Windows 10

What's it like? The newest greatest Windows ever?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Lots of media spin on this one, almost like the commentators had their words written for them before they even saw Windows 10.
I put in my request last week for the upgrade, it became available last night and was downloading at 7 am this morning. Completed about 11 am.
I went ahead with their suggestions to just let it start, and go back and change things later, even though a bit apprehensive at the first screen which it turned out to automatically send all my info to Microsoft via One Drive. It was like your phone that says it needs to share your friends, locations, history and about any other info they can think of. So before you can react, it accesses all your info and sends it to the Microsoft 'Cloud'. Don't know about you but my web polls show about 82% distrust in ANY so called Cloud storage. Google search 'cloud back door' if you don't believe me.

Really?

After working on it for a day now, I can say this must be the NSA version of Windows 10. It is more intrusive than your phone ever was. Some programs I had on my desktop just disappeared.
I had a simple password to sign into my computer before, which meant nothing to anyone but me. Now Microsoft considers that Windows belongs to them and you must sign into your 'Microsoft account' with an email account. I did. And later found that Windows 10 had ditched MY password and changed MY sign-in to that email account. Which is now open every minute that you are there. Leaving your private info open and vulnerable to onlookers and hackers. (and the dreaded Cloud)
The actual W10 screens are confusing and complicated. Sure you have a start button again, but I had that with W8, through Classic Shell and with 8.1. I tried to set up an old email account that I don't use to make it my sign-in account but now with Microsoft they want to know exactly who you are so you need to give them a picture and phone number to send you a code to access your own email! (I have already migrated 7 email accounts to other email programs because I think it is none of Microsoft's business if I am a real person with a phone number or not. (are those NSA cross-referencing requirements?) Microsoft even cancelled one of my email accounts because it said it didn't believe I was a real person! If your name is easily hackable Bill Smith, that's okay but Og14 is not. Sorry, digressing.

The program Microsoft One Drive is automated in Windows 10. So everything you do, search or say is added and sent to their Cloud, wherever that may be. It is my opinion that virtually ALL Cloud storage is monitored and not safe from prying eyes. (I eventually found that you can sign in with a 'local account') But it is too late, isn't it. So I went in and turned OFF anything I could see on One Drive. And there was a ton of (spy) things automatically set to ON. Laugh if you will, but this is healthy paranoia to me.

the cloud is watching

Whatever Cortana is didn't come with my edition of Windows 10, it said my region and language was not available. Hmm. Last I looked I was in North America and spoke American English. Canada is not on their list. Communist China sure, who has stolen more technology from the USA than anyone in history. They might want to tell Canadians there is no Cortana before they buy computers with W10. Not that anyone expects Cortana wont do exactly what Apple's SIRI does, that is to send every word you say to Her to an NSA earbud and digital recorder.
So I was able to get Cortana anyway. OMG! Under the 'guise' of getting to know you, Cortana asks you WAY more personal questions than the FBI asks serial killers! So I UNinstalled it. Guess what, it came back. I used Task Manager to turn it off and guess what? It keeps turning itself back on! I KNOW it is listening and recording my every keystroke! Is this an FBI App?

Mostly it seems that 10 is oriented to gamer kids who have XBoxes and War Games etc, because they expect that you'll want to coordinate your games with Edge. (the replacement for I.E.) And they keep asking you to go to the 'store' to buy more apps. And it isn't at all like Microsoft Internet Explorer, now you have advertising pointed at you. So you can only imagine what sites their search engine Bing is sending you to. (allowing you to go to?) W10 seems designed to have ALL your devices under one umbrella, to help YOU they say. Maybe easier for them to track you?  And it looks like you MUST use Bing for searching on Edge. No Google, private DuckDuckGo or Ixquick?  (I have kept I.E., even though I use Firefox. Which doesn't seem to exist in W10. They are driving people to the real safety of Tor.

Here's a FEW of the privacy options that were all automatically turned ON.

