Windows 10 will update whether you like it or not

unless you have Enterprise Edition

[bill]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/16/windows_10_will_update_whether_you_like_it_or_not_unless_you_have_enterprise_edition/ [theregister.co.uk]

Windows 10 will update whether you like it or not – unless you have Enterprise Edition

The Licensing Agreement for Windows 10, as found in the latest release candidate build 10240 of Windows 10 Professional, states:

The Software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you.

You may obtain updates only from Microsoft or authorised sources, and Microsoft may need to update your system to provide you with those updates.

By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice

.

[engine]

Oh, really! That's going to upset a lot of people that want to remain on Win 7, and that may be for a number of reasons, not least that the machine copes with win 7 better than it'll handle Win10.

[bill]

But consider the masses who will be using this. When you visit Uncle Bob for the holidays you're not going to have to spend the time downloading a year's worth of updates and can instead spend more quality time with the family. ;)

I know some aren't really going to be thrilled with this. It will give a lot of members here pause. There certainly are alternatives like staying with an earlier version of Windows or looking at another OS entirely.

I can see both sides to this. I wouldn't have a problem putting this on a family member's PC if they weren't very savvy. The more technically inclined may buck against this, but there are those who rarely run into problems with updates who probably won't mind. I could see shying away from this on my primary machine, but for peripheral PCs that I don't use much this wouldn't be so bad.

[Leosghost]

As I posted yesterday in another thread..I'm busy "blocking temporarily" this "automatic update" on many peoples machines..
on win 7, win8 and win8.1..takes a few minutes is all..
Then let the others .."go first" and see what breaks..and wait for MS to roll out "fixes"..and see what the "fixes" broke..repeat..repeat..
Maybe within the "free upgrade" year..MS will get it working correctly on all machines that currently have an older version on windows running..
Many will throw away machines that got "trashed" by the "automatic update"..and then buy new ones that have it pre installed..

BTW..When I say "temporarily blocking" these updates to switch win7 or win8 or win8.1 to win10..I mean just that.."temporarily"..you can block win from updating..and if you later change your mind and want to "update"..it is a simple matter of "unhiding" the updates and windows ( which ever older version you have that is "eligible" ) will then update to win10..
Takes 10-15 minutes to "remove the updates" if they are on a machine..then "reboot" and "block the updates"( which become available again when win reboots ) by "hiding" them..
to "unblock" ..one merely "unhides" them..and win then updates..
You can still get any other "updates" to your older win OS installation, such as security updates etc..

But once you "update" to win10, it is much harder to "pick and mix" updates..

[edited by: Leosghost at 10:53 am (utc) on Jul 16, 2015]

[Nutterum]

I for one am thrilled about this. Because the people in general don't give a hoot whether they will be auto-updated or not. What they give a hoot about is that no one asked them for permission. However looking at the stats IE on XP is still holding 40% in USA. And I bet my MBA that 90% of these 40% don`t even know there is a new version of Windows available. Same goes for the Win 7 folk. Pardon my slightly more aggressive tone, but I am 100% approving this!

[IanCP]

That's going to upset a lot of people that want to remain on Win 7

I suspect that needs to be qualified, I don't know if we are comparing apples with oranges here. As I write - Windows 10 is itself updating on the Laptop. This is no ordinary update, an update to 100240 in my case, it came with an extensive legal agreement¹ to accept [I don't know if that is the subject of this topic], then a whole new set up² screen which common-sense told me to NOT use "express set up".

I have yet to see what changes have been made. Same Desktop, Tab Bar so far...

¹ - No means to print or save. On checking you can access it through PC Info. Still no print or save - I highlighted, copied and saved.

² - Choose "Customise" in the small print, just visible left lower corner. Make your own choices.

It could be the topic of the update refer to Windows 10, NOT for people updating from earlier versions.. I could be wrong of course, and it's all a coincidence.

[edited by: IanCP at 11:24 am (utc) on Jul 16, 2015]

[IanCP]

Yes, I am right. I should have paid closer attention to Bill's opening post. For clarification:

Windows 10 will update whether you like it or not – unless you have Enterprise Edition

The Licensing Agreement for Windows 10, as found in the latest release candidate build 10240 of Windows 10 Professional, states:

I read it as ONLY APPLICABLE to Windows 10. Of course when you [IF] upgrade...

