Why would I want to pre "register" Windows 10 anyway?

Mayayana wrote:
OneDrive provides the option to send a link for sharing. If done
properly the recipient has to do nothing but click the link. Options to
view or save the files will be present.

e.g.
http://1drv.ms/1H4o1N2


Actually, first it redirects and then it loads
an entirely javascript page. I see only a blank
white page with no script enabled. This is
becoming an increasing and unnecessary problem.
People who don't know better post images to
online commercial services, which usually involves
ads, tracking and required script.



*No* sharing site is entirely separated from
Javascript, advertising and tracking. It's like
taking a cab ride, and not expecting the cab
driver to charge you for the ride.

Even if someone pays the cab driver in advance,
the cab driver still "wants a tip" after the ride is over.
So there is still Javascript, advertising, and tracking.

Paul

Jonas Klein wrote:
Am 04.06.2015 um 16:43 schrieb Neil:
On 6/4/2015 4:16 AM, Jonas Klein wrote:
Am 04.06.2015 um 01:35 schrieb . . .winston:
What might be more appropriate before you worry about your
own backside is what you think or expect to default to the
cloud in Windows 10.
Provide details then maybe your customers will have a chance
of being supported properly.

In the long run I'll have to use MS Office 2016, MS Office
2020 or
whatever it will be called. What I read so far scares me.
For instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2016 and
especially
"Features include: built-in cloud access to create, open,
edit, and save
files in the cloud straight from the desktop, ..."

Even if the cloud is the default for file storage, it is
unlikely to be the only option. In your case, you'd simply
need to change your file location to a local drive. No big
deal.


I'm not so sure. Will it be as easy as a piece of cake or as easy as
deleting every occurrence of my name from the Internet?


Jonas,
Well, it's very likely that your name is already somewhere stored on
some company's servers connected or accessed on the internet for a
variety of reasons and/or purchases. Imo, you could spend a lifetime
attempting or thinking you can delete every occurrence of your name on
the internet...it's not going to happen.

Even in Windows 10, there is no requirement to use your real name - your
Windows user name can be pretty much anything. What you do with personal
data and where you store it is still under your control. Even in Office
2013 (and 2016 beta) it's a single option user changeable to local vs web.

Are you completely unfamiliar with the use of an email account provided
by your internet provider or other service (Google, Hotmail/Outlook,
Yahoo, etc)...every single email account I have has internet access with
incoming messages stored on those providers 'cloud services before
arriving locally on my machine).

If you not familiar with MSFT's OneDrive it also might be wise to as
take a peak.



--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Mayayana wrote:
OneDrive provides the option to send a link for sharing. If done
properly the recipient has to do nothing but click the link. Options to
view or save the files will be present.

e.g.
http://1drv.ms/1H4o1N2



Actually, first it redirects and then it loads
an entirely javascript page. I see only a blank
white page with no script enabled. This is
becoming an increasing and unnecessary problem.
People who don't know better post images to
online commercial services, which usually involves
ads, tracking and required script.


Works fine here on FF, SeaMonkey, Chrome, IE11, even XP with IE9 in a VM

Check your software, no JavaScript, no ads.



--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On 6/4/15 9:33 AM, . . .winston wrote:
Ken Springer wrote:
On 6/4/15 7:38 AM, . . .winston wrote:
Jonas Klein wrote:

In the long run I'll have to use MS Office 2016, MS Office 2020 or
whatever it will be called. What I read so far scares me. For instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2016 and especially
"Features include: built-in cloud access to create, open, edit, and save
files in the cloud straight from the desktop, ..."

Office 2013 and later does have a more 'cloud centric' approach than
Windows 8 or 10.

The cloud direction was pretty much evident as MSFT's intent way back in
2008 when Windows Live Essentials was released which had cross
application integration (Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Photo Email, Instant
Messaging, PhotoGallery) which used Microsoft's server and also the
user's MSFT/Live account's OneDrive/SkyDrive/My Spaces cloud storage as
a repository for the features cross integration and functionality.

Most folks completely misunderstood WLE thinking it was only supposed to
be a replacement for XP Era Outlook Express and Windows Messenger. While
it met that intent to a certain extent, it provided on more benefit for
MSFT by being focused on the 300,000,000 million Hotmail and Messenger
user base. By targeting that group it also provided MSFT with telemetry
on how that population used those applications and shared
content(pictures and files) in a cloud environment. Any statistician
would easily understand the benefit of having a sample size of that
volume and the implications for the the probability and predictability
of a much larger group of people (in this case data on 300 million is
more than enough to generate usage pattern and adoption with reasonable
confidence and known error for the normal distribution of the total
Windows population.

