Windows 10 is Microsoft's Elephant Man

[steven36]

I read a comment from a user who was talking about Windows 10 Mobile. He referred to it as Microsoft's stillborn baby. As dark and as gruesome an image as this may be, it feels very fitting, and it got me wondering how best to think of the desktop version of Windows 10. Clearly this is not a stillborn -- there's plenty of life in this kicking and screaming beast, and there is no sign of an abortion on the horizon.

 

 

But it is the black sheep of the family, the -- brace yourselves, politically correct gentlefolk -- deformed and underdeveloped spawn of Microsoft's loins. If it was an animal, it probably would have been destroyed in utero. As it is -- to view it in more human terms -- it's more like the Elephant Man: a lumbering, lurching curiosity that many would like to see dead, but which at the same time retains its right to existence.

 

With Windows 10, Microsoft has really done very little to endear itself to people; the number of slipups along the way has been impressive. We started off with some slight confusion about what 'free' meant as there was some very poor communication and some very poorly-worded announcements made in the run-up to launch. Just what is the deal with the free upgrade?

 

And when the launch did roll around, there was a general feeling that Microsoft had ushered an unfinished product out of the door. To this very day, the much-touted replacement for Internet Explorer -- Microsoft Edge -- remains incomplete. The add-in support that users have so long been waiting for remain elusive. And that's before we even start to think about issues with InPrivate not being quite as private as the name might suggest.

 

These are just two of the issues that users, and would-be users have been complaining about and in the background there is the other elephant (man) in the room -- the hostile way in which Windows 10 has been foisted on people. Add to this the various spying and telemetry features (again, with an amazing opaqueness that is incredibly surprising coming from a company such as Microsoft) and it's little wonder than Windows 10 is eyed with such suspicion.

 

The whole thing is so ugly (the situation, not the OS itself before you bite my head off) that one can’t help but wonder if we're trapped in some Wildean world. Maybe a devilish deal has been made somewhere and we're actually experiencing the corrupt, evil painted version of Windows 10 up in the attic where things gradually become uglier and more twisted, while the youthful, nimble, spry and sexy Dorian Gray-like edition of the operating system exists in some parallel universe, delighting and enthralling everyone who encounters it.

 

But ultimately, it is the Elephant Man idea that holds out. Joseph Merrick was ridiculed, feared and exploited -- the same is true of Windows 10.

 

The Source

[jtmulc]

That's a whole lot of words to say very little. 

Paragraph 1: "It's the Elephant Man: a lumbering, lurching curiosity that many would like to see dead, but which at the same time retains its right to existence. " Bold, declarative statement, good opener.

 

Paragraph 2: "the number of slipups along the way has been impressive.". Nice followup, Let's see what they have.  "Microsoft was unclear who got a free upgrade".  That's the first point?  Free upgrade for legit, non-business, owners of Win7 or 8, good for one year.  It seems pretty clear and has nothing to do with the merits and demerits of the OS itself.  Let's go on with the "slipups"

 

Paragraph 3:  "It felt unfinished when released". Well, yeah.  It's a Microsoft OS on launch day, what did they expect?  There were THREE editions of Windows 95, two editions of Windows 98.  Anyone remember the launch problems with Vista?  This is why businesses rarely get a new Microsoft OS right out of the box.  This isn't new, it's been happening for decades.  What is 10 like NOW?  They don't say, other than "Edge still isn't finished"  Who cares?  Choose another browser.  We've been telling people to not use Microsoft browsers for years, why is this one different?

 

Paragraph 4:  "That's just two of the issues".  Well, it's not really ANY issues, but go on.  "Microsoft is getting REALLY pushy about people upgrading" I agree, they are getting pushy, but it makes sense.  Part of why Microsoft is doing this is to reduce OS fragmentation and the more people who upgrade, the fewer they have to support on older OS.  However, this still has nothing to do with the merits and demerits of the OS itself.  "Microsoft spies on us..."  OK, a legitimate gripe, not new, but legitimate.  So does everyone's smartphone.  And Facebook.  "...and they didn't tell us and Microsoft is always so forthright about such things".  This is Microsoft we're talking about, right?  The Evil Empire?   Anyone remember pics of Bill Gates in a Borg outfit? 

