that I've been able to disable.To be honest I'm just waiting for the actual Windows Server 2016 to be released. Having a .edu email, I get it free through DreamSpark and the Server edition at least keeps the ability to disable all that crap. And I don't mind the slightly more complicated setup.
Notmyusualid - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
THIS - is on my mind.Win Server on my machine. That way I have complete control.
But alas, I've not a new'ish versions' product key laying around, and I cannot be bothered with 90-day trials.
MANLEY7878 - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Still waiting.Penti - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
About Centennial, I'm pretty sure you don't actually convert the application to UWP but packages the Win32 app in an AppX package with sandboxing handled by a variant of App-V. So it's still a MFC application if you "convert" that, and a WPF application is still a WPF application too and so on. You currently only have access to a small subset of the UWP API's for your "converted apps". So it's mostly a sandboxed Win32-package with lot's of limitations, that you can sell in the store.Brett Howse - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
It's an AppX running in a sandbox, and yes it has a smaller subset of APIs available, but there's still a lot of APIs that do work with converted apps:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porti...
Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Point is, it's still not UWP.Penti - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
That's what I read among other things, btw "XAML UI | Converted apps won't have a UWP XAML UI until they are fully ported to UWP." Invalidates some of the statements made on page 6. From what I know only hybrid applications can do a XAML UI with Win32 applications like browsers are allowed to do, since W8. This statement by Microsoft implies you need to manually port the whole app to UWP to use the UWP XAML UI.I guess this confusion is Microsoft's fault as they write "At your own pace, you can add UWP features to your app's package, like a XAML user-interface, live tile updates, UWP background tasks, app services, and many more. All of the functionality available to any other UWP app is available to your app." on another page, but statements like "All of the functionality available to any other UWP app is available to your app" are obviously not true either.
darckhart - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
http://www.cnet.com/news/eu-resolves-microsoft-ie-..."European Commissioner for Competition Policy Neelie Kroes on Wednesday formally announced a resolution to the Internet Explorer antitrust case against Microsoft. As part of the settlement, Windows PCs sold in the European Economic Area will now present users with a Choice Screen, allowing them to install alternative browsers beyond Internet Explorer."
sounds the same to me if they bundle cortana. and a large amount of folks were coerced into upgrading to w10, so yea there's that. and of course it's not restricted to pc. any platform running w10.
Brett Howse - Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - link
Times have changed. Windows isn't the monopoly it once was.Gigaplex - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
If you exclude tablets and other recent portable form factors, Windows is still a monopoly in the conventional PC form factor space.lmcd - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Chromebox? Remix OS?leopard_jumps - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
The Anniversary is more beautiful . Chrome and File Explorer run faster than on the previous build .Token2k8 - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I'm going to give it some time and see if it gets better but for now I notice the performance of my Surface Book is starting to choke a bit since I updated earlier today. I have the i5, 8gb, with Nvidia GPU. I notice a lot of delay on the web browser and even doing stuff on the desktop.HollyDOL - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
So... PIN doesn't work and needs to be removed and added back again. And Aster (multiple users running side-by-side on one computer) doesn't work. The later is no suprise and will get fixed soon. PIN is a shame though.theuglyman0war - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
What is meant by Windows as a service? How is an operating system a service? And why would I want an operating system to be anything but a transparent home for applications and files that I can organise in directories?Agent Smith - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
...all that DirectX 12 goodness and still no Video Wallpaper?Agent Smith - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
WoW!Edge is very fast.
Orionsangel - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I've tried twice already and the install failed. I get the black screen with the circle loading for hours and hours. I'm forced to restore to windows previous version. I've used windows troubleshooter and it detected a problem and it said it fixed it. I'm afraid to try again though. It's gonna try to update on its own though at some point. MS sucks! Fix your Windows 10 updates!azrael- - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
"The Windows 10 Anniversary Update brings a lot of welcome changes to Windows 10..."How about all the unwelcome changes? Forced Cortana, forced lock screen, group policies that no longer work etc.
