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Windows 10 Pro Vs Pro N: What’s The Difference Between Them
Windows 10 is now the de-facto standard operating system for modern PCs. With support for Windows 7 ending and Windows 8. There are however two main versions of Windows 10 — Home and Pro. This is probably the most apparent difference between Windows 10 Pro vs Home. After all, Windows 10 Pro is much more expensive than Home.
This means the price is hidden in the overall purchase cost. Windows 10 Pro comes with a Microsoft encryption package known as BitLocker. This lets the computer fully encrypt its drives , which means that no one can read the information on those drives without your encryption key. To work, BitLocker needs the computer to have a piece of hardware known as a Trusted Platform Module TPM , which is almost certainly going to be in any professional computer.
There are third-party solutions you can install that will protect your information with strong encryption. Encryption is probably something most users only really need for a selection of files rather than the entire disk. Windows 10 Home does not come with the full set of Microsoft Remote Desktop tools. A Home computer can be controlled via remote desktop by, for example, Microsoft Support.
This is actually a painful loss for Home users, since remote desktop functionality is pretty useful even for non-professional users. However, there are plenty of third-party choices you can use to add remote desktop functionality back into your computer system. TeamViewer is a popular choice, but we also have a soft spot for Chrome Remote Desktop. A virtual machine is a computer that only exists in software.
You have a host computer, which is just a normal computer running an operating system directly on its hardware, which then plays host to a virtual computer. This is a simulated computer which, to the software running on it, looks just like a real computer. The same goes for professional workstations, which may use virtual machines for various specialized purposes. Virtualization is so important that modern CPUs have special features built into them to make virtualization faster and more efficient.
The thing is, the software you use for virtualization needs to be aware of those features to use them. Windows 10 Professional has virtualization technology built in, so those who need to run virtual machines can take advantage of their fancy professional CPUs.
As you might expect, Windows 10 Professional has these optimizations included, but Windows 10 Home does not. You can simply use a utility like the excellent Oracle VirtualBox to run personal virtual machines with no trouble at all. The biggest difference between Windows 10 Pro vs Home comes down to what are commonly referred to as enterprise features.
Basically, these are all special features that are most useful to large companies. They include a whole bunch of management and administration tools that IT departments use to make their jobs easier. They can force company-wide updates, limit what sorts of apps employees can run and generally take control of their computer systems. How much memory do you need in your computer? Windows 10 Pro, on the other hand, supports a staggering 2 terabytes of RAM.
This is physically possible, depending on your hardware, but who needs that much memory? High-end workstations that are running complex simulations or rendering detailed graphics are two examples. Just about every computer in existence now has multiple CPU cores inside it. Quad-core computers are pretty much the standard these days and that number is steadily climbing.
There are no performance differences between Home and Professional. All your applications will run equally well on either version, given that the hardware is the same. If you are building a professional PC with hardware specs beyond what Home supports, then the choice is also clear. However, beyond this, things will be highly specific to your case. If you work for a company that needs your personal computer to be part of the enterprise, then you may need Pro.
There are often free utilities you can simply download to restore some of the features cut from Home. This makes paying the significantly higher price rather redundant. Let us know in the comments below how you made the decision to choose between Windows 10 Pro vs Home.
Sydney Butler is a social scientist and technology fanatic who tries to understand how people and technology coexist. He has two decades of experience as a freelance computer technician and more than a decade as a technologies researcher and instructor.
Sydney has been a professional technology writer for more than five years and covers topics such as VR, Gaming, Cyber security and Transhumanism. Read Sydney’s Full Bio. Subscribe to Help Desk Geek and get great guides, tips and tricks on a daily basis! We only send useful stuff!
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Windows 10 professional vs home difference free download. Windows 10 Home vs. Windows 10 Pro: What’s the Difference, and Which One Is for You?
Credentials are http://replace.me/14164.txt in an encrypted form on Microsoft servers and sent to the devices of the selected contacts.
Windows 10 – Wikipedia
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Dark Mode on Every Website in Chrome. Hide Steam Games You’re Playing. Use Your iPhone as a Webcam. Browse All Buying Guides. SwitchBot Bot Review. Parallels Desktop 18 Review. Govee Glide Hexa Pro Review. Victrola Premiere V1 Review. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Review. Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Review. As of the May update, the minimum disk space requirement has been increased to 32 GB.