Office 2007/10 came into play just a shade later since it provided two
cloud centric options - the ability to pull Contact and Calendar data
via that same MSFT/Live account for Hotmail and Messenger and a short
time later 'connector's for social media (e.g. Facebook). Second, MSFT
also had a feature available for MSFT/Live accounts called Office Online
which eventually migrated data storage to SkyDrive (now called OneDrive).

As you should be able to see that MSFT's direction for cloud based user
storage was almost a given well before Windows 8 and Office 2013 (each
of which provided some of the same and more cloud integration) arrived.

Windows10 and Office 2016 are just another step in that same evolution
but that does not mean user lose all control, but they will have to dig
a bit deeper to understand how to control how and what they wish or need
to do to manage their own and customer's concerns and needs. It's not
all the doom and gloom that some will claim but it does bear more
ownership of the product(s) use.

All of this sounds great, in a perfect world. But that's not what we
live in.

If you use cloud apps and storage, if your internet connection goes
down, you're screwed. Plain and simple.

And the US has a very aging and deteriorating infrastructure, that in
many places struggles under the load. Not to mention the vagaries of
mother nature and the threat of terrorist types and hackers. Essentially
you're putting your data into someone else's hands, taking no
responsibility yourself for the safety of your data.

Personally, I don't trust any large company that has a vested interest
in how you use your computer to be 100% trustworthy in respecting your
rights as the owner of the property. Wasn't it Instagram that was
recently caught claiming ownership of photos uploaded to their servers?



Fortunately, at this stage...we still have some level of control over
what we decide is worthy of cloud storage. I don't see that as changing
soon since their is too much negative perception...that same perception
doesn't always provide the whole picture on benefit or disadvantage.

True, but how does this or Neil's comment contradict my statement?

Not sure if it was Instagram or another provider. It doesn't much
matter - though the important piece of any cloud pie is that use of for
the most part agrees to the TOS and Privacy guidelines for those
services...and since most don't read those use and agreement is
universal - complaining about what one agrees to is like arguing with
your mother about agreeing to take out the trash. You can complain but
you still do it.



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 6/4/15 8:54 AM, . . .winston wrote:
Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-06-04 8:59 AM, Slimer wrote:
On 2015-06-03 9:44 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-06-03 8:04 PM, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artÃ*culo , . . .winston
escribió:

Windows Store app developers will be very strongly encouraged to
default
to the cloud for data storage.


The Store is not an archiving location for saving locally created
files
to one's machine or the cloud.

Are you being deliberately dense?

People developing apps for the Store will be "encouraged" to write
their
apps such that those apps store the data they generate in the cloud by
default, rather than locally.

Does that make more sense?

I won't use an app that doesn't have a local storage option.

You'll probably be forced to migrate to Linux eventually as a result.
When even Office saves to OneCloud automatically, you know that it's
just a matter of time before more applications take advantage of the
fact that users are more or less forced to use a Microsoft Passport
within Windows 8 and above to save to the cloud.

I like it myself, but I have to admit that I encrypt my documents to
prevent theft.

What's OneCloud? ;-)

When my sis-in-law got her new Win8 machine, she emailed links to her
pictures stored in OneCloud, a PITA to retrieve. She's gone back to
proper attachments.



Have a good day,

OneDrive provides the option to send a link for sharing. If done
properly the recipient has to do nothing but click the link. Options to
view or save the files will be present.

e.g.
http://1drv.ms/1H4o1N2

Clicking the above link will open the destination in a browser window
for viewing and option (upper left) to download the picture.
- this is just a simple example of a single pic but the same can be done
for an entire folder of pictures (for view and/or download).

I don't use OneDrive, but a friend of mine does. She sometimes sends
photo links to me in Skype, and when I click on the link, I'm invariably
asked to sign in with my Skype password, even though I'm already signed in.

Where do point her to read the correct instructions so I can open a link
the way your link does?