[toidi]

This is going to sound mean, but i hope the update is for old versions (7,8,etc) to 10. Most of my competition is cluesless about things like this and we all use some proprietary software that is always late to these upates. It pretty much can shut us down. This is the reason i keep auto updates turned off.

[ken_b]

I read that article being about upgrading win 10, NOT upgrading "to" win 10.

Is that right?

[tangor]

The fact that @in 10 is a free upgrade is a telling move by MS. There is more to it than just getting everyone on 10.... the back game, I suspect, will be a complete change in the way a pc/user works/lives in the future. A return to the origins of computers were the "big iron" was accessed by billable terminals, rather than stand alone computers that "could" access if they wished. Win 10, in and of itself, is not that "terminal" edition, but it is the first step, and by giving it away for free makes it palatable to the masses. That, and the largest possible uptake of a new version in history.

Then again, if we don't do Win 10, we might not see what the masses are using... so keep a machine or two in reserve.

[Leosghost]

kenb..yes correct..
But ..older wins..win7, win8, win8.1 will upgrade ( many of them automatically, unless "blocked temporarily " from doing so ) to win10..if /when they do..then the subsequent updates to win10 that MS will be doing ( whereas before they used "service packs"..will be difficult to "block selectively"..( such as, accepting "security updates" but not possibly buggy "driver updates" that could make your machine unbootable )..Hence it is better IMO ( and that of many others ) to "block temporarily" one's machine ( if it is on win7 or win8 or win8.1 ) from updating to win10..and let the others be the "crash test dummies"..

[not2easy]

Their assumption that everyone has an unlimited amount of bandwidth that MS should be able to use at will is not going to please some families in remote areas on the only service available when they find themselves offline because of "excess" usage. Users need to be able to control their machines and choose when and whether to update their software.

For years that was the only kind of service available to me and it was not unusual to need to turn all images off to be able to use the internet and stay within the set limits when auto-updates used most of my available bandwidth. I have a better ISP today and don't rely on WIN but there are a lot of people still in that situation.

[Nutterum]

@not2easy - that is not something Microsoft cares or should care about. What Microsoft should care about is having everyone or most of its users at the very least, using the same OS so they can focus their efforts on one product and one product alone. To be honest I could not care less for the folks living in the outback and if they will be the reason for subpar user experience, feature releases and so on, I`d be one unhappy customer.

[Leosghost]

To be honest I could not care less for the folks living in the outback

"Folks living in the outback" and with slow speeds or tight bandwidth allowances frequently purchase a lot on line ( local B+M choices being limited )..They can't surf ( and buy from us ) if their bandwidth allowance is eaten up with forced updates..

There is also the viewpoint that as internet access is now required to do many things ( such as interact with Govt sites etc ) that "I could not care less for the folks living in the outback" is, to say the least, not very helpful.. Those living in "the outback" may also be ( or become ) valuable members of society..I can think of a few past and present mods and members here who live /l ived in "the outback" besides not2easy..and like not2easy, whose input to this community and other communities and society in general is very valuable and valued, by ( I hope ) most of us..

Maybe they'll all move over to join the penguin ..:))

[engine]

Most computers have something on them that phones home regularly, and it's a bigger problem for those with smartphones and limited downloads on their phone contract. Many people come back from overseas trips and realise they've been hit with a huge bill for the automatic "phone home" of the apps.

This is becoming commonplace with PCs, too. I can't speak for Apple's OS. Google Update does it seamlessly, too.

i'm not sure what size the Win 10 update is likely to be. Somebody mentioned 30 gig to me.

[bill]

One of the older articles mentioned that the update mechanism for Windows 10 was going to stagger the rollout. One point was that they were going to determine whether your machine could even handle the upgrade. Those that were deemed unsuitable wouldn't be included in the first round. I wonder if one of the criteria included connection speed. I don't know how they'd consider bandwidth caps, but that's a very good point.

[IanCP]

@Leosghost

But ..older wins..win7, win8, win8.1 will upgrade (many of them automatically, unless "blocked temporarily " from doing so)

That would be absolutely CATASTROPHIC on several fronts.

1. It's a relatively huge download. It is a very slow download, it is also time consuming updating and setting up a modern PC. On an older machine? How many downloads are they already providing to us Insiders? Magnify that out by the number of new updates, perhaps 1,000X

2. Users being unprepared - going from XP or Win 7 [assuming your machine can cope with the upgrade without being on the outer limits] is going to be a huge culture shock to the average person in the street. So much so, I can't even describe it.

