they can still disrupt some people, they do not worry me, but some people they do.

Not that fond of Classic shell, it is ok, but i prefer start is back, I have already paid for it, I do not mind supporting something if it is useful .

I did try shut up ten, but not sure if it was really doing what is said it does.

Thanks anyway

I'm wiv you Bruv. MS and W10 pull some mean stunts. Call 'em out.

Now, Happy Weekend Everybody https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_rwwAE5GHc

i have not watched that film for years , great clip by the way.


i have to work this weekend, but next weekend I have off, so i will be able to go out and have a few.
Have a great weekend.

What we do know is still far too much....

Here's a decent article about Windows 10 telemetry. When my laptop crashes it's able to report the error to uncle Bill, and that's about it. If I had any important industrial secrets to protect, or I was worried that someone might be spying on my browsing habits, I just wouldn't go online. No connection, no data. My ISP potentially knows far more about me than Microsoft ever will. Frankly, I couldn't care less.

As for Cortana, to me that's the thing that enables you to talk to your computer. I have it turned off. The idea of it running in the background is baffling. Are you saying that you think the mic is permanently switched on, listening but doing nothing?

Search is part of Cortana, therefore it's running and doing indexing or whatever on your HDD. So even with elements switched off it is still doing something.

Microphone > Properties > Disable, and turn down level sliders to zero.

The search function - being able to tap the Windows key then begin typing - is brilliant. As I understand it it's really just an extension of the indexing system. Any computer, broadly speaking, keeps indexes of where things are stored, and indexes of all the indexes and so on. Being able to search that efficiently is great. Windows 10 seems to do a better job of that than previous versions of Windows. I'm not sure why anyone would wish to disable that function.

They've only started calling it Cortana because you can talk to 'her', and that's how you address her. Obviously that bit employs the microphone. I have the speech recognition part of Cortana switched off. I also have the privacy settings set so as not to let any apps use it. I have no reason to think (or believe) that having switched 'her' off she's still listening to me, if that's what people are implying may be happening.

I've not been a fan of talking to computers. But times are a changin and it can be useful.

I have Cortana disabled and I don't like the combined web and HDDs search. I find it unreliable (in terms of results) and also slow.

I use my browser and Google for web searches and Everything Search for file and folder name searches (near instantaneous, after a very quick auto-index of HDDs' tables). It won't do file content searches, but I rarely need that, or resort to Windows Indexed Search if I do.


However, I am gradually evolving and "OK Google" on my Smartphone has proved useful and I may be fully converted in next few years.


Still not sure how everyone yabbering away to their devices in public places is going to pan out though.

If you start instructing devices in a living room, with other people present, or the office when at work, it seems disruptive to me.

"Lights, On, Lamp, On, Heating Up, TV to BBC1, Laptop On, Load Outlook, Preview emails, New Email to Boss, Dear Boss, I resign" etc etc

i have read articles, but they all toe the same line of MS, all they do is say the same thing MS says and since the data is encrypted there is no way to find out what is sent.

When I sign up to use an ISP, I know that I lose some privacy, the same with my smart phone, But you do not expect a desktop Os to send data back.
It seems to be the thing these days with companies wanting to know what you are doing, where you are going, what you are buying,
this is why I do not use loyalty cards, the only one I have got is iceland and that is only because it is needed for delivery.


I have no microphone on this computer, well not permanently plugged in anyway, I do not not know what cortana does when running, that is the problem, i doubt it is listening to any microphones.
Ms changed it so it was always running ion the backgound in the anniversary edition, so why did they do that even if people disabled it?

i have also sent email to Microsoft and they just come up with links to different sites that just goes through the same thing and do not give me the answer I want.

As I have said, under the shell Windows 10 is ok, but it do not make my my computer better to use, software runs the same on ten than it does on 8.1.

I am going to update my computer next year, just waiting to see what AMD does, i may not have much choice but to go with Windows 10 then.

i do use Windows ten on a mates edit suite, so it is not that I do not not and have never used it.

Converted in the the next few years?
I have used Ok google, in the past, but mainly for little things, like wake my up at 6am, or start countdown at 30 mins, or what is the weather going to like tomorrow in herefordshire.

Nothing much more than that really,
it could be useful, but it do not work that well,
i tested something a few weeks ago, saying ok Google, mind when I pass Morrisons to get some bread, I turned on location just for this, went past morrions not a thing, my friend who was with me and have an Iphone reminded her.

Not saying that these type of things are not useful, but it depends on how much you want to be tracked.

Not reliable or convenient enough yet.
(I edited the end of my previous post too slightly, while you posted. If interested)

Worrying about 'Telemetry' is childish and pointless, when you have a dangerous Government in power...
As it's off topic I have started a new thread on the danger to freedom of expression....

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...2#post84627662

Started getting a message to activate windows now, given I have been running it for over 6 months why has it started asking me to do it ~ obviously I am not going to do so in case their are untoward affects.

Anyone else started getting the message?

There's already a first class start menu included as standard with W10. Why would you subscribe to another service and a paid for one at that?

Why do so many people have such an issue with change?

The thing is Windows has been tracking users for many years. It was/is part of Windows 7, 8.0, 8.1 and now 10. Suddenly it's an issue - why were users not jumping up and down with Windows 7?

Why are you not going to activate Windows, what are you expecting will happen, explosion, self-destruct?

I have found OK Google for me of most use when out and about. Example - I was in an unfamiliar city recently and wanted to find a store. Rather than standing in a doorway and typing in my search I just spoke OK Google and asked my question. Within seconds I had my info along with a map and walking directions. I found this to be much quicker and very very useful.

It can also be useful in stores when trying to find the best deal on prices.

Was it "Where has BHS gone?"

Yep. And Google dryly replied, "I know, right? I blame Brexit!"

It's like the computers are watching everything we do.

Strange. Siri blames Philip Green

Fixed that for you.

Bloody filter bubbles!

Why do a few people have such an issue with freedom of choice? Nobody needs to explain why they want to keep something unchanged, it's entirely up to them and nobody else's business frankly. If Classic Shell or others enable them to do it, so much the better.

Well said.