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 6/4/15 3:43 PM, Slimer wrote:
On 2015-06-04 4:31 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-06-04 1:48 PM, Slimer wrote:
On 2015-06-04 10:12 AM, Wolf K wrote:
[...]
I've never used Office. Tried it a few times, most recently when I had
to edit a document for a local club about three years ago. It's awful.
Main failing: no Reveal Codes, so I couldn't edit the messed up
formatting left behind by the originator of the document, who had never
mastered Word. I ended up Saving As plain text and reformatting the
whole thing WordPerfect. Piece of cake compared to Word.

Have a good day,

I have a license for WordPerfect Office X6 but still use Microsoft
Office 2013 Pro because I got a license for it for $11. Apparently, as a
teacher, I am entitled to such a rebate (I also get Office 365 for free,
apparently). I like that WordPerfect's define option doesn't require the
installation of other software the way Word does but otherwise, Word is
in every imaginable way a better piece of software than WordPerfect is.
Justification is better in WordPerfect, but it doesn't matter.

Every imaginable way?

OK, list five, please. Persuade me. ;-)

Be aware that the deal-breaker advantage for me is that WordPerfect can
read and write *.doc/*.docx files, but Word can't (won't, actually) read
*.wpd files. For that reason, I routinely use only three formats for
sending documents to other people: plain-text, RTF (which is plain-text
plus minor formatting), and PDF.

Anecdote: I had to update a booklet for a local club, a *.doc file. When
I updated the text-block on the cover page, the surrounding graphics
went all over the place. In WP, I could've used Reveal Codes to find and
correct the mistakes the original author had made. The most common
mistake is to use Tab for shifting text and images into place, BTW. I
was pretty sure that is what original author had done. In WP I could
have removed all useless or interfering format codes, en-bloc if there
were in-line, and then dragged the graphics where I wanted them. I tried
dragging the graphics in Word, but dragging one shifted all the others
in unpredictable ways. It also shifted the text. Bah! So I copied the
graphics as separate files, copied and pasted the text into a WP page,
inserted the graphics, and tweaked their positions. Simple and quick,
what I should've done without farting around with Word, which I did
because I thought editing a *.doc file in Word would be useful
experience. Since then I've not used Word. Apparently, there's a trial
copy of Office on this Win8 machine somewhere. It can rest in peace.

Have a good day,

Let me say that I would prefer to use WordPerfect if that is possible.
After all, I'm a Canadian and feel that it makes sense to support a
local product. Unfortunately, it's kind of hard to argue with a Office
Pro license which is either free or 11$ at most when a more limited WPO
license would cost me at least 200$. Either way, they both do what I
need for them to which is process words so whichever direction I go in,
I'm happy.

So... If a pile of dung was cheap enough compared to a quality
fertilizer, you'd buy it even if using the dung required extra work?
Where's the job efficiency in that???


Not a serious question at all, Slimer. Just having fun with your
viewpoint. LOL


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 6/4/15 1:20 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 04 Jun 2015 10:12:37 -0400, Wolf K wrote:

I've never used Office. Tried it a few times, most recently when I had
to edit a document for a local club about three years ago. It's awful.
Main failing: no Reveal Codes, so I couldn't edit the messed up
formatting left behind by the originator of the document, who had never
mastered Word. I ended up Saving As plain text and reformatting the
whole thing WordPerfect. Piece of cake compared to Word.

I take a slightly different approach, and as a result, I don't miss WP's
reveal codes feature a bit. Instead of fixing bad formatting, I simply apply
the formatting that I want. It's very fast and easy that way, although
purists might wonder what lies beneath the surface. For me, I'm more
interested in what the final product looks like.

Just curious, Char, does the editing you did in a doc always "stick"
when you pass it on down the line?


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 6/4/15 3:43 PM, Neil wrote:
On 6/4/2015 2:37 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 22:49:29 -0400, ". . .winston"
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 02:41:07 -0400, ". . .winston"

My replies are based on the purpose of the 'Get Windows 10' app deployed
via KB 3035583.

In case you haven't realized - installing or not installing the app has
significance regardless of how it is interpreted as value-added,
non-value added, marketing-ware, junk-ware, etc.

1. The app includes the replacement for the Upgrade Assistant (i.e. it
replaces earlier versions).
2. The only route to obtain a readiness for an existing system (device
and applications) is to install the app **and** Reserve Windows 10
3.The app provides the option to 'Cancel' any reservation
4. The app can easily be removed by uninstalling the KB via Programs and
Features/View Installed Updates
5. Windows 7 OEM and Full version media *and* OEM Pre-built units will
disappear from the marketplace(look for that to happen shortly or
immediately after July 29, 2015) - Home is already gone, Pro will soon
follow.

