Windows 10 Is Broken: Fix It, Microsoft!

[B00nie]

Then

It's an option for US. It's not an option for 99% or more of the population unless YOU want to be the support person for all those people. As much as I feel good about helping and teaching people, I no longer want to be doing it 24/7, and have no delusions that the general population will miraculously become computer savvy anytime soon, no matter how much we wish they could.

You got it all backwards. I used to be the support person for my and my extended family. And I hated every bit of it. So I force migrated them to linux and ta-daa - I no longer get bi-monthly calls to clean / fix their computers. D E A D silence for years. And I love it. They love it.

 

[DeathFromBelow]

It's an option for US. It's not an option for 99% or more of the population unless YOU want to be the support person for all those people. As much as I feel good about helping and teaching people, I no longer want to be doing it 24/7, and have no delusions that the general population will miraculously become computer savvy anytime soon, no matter how much we wish they could.

Why do they need to be any more tech-savvy than they already are? I just picked up a little 15" i3-based laptop for my mom. First thing I did was format and replace Windows 10 with Mint. Easiest laptop install I've ever done, the only thing I had to set up manually were the FN keys, everything else just works. My mom has no difficulties using it, and if it did break down she'd be just as clueless as she would be with Windows.

 

[CSI_PC]

Privilege escalation is the most important security feature in your operating system. What Microsoft did wrong was not forcing users to enter their password at each administrative prompt like Linux does, or at least made it easier to enable that without having to use the registry editor. UAC also sandboxes programs running in protected directories. UAC isn't a dummy prompt, it's your defense against unknown exploits. The local user has to give software permission to make admin level changes to the system.

It amazes me that there's still a lot of anti-Vista/UAC FUD still floating around out there. The only real alternative to privilige escalation is a closed off app store style environment where the device manufacturer (hopefully) checks all the software they host.

I think some of this goes back in history that at one point Microsoft was looking to make it more secure in the way you suggest but it was balked at due to users wanting an easy use system and not liking the concept-process.
Cheers

 

[nightfly]

My mom has no difficulties using it, and if it did break down she'd be just as clueless as she would be with Windows.

Can't identify with that as my parents are both dead. But I have other people who I USED to be the computer support person for, and at 60, I don't need another part time job. Now I just tell them to buy a Dell, and treat it like an appliance. Screw it up, buy a new one.

I like Linux. It serves most of my needs. But the average person has no clue about how to reinstall an OS, should something go wrong. They want a computer like a TV. On/off button. Select a channel. Play, and turn it off. Do the same thing tomorrow.

 

[DeathFromBelow]

I like Linux. It serves most of my needs. But the average person has no clue about how to reinstall an OS, should something go wrong. They want a computer like a TV. On/off button. Select a channel. Play, and turn it off. Do the same thing tomorrow.

And that's exactly what Linux Mint provides. Plus no schizophrenic UI, data mining, broken update tools, or any of the other bullshit Microsoft has been putting us through. Most of the games I play regularly are Linux-native now, too (Kerbal Space Program, Civ V, Mount and Blade Warband, Cities: Skylines, Europa Universalis IV, and Stellaris). This is a radical change from just a few years ago when Linux was usable but you still kinda needed a Windows machine half the time.

If Microsoft doesn't release a proper successor to Windows 7 they're going to lose the desktop market.

 

[tetris42]

And that's exactly what Linux Mint provides. Plus no schizophrenic UI, data mining, broken update tools, or any of the other bullshit Microsoft has been putting us through. Most of the games I play regularly are Linux-native now, too (Kerbal Space Program, Civ V, Mount and Blade Warband, Cities: Skylines, Europa Universalis IV, and Stellaris). This is a radical change from just a few years ago when Linux was usable but you still kinda needed a Windows machine half the time.

If Microsoft doesn't release a proper successor to Windows 7 they're going to lose the desktop market.