 

Paragraph 5: "I've got one actual gripe about the OS but I'm going to talk about it like it's some hideously deformed misshapen thing anyway".  Is it stable?  Doesn't say.  How well are games payed on it?  Doesn't say.  How well does it handle older software?    Doesn't say.  Is it easy to find driver support?  Doesn't say.  How does it feel on older machines?   Doesn't say.  How is Windows 10 like The Elephant Man?    Doesn't say.

[SURbit]

How is Windows 10 like The Elephant Man?  At least to me it's the monster in the dark I care not go or ever want to confront again! It's better to let others see and talk about it as it's a disfigured all knowing and seeing aborigine now of the desktop. 

[steven36]

6 hours ago, jtmulc said:

That's a whole lot of words to say very little. 

It never fails  though even though he said very little you acted like he was asking you a questions because you use windows 10. and you bothered to answer his statement back. because his statement got under you're skin because its the truth .. If Microsoft cant even sell us on windows 10 how are you going to do it ?  most people are  not using windows 10  and looking at all the M$ fan boys like there nuts

[steven36]

9 hours ago, steven36 said:

But ultimately, it is the Elephant Man idea that holds out. Joseph Merrick was ridiculed, feared and exploited -- the same is true of Windows 10.

 

 

1 hour ago, SURbit said:

How is Windows 10 like The Elephant Man? 

Go to sites like the register uk , beta news , etc into the comments  were  they have a much larger user base and it looks like  a war broke out  Windows 10 fanboys vs the compatibility and privacy concerned people . Windows 10 fan boys try to make up excuses for Microsoft pushing out unstable  releases  to a o/s that should of never existed  that  seems to be the seed of the FBI and the NSA .

 

It just goes to show you can label anything  free  and some people will install it and defend it  even after the rest of the world called its bluff  a million times. 

[SURbit]

10 minutes ago, steven36 said:

 

Go to sites like the register uk , beta news , etc into the comments  were  they have a much lager user base and it looks like  a war broke out  Windows 10 fanboys vs the compatibility and privacy concerned people . Windows 10 fan boys try to make up excuses for Microsoft pushing out unstable  releases  to a o/s that should of never existed  that  seems to be the seed of the FBI and the NSA .

 

It just goes to show you can label anything  free  and some people will install it and defend it  even after the rest of the world called its bluff  a million times. 

 

Only trying to bring up and clear up FREE SOFTWARE  - Besides your best bet - LINUX 

What is Free Software?

Free in Free Software is referring to freedom, not price. Having been used in this meaning since the 80s, the first documented complete definition appears to be the GNU's Bulletin, vol. 1 no. 1, published February 1986. In particular, four freedoms define Free Software:

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.

  Placing restrictions on the use of Free Software, such as time ("30 days trial period", "license expires January 1st, 2004") purpose ("permission granted for research and non-commercial use", "may not be used for benchmarking") or geographic area ("must not be used in country X") makes a program non-free.

• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.

  Placing legal or practical restrictions on the comprehension or modification of a program, such as mandatory purchase of special licenses, signing of a Non-Disclosure-Agreement (NDA) or - for programming languages that have multiple forms or representation - making the preferred human way of comprehending and editing a program ("source code") inaccessible also makes it proprietary (non-free). Without the freedom to modify a program, people will remain at the mercy of a single vendor.

• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.

  Software can be copied/distributed at virtually no cost. If you are not allowed to give a program to a person in need, that makes a program non-free. This can be done for a charge, if you so choose.

• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

  Not everyone is an equally good programmer in all fields. Some people don't know how to program at all. This freedom allows those who do not have the time or skills to solve a problem to indirectly access the freedom to modify. This can be done for a charge.

These freedoms are rights, not obligations, although respecting these freedoms for society may at times oblige the individual. Any person can choose to not make use of them, but may also choose to make use of all of them. In particular, it should be understood that Free Software does not exclude commercial use. If a program fails to allow commercial use and commercial distribution, it is not Free Software. Indeed a growing number of companies base their business model completely or at least partially on Free Software, including some of the largest proprietary software vendors. Free Software makes it legal to provide help and assistance, it does not make it mandatory.