So far, I see no significant value in the things you've listed above.

There is no other route for folks who wish to move from Win7/8.1 to run
a system readiness check. If you see no value, how would you counsel
those people who do wish to move to Win10 when device and application
issues may be present ? Do nothing and cry later ?

As you've done in multiple other posts, you've got the cart before the
horse. The first step should be to educate oneself about Win 10 and what it
brings to the table. That doesn't have to be done now; it can be done in
bits during the coming year. If, and only if, there's something compelling
in Win 10 then that's the time to worry about 'system readiness'. This bit
of education is by far the most important step, but you consistently skip
over it and jump right to 'readiness'.

I would agree with you if this was 2005, but many things have changed
since then. Perhaps the most significant is that most people are not
likely to be able to educate themselves about what a new OS brings to
the table. For most of the two decades between 1985 and 2005, people
used their computers in pretty much the same way. But, during that
period, a paradigm shift in the way people work was taking place, and to
accommodate those changes, a lot of new devices were introduced along
with unique UIs and features requiring users to be a lot more
knowledgeable than before in order to do their jobs and manage their
content.

IME, starting with Vista, things became increasingly technically
complex, beyond the ability of users to understand the implications well
enough to determine whether an upgrade was in their best interests.

Not sure if I agree or not. LOL Are you saying the can't do it because
they simply can't understand it, or because they lack the knowledge to
understand it? I'd say the second part is the most likely reason.

For
example, how many do you think understood the implications of relative
resource allocation?

But, does the average user need to?

Could it be that their dislike of Vista was, at
least in part, due to the fact that that one change "broke" some of
their apps, even though it got around some serious limitations of XP?
After all, they love Win7, which is functionally Vista V2 and was
introduced after most app developers had time to correct their bad habit
of trying to access system resources in discrete locations.

Based on the number of posts over the last year from otherwise
knowledgeable folks, I'd say that few of them can evaluate the
compatibility of a new OS by reading the specs or looking at screen
shots. For those who can and do make use of the "new" OS functionality
and are not near the end of their time as a computer user, there is a
need for some way of evaluating what they own with what is coming next
to know how to plan their expenditures. Why is that so unreasonable?



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 6/4/2015 4:44 PM, Jonas Klein wrote:
Am 04.06.2015 um 16:43 schrieb Neil:
On 6/4/2015 4:16 AM, Jonas Klein wrote:
Am 04.06.2015 um 01:35 schrieb . . .winston:
What might be more appropriate before you worry about your
own backside is what you think or expect to default to the
cloud in Windows 10.
Provide details then maybe your customers will have a chance
of being supported properly.

In the long run I'll have to use MS Office 2016, MS Office
2020 or
whatever it will be called. What I read so far scares me.
For instance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_2016 and
especially
"Features include: built-in cloud access to create, open,
edit, and save
files in the cloud straight from the desktop, ..."

Even if the cloud is the default for file storage, it is
unlikely to be the only option. In your case, you'd simply
need to change your file location to a local drive. No big
deal.


I'm not so sure. Will it be as easy as a piece of cake or as easy as
deleting every occurrence of my name from the Internet?

To deny the user the option to save files to locations of their choice
would be an enormous revision of computer functionality for at least the
last 6 decades. Is it reasonable to think that such a disabling
"feature" is likely to be implemented in Windows, or any other OS for
that matter?

--
Best regards,

Neil

On 6/4/2015 6:03 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Thu, 04 Jun 2015 17:43:50 -0400, Neil wrote:

On 6/4/2015 2:37 PM, Char Jackson wrote:

As you've done in multiple other posts, you've got the cart before the
horse. The first step should be to educate oneself about Win 10 and what it
brings to the table. That doesn't have to be done now; it can be done in
bits during the coming year. If, and only if, there's something compelling
in Win 10 then that's the time to worry about 'system readiness'. This bit
of education is by far the most important step, but you consistently skip
over it and jump right to 'readiness'.

I would agree with you if this was 2005, but many things have changed
since then. Perhaps the most significant is that most people are not
likely to be able to educate themselves about what a new OS brings to
the table. snip

I'm not sure I understand that perspective, and the snipped text didn't help
me to see what you were getting at.