In addition, on new installations, Windows permanently reserves up to 7 GB of disk space in order to ensure proper installation of future feature updates. The bit variants require a CPU that supports certain instructions. Some pre-built devices may be described as “certified” by Microsoft. Unlike Windows 8, OEMs are no longer required to make Secure Boot settings user-configurable, meaning that devices may optionally be locked to run only Microsoft-signed operating systems.
Windows 10 version and later do not support Intel Clover Trail system-on-chips, per Microsoft’s stated policy of only providing updates for devices during their OEM support period.
Starting with Windows 10 version , Microsoft will require new OEM devices to use bit processors, and will therefore cease the distribution of x86 bit variants of Windows 10 via OEM channels. The bit variants of Windows 10 will remain available via non-OEM channels, and Microsoft will continue to “[provide] feature and security updates on these devices”. The maximum amount of RAM that Windows 10 can support varies depending on the product edition and the processor architecture.
Windows 10 supports up to two physical processors. Windows 10 received generally positive reviews, with most reviewers considering it superior to its predecessor Windows 8. The Edge browser was praised for its performance, although it was not in a feature-complete state at launch. While considering them a “great idea in principle”, concerns were shown for Microsoft’s focus on the universal app ecosystem:. It’s by no means certain that developers are going to flock to Windows 10 from iOS and Android simply because they can convert their apps easily.
It may well become a no-brainer for them, but at the moment a conscious decision is still required. Engadget was similarly positive, noting that the upgrade process was painless and that Windows 10’s user interface had balanced aspects of Windows 8 with those of previous versions with a more mature aesthetic.
Cortana’s always-on voice detection was considered to be its “true strength”, also citing its query capabilities and personalization features, but noting that it was not as pre-emptive as Google Now.
Windows 10’s stock applications were praised for being improved over their Windows 8 counterparts, and for supporting windowed modes. The Xbox app was also praised for its Xbox One streaming functionality, although recommending its use over a wired network because of inconsistent quality over Wi-Fi. In conclusion, it was argued that “Windows 10 delivers the most refined desktop experience ever from Microsoft, and yet it’s so much more than that.
It’s also a decent tablet OS, and it’s ready for a world filled with hybrid devices. And, barring another baffling screwup, it looks like a significant step forward for mobile. Heck, it makes the Xbox One a more useful machine.
On the other hand Ars Technica panned the new Tablet mode interface for removing the charms and app switching, making the Start button harder to use by requiring users to reach for the button on the bottom-left rather than at the center of the screen when swiping with a thumb, and for making application switching less instantaneous through the use of Task View.
Microsoft Edge was praised for being “tremendously promising”, and “a much better browser than Internet Explorer ever was”, but criticized it for its lack of functionality on-launch. In conclusion, contrasting Windows 8 as being a “reliable” platform albeit consisting of unfinished concepts, Windows 10 was considered “the best Windows yet”, and was praised for having a better overall concept in its ability to be “comfortable and effective” across a wide array of form factors, but that it was buggier than previous versions of Windows were on-launch.
Critics have noted that Windows 10 heavily emphasizes freemium services, and contains various advertising facilities. Some outlets have considered these to be a hidden “cost” of the free upgrade offer. Due to the high system requirements of its Windows 10’s successor Windows 11 , some critics have cited Windows 10 being better than its successor and have warned not to switch to Windows 11 given its high system requirement despite very limited new features compared to Windows Up to August , Windows 10 usage was increasing, with it then plateauing , [] while eventually in , it became more popular than Windows 7 [] [] though Windows 7 was still more used in some countries in Asia and Africa in As of March [update] , the operating system is running on over a billion devices, reaching the goal set by Microsoft two years after the initial deadline.
Twenty-four hours after it was released, Microsoft announced that over 14 million devices were running Windows According to StatCounter, Windows 10 overtook Windows 8. For one week in late November , Windows 10 overtook first rank from Windows 7 in the United States, before losing it again. In mid-January , Windows 10 had a slightly higher global market share than Windows 7, [] with it noticeably more popular on weekends, [] while popularity varies widely by region, e.
Windows 10 was then still behind in Africa [] and far ahead in some other regions e. Windows 10 Home is permanently set to download all updates automatically, including cumulative updates, security patches, and drivers, and users cannot individually select updates to install or not. Concerns were raised that because of these changes, users would be unable to skip the automatic installation of updates that are faulty or cause issues with certain system configurations—although build upgrades will also be subject to public beta testing via Windows Insider program.