Terminology

Free Software is the original term for software that respects freedom, and there are important reasons why this terminology continues to be used today. Free Software connotes freedom, and when translated there is a clear distinction between freedom and price. In French, Free Software becomes "logiciels libre", "software libre" in Spanish, "software libero" in Italian, and "Fri Software" in Danish.

Open Source

On February 3rd 1998, in the wake of Netscapes announcement to release their browser as Free Software, a group of people met in Palo Alto in the Silicon Valley and proposed to start a marketing campaign for Free Software using the term ``Open Source.'' The goal was to seek fast commercialisation of Free Software and acceptance of Free Software by the companies and venture capitalists of the booming new economy. As a means to this end, they made a conscious decision to leave aside all long-term issues (such as philosophy, ethics and social effects) related to Free Software, feeling these posed obstacles in the way of rapid acceptance by economy. They proposed to focus on technical advantages only1.

Often used in good faith by people who refer to what Free Software stands for, the term "Open Source" - originally defined to mean the same thing as Free Software in terms of licenses and implementation - has seen inflationary usage. Nowadays, it is regularly used for everything between Free Software and the highly proprietary "Governmental Security Program" (GSP) by Microsoft2.

Libre Software

When the European Commission started dealing with Free Software on a regular basis, they sought to avoid the ambiguity of the English word "Free Software" and the misunderstandings of "Open Source" alike, which led to the adoption of a third term which has popped up occasionally since around 1992: "Libre Software." This term has proven resistant to inflationary usage and is still used in an identical way to Free Software. So it may pose a solution for those who fear being misunderstood when speaking English.

Footnotes

1. For reference, see OSI FAQ : "How is 'open source' related to 'free software'? The Open Source Initiative is a marketing program for free software. It's a pitch for 'free software' on solid pragmatic grounds rather than ideological tub-thumping. The winning substance has not changed, the losing attitude and symbolism have." Outside this rather unkind FAQ item, the OSI and its supporters have generally avoided the term "Free Software".
2. In this program governments and intergovernmental organisations pay substantial fees for a superficial look at some parts of Windows sourcecode in special Microsoft facilities. This may increase "perceived security" but is essentially useless - especially since they do not even know whether what they looked at is what they have on their computers. And of course it does not give them freedom.

source

[jtmulc]

On 2/4/2016 at 7:06 AM, steven36 said:

It never fails  though even though he said very little you acted like he was asking you a questions because you use windows 10. and you bothered to answer his statement back. because his statement got under you're skin because its the truth .. If Microsoft cant even sell us on windows 10 how are you going to do it ?  most people are  not using windows 10  and looking at all the M$ fan boys like there nuts

 

I don't run Windows 10.  Never have.  I also don't like lazy journalism.  I think if someone is going to call an OS "The Elephant Man", I think they should back it up with actual problems with the OS, not bitch about how Microsoft markets and distributes it.  The stated premise is unsupported by the accompanying argument.  That doesn't mean Windows 10 is the Holy Grail, nor does it mean it's an eldritch abomination, it just means the author doesn't know how to formulate an argument.

[steven36]

4 hours ago, jtmulc said:

 

I don't run Windows 10.  Never have.  I also don't like lazy journalism.  I think if someone is going to call an OS "The Elephant Man", I think they should back it up with actual problems with the OS, not bitch about how Microsoft markets and distributes it.  The stated premise is unsupported by the accompanying argument.  That doesn't mean Windows 10 is the Holy Grail, nor does it mean it's an eldritch abomination, it just means the author doesn't know how to formulate an argument.

Go over  to betanews and tell him  in there comments , you're trying to forum a argument against him  some place hes  not .  if you want to argue with him go to the source . I can tell you  one thing though  I'm sure hes heard much worse  .As far as you're opinion about  his journalism  that's just you're opinion because in the comments of this post  at betanews many said  they  thought he done a good job  .