But hey, we wouldn't want any negativity here. No raining on Microsoft's parade.
xunknownx - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
this is a pretty mehhh.... update. call me old school, i'm a desktop user.i don't use cortana, i don't use edge, i dont own an xbox, i dont use any "apps" from the app store, i dont use the action center.
so this update is meaningless to me.
brucek2 - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Exactly. And much of the "new" being touted here that is of interest to me, is functionality I've long had from other sources -- Chrome has had extensions forever, I have both extensive Cygwin and linux VM setups, Steam installs games where I want them, etc etc.On there no longer being a local search (cortana force enabled) - were they at least smart enough to have local results returned instantly vs waiting for net response? It's going to be infuriating if everything is laggy every time my ISP is, or there's a DDOS attack in progress, etc.
Socius - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Also important to note...Windows Store Apps can now be easily installed on the hard drive of your choosing! I realized this when during the upgrade, it told me my copy of Gears of Wars needed to be repaired (which means...downloaded/installed again. fortunately I have a 250mbps connection so the 52GB download wasn't that problematic). To my surprise, when I clicked install, it listed my hard drives and asked which one I wanted to install to. This is a very welcome change.rsouzadk - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
For you guys that updated, Edges now supports full screen mode?dgingeri - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I've found two problems with this new build, 1 major and 1 medium:1. Major - It enables Windows Defender even if you have an antivirus program already running, causing major file contention. With Eset products, even an uninstall and reinstall does not disable Windows Defender, so I am forced to use Microsoft's crappy protection. I have not found if any other antivirus programs work.
2. Perfect World Entertainment programs, from the Arc client to any of the games on it, refuse to work at all. The repair, installer, or uninstaller also refuse to work. I can't remove it, and I can't fix it. I also can't even run my favorite game, Star Trek Online. Really annoying. Blizzard products seem to work fine, though.
HollyDOL - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
ad 1. - using Avira myself and this did not happen to me... there is a chance M$ is not to blame on that one.ADFGVX - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Windows Defender is now considered as a backup protection if there exists 3rd party AV by Microsoft , so it is not disabled automatically. You can disable it through group policy though.jlabelle2 - Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - link
- 1. Major - It enables Windows DefenderYeah. Remove any 3rd party anti-virus you have. It makes no sense. Slow down things for no benefit.
mgraymond - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Where did you get the Ruined Castle wallpaper?Zingam - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
So will Windows 10 Upgrade install on my laptop or I will have a huge problem just like with the Upgrade from Windows 8 to 10? Yes, after the upgrade Windows 10 works fine but the Upgrade would lock and I don't remember anymore what I had to do to make it complete. But I wasted several days and many failed attempts to install it.K_Space - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
I can't seem to be able to install Edge extensions without being logged on Store. I am assuming there is no work around that one? meh, back to Firefox.mkozakewich - Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - link
Q: "Why didn't the pickle wear his shirt?"A: "Because he was brining sexy back!"
K_Space - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Ouch! Local backup was installed on a BitLocked HDD. Now it shows as unformatted. Anyone got a similar issue?boeush - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Meh... I have 2 new Win 10 Pro laptops from very different vendors (Sager and HP.) And after update, both still wake from sleep with fingerprint reader not working. Prior to update, one had periodic crashes of the 'explorer' process leading to corruption of desktop; restarting the process would fix it - haven't yet seen that issue since update, there hasn't been much time yet and I'm not holding my breath.Microsoft continues its long-established pattern to ship half-baked, unfinished, buggy, poorly tested software and systems, so that I feel like I'm constantly running on beta software at best (and early alpha at worst.)
Murloc - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
consumer laptops are better left with the OS they shipped with really, support by vendors just sucks.MrTuKer - Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - link
Or alternatively installing an efficient non-spying OS like Linux Ubuntu !Linux works fine on my Laptops, mind you they both are i7's with 980m GPU's and have 512GB SSD's and 16GB and 32GB of ram.