An example of such a situation occurred prior to the general release of the operating system, when an Nvidia graphics card driver that was automatically pushed to Windows 10 users via Windows Update caused issues that prevented the use of certain functions, or prevented their system from booting at all. Criticism was also directed towards Microsoft’s decision to no longer provide specific details on the contents of cumulative updates for Windows Some users reported that during the installation of the November upgrade, some applications particularly utility programs such as CPU-Z and Speccy were automatically uninstalled during the upgrade process, and some default programs were reset to Microsoft-specified defaults such as Photos app, and Microsoft Edge for PDF viewing , both without warning.
Further issues were discovered upon the launch of the Anniversary Update “Redstone” , including a bug that caused some devices to freeze but addressed by cumulative update KB, released on August 31, , [] [] and that fundamental changes to how Windows handles webcams had caused many to stop working.
A Gartner analyst felt that Windows 10 Pro was becoming increasingly inappropriate for use in enterprise environments because of support policy changes by Microsoft, including consumer-oriented upgrade lifecycle length, and only offering extended support for individual builds to Enterprise and Education editions of Windows Critics have acknowledged that Microsoft’s update and testing practices had been affecting the overall quality of Windows In particular, it was pointed out that Microsoft’s internal testing departments had been prominently affected by a major round of layoffs undertaken by the company in Microsoft relies primarily on user testing and bug reports via the Windows Insider program which may not always be of sufficient quality to identify a bug , as well as correspondence with OEMs and other stakeholders.
In the wake of the known folder redirection data loss bug in the version , it was pointed out that bug reports describing the issue had been present on the Feedback Hub app for several months prior to the public release.
Following the incident, Microsoft updated Feedback Hub so that users may specify the severity of a particular bug report.
When announcing the resumption of ‘s rollout, Microsoft stated that it planned to be more transparent in its handling of update quality in the future, through a series of blog posts that will detail its testing process and the planned development of a “dashboard” that will indicate the rollout progress of future updates.
Microsoft was criticized for the tactics that it used to promote its free upgrade campaign for Windows 10, including adware -like behaviors, [] using deceptive user interfaces to coax users into installing the operating system, [] [] [] [] downloading installation files without user consent, [] [] and making it difficult for users to suppress the advertising and notifications if they did not wish to upgrade to In September , it was reported that Microsoft was triggering automatic downloads of Windows 10 installation files on all compatible Windows 7 or 8.
Microsoft officially confirmed the change, claiming it was “an industry practice that reduces the time for installation and ensures device readiness. Other critics argued that Microsoft should not have triggered any downloading of Windows 10 installation files without user consent. In October , Windows 10 began to appear as an “Optional” update on the Windows Update interface, but pre-selected for installation on some systems.
A Microsoft spokesperson said that this was a mistake, and that the download would no longer be pre-selected by default. In March , some users also alleged that their Windows 7 and 8.
It was concluded that these users may have unknowingly clicked the “Accept” prompt without full knowledge that this would begin the upgrade. On January 21, , Microsoft was sued in small claims court by a user whose computer had attempted to upgrade to Windows 10 without her consent shortly after the release of the operating system. The upgrade failed, and her computer was left in a broken state thereafter, which disrupted the ability to run her travel agency.
However, in May , Microsoft dropped the appeal and chose to pay the damages. Shortly after the suit was reported on by the Seattle Times , Microsoft confirmed it was updating the GWX software once again to add more explicit options for opting out of a free Windows 10 upgrade; [] [] [] the final notification was a full-screen pop-up window notifying users of the impending end of the free upgrade offer, and contained “Remind me later”, “Do not notify me again” and “Notify me three more times” as options.
In March , Microsoft announced that it would display notifications informing users on Windows 7 devices of the upcoming end of extended support for the platform, and direct users to a website urging them to upgrade to Windows 10 or purchase new hardware. This dialog will be similar to the previous Windows 10 upgrade prompts, but will not explicitly mention Windows Privacy advocates and other critics have expressed concern regarding Windows 10’s privacy policies and its collection and use of customer data.