What I was getting at is contained in your paragraph. You suggest that
it's possible to educate oneself about what a new OS brings to the
table, and I'm saying that it's not as easy as it was for a couple of
decades of doing the same kind of work in the same kind of way. We're in
the beginning stages of a new work model. A short few years ago, we
collaborated with others around the world in relatively inefficient ways
compared to what is becoming possible, due in no small part to such
things as unified OS and apps across devices, cloud services and so on.
To know what a new OS "brings to the table" requires a pretty deep
understanding of the underlying technology, and I don't see that depth
in very many places or from otherwise knowledgeable users.

If anything, it's probably easier than ever to gather information, if one so
chooses. Win 10 articles are trickling out from various sources, and soon
there will be a flood of them, just like we've seen with every other new
Windows release. The pundits will hash and rehash the good and the bad,
which in its raw form may be too much for some people to digest, but over
time things will rise to the surface where they can be easily picked over.
Along with that, there are the Tech Previews for anyone who cares enough to
get a firsthand look, although I suspect most people will simply go with the
flow.

If anything, the huge number of sources of information are more
confusing than helpful.

Based on the number of posts over the last year from otherwise
knowledgeable folks, I'd say that few of them can evaluate the
compatibility of a new OS by reading the specs or looking at screen
shots.

Those are never good ways to evaluate an OS.

Depends on the individual, but I agree that it's seldom a useful
investment of one's time.

For those who can and do make use of the "new" OS functionality
and are not near the end of their time as a computer user, there is a
need for some way of evaluating what they own with what is coming next
to know how to plan their expenditures.

Thanks. We're in agreement.

I'm not so sure. The "get Windows 10" tool that is the topic of this
thread is one of very few ways that one can "evaluate what they own with
what is coming next", and is probably the only way for those not deeply
involved in the technology.

--
Best regards,

Neil

Neil wrote:

We're in the beginning stages of a new work model.

You can believe that if you want.

Drab window decorations and bigger fonts, don't make it so.

Can I speak to the computer, and have it do the
work for me ?

"Hey Cortana, draft a report about the last business
quarter, placing several charts and graphs
showing gross and net profit. Use the same sort
of business English sentence structure you know
I'm famous for."

That would be a new work model.

No, Neil still sits down, does "Open", makes
a few edits, tries to convert some pictures
(unsuccessfully), uses a screen snapshot of
another document to save time on the picture
conversion, curses a bit under his breath,
clicks "Save" and "Exit" and goes for coffee.
What's changed exactly ? Nothing. Neil is still
exhausted from the pressure to produce, and the
resistance afforded by the "new" tools.

So your bookmarks file is available while
you're at home, and while you're at Starbucks.
Thanks to the Cloud. Big deal.

Now, Neil slips on his brand new Microsoft Hololens
headset. Waving his finger around in mid air,
he selects "Open" from a 3D menu that looks
like a skyscraper. He does a few edits (giving
up on waving his finger in the air, and switching
to a keyboard). He goes back to waving his
finger in the air, selects "Save", then "Exit".
Neils arm now hurts, from keeping his arm
in the air for so long, so he goes for coffee.
The chicks in the coffee shop are
attracted to Neil, because he forgot to
take off his Hololens. And they think a famous
astronaut is visiting.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/47104136.cms

So the story did have a happy ending.

Paul

Char Jackson wrote:
On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 20:34:10 -0400, ". . .winston"
wrote:

A good reason (if using Win7SP1 or Win8.1) to install KB 3035583,
Reserve Win10 which will run a system readiness check. Once they have
that information available, they can then, and only then make a better
informed decision...i.e. folks have to ensure their existing system
doesn't create issues (software, driver, graphic, network adapter etc.
issues) before even considering or pondering what possible advantages or
disadvantages Win10 brings to the table.

Then, and only then? :-) No, of course not. Long before that, there's an
entire thought process that needs to take place to determine whether a
person wants to upgrade. You've skipped over that step entirely, and not
just above but in multiple posts. I know you know better. This is one of the
reasons why some people are questioning your advice. It simply doesn't make
sense.

Imo, one should take a methodical approach to upgrading any o/s - have a
backup plan for the existing, understand if the system current hardware
and software set will or will not create issues, then and only then
deal/learn what Win10 does or does not bring to the table.

