Windows 8 is considered a great disaster for users and Microsoft alike – yes, even more than Windows Vista. Unlike any other previous Windows version, Microsoft took the user feedback and actually used that feedback to develop the new Windows 10 operating system.
As a result, there are many great visual, performance and under-the-hood improvements. I personally like Windows 10, and up until now, I’ve never faced an issue with it. But just like any other operating system, Windows 10 isn’t perfect; it has its own downsides and cavities that bother users from time to time.
Here are a few things that suck in Windows 10, and hopefully Microsoft will take care of them in future updates or builds.
1. Little Control Over Windows Updates
Unlike in the previous versions of Windows, there is very little control over the general Windows updates. If you think there is an unwanted Windows update that you don’t want to install, good luck blocking that update.
Sure, I’ve shown you ways to manage Windows 10 updates and hide them using PowerShell, but those are not the most straightforward ways. Moreover, in the previous versions of Windows all the updates are downloaded individually. But starting from Windows 10, Microsoft is delivering Cumulative Updates which simply means that it contains all the previous updates and/or patches.
I know that Microsoft did what it did because these automatic updates ensure that all the Windows 10 users will be on the same platform and can receive the latest builds without any hiccups or dependency errors. Considering that, I see no way Microsoft is enabling its users to control the updates.
To make matters worse, Microsoft is no longer providing update or patch notes regarding the Cumulative updates. However, you may still receive patch notes regarding the Security updates or patches, but you may have to search for it in the Microsoft knowledgebase using the KB Article ID.
2. Automatic Driver Updates
If having very little control over the general updates is one thing, automatic driver updates is a whole other thing. The good thing about this new feature is that the driver updates are actually supplied by the vendors themselves, and it reduces the burden of manually searching, downloading and installing the drivers.
The thing that sucks about the automatic driver updates in Windows 10 is that even if you’ve manually installed a compatible driver, Windows may still download and install the driver it thinks is a good fit for your system. It’s all good and dandy, but sometimes things go horribly wrong, and the recent Nvidia incident is a good example.
To deal with this, Microsoft released a troubleshooter tool that helps you temporarily hide the unwanted updates. But that doesn’t explain why Microsoft chose to automatically update Windows drivers, disregarding the compatibility issues and other bugs.
If you dig deep, there are options that you can configure in Hardware Settings and Group Policy Editor to block Windows from downloading automatic driver updates, but there is no guarantee that Windows will follow these rules.
The point is Microsoft should really allow users to choose what drivers to install, how to install and when to install.
3. Lack of Modern Apps
Modern apps for Windows have improved a lot over time but not nearly as much as other app stores. If you open the Windows Store on your machine, you will find right away that there are only a handful of apps that can work properly while providing required functionality. In fact, Microsoft doesn’t even have an app for its own services like Skype.
In case you are wondering, the Skype app thing you see in your Windows 10 start menu is not an actual Skype app; instead it just recommends that you download the desktop version.
That being said, Microsoft is taking steps and is even allowing the developers to port their code from Android and iOS. Let’s see how it goes for users, developers and Microsoft.
4. Privacy Issues
There is so much controversy surrounding the “Privacy” in Windows 10, and frankly most of it is just blown out of proportion. There are several great features in Windows 10, and most of them collect some sort of data to improve the end user experience, Cortana is a great example.
If you want to make Cortana your personal digital assistant, then you have to let her collect the data. If you want location-based services, then you need to share your location data. If you want to save and sync all your settings and other app data, then you have to share your Microsoft account details.
Simply put, if you want a personalized experience, then you need to share your data with Microsoft, and this isn’t anything new. In fact, most major online services like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, etc., will collect heaps of data to give you good services.
The good thing about Windows 10 is that you can disable most of the Privacy options if you are not using those relevant features. If you think they are scattered in the settings panel, then there are several free apps that assist you in configuring the Privacy options.
That being said, my issue is not with how Microsoft is collecting the data but how it is actually communicating with its users with it. Despite the bashing articles and criticism, there is no clear explanation about the Privacy options either in the knowledgebase or in the actual Settings panel.
Microsoft should update all those Privacy options to be better accessible and should better explain what the options actually mean and how it will affect the user experience if you choose to disable a certain privacy option.
Conclusion
These are some of the things that suck about Windows 10, and I really hope that the Microsoft will address these issues in the future. I doubt it, though. There are several other minor issues like not being able to pin apps to the Start Menu, white title bars, the user interface lacking consistency, etc. But Microsoft is quickly addressing these minor issues, and we may see them rectified in the future builds.
Do share your thoughts and experiences about the things that suck in Windows 10.
Republished with permission from MakeTechEasier. Read the original.
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