Welcome to the Fast-Air Tech Talk newsletter. The Tech Talk newsletter is a free service for all Fast-Air customers. Please feel encouraged to suggest newsletter topics.
Windows 10 Preview Build 10162 is installed on the Fast-Air Linux demo computer. Please visit and browse the system.
Nominal testing of Windows 10 on the demo system indicates the Microsoft minimum hardware requirements are optimistic. While functional, using a system with the minimum specs will require some patience. Real world requirements are more along the line of a 2 GHz dual core CPU and 2 GB of RAM for 32-bit and 4 GB for 64-bit.
We have not performed any testing of updating Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 to Windows 10. Reading around the web indicates that when updating, all default apps will be reset unless a user is careful to perform a custom update rather than express. This includes setting the default web browser to the new Edge. While inconvenient and annoying, the user’s preferred default apps can be restored after updating.
There remains little information about whether older hardware and peripherals will receive new driver support in Windows 10. An example might help understand. The Fast-Air Linux demo computer has an Nvidia GeForce 7 video chip set. Not bleeding edge but not old either. While the latest Nvidia drivers support Windows 10, the Nvidia installation software did not “find” the “older” GeForce 7 chip set and would not install the Windows 10 drivers.
Users updating to Windows 10 Home will not be able to defer or decline updates. Initially seeming like a good security strategy, a caveat is these updates will not be limited to security patches. That is, system and app features can be added or removed without notice. Updates could include adware. Such additions are not far-fetched as advertising is already a normal feature of Windows 10, much like what can already be seen in smart phone apps.
From another perspective Windows 10 Home users will become perpetual beta testers for upcoming changes. Should an update cause havoc with a computer — not uncommon with Windows updates, users will be left will little recourse. Read a recent news story about this potential problem. Windows 10 Professional and Windows 10 Enterprise users will be able to postpone updates temporarily, but users of all Windows 10 versions face no longer receiving security updates when automatic updates are ignored or bypassed.
Windows 10 is a very much a cloud-centric system, where data and accounts are expected to be stored off the computer in the cloud. The typical carrot stick for users is this design is for an improved user experience and convenience. The overall focus for a cloud-centric design and online accounts is users can move from one Windows 10 device to another and resume working.
This cloud-centricity is noticeable in the search bar, where searching includes both the local system and the web. This feature might sound useful, but consider searching for local private data. For example, an intimate email conversation. That same search query will be forwarded to a web search engine. Also noticeable are the live tiles, which continually stream data from the web. Another example is called page prediction, where a user’s web browsing history is sent to Microsoft servers.
This cloud-centricity is intended to lure users into using a Microsoft account and Microsoft store. Using Windows 10 does not require a Microsoft account. (Likewise for Windows 8/8.1.) Local login accounts are still supported but not intuitively obvious when installing or updating to Windows 10. Even after creating an online account, users can still create a local account.
With this cloud-centricity Windows 10 adds new features to support 24/7 connectivity, notably Cortana, live tiles, and yes, personalized advertisements. By default Windows 10 will generate a unique advertising ID for each user on a device.
Solitaire is not provided in the stock Windows 10, but users who download the app from the Microsoft Store discover that ads are an intrusive and annoying part of the game unless paying a $10 annual fee to disable. Without paying the fee users are continually nagged to update to the paid version.
Cortana is a voice-activated digital assistant. Cortana becomes useful only with user data collection. Key to using Cortana is enabling location services and voice recognition data. Cortana is active when logged in with a Microsoft account.
Users who update to Windows 10 from an eligible Windows version will be able to watch DVDs but only after downloading a DVD player from the Microsoft store. This free download will not last forever. Other users must pay $15 for this lackluster product. Eventually the free download will end and all users will pay. A much easier solution is to download the great VLC.
Not intuitively obvious to non technical users is how Windows 10 pushes data mining to new levels compared to previous versions of Windows. Unknown at this time is how OEM (original equipment manufacturers) vendors will install Windows 10 on new computers. Because of the cloud-centric design, expect OEM vendors to install additional related data tracking bloatware, all with the intention of improving the “user experience.”