Users can opt out from most of this data collection, [] [] but telemetry data for error reporting and usage is also sent to Microsoft, and this cannot be disabled on non-Enterprise editions of Windows Rock Paper Shotgun writer Alec Meer argued that Microsoft’s intent for this data collection lacked transparency, stating that “there is no world in which 45 pages of policy documents and opt-out settings split across 13 different settings screens and an external website constitutes ‘real transparency’.
The Russian government had passed a federal law requiring all online services to store the data of Russian users on servers within the country by September or be blocked.
But Microsoft is held to a different standard than other companies”. The Microsoft Services agreement reads that the company’s online services may automatically “download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices. In September , Microsoft hid the option to create a local account during a fresh installation if a PC is connected to the internet.
This move was criticized by users who did not want to use an online Microsoft account. In late-July , Windows Defender began to classify modifications of the hosts file that block Microsoft telemetry servers as being a severe security risk. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the latest accepted revision , reviewed on 14 September This article is about the operating system for personal computers.
For the related now discontinued operating system for mobile devices, see Windows 10 Mobile. Not to be confused with Windows 1. Closed-source source-available through the Shared Source Initiative Some components free and open-source [1] [2] [3] [4]. List of languages. For the Windows versions produced from to , see Windows 9x. For the Windows version following Windows 8, see Windows 8. Main article: Features new to Windows See also: List of features removed in Windows Main article: List of typefaces included with Microsoft Windows.
Main article: Windows 10 editions. See also: Windows Insider. Main article: Windows 10 version history. Main article: Criticism of Windows This section duplicates the scope of other articles , specifically Criticism of Windows Please discuss this issue on the talk page and edit it to conform with Wikipedia’s Manual of Style by replacing the section with a link and a summary of the repeated material or by spinning off the repeated text into an article in its own right.
June Windows PC market share of Windows statistics Windows Business and economics portal. Retrieved August 31, Microsoft Support. Windows Insider Blog. July 28, Retrieved June 13, NET Core 3. NET Foundation. June 5, Ars Technica. December 5, Microsoft Update Catalog.
October 16, Archived from the original on October 23, Windows Evaluations. Retrieved November 27, Retrieved June 27, June 1, Retrieved June 1, CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 14, Retrieved September 10, PC World. March 16, StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved June 15, Retrieved April 1, Retrieved December 10, Retrieved July 30, January 6, Retrieved May 2, Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on July 22, The Verge.
Vox Media. Retrieved May 26, Retrieved April 22, Retrieved April 7, Retrieved September 30, The Start menu is coming back to Windows”. Archived from the original on February 3, Retrieved March 31, The Slate Group. Seattle Times. Seattle Times Network. Archived from the original on September 30, Retrieved November 5, Ziff Davis. February 2, September 30, The Guardian. Thomson Reuters. Business Insider. January 21, Retrieved January 24, PC Magazine.
Ziff Davis Media. Conde Nast. Purch Inc. Archived from the original on March 2, Retrieved June 16, Archived from the original on April 9, Retrieved July 25, Retrieved July 17, Retrieved July 23, The New York Times. July 13, Tom’s Guide. Retrieved August 12, Retrieved April 3, Retrieved May 16, Windows Blog. Retrieved March 9, Retrieved February 7, December 7, Retrieved December 8, Windows Experience Blog. PC Pro.
July 29, April 23, Retrieved July 16, March 20, Microsoft says Hello to palm-vein biometrics”. Retrieved February 10, March 17, Retrieved March 17, Retrieved July 18, Microsoft Docs.
Retrieved October 30, Windows Developer Blog. June 17, Retrieved January 2, This means you can now use WSL for machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science scenarios more easily when big data sets are involved. Scott Hanselman’s Blog. Windows PowerShell Blog. Archived from the original on April 2, Retrieved March 20, Retrieved January 23, Retrieved April 29, Retrieved March 25, June 15, Retrieved August 26, Retrieved October 21, Retrieved January 9, September 10, Retrieved May 17, May 21, Retrieved May 22, August 11, Retrieved September 12, Archived from the original on August 11, Retrieved January 21, Xbox Blog.
February 13, Retrieved March 18, Retrieved February 14, Xbox Wire. May 14, Retrieved May 15, Archived from the original on December 1, Retrieved April 2, Retrieved November 15, MKV and. FLAC files all on its own”. PC Games Hardware in German.
