This is not the end but the beginning. Windows 10 Technical Preview is meant for those who are willing to test it and send feedback to Microsoft to better its services. If I am correct there is going to be different Preview builds coming along the way before the final release next year April. So we cannot really say if Windows 10 is going to continue along the line of Windows 8.1. At least, the desktop part has been separated based on choices and the Start button returned in a different way than previous Windows 8.1. Personally, I prefer Windows 8 to Windows 7 for taking that line of something new. I quite agree there are some areas it comes short of meeting the consumers needs but it cannot be totally ruled out it is what is paving the way for modern UI of today. The reason I think people prefer Windows 7 to Windows 8 is for familiarity and complacency.
Let me translate for you... We like using Windows 7 as opposed to vanilla Windows 8 because we like an interface that is usable. The Windows 8 user interface is just plain crap. That's be generous as I could go the extra mile and point out every flaw in Windows 8 at the moment. The thing is a bastardized child of Microsoft's tablet interface initiative and Windows 7.
The audience being tech oriented need worry less about aesthetics then, and start worrying more about the system base and intuitiveness (god I hate that word too...)
What more can I say? You have said it all. It's very clear you have way too much experience with Windows than I do. Perhaps that is the reason you find the old OS and other activities concerning it very unavoidable and the new one questionable. Meaning that the old generational users are the ones mostly finding the Windows evolution annoying for many reasons(including the Windows core system they are used to). Familiarity and complacency cannot be ruled out as well. As flexibility is concerned, I think Windows has come a long way to make user interface easier for the way people interact with their systems. Giving room for those who are tech savvy like you to do the core things not necessarily needed by everybody as it usually makes process tedious for ordinary consumers. The first time I hear about PowerShell can do much more than what the command prompt can do I become curious of it capability and find out it is almost as good as terminal in Linux if you read much on it. What I am saying is that there is one or more thing for everybody and it is only by finding out yourself. Suffice to say I respect your views and tech background, the general public who is actually the largest PC users don't really need that special background to work with their systems. Like the example in your post in a situation where your friend who is a Windows 7 user find it difficult to navigate his way through in Windows 8.1 .The transition is clear Windows 8 or 8.1 is a modern OS that is different from the previous ones most old users are familiar with because it comes with a modern UI that's new to them. It's only on the ground of complacency I would suggest otherwise. Your personal reasons are good reasons and I am going to reply to them according. - I am not really against what MDL members views are. It is more or less the views of general Windows users. The scapegoat thing is about people failing to provide evidences to prove what they claim about Windows while at the same time blaming it. - The Edward Snowden's leaks are not only about Windows to say the least. -In the case of monopoly most companies would do the same thing. Even Linux that is overly complimented to be opensource Ubuntu strives to monopolize the Debia section and the same thing can be said in the area of servers. It is a marketing strategy from a business perspective. Sometimes it's a bad market approach but it is defined by the consumers. It is up to the European government to do something about it if it is not comfortable with it. I am trying to be objective in my view though. -UEFI and secure boot are ways to keep PC market share with OEMs in the real sense of it(that is my personal opinion on secure boot). I think it's more secure than previous BIOS it replaces. It doesn't allow people to install the OS they like on your computer(to preserve license), recovery system is easier and better,etc. -The Windows original purpose is becoming old and boring. Due to different smartphone and tablet hardware the old purpose is no longer sustainable. -Despite that, the logo doesn't make so much difference in the changes to me and it's a symbol as such. - That is the reason why Microsoft has to educate people on how to make use of the new products. It is rudimentary if people are ready to read tutorials in Windows websites. -Well, that I can not argue passionately about. New things often come with improvement. I have come to find out that if you want to see the tech improvement you would have to visit their websites or FAQ about their products. I think there is improvement with Hyper-V, Remote system connectivity,etc. -The cloud thing is recommended but optional. If you find the log-in process using Hotmail account pervasive you can as well use a local account after installation or remove the accounts altogether. Sometime, it is advisable to create a fictitious e-mail account to do that to keep the mind clear on security fret. This is the first time I am seeing the names of some of the computer systems in your post. That really speaks volumes of your tech background with Windows operating system. I admire it with much enthusiasm. I don't think it is hating as such while looking at what your website forum section is mostly about and I don't see you along that hate line as well. Nevertheless, I enjoy reading your educational yet simulating posts.
I picked up the term 'hater' since it is used by others. Sometimes a rhetoric means is just to use the term again just to demonstrate that it is actually stark and used rather to stigmatize people than to argue. Also in my 'real' life I am far away from to hate. It poisons life if. I know that many arguments / tendencies I have posted apply to other companies as well. And I know M$ has also its positive influence on IT / computer history. I wished M$ had separated the modern UI from the original desktop UI AND had modernized the original desktop UI as well. On Android there is the desktop which has several pages to fill and the app drawer, both are modern and the desktop can use widgets. M$ windows is old and hence created common use over past years. Android could start with a completely new approach. That's the thing M$ has to deal with. The cloud thingy concerns any OS, though. (Except some Linux distros..perhaps) Thank you for your replies. I enjoy reading them, too. Oh, btw I should have mentioned. I am not the owner of MDL. I administrate MDL voluntarily and with fun.
Nobody seems to remeber PC/GEOS and GeoWorks Ensemble! It was far better than any Windows in the beginning of the '90s! Inompatible to Apple, Commodore and Unix clones but worked more than well on just any PC-Clone at that time. It was fast, had an excellent GUI, Multitasking, scalable fonts, 16bit, even able to run on XT-Class PC-Clones and much more. Unfortunately it's life time was quite limited. For my own company it was the best Environment for to use for some special Graphic works. We used General Parametrics Spectra Star Q10 and Fargo Primera Printers for to create high level graphic layouts and that was only possible with the GeoWorks Ensemble Software. At those time color printing was just on the beginning and the affordable printers were just some Color Dot Matrix printers. The time of Inkjet Printers wasn't reached yet! The Spectra and Frago were using Thermal Wax Transfer Foiles with 4 colors and the Spectra and Fargos wer using the just invented Dyesublimation printing which had near Photo Quality. Still the printing cost for 1 A4 page were not to expensive. The cost of the Printers was, the SApectra has cost us more than US$ 5,000.00!! The fargo was also more than US$ 2,000.00 but much less strong as the Spectra. I bought that Printers in Singapore and tyransported them with an Car from Singapore to Bangkok which were around 2,000km! We were really in bad mood as Geoworks was going down. There was simply not really support from other Software developers for that software because it was written in Plain Assembler which wasn't easy at all! Most programmers avoided the use of assembler for their work and the trend was already started to go to visual programming, which were much faster! Sorry, a bit of topic, just a bit of PC History!
OSPP is the activation verification for Office. It's similar to the SPP that Windows uses. It runs when you start an office program and stays in memory until your system is idle for 5 minutes. At that point it stops itself. Telemetry is different. Telemetry is data that is being collected and sent to a data collection center for processing.