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#31
I take solace in the fact that I didn't have to pay for Windows or Office.
I still had to agree to the EULA to use them though, so I'm still subject to Microsoft's whim.
Since you asked;
I'm 66yo, an analog man in a digital world. My first pc was a Commodore. I took a short class on DOS at one time. Then windows 3.1 came out, then we had windows 98 and then XP hit and when windows 7 hit, that was when I first rebelled. Mostly, I was just comfortable with XP. Finally switched to 7 and after learning it I thought 'this is it'; I'll never need another OS. I stayed with 7 till the bitter end until MS scare tactics won out, I upgraded to a more modern PC and installed 10 on it. We hated it but finally, after tweaking settings, we got used to the mechanics of it and have to admit one thing, 10 doesn't crash and blue screen like XP and 7 did. We like that.
Now if 'they' would only stop trying to force feed us junk then we'd be reasonably content.
Since you ask, I will rant. (And note that I consider Nubiewithatwist to be a youngster. ) I began my computer science career with machine language on paper tape, then using and teaching assembly language and a brand new language called Fortran. I have been through more types and versions of OS than I would every want. (What ever happened to POSIX that we worked so hard on??) The only reasons I left my carefully customized XP and went to Windows 10 were the need for new hardware, plus some applications that I have to use were upgraded and would no longer work on XP. After considerable effort I have eliminated as much bloat as is worth the effort, and focused on ease-of-use. Then along comes this undesired "News/Interests" thingy taking up valuable taskbar real estate and distracting pop-up notifications. I use my computer to work on, not to play with or "stay connected" or for it to "look fancy". [And yes, I am one of those affected by the often mentioned bug of the taskbar and system icons being clobbered when I "try" to turn off News/Interest.]
"What is the challenge and how big are the headaches?" The challenge is learning all over again new ways to configure the OS to get rid of the many features a working person does not need to be bundled within the OS. (If I want that app/feature I should have the option to install it separately.) The headaches are the steep learning curves, and often inability to get rid of what you don't want that gets in the way of productive work.
Just my "old" senior customer opinion.
@mjh312, "Just my "old" senior customer opinion." I can relate to that. I do not have a rant but I do have an opinion on keeping up on the times w/o any PC training whatsoever. I had to learn PC's in 1985 in an OJT atmosphere. What I learned most is adjusting to change became pretty natural: challenging yes, moving on, just do it. I more than relish the expert advice in our Windows 10 forum. Right now "News/Interests" is undesired for some but not for everyone: either use it or disable it. To me, that concept is nothing new. That doesn't mean I agree with everything MSFT has come up with. I volunteer at our Senior Center. Helping senior center members, family, friends and strangers is a "hobby" I enjoy.
[QUOTE=mjh312;2243606] The challenge is learning all over again/QUOTE]
You got that right; I'm tired of having to learn or relearn and simply want a little peace and to enjoy the damned thing!
" (If I want that app/feature I should have the option to install it separately.)"
Right again; that's what the MS store is for; We can shop IF we want to!
@Ivan Petrov
Is 81 senior enough? I got started learning about then using computers in the late '80s then got my first in '92, retired in late '94 and a week later offered a part-time job in a computer shop/store, month later her tech quit as he wasn't making enough building computers so suddenly I was doing it, been at ever since and last couple years mostly helping other people with theirs and making a little money too.