Linux still has a long ways to go if it wants to win over gamers. It still has less than 1% of the market on Steam. That's great if most of the games you play are on Linux, but if I have a few dozen games and I can only get half of them running on Linux without incident, that's a bridge too far for most gamers, or myself at least. It's better than it was, but the compatibility just isn't there yet. Gamers switching to Linux is NOT an inevitability, they need a real reason first. If it could run all the game that Windows 10 can minus the bullshit that comes with Windows, then that would be a reason. But since it CAN'T, it's a hard tradeoff. So the question to ask is what's the reason for a GAMER (in other words, playing games is the top priority) to choose Linux over Windows 7 OR 10?

 

[Darunion]

And that's exactly what Linux Mint provides. Plus no schizophrenic UI, data mining, broken update tools, or any of the other bullshit Microsoft has been putting us through. Most of the games I play regularly are Linux-native now, too (Kerbal Space Program, Civ V, Mount and Blade Warband, Cities: Skylines, Europa Universalis IV, and Stellaris). This is a radical change from just a few years ago when Linux was usable but you still kinda needed a Windows machine half the time.

If Microsoft doesn't release a proper successor to Windows 7 they're going to lose the desktop market.

People say this each time microsoft botches a release. The closest one to actually take them out if they mess up too much is OSX. Linux is too far behind in market penetration to be able to get all the game devs to back them. Also, your list of 4year old games, isn't a selling factor .

It would be nice but reality is people aren't switching to linux. If apple released OSX for the general public on all hardware, you would likely see a larger impact that way.

 

[Red Squirrel]

As much as I'd like to think and see more people switch to Linux, sadly I think it won't happen either. People are actually more willing to put up with MS's BS than to switch to Linux.

Linux does lack proper central management though, and it's permission system is garbage. Consider a business environment and the complex permission schemes that people ask, such as having a certain group of users be able to read, some can read and write, some can read write but not delete etc.... and INHERITANCE. In Linux every single file and folder has it's own individual permission and when you create a new one it takes whatever it feels like, usually your own user's. That is a huge mess in a collaborative setup.

If Linux could fix some of these fundamental things it would perhaps have a chance. I know there are 3rd party ways such as ACLs and Ldap but I'm talking about something that is there by default, and turn key. Consider how easy it is to setup a DC in Windows, and join machines to it. It needs to be this easy in Linux too.

 

[CSI_PC]

With most home users wanting ease of use over security (they do not even like the concept of multiple user accounts/access control that is admin/user orientated), I am not sure just how flexible Linux would be as it is designed to be secure, context being most users to keep that simple ease of use would possibly create security holes and large ones at that as they would not appreciate the structure of Linux.
Cheers

 

[Todd Walter]

As much as I'd like to think and see more people switch to Linux, sadly I think it won't happen either. People are actually more willing to put up with MS's BS than to switch to Linux.

Linux does lack proper central management though, and it's permission system is garbage. Consider a business environment and the complex permission schemes that people ask, such as having a certain group of users be able to read, some can read and write, some can read write but not delete etc.... and INHERITANCE. In Linux every single file and folder has it's own individual permission and when you create a new one it takes whatever it feels like, usually your own user's. That is a huge mess in a collaborative setup.

If Linux could fix some of these fundamental things it would perhaps have a chance. I know there are 3rd party ways such as ACLs and Ldap but I'm talking about something that is there by default, and turn key. Consider how easy it is to setup a DC in Windows, and join machines to it. It needs to be this easy in Linux too.

If you want the permissions to be inherited, you have to use the sticky bit. If you want central management, use LDAP. ACLs come from SELinux if that's required. They are turnkey in some Enterprise distributions, for a given value of 'turnkey'. You can even have your VSS-style backups if you use ZFS or BTRFS. These problems have been solved in Unix for a long time they're just not obvious. It sounds like you want it just like Windows, which is trickier. Samba4 has made some excellent strides forward but I wouldn't call it easy.