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Windows 10 upgrade app starts to show a countdown to 29th July

by Mark Tyson on 21 July 2016, 12:01

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Windows 10

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Windows 10 upgrade countdown

Microsoft continues to wrestle with the hearts and minds of Windows 7 and 8.X would-be upgraders. In a new twist to the upgrade nag, Microsoft has added a bit of salt and pepper in the form of a re-jigged system tray icon 'alert' and a countdown timer in the Get Windows 10 popup dialogue.

Neowin reports that the Windows 10 (GWX) app icon in the system tray is now superimposed with a yellow triangle sporting an exclamation mark. In Windows such an alert or warning symbol is usually reserved for more series purposes but it seems like anything goes with the push for Windows 10 adoption. Remember more Windows 10 user equals more search advertising revenue.

Further building the sense of urgency to upgrade to Windows 10 soon is a countdown timer within the GWX app interface. The free update looks set to expire a week on Friday, as hopefully will the GWX app which has annoyed many Windows users with its pop-ups and questionable UI behaviour.

France gives Microsoft deadline to stop tracking Windows 10 users

Windows 10 is “collecting excessive user data,” asserts the French data protection commission. Microsoft has been given three months to comply with French privacy laws and guarantee "the security and confidentiality" of its users' personal information, reports The Verge.

The full notice given to Microsoft on the matter is published here. If Microsoft doesn’t comply with French demands, then it will be further investigated with possible sanctions being put in place against it / Windows. Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel David Heiner said that the company will work with CNIL, France's privacy watchdog, to develop “solutions that it will find acceptable.”

Windows 10 warning Chrome and Firefox users about battery drain

Obviously eager to push its own new Edge browser Microsoft has started to implement Windows tooltips warning users of alternative browsers such as Chrome and Firefox about battery drain. You can see an example of one such popup message, below, recommending a Chrome browser user “Switch to Microsoft Edge for up to 36 per cent more browsing time”.

According to VentureBeat’s clarification, direct from Microsoft, “These Windows Tips notifications were created to provide people with quick, easy information that can help them enhance their Windows 10 experience, including information that can help users extend battery life.” The Microsoft spokesperson added that Windows 10 makes it easy to change default browsers and search engines.

Microsoft isn’t alone in this software recommending behaviour. I always get a recommendation to download and use Chrome when using Google Translate in Firefox.



HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Until W10 includes Windows Media Centre my HTPC will not be upgrading. No amount of nagging will change that

As for the “windows tip” to switch to edge on my laptop my first response is NO, my second response is why would I switch to a browser with fewer features than the one I use (Vivaldi is maturing nicely) and my third response is how do I switch off this “helpful” feature that is acting more like one of those dodgy toolbar downloads
If you upgrade you keep windows media centre…if you download a hack

I'd be inclined to look elsewhere anyway many better alternatives out there
3dcandy
If you upgrade you keep windows media centre…if you download a hack

I'd be inclined to look elsewhere anyway many better alternatives out there

And the hack needs to be redone when MS issues more updates. Actually WMC + MyMovies add on is still the best option to organise a large movies/TV collection. Streaming I prefer Kodi
I don't get why people use Media Centre and things - I get just as organised a system simply using File Manager…
In fact, based on my limited experience of media organisers, I tend to find doing it myself puts things exactly where *I* want them instead of arranging everything how the program thinks they should be…

Very annoying when my Gary Numan albums are not organised by release date!!


Assuming older OSes are no longer supported and thus increasingly more vulnerable - I'd have thought that'd be the big headline on all these notifications to convince people to upgrade?
Ttaskmaster
I don't get why people use Media Centre and things…

I'd guess it's because WMC's PVR functionality is really good. I left my HTPC with dual DVB-T2 tuners at my parents house, despite their technophobia they still manage to navigate WMC to watch and record TV, also having the official WMC remote helps.