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Useless Windows 10 Features

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Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#61

Post by ilaksh »

zeta0134 wrote: post #54
ilaksh wrote: post #38

In case people are really ambitious or adventurous and want to avoid all of this stuff completely, what Linux distro (or other open source OS) is currently trendiest/most useful/relevant? Is it still Ubuntu?

I would strongly vote in favor of Ubuntu for your first distribution. It's still wildly popular, and despite some mishaps, Canonical tries pretty hard to make sure it's a smooth installation process, and has enough standard applications installed to be useful right away. If you just want to get your feet wet, and especially if you'd rather not mess around with the command line unless absolutely necessary, Ubuntu is g…

OK well just to be clear its not my first distro. I have been using Linux off and on for more than like 23 years. Slackware was my first distro. I have used CentOS and played with Red Hat and Fedora and Mint some.

I do use Debian (sometimes) and Ubuntu on my VPSs and on my Virtual Box in Windows.

I was just asking because its easy to get out of touch.

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#63

Post by addicted »

IdontRememberIt wrote: post #53

The most critical useless feature (as it is now) is actually the Windows Store. What is Microsoft doing wrong that makes nobody use it? It could be a revolution (selling + updates).

It does a simple word search, with some sort of sorting based on popularity on the store itself.

What MS should do is do a Google search (or a Bing search in their case) and filter out just the app results. Then find the download link, and get you that.

And that way the store becomes a storefront for not just "store" apps, but also non store apps, and therefore a comprehensive directory.

MS can still provide certain benefits to devs who store-ify their apps, such as updates, easy payments, slightly better placement, etc.

But the store needs to be a comprehensive directory for all apps.

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#64

Post by sushid »

cannonedhamster wrote: post #25
jayalpha wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great post. I don't use windows but my girl does. Her compi (Win 10, SSD, 8 GB Ram, i7) has become unusable slow. She does not much besides watching Movies, surfing and using Word. I installed a free reliable antivirus (Avira) when she got it. I will have to look into this problem soon. Any further suggestion? I will definitely try your recommended programs.

I say this in all seriousness, Linux is probably a better experience if that's all she does. Give something like Ubuntu or elementary os test run with a live version and see if she's missing anything you'll either find out she needs Office specifically or it will probably work for her. Linux right now is in a great spot for people who need little customization and people who really love to tinker. If you're in the mi…

I disagree. More likely than not the parent commenter will now be her tech support when x doesn’t work or is finicky, which is ALWAYS the case.

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#65

Post by kyriakos »

40four wrote: post #56
IdontRememberIt wrote: post #53

The most critical useless feature (as it is now) is actually the Windows Store. What is Microsoft doing wrong that makes nobody use it? It could be a revolution (selling + updates).

I think the only thing I've used it for installing Windows Subsystem for Linux

Also the beta version of the new Windows terminal

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#66

Post by paxys »

ryandrake wrote: post #5

Most of these are similar manifestations of the same root evil (not specific to Microsoft): Users don’t want Feature X but Company wants users to want Feature X. They release Feature X to the world. It’s a failure—nobody uses it. The PM or developers who invested in that feature need to justify the investment. So they make Feature X enabled by default. Users disable it. So they remove the disable option. Users ignore…

This is painfully accurate, and in my experience working at large companies it will always be a "pet feature" of some executive, who is pushing it through ignoring all the data, user research or any other process that the company has in place. And all the rank-and-file employees have no choice but to roll their eyes and spend time and energy working on it while ignoring actual bugs and highly-requested features because it couldn't get prioritized high enough.

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#67

Post by saagarjha »

philliphaydon wrote: post #32
Nextgrid wrote: post #4

It’s hard to believe how despite all the telemetry, Microsoft still manages to be so out of touch with their users’ actual needs. It’s almost like there’s a hidden agenda somewhere.

If the telemetry says that many people use these features, are Microsoft out of touch? These are features we don’t use. But other people might. My dad rang me once said that when playing solitaire it kept playing ads. I said he can buy it so the ads go away or find another app that doesn’t have ads. He’s like “ah what ever I’ll watch the ads”. He’s happy and content. Just wants solitaire.

> He’s happy and content. Just wants solitaire.

Would he not be happier without the ads, then?

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#68

Post by saagarjha »

cannonedhamster wrote: post #30
ryandrake wrote: post #5

Most of these are similar manifestations of the same root evil (not specific to Microsoft): Users don’t want Feature X but Company wants users to want Feature X. They release Feature X to the world. It’s a failure—nobody uses it. The PM or developers who invested in that feature need to justify the investment. So they make Feature X enabled by default. Users disable it. So they remove the disable option. Users ignore…

My company makes no software people don't want. I'm actually sort of surprised because my company is exactly the type of company that one would expect to do such a thing. I suspect it's more likely that we're not mature enough yet to have someone justify stupid options rather than benevolence.

What company is this?

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#69

Post by philliphaydon »

saagarjha wrote: post #67
philliphaydon wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the telemetry says that many people use these features, are Microsoft out of touch? These are features we don’t use. But other people might. My dad rang me once said that when playing solitaire it kept playing ads. I said he can buy it so the ads go away or find another app that doesn’t have ads. He’s like “ah what ever I’ll watch the ads”. He’s happy and content. Just wants solitaire.

> He’s happy and content. Just wants solitaire. Would he not be happier without the ads, then?

Sure, but he doesn't want to pay and doesn't want some other app. So just accepts it.

Re: Useless Windows 10 Features

#70

Post by windexh8er »

sp332 wrote: post #33
windexh8er wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The entire consumer oriented line of Windows 10 feels like a bad trip to a US strip mall. It's preinstalled with loads of junk you can't remove easily. For a while I spent some time putting together a small workflow to clean up Windows 10 builds for a project I was working on. If your hand is forced and you need a minimum amount of tools to get rid of as much bloat and telemetry there are two tools you need: 1) Geek…

You can uninstall most stuff by just right-clicking it and choosing "uninstall".

This isn't true for most of the built-in apps. You can uninstall with 3rd part tools or via CLI. [0]

[0] https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/uninstall-restore-windows...

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