May 5, Retrieved April 11, DirectX Developer Blog. Archived from the original on October 4, Retrieved October 3, October 3, March 21, Retrieved June 20, PC Perspective.
Archived from the original on September 5, Retrieved August 22, May 13, Retrieved May 13, Retrieved February 3, May 2, February 3, Retrieved March 11, April 21, Retrieved April 23, Retrieved March 8, Retrieved October 1, October June 21, Retrieved June 22, Conde Nast Digital. June 22, Retrieved June 23, Retrieved June 21, Purch, Inc.
Retrieved July 27, July 15, Retrieved July 15, Retrieved August 4, November 30, Redmond Magazine. Retrieved August 6, Retrieved July 31, Supersite for Windows. Archived from the original on August 1, March 18, May 19, Retrieved May 21, Retrieved July 14, Retrieved May 18, Windows Help. Archived from the original on May 1, Retrieved February 1, May 16, While our free offer to upgrade to Windows 10 will not apply to Non-Genuine Windows devices. March 19, Retrieved March 19, Retrieved August 13, July 31, Windows 10 blog.
Microsoft Corporation. October 12, Retrieved October 12, Retrieved July 4, Network World. Retrieved July 29, Retrieved August 1, May 9, Retrieved November 3, Retrieved November 14, July 27, Retrieved April 4, Microsoft Tech Community.
August 12, July 17, July 20, Retrieved September 3, September 14, Section 13b. Retrieved March 30, August 3, Microsoft Support Lifecycle. Retrieved August 10, Archived from the original on October 2, Retrieved January 6, Retrieved August 21, Microsoft documentation. Retrieved November 28, June 13, July 8, January 30, Archived from the original on July 8, Retrieved February 8, Windows IT Pro.
Archived from the original on July 1, Retrieved July 1, February 18, Retrieved July 2, Retrieved June 26, Windows blog. Retrieved April 21, Retrieved October 23, Retrieved May 5, Retrieved October 4, Or a mighty 80 percenter ? The Register. Retrieved November 18,
Windows 10 professional vs home difference free download
Pen accessory may be sold separately. Chrome 69 and Firefox Go here for more details on this performance claim. Go here for more details on this battery life claim. Users will receive an app from Microsoft which they must download to their Android phone and follow the set-up prompts, including being signed into same Microsoft Account across mobile apps and Windows 10 PC.
Users will receive an app from Microsoft which they must download to their iPhone and follow the set-up prompts. Functionality and apps may vary by market and device. To see up to 30 days of activities, users must choose this option in settings.
Available in selected markets. Functionality may vary by device. Requires specialised hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors and capable devices.
Compare Windows 10 Home vs. Pro Find the right fit for your needs. Windows Security Windows 10 changes the game for security by protecting user identities, devices and information with a comprehensive solution driven by intelligence that only Microsoft offers.
Device encryption 2 Device encryption is available on a wide range of Windows devices and helps protect your data by encrypting it. Firewall and network protection Your Windows device comes with comprehensive, built-in security features, including firewall and internet protections to help safeguard against viruses, malware and ransomware.
Secure Boot Secure Boot helps prevent malicious software applications and unauthorised operating systems from loading during the system start-up process.
BitLocker device encryption 3 If your device is lost or stolen, BitLocker and BitLocker To Go put everything on lockdown, so no one else can access your systems or data. Windows Defender Antivirus Windows Defender Antivirus uses the power of the cloud, wide optics, machine learning and behaviour analysis to protect your devices from emerging, sophisticated threats.
Windows Fundamentals Windows 10 comes with automatic updates enabled, which means you get all the latest features at no extra cost. Microsoft Edge Get faster browsing 7 8 and better battery life 8 9 across your devices with Microsoft Edge, the browser built for Windows Cortana 10 All you have to do is ask Cortana.
Battery saver mode Extend battery life by limiting background activity and push notifications. Voice Free up time and your hands by talking to your computer. Business Management and Deployment Built-in security, productivity and management features save you time, money and hassle.
Business—Management and Deployment Feature Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Mobile device management 14 Windows 10 mobile device management MDM provides an alternative to traditional PC management processes: you can transition to cloud based management at your own pace.
Microsoft Store for Business 16 Your one place to find, manage and distribute apps to Windows 10 devices in volume. Assigned Access With Assigned Access, Windows 10 Pro devices run different applications depending on the user and keep individual identities separate and secured.