- Let apps use my adverting ID for experiences across apps. (whatever advertising ID is) So, someone somewhere has an ID for you that tells them exactly what you like? I expect they'll be sending me sexy ladies very soon, saves me searching for them!
- Location is already on which also includes your location history. GPS tracking? Then there is a long list of apps that also use your location and even use 'geofencing' to see where your going with each app. (geofencing establishes a GPS area and a radius around it, whenever you go in or out of that area, software sends that information to 'someone'. And yes, if you add your phone to the list of devices on Windows 10, you can bet they take your location history from that too! (My location GPS is turned OFF on my phone. I KNOW where I am.)

- Camera. It's not just you and your Skype friend anymore, another long list of apps can use your camera too! You might want to make one of these - - - 

hi-tech NSA cam deflector

- Same for Microphone. Remember that all this goes to One Drive too unless you also turn that off. So if your mic is on (or even off) you're sending your dialogue to the Cloud too. (even wife or secret GF remarks in BG. Do you have a dog? Is that him barking? What is his name?)
- Speech and inking is sort of like letting the computer learn your speech patterns and writing style. We are sure that the NSA considers this one as a great thing! Voice recognition you know and the rhythms of your penmanship.(if they could identify a Morse code operator on a battleship way back in 1943, they sure as hell can ID YOU!)
-  Let apps access my name, picture and other account info. Already on. Really? Do you keep banking info on your computer? Company plans for future operations? Chat memos?
- Let apps read or send messages, (text or MMS) OMG, let apps SEND messages? "Hey NSA, look what this guy is up to!"
- Usage data is set to FULL send to Microsoft. But you can change it to Basic.

If you are concerned about your privacy, you might want to study carefully the permissions and items turned on in Windows 10 that are watching, listening or recording everything you do and communicating with each other. And sending it all to the Microsoft Cloud because you implied they could.

So far for me, the first days with Windows 10 have been quite horrible and had I had a note like this before, I would have stayed with my Windows 8.1. Or the suggestion to go to Apple which everyone seems to think is impervious to snooping, until Siri, and then we knew that Steve Jobs was gotten to by TPTB just the same as Bill Gates.
And there will be no more updates to Windows except by Microsoft. You don't have the choice of choosing updates. I have Word 2007 and didn't need 2003 updates. Is that so THEY can decide what changes can be introduced to your puter?  Seems like sometimes you find an update that only made things worse, after installing it! No choice now.  I will keep working at it to see if I can make it acceptable, I liked XP, loved Vista, had no sweat with 8.0 and got used to 8.1. Maybe I'll find some redeeming factor yet. We'll see,  even though I judge my computer is at least 50% slower, I'm not giving up.

Microsoft wants you to coordinate everything you do under one set of programs, but doesn't consider that not everyone wants to have their computer life all out there, bare and shivering in the stark bright light from the built-in back door to the NSA.

Who knows who is there?

Windows 10, the best ever?
Not quite.

addenda:- Well I have decided Windows 10 has nothing to offer me, and am going to return to Windows 8.1 within my month. My computer has slowed so much it takes too long to start or access programs or blogs etc. My font has suddenly changed from a nice dark Times New Roman to something anemic and hard to read that I don't know what it is, but assumed it came on an update to W10 because I didn't change it.

   It seems like the people who comment on these new programs etc, are not actually using them, but only taking the Micrososft PR write and publishing that.

   We all know there was Classic Shell for W8 that installed your Start button, and 8.1 also had a start button but I have seen many columns that applaud W10 for bringing it back! And everyone tells us how important it is to have Cortana, so it can remind you to eat your dinner or something stupid like that, after asking you more personal questions that a police detective.

   And others say you just have to turn Cortana off, but they haven't checked to see that you CANNOT turn it off. It will just come back and resume telling Microsoft about what you are doing. Just too many spying things going on with W10, like Microsoft has been totally taken over by those who want to keep control of US!

You might like to know that the UNinstall went quite painlessly, about an hour, and only needed a few updates after 8.1 was back, and Windows did say I could try W10 again when I wanted. 

Just wasn't for me but we all know we won't be able to avoid it in the future.