Like many Google services, this cloud-centric design creates vendor lock-in once a user’s data is trapped in the cloud.
Windows 10 uses a torrent like streaming system to provide updates, called Windows Update Delivery Optimisation. By default that means each user’s system will be used in a peer-to-peer networking environment to provide updates to other users. That is the default setting and without the user’s explicit permission. Torrent technology is an efficient means of distributing software, yet setting this as a default for the entire operating system means that along with the continual live tile streaming data, Windows 10 users will see their ISP bandwidth usage increase.
Word is spreading that on some computers the Windows 10 files are being downloaded to eligible systems even when the systems are not configured to update. There are more than 3 GB of files involved. This downloading affects each user’s bandwidth bill.
Be prepared to see a rise in Windows 10 malware and apps that specifically target harvesting user data as well as target system updates. The effort has already begun with an email claiming to be from Microsoft containing an alleged Windows 10 installer, but is actually ransomware. Reports indicate the malware might also be scanning user data files.
Prospective Windows 10 users should learn more about the various ways Windows 10 tracks users. Please read the Microsoft Privacy Statement and Microsoft Services Agreement.
For some ideas how personal data will be tracked and used:
‘Incredibly intrusive’: Windows 10 spies on you by default
Windows 10: Here are the privacy issues you should know about
Microsoft’s new small print — how your personal data is (ab)used
30 Ways Your Windows 10 Computer Phones Home to Microsoft
By default Windows 10 tracks users excessively. While most of these settings can be disabled, doing so is a lengthy exercise. Users must manually opt-out of every data mining feature rather than opt-in. Much like many Google services, the trade-off with using free services is data mining and advertising as a means to generate revenues. Without initial direct sales of the operating system, a cloud-centric design is well suited for data mining as a means of providing revenues.
Users should understand that data mining is at the core of Windows 10. Data mining can include email and address books. The trade-off is a loss of privacy. While the idea of moving from one Windows 10 device to another without missing a beat seems admirable for mobile and tech savvy users, the goal loses appeal for people using only a single fixed desktop computer. The unanswered question at this time is how much data collection is really necessary to create an improved user experience?
While the cloud-centric design might be attractive for some users, other users might find the design to be privacy invasive. While many of the privacy related features can be disabled, unknown at this time is to what extent data collection continues thereafter. Extensive testing would be needed to learn all of the ways Windows 10 is “phoning home” and mining data. To quote one author:
Microsoft’s spying on you is pretty awful. Windows 10 calls home with essentially every last thing you do and search for by default. Finding and disarming all the different ways Microsoft spies on you is difficult at best, and a futile game of whack-a-mole at worst.
Disabling most of these default features impacts the function of Windows 10, but privacy-aware users might prefer the losses. Many of the privacy related features have been disabled on the Fast-Air Linux demo computer.
Slowly emerging is the realization that Windows 10 is not really free but comes with a steep price.
Third-party tools have already appeared to help less technical users disable these privacy invasive and tracking features. For example:
An exhaustive two-part Windows 10 FAQ is available:
Windows 10 Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendation? There are many online reviews and tutorials about Windows 10. Updating for “free” to Windows 10 is opt-in. Eligible users have a year to update if they choose. A Windows 7 system does not reach end of life until January 14, 2020. For many people, moving to Linux is an inexpensive way to escape Windows while avoiding privacy intrusions and malware. For those who insist on updating to Windows 10, waiting for the proverbial dust to settle before updating is sensible, especially for non technical users or users who are not power users. Be fully informed before updating.
Future Tech Talk newsletters are planned to address topics such as privacy and data mining.
Technical trivia: The ENIAC — Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator, the world’s first programmable electronic general purpose computer, needed three years to build, used about 1,800 square feet, 17,468 vacuum tubes, 15,000 relays, and weighed almost 50 tons. Compare those specs to a typical smart phone or tablet. For more information and pictures:
Next issue: Still Using XP.
She has grown up since this first TV appearance, but her smile will melt your heart. She is the youngest person to perform at Carnegie Hall and she composed and released her first piano album at age five. That’s right — composed.
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