Dynamic Provisioning With Dynamic Provisioning you can take a new PC out of the box, turn it on, and transform it into a productive organisation device, with minimal time and effort. Windows Update for Business Windows Update for Business can help businesses reduce management costs, provide control over update deployments, enable more efficient delivery of updates, and provide access to the latest innovations from Microsoft.
Kiosk mode set-up Configure a device in kiosk mode in a very simple way. Go ahead, get creative Edit photos and spice up presentations. Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more—get everything you need to create and present your ideas with an Microsoft subscription.
Digital pen and touch Scribble down a headline, draw a chart, add bullet points—design an entire presentation with a digital pen. Learn more. Photos The new Photos app makes it fun and easy to enhance your digital memories. Quickly capture your thoughts, tasks and reminders Use Sticky Notes and type, ink or add a picture to save ideas, thoughts, lists, appointments and more—so you don’t miss a thing!
More efficiencies, less energy Windows 10 has apps and features to help you have fun and get more done with less hassle. Timeline Scroll through time to find documents and websites. Pen and touch Interact with your Windows 10 computer in new ways.
Windows Hello Log into your Windows devices three times faster by using your face or fingerprint. Gaming Windows 10 is built for the games you love. Is your computer ready for Windows 10? Get Windows 10 Speed, security, durability and great design—you really can have it all. Get a new Windows 10 device. Follow Microsoft Windows. According to StatCounter, Windows 10 overtook Windows 8.
For one week in late November , Windows 10 overtook first rank from Windows 7 in the United States, before losing it again. In mid-January , Windows 10 had a slightly higher global market share than Windows 7, [] with it noticeably more popular on weekends, [] while popularity varies widely by region, e. Windows 10 was then still behind in Africa [] and far ahead in some other regions e. Windows 10 Home is permanently set to download all updates automatically, including cumulative updates, security patches, and drivers, and users cannot individually select updates to install or not.
Concerns were raised that because of these changes, users would be unable to skip the automatic installation of updates that are faulty or cause issues with certain system configurations—although build upgrades will also be subject to public beta testing via Windows Insider program. An example of such a situation occurred prior to the general release of the operating system, when an Nvidia graphics card driver that was automatically pushed to Windows 10 users via Windows Update caused issues that prevented the use of certain functions, or prevented their system from booting at all.
Criticism was also directed towards Microsoft’s decision to no longer provide specific details on the contents of cumulative updates for Windows Some users reported that during the installation of the November upgrade, some applications particularly utility programs such as CPU-Z and Speccy were automatically uninstalled during the upgrade process, and some default programs were reset to Microsoft-specified defaults such as Photos app, and Microsoft Edge for PDF viewing , both without warning.
Further issues were discovered upon the launch of the Anniversary Update “Redstone” , including a bug that caused some devices to freeze but addressed by cumulative update KB, released on August 31, , [] [] and that fundamental changes to how Windows handles webcams had caused many to stop working.
A Gartner analyst felt that Windows 10 Pro was becoming increasingly inappropriate for use in enterprise environments because of support policy changes by Microsoft, including consumer-oriented upgrade lifecycle length, and only offering extended support for individual builds to Enterprise and Education editions of Windows Critics have acknowledged that Microsoft’s update and testing practices had been affecting the overall quality of Windows In particular, it was pointed out that Microsoft’s internal testing departments had been prominently affected by a major round of layoffs undertaken by the company in Microsoft relies primarily on user testing and bug reports via the Windows Insider program which may not always be of sufficient quality to identify a bug , as well as correspondence with OEMs and other stakeholders.
In the wake of the known folder redirection data loss bug in the version , it was pointed out that bug reports describing the issue had been present on the Feedback Hub app for several months prior to the public release. Following the incident, Microsoft updated Feedback Hub so that users may specify the severity of a particular bug report.
When announcing the resumption of ‘s rollout, Microsoft stated that it planned to be more transparent in its handling of update quality in the future, through a series of blog posts that will detail its testing process and the planned development of a “dashboard” that will indicate the rollout progress of future updates. Microsoft was criticized for the tactics that it used to promote its free upgrade campaign for Windows 10, including adware -like behaviors, [] using deceptive user interfaces to coax users into installing the operating system, [] [] [] [] downloading installation files without user consent, [] [] and making it difficult for users to suppress the advertising and notifications if they did not wish to upgrade to In September , it was reported that Microsoft was triggering automatic downloads of Windows 10 installation files on all compatible Windows 7 or 8.