I believe you have that exactly backwards. Your last step should have been
the first step.


A backup plan should be the first task for any system before even
considering any change in o/s thus it would be the first step for any
user. Protect you own before considering or introducing something new.


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

| To deny the user the option to save files to locations of their choice
| would be an enormous revision of computer functionality for at least the
| last 6 decades. Is it reasonable to think that such a disabling
| "feature" is likely to be implemented in Windows, or any other OS for
| that matter?
|

It's not impossible. Adobe Creative Suite
subscription stores files online by default. As
understand it they have their own proprietary
format for that. If you end your subscription
and didn't know enough to save local copies,
converted to a usable format, then you'll lose
your photos.

Most of these things happen through a kind
of soft coercion rather than straightforwardly.
Microsoft doesn't have people arrested for
installing the same copy of Windows to two
machines. Instead, they make it nearly
impossible to do that. It's passive enforcement.
Adobe doesn't hold peoples' file hostage. But
it does require some effort and knowledge to
not be held hostage to their service.

It's not farfetched to think that MS might just
make it unreasonably complex for most people
to control their files. They already do that with
many things in Windows. You can run as real
admin on Win7, but it requires running a secret
command line to do it. You can block 3rd-party
cookies in IE, but it requires finding and using
the "Advanced" button in order to access those
settings. The vast majority of people are controlled
in how they use their computer through such
passive coercion. Very few people ever run as
admin or block 3rd-party cookies in IE, despite
the fact that a 3rd-party cookies is spyware by
definition. *Very few people ever suspect that
they've missed making such decisions for
themselves.*

There's a very interesting legal article about
how use of social services online can affect the
legal expectation of privacy:

http://wakeforestlawreview.com/readi...nd-privacy-law

"the wholesale sharing of your reading history with Facebook friends may
ultimately impact the Supreme Court's understanding of what constitutes a
"reasonable expectation of privacy.""

A similar situation can apply to other aspects of
online services. By using online storage you're implicitly
allowing a company access to your files. Google and other
companies claim co-ownership of files you have in gmail.
When courts want to subpoena your gmail they go to
Google, not to you. The Feds were recently demanding that
Microsoft allow them full access to European email accounts.
Their logic was that those emails are Microsoft business
documents and not private correspondence. Several years
ago Microsoft, for a brief time, claimed total rights to use
any files going through hotmail in any way they liked. They
were claiming they could use your family photos for MS
ads. All of those examples are cases of your rights and
reasonable expectations being redefined by your use of
services.

Storing your work files online in any capacity is already
an "enormous revision of computer functionality". And unless
you're incapable of doing any kind of backup there's simply
no reason to store your files online. The whole point is to
reinforce the idea of subscription software and to get
you used to the idea that you don't own anything you're
using but only subscribe to it as a service.

In Windows 98 it would have been unthinkable to require
"product activation". Now it's considered normal. And Microsoft
makes a great deal of money as a result of people throwing
away computers and then paying twice for their Windows
license when they buy a new computer, because they're
*passively* blocked from full use of the license they paid for.

Further control has been usurped in tablets, which are closer
to kiosk OSs than to PCs. It's like the story of the frog that
never jumps out of the boiling water as long as the heat is
turned up very slowly. Microsoft is saying you'll be renting
Windows from now on and they want to hold your files on
their servers, for your convenience. And you're saying, "Geez,
the thermometer says 130F but I could swear it's a comfy
72F in here".

| *No* sharing site is entirely separated from
| Javascript, advertising and tracking. It's like
| taking a cab ride, and not expecting the cab
| driver to charge you for the ride.
|

Actually that's not true. I generally don't allow
script or cookies or 3rd-party images, yet there
are some sites where I can see images. I don't
usually have trouble when people post to Dropbox.
But I get your point. That's why I try to encourage
people to stop depending on freebie sites -- which
are unavoidably sleazy -- and use honest options.

Char Jackson wrote:


If I change my mind and decide to do the upgrade to 10, it won't be because
it's free, (nothing is free). There would have to be some value before I
take that step. I don't completely rule it out, but so far I'm not seeing
any value to me. If you can think of anything, please post about it and I'll
consider it.


Let me know when you take advantage of the free offer. I don't believe
you have the hutzbah to discount that offer and pay for it later.


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps