Windows 10 Users Rail Against Microsoft Bloatware

legacy7955 said:

I'd rather pay MS a one time price to avoid their non system critical data gathering all together, oh, that's right remember when you paid for Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8? LOL

MS should offer a paid version that avoids all this added crap, if you want to choose it. They could offer the same for OEM machines as an option, I would GLADLY pay several hundred to avoid the "free" version of Windows 10.

I've also purchased a Windows 10 Product Key but, for the time being, we're using the same ISO everybody else is using.
There is no "special" version.
Only difference is, I can install a copy on any other machine I wish.

I'm confised by the argument - Windows 10 is free, they can do anything they want. It's not really free. Just because you used a free "upgrade" option, does not make it free. And the copy that I actually purchased (I don't want to "upgrade" any of my machines) is exactly the same and has exactly the same issues.

I'm also confused by the arguments that extra "apps" are so small that you won't gain anything by uninstalling them. Clearly, I do not uninstall them in order to gain storage space. We're using terabyte hard drives these days, few megabytes of junk is irrelevant space-wise. However, these little "apps" constantly update themselves, interact with some web sites, and so on. It's just annoying to have them. And it's not just candy crush. Why do I need a "sports" app on my PC? Is it really an essential part of the OS? You seriously believe the OS will be less stable if I remove it? If that's so, then the OS is just bad and should be avoided.

Atomic77 said:

Well I'm sure that most apps in a OS are ment to be there if they were not they would not be there.

That depends on your definition of the OS. Checking any kind of news, downloading any information (regardless of whether useful or not), games, music, photos, etc., are not tasks one is usually associating with an OS. Now, Windows is a consumer product and therefore the OS is bundled with all kinds of apps that enable basic consumer use of a computer. Many people listen to their music on their computers and hence Microsoft includes an app for that - if they did not, one would have to use a third-party program. In fact, that's the essence of numerous lawsuits against Microsoft - that inclusion of a web browser or a music player stifles competition. Regardless of how valid these claims are, it's clear that a music player is not essential feature of the OS, it's just a program that's bundled with it. Personally I do not listen to music on my PC, so I have no use for any apps that are related to music. If removing said apps harms the OS, then it's a bad OS, that's I'm sure of.

unifex said:

...However, these little "apps" constantly update themselves, interact with some web sites, and so on. It's just annoying to have them. And it's not just candy crush. Why do I need a "sports" app on my PC? Is it really an essential part of the OS?

...

Edwin said:

...

I prefer that last image - I uninstall. However, some apps cannot be uninstalled like that. For example Xbox. But I do not have an Xbox, nor do I plan to buy one, hence I don't want this app on my system. It's not about space. It's about my PC being MY PC and I want to have only those programs on it that I might actually use at some point.

unifex said:

I prefer that last image - I uninstall. However, some apps cannot be uninstalled like that. For example Xbox. But I do not have an Xbox, nor do I plan to buy one, hence I don't want this app on my system. It's not about space. It's about my PC being MY PC and I want to have only those programs on it that I might actually use at some point.

Some re-install even if you do remove them :)

zooburner said:

Some re-install even if you do remove them :)

All of them do when you upgrade (or do a repair install)...

unifex said:

That depends on your definition of the OS. Checking any kind of news, downloading any information (regardless of whether useful or not), games, music, photos, etc., are not tasks one is usually associating with an OS. Now, Windows is a consumer product and therefore the OS is bundled with all kinds of apps that enable basic consumer use of a computer. Many people listen to their music on their computers and hence Microsoft includes an app for that - if they did not, one would have to use a third-party program. In fact, that's the essence of numerous lawsuits against Microsoft - that inclusion of a web browser or a music player stifles competition. Regardless of how valid these claims are, it's clear that a music player is not essential feature of the OS, it's just a program that's bundled with it. Personally I do not listen to music on my PC, so I have no use for any apps that are related to music. If removing said apps harms the OS, then it's a bad OS, that's I'm sure of.

It appears that expectations change with time and the manufacturer of the OS creates the expectations of the users.

Time was that browsers, networking, firewalls and backup, anti-malware, file compression and writing to optical media were all handled by 3rd party (often paid-for) utilities, now they are an expected part of the OS. If a web browser were not included in an OS these days, it would be very difficult to acquire any other software (other than a limited range of apps controlled absolutely by the OS manufacturer!) - the browser has become an essential part of the OS, and all and any functions provided by a browser, if missing, would make the OS a poorer choice for many users.

In fact, the presence of the browser in popular consumer OSs has changed the method of distribution of software, news media, and music.

In short, an imagined "unifexOS", with it's inability to run any music related material out of the box, would put it low in the OS popularity stakes, and it would not survive long unchanged.