3. Firing up the good old PC, and being confronted with the new Windows 10 [actually quite nice on my Laptop] will leave millions of people totally perplexed.

4. The new browser Microsoft Edge might be OK for people familiar with Chrome. However IE11 and Firefox users will be... Thus far it's not configurable.

@engine

i'm not sure what size the Win 10 update is likely to be. Somebody mentioned 30 gig to me.

The ISO files so far have been under 5GB. Difficult to estimate downloads because I've had to retry a number of times with download/install of past builds.

Somehow, I don't think this will end happy.

I work at a volunteer Marine Rescue organisation - most PC users there can't even find their way around Windows 7. If those machines suddenly update? God help us because vessels logging on/off is becoming more and more dependent upon PC's and mobile devices with appropriate Apps.

I predict confusion will reign, and it will be a feast for the mass media.

IF YOU PERSONALLY UPGRADE
Take the tip, use "Custom Install" NOT "Express Settings" - that way you choose what to have.

[Leosghost]

The "catastrophic" potential is why I'm "temporarily blocking" so many people's machines from updating to win10..
Almost everyone I see has had the win10 "invite icon" appear in their taskbar..the "pop up window" that accompanies it proposes win10 ( and they have heard it is "free" ..and an "upgrade" ) so they have all clicked "yes gimme win10 for free"..

Even those who haven't clicked yes "gimme win10 for free"..may get it automatically..

None of them ( and in this I'm certain that they are typical of average computer user worldwide ) realised that win10 is a whole new GUI experience..( even if it upgrades without "conflicts" with their printers, scanners etc ) and possibly many of their currently installed programs may not work with it..

As you have seen with the average user and win7..they will be lost even if all went well with the "upgrade"..

I explain it to them as "like going to sleep as French speaker in France, and waking up in Russia, without being able to speak Russian, penniless and with no transport to get home ..

How would they cope..?

Badly...panic, frustration, more panic...

A lot of these are old people with no tech background at all..or in the case of the younger ones, they got a computer because their kids need one fro school, or because at one time everyone got one, like everyone got a VHS player or a blueray player.. ( like yourself, I fix up machines thrown out by others ) and donate them..( I install Linux mint ), but before the advent of tablets, many retired people bought desktops or laptops to keep in touch with family..or families bought the machines for them..8 out of 10 machines that I see have win7..the other two maybe have win8 or are macs..

The win users will be lost when "the thing" that they click to "go on Google" to get to "the other place in Google called facebook " to do the "other thing" that lets them look at pictures of their grandchildren has been moved or hidden when win7 or 8 updates to win10..

Truth be known and IMO..99% of all computer users do not need a computer ( running win whatever, linux or apple whatever ) to do what they do..a tablet with big icons and a wi-fi connection is all they need to get to facebook, write the occasional email, visit youtube, and look at photos..

I predict the win10 "rollout will be an enormouse cluster.... and the media will make it worse with all their "experts" ( who, in reality when "off camera" have to get a tech to change the batteries in their mouse or connect to the wi-fi ) will make it even worse with their totally incorrect advice..

A lot of computers will be consigned to the cupboard, or the bin , and many tablets will be bought..computer sales might jump up a little as some people buy ones with win10 pre-installed because their old ones "broke on update"..these will then be unused as win10 is not like the win7 or 8 or 8.1 that they found so hard to learn to use even a little bit before..

[skibum]

I'm on 7 Home Premium and I have it set to not automatically install, just download. Every single time it auto installs and when it does it results in the blue screen of death, requires a rollback and then another install . I'm not opposed to auto updates as long as they actually work.

[keyplyr]

To be honest I could not care less for the folks living in the outback

My aboriginal traffic has dropped significantly.

[ken_b]

I'm on 7 Home Premium and I have it set to not automatically install, just download. Every single time it auto installs ...

So it ignores your settings and install anyhow?

[incrediBILL]

Well either I can't read or the rest of you can't.

All I read said that it wouldn't allow you to opt-out of specific windows updates just in WIN 10 unless you had enterprise, no more picking and choosing updates for WIN 10 only.

For instance, I had an NVIDIA driver once that destabilized my video, I had to rollback and block it from updating. Sounds like that might be possible in Win 10 and if they brick a machine because of that, they might end up eating some refunds because there are times your machine bombs for unknown reasons on certain updates and if that happens, people will revolt.

Just another stupid decision in the long line of bad decisions that started with removing the Windows start button and that stupid tile UI that wouldn't work on the desktop in Win 8. Dumb, dumber and heading toward dumbest.

FWIW, If someone with Win 7 woke up with Win 10, there would be major lawsuits as many programs would fail, etc. and many businesses would screech to a halt so I'm pretty sure that's not happening otherwise my netbook would get Win 10 which I'm pretty sure isn't going to happen. Not sure why people think this is the case, but if it is, it's the last straw in MS's death spiral IMO.

[tangor]

Once you are on Win10.... the update agreement (as outlined above) makes sense.... all too few xp and win7 folks set up genuine validation or an update schedule, thus many instances of the OS in various degrees of configuration.... nothing consistent. Win10 will do what all of us ulimtately do, get the latest version, only this time you are not required (or desird) to be involved in the process. From a standards for an OS this is a great idea.... at any given time the installed base willl be at x itneration of the sOS.... and the vast majorty of sheeple will not care, or even understand what is going on.

A few, like us here at WW, know the possible pitfalls ad take a more cautious approach, though tis time around that might not be possible unless you PAY to PLAY that way (see the Enterprise, the service agreements, the "service pack" 2-3 year rollouts, etc). Big business will go that way. We won't.

Some expressed fears may be premature in that Win10 is designed to run on hardwear that supports Win7, 8x.

With what I have seen and tested.... there's not much difference under the hood between 7,8x, and 10.... though 10 is vastly more secure and the previous.... and runs just fine on my test machine, and in some cases a bit faster. It also has a smaller footprint.

What I think we are all wondering is.... Will MS update my Win7 without permission? From what I've read you have to say yes to the install. Failure to do tat will not install Win10. Anyone heard anything different in that regard? From a legal standpoint MS could be in a hot warter if that's the case as it would be a unilateral (one sided) contract/agreement and you, the user, did not agree to that!

[bill]

Yes incrediBILL, there are two topics being discussed here.

1. The article topic is about regular Windows 10 updates after you have Windows 10. No more Patch Tuesdays for you. When there's an update, MS will roll it out and you'll get it. No more opening up Windows Update and checking to see if anything new is available. The system keeps itself patched and up to date without any user interaction. Think of it as everyone will have Automatically download and install updates set.
   
   
2. The side topic here seems to be about the upgrade from your current OS to Windows 10. That's not the topic of this article.

[incrediBILL]

The side topic here seems to be about the upgrade from your current OS to Windows 10. That's not the topic of this article.

Gotcha, S.O.P. aka Off Topic

[Nutterum]

I believe there is to much paranoia about how bad this auto-update will be. Apple is using the same update mechanic since OS X - and I struggle to find anything on the internet that describes this update process as bad. Oh and Apple do not care about your bandwidth, social status, or that the only option you have is dial-up. They update and tell you to deal with it..or not. Any update no matter if it is critical or not should ask for permission in general, however I have nothing against the "auto-update" checkbox to be checked by default.

[creeking]

I use a prepaid wireless hotspot, and pay $40 for 4 gigs of data.

automatic updates will cost me money.

I update when using free public wireless.

[JS_Harris]

That "agreement" is basically allowing whoever they allow to install whatever they want with no oversight possible on your part. Forget that noise. I'm still not happy with ads being shown to me based on my credit card balance, I have no trust left for these major companies.

[LifeinAsia]

That's going to upset a lot of people that want to remain on Win 7

Or migrate to Linux.
I've been using Linux server more and more. Given the ridiculous/complicated licensing for Windows server (as SQL) versions, I'm continuing to migrate away from Windows and have no plans to ever buy Windows server again.

Haven't used Linux desktop yet. But with open source and cloud versions for most of the applications I use, I see fewer and fewer reasons to continue with Windows on the desktop (laptop, actually) and am not sure if I will upgrade from 7 to 10. When I buy my next laptop, it'll most likely not have Windows on it.

The Software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you.

Perfect example of why this is NOT acceptable- you are travelling with a limited data plan. Microsoft decides to download and install the update for you, causing you a huge overage bill. Or you're at a small hotel with limited bandwidth- no one can do anything because all the guests' laptops are downloading Windows updates.

[keyplyr]

When I buy my next laptop, it'll most likely not have Windows on it.

I never buy a software-bundled machine. I always get a bare-bones and then install what I want on it.

Having said that, I fully support M$s approach to having all their users up-to-date on one OS. There are too many infected machines that don't get security updates.