They were both Win 7 64 Pro Laptops thats why they have so much ram whereas Linux only really needs 8GB !
milkod2001 - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Since im on W10 im experiencing weird blue screens. It only happens on desktop start up. It always shows random issue. It will switch off computer then. After i switch on computer back again it will boot system and then it is 100% stable. Anybody experiencing the same?Zingam - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
My laptop hangs on boot if it went sleeping or hibernating.Hrel - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Fist page: "had gone to far and toned them back." should be "too"*.I'm still skeptical AF about Microsoft. They seem to be in bed with the US Government, NSA especially. Bill Gates has a history of backroom deals, so him being back at the company isn't comforting. The "anonymous" telemetry data is a problem no matter what you do with it so long as ISP's even have the option of data caps. Not to mention the ongoing issue of broadband in America being slow, hard to find, overpriced and just unavailable for ~80% of the geographic area of the country.
But, I will read the rest of this with an open mind.
Hrel - Thursday, August 4, 2016 - link
Finished it:Positives: They added the BASH shell.
Negatives: literally everything else in the article.
Fuck.
IntelligentAj - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link
Am I the only one who didn't have issues installing the update? I downloaded and installed it in about a half hour with no issuesmastacow53 - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link
I installed it on 4 computers, one being an Atom powered, 2g ram, 2009 netbook. I had zero problems.ummduh - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link
Maybe? I went right to it from 8.1. Took several hours of research to get the installer to work. In the end the fix was to disconnect from all networks after it downloaded/verified, but before it started to install. Kept getting 0x8005007...8? Some such error that had tons of hits and an equal number of "fixes"..slyphnier - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link
how to get/open WDATP things ? http://images.anandtech.com/doci/10537/WDATP.jpgfirst time after upgrading to anniversary update (win10pro), when login, i got greeted with WDATP
now i look anywhere but can find it anymore
based the screenshot, its Edge browser right ? so i need to access to a link ?
tried security.windows.com but it didnt let me access it
RicheekD - Thursday, August 11, 2016 - link
I've got a Dell Inspiron 13, I upgraded to the anniversary update and had to immediately downgrade. The WiFi keeps disconnecting every 5 minutes.Lerianis - Monday, August 15, 2016 - link
Underhanded? No. The Get Windows 10 prompt was intended to nudge the vast majority towards getting a superior operating system to Windows XP - 8.It worked in doing that, I upgraded all my computers a long time ago to Windows 10 and have yet to regret for even one second doing that.
Windows 10 is the bottom line best Windows OS to come out in the past 15 years and everyone should update to it as soon as possible, even if they have to pay to update to it.
ComposerX - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
Well. I said years ago with no more elp files for seven os's, Windows is like Mac in that the one is (even tablets are getting there), and if they to are working on a CPU (am sure they could buy AMD), you never know. I can tell you in Los Angeles. Many still use aluminum macs tweaked. Some have moved to PCS. It was really a bummer to find out a school I was interested in now switched to mainly s due to faster rendering. Man. Apple needs to be loyal to those loyal to them. Tired of face slapping by them. Or price taxes like $200 for a BLACK MacBook. Then I remember a MacBook came out that blew away the MBP. But they stopped production on that big time. No Macro soon. It may be a hack. As mboards have thunderbolt now.JonnyDough - Saturday, August 20, 2016 - link
"OneDrive, Bing, and the Windows Store." None of which I use and would remove from Windows 10 altogether if I could. I also don't use Edge or even IE. Both suck, and both monitor everything I do. Not to mention M$ likes to force me to go through MSN just to even use Google as my homepage. Not sure if they're trying to get hits or what.apriest - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link
And yet Microsoft STILL refuses to fix NIC teaming and VLANs in Windows 10. It's been broke for over a year now. It last worked under the initial build 10240 and they now admit even that was by sheer accident, not design. 16 pages of documentation and discussion here for the curious: https://communities.intel.com/message/319635#31963...