Microsoft officially confirmed the change, claiming it was “an industry practice that reduces the time for installation and ensures device readiness. Other critics argued that Microsoft should not have triggered any downloading of Windows 10 installation files without user consent. In October , Windows 10 began to appear as an “Optional” update on the Windows Update interface, but pre-selected for installation on some systems.
A Microsoft spokesperson said that this was a mistake, and that the download would no longer be pre-selected by default. In March , some users also alleged that their Windows 7 and 8. It was concluded that these users may have unknowingly clicked the “Accept” prompt without full knowledge that this would begin the upgrade. On January 21, , Microsoft was sued in small claims court by a user whose computer had attempted to upgrade to Windows 10 without her consent shortly after the release of the operating system.
The upgrade failed, and her computer was left in a broken state thereafter, which disrupted the ability to run her travel agency.
However, in May , Microsoft dropped the appeal and chose to pay the damages. Shortly after the suit was reported on by the Seattle Times , Microsoft confirmed it was updating the GWX software once again to add more explicit options for opting out of a free Windows 10 upgrade; [] [] [] the final notification was a full-screen pop-up window notifying users of the impending end of the free upgrade offer, and contained “Remind me later”, “Do not notify me again” and “Notify me three more times” as options.
In March , Microsoft announced that it would display notifications informing users on Windows 7 devices of the upcoming end of extended support for the platform, and direct users to a website urging them to upgrade to Windows 10 or purchase new hardware. This dialog will be similar to the previous Windows 10 upgrade prompts, but will not explicitly mention Windows Privacy advocates and other critics have expressed concern regarding Windows 10’s privacy policies and its collection and use of customer data.
Users can opt out from most of this data collection, [] [] but telemetry data for error reporting and usage is also sent to Microsoft, and this cannot be disabled on non-Enterprise editions of Windows Rock Paper Shotgun writer Alec Meer argued that Microsoft’s intent for this data collection lacked transparency, stating that “there is no world in which 45 pages of policy documents and opt-out settings split across 13 different settings screens and an external website constitutes ‘real transparency’.
The Russian government had passed a federal law requiring all online services to store the data of Russian users on servers within the country by September or be blocked. But Microsoft is held to a different standard than other companies”. The Microsoft Services agreement reads that the company’s online services may automatically “download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices.
In September , Microsoft hid the option to create a local account during a fresh installation if a PC is connected to the internet. This move was criticized by users who did not want to use an online Microsoft account. In late-July , Windows Defender began to classify modifications of the hosts file that block Microsoft telemetry servers as being a severe security risk.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the latest accepted revision , reviewed on 14 September This article is about the operating system for personal computers. For the related now discontinued operating system for mobile devices, see Windows 10 Mobile.
Not to be confused with Windows 1. Closed-source source-available through the Shared Source Initiative Some components free and open-source [1] [2] [3] [4]. List of languages. For the Windows versions produced from to , see Windows 9x. For the Windows version following Windows 8, see Windows 8.
Main article: Features new to Windows See also: List of features removed in Windows Main article: List of typefaces included with Microsoft Windows. Main article: Windows 10 editions. See also: Windows Insider. Main article: Windows 10 version history. Main article: Criticism of Windows This section duplicates the scope of other articles , specifically Criticism of Windows Please discuss this issue on the talk page and edit it to conform with Wikipedia’s Manual of Style by replacing the section with a link and a summary of the repeated material or by spinning off the repeated text into an article in its own right.
June Windows PC market share of Windows statistics Windows Business and economics portal. Retrieved August 31, Microsoft Support. Windows Insider Blog. July 28, Retrieved June 13, NET Core 3. NET Foundation. June 5, Ars Technica. December 5, Microsoft Update Catalog. October 16, Archived from the original on October 23, Windows Evaluations. Retrieved November 27, Retrieved June 27, June 1, Retrieved June 1, CBS Interactive.
Retrieved May 14, Retrieved September 10, PC World. March 16, StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved June 15, Retrieved April 1, Retrieved December 10, Retrieved July 30, January 6, Retrieved May 2, Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation.
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