08-20-2020, 09:29 AM
** 19-Aug-2020 World View: Microsoft Crapware downloads [Updated]
I'm going to respond to several comments on my article on Microsoft's
illegal monopolistic behavior.
** 17-Aug-20 World View -- Microsoft's monopolistic practices leave Windows 10 vulnerable to massive hacking attack
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/x...tm#e200817
Let me start with some general statements:
I was confused for a long time about what was going on, since the high
priority doesn't make sense. The crapware downloads could run at
normal or low priority, and take maybe 10-20% longer, but they
wouldn't cripple the machine and getting work done.
The thing that brought everything together was the admission by Apple
that it had intentionally and illegally throttled old iPhones to force
users to pay for expensive upgrades. In other words, the sleazy
Gen-X/Millennial corporate culture at Apple considers it perfectly all
right for Apple to screw its own customers to make a profit.
Suddenly it made sense why the crapware downloads were running at a
high priority. Microsoft has the same sleazy Gen-X/Millennial
corporate culture that's willing to screw their own users to make a
profit. The result was the article that I wrote.
If the crapware downloads ran at normal or lower priority, I'd have no
problem with them at all.
Even worse, the sleazy Microsoft behavior has made Windows 10
vulnerable to a massive hacking attack, as I described in the article.
None of the system slowdown examples that I gave in my article is
related to the Intel chip issue.
I know that I would have had to move from Windows 7 to Windows 10
at some point, but I planned to postpone it as long as possible.
Microsoft still doesn't have the right to screw its own users.
As a Senior Software Engineer, I want the "latest stuff," so the
LTSB/LTSC version wouldn't work for me. The only thing I could do is
upgrade to the Enterprise version, which costs a lot of money and is
what the assholes at Microsoft are trying to force me to do.
As for Linux, I really need a Windows system.
The following was from e-mail:
That's an interesting idea, and I've considered it, but I still want
the Windows Update downloads. It's the crapware downloads that are
causing the problem, and even those only because Microsoft runs
them at super-high priority, crippling the computer.
It doesn't really matter why people buy Windows Pro. It is a
violation of antitrust laws to use their monopoly power to force users
to purchase unnecessary products, services, or upgrades.
As I explained in the article, I went to a lot of trouble to analyze
what what going on -- the Microsoft Windows scheduler was adding
milliseconds of time to otherwise idle processes under certain
circumstances. The cpu was not slowing down. Based on my many years
of operating system development experience, there is no other possible
explanation.
Once again, my problem is not with the crapware itself. It's with the
crapware downloads running at high priority, crippling the computer.
The only way to tell what's going on is to look at the performance tab
of the task manager, as I described in the article.
***** UPDATE: I should have included the following:
I hope I made it clear in my article how FURIOUS I am. Once or twice
a week while I'm working, all of a sudden the computer freezes, and I
have to wait for hours to get back to work. It took me a few months
to put it all together what's going on, and the result is the article
that I wrote. What's going on is that, at any time, Microsoft starts
downloading several gigabytes of crapware to my computer -- without
asking me, or warning me, or anything -- at high priority, so that the
computer is crippled. I hope the fucking bastards responsible for
this at Microsoft rot in hell.
In the meantime, the amount of power that these online services and
Microsoft have is absolutely staggering. Sitting in Redmond, the
execs can look out over the world and imagine one billion desktop
computers in every country and every region of the world, and the
execs have control over all of those billion desktops. John
D. Rockefeller could never have dreamed of that much power. In fact,
it may be that Donald Trump doesn't have that much power. And the
Twitter hack has revealed just how vulnerable the world is to misuse
of that power by a malicious actor.
I'm going to respond to several comments on my article on Microsoft's
illegal monopolistic behavior.
** 17-Aug-20 World View -- Microsoft's monopolistic practices leave Windows 10 vulnerable to massive hacking attack
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/x...tm#e200817
Let me start with some general statements:
- This isn't about Windows Update. Windows Update downloads
occur at various times, and apparently run in processes at normal
or low priority. Thus, the updates are downloaded without crippling
the machine.
- This isn't about the crapware itself. I really don't mind that
Microsoft (or Dell) has placed some games or trials on my computer.
In fact, I occasionally play some of the free games. And while ads
are annoying, I can live with those, just as I live with ads on tv
or magazines.
- I haven't said that it's illegal for Apple and Microsoft to have
monopolies on their respective products. They do have monopolies, but
it's not illegal. What I said was that they've used their monopoly
power to illegally screw their users.
- What this is about is that the crapware downloads occur at random
times and run at very high priority, thus crippling the computer for
hours at a time.
I was confused for a long time about what was going on, since the high
priority doesn't make sense. The crapware downloads could run at
normal or low priority, and take maybe 10-20% longer, but they
wouldn't cripple the machine and getting work done.
The thing that brought everything together was the admission by Apple
that it had intentionally and illegally throttled old iPhones to force
users to pay for expensive upgrades. In other words, the sleazy
Gen-X/Millennial corporate culture at Apple considers it perfectly all
right for Apple to screw its own customers to make a profit.
Suddenly it made sense why the crapware downloads were running at a
high priority. Microsoft has the same sleazy Gen-X/Millennial
corporate culture that's willing to screw their own users to make a
profit. The result was the article that I wrote.
If the crapware downloads ran at normal or lower priority, I'd have no
problem with them at all.
Even worse, the sleazy Microsoft behavior has made Windows 10
vulnerable to a massive hacking attack, as I described in the article.
Matt Wrote:> I appreciated your recent post on MFST Win 7 & 10 issues. One of
> our IT folk was having same problems but couldn't figure it out as
> you did. I am getting tired of playing with OS issues. Used to
> enjoy it but now is just a headache.
vincecate Wrote:> The problem was a security flaw in Intel CPUs was discovered and
> the workaround slowed down the OS plenty. Same for Linux as
> Windows. Windows on AMD did not slow down.
> https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/03/a-majo...cessors-2/
None of the system slowdown examples that I gave in my article is
related to the Intel chip issue.
Russ Wrote:> Windows 10 may be evil, but usually it is a necessary evil. For
> example, much of the new hardware will not operate properly
> without Windows 10 as Intel, for example, does not even write
> drivers for Windows 7 anymore.
> One way I have found to overcome the Windows 10 bloat and
> annoyances is to get and install the LTSB/LTSC variants of Windows
> 10. Generally, a single license (or a multi-pack) is not too
> expensive, but it is still very galling to have to pay for the
> same thing twice to make things be as they should be to start
> with. I suppose it's just the cost of having a Windows PC,
> keeping your sanity and staying productive.
> As for your old PC (or even a newer one) - have you tried any of
> the Linux OS distributions as an alternative to Microsoft?
I know that I would have had to move from Windows 7 to Windows 10
at some point, but I planned to postpone it as long as possible.
Microsoft still doesn't have the right to screw its own users.
As a Senior Software Engineer, I want the "latest stuff," so the
LTSB/LTSC version wouldn't work for me. The only thing I could do is
upgrade to the Enterprise version, which costs a lot of money and is
what the assholes at Microsoft are trying to force me to do.
As for Linux, I really need a Windows system.
The following was from e-mail:
Quote:> When I purchased my Win 10 laptop last year, I was dismayed by
> Microsoft's arrogance at daring to mess with my personal property.
> I did some research and have killed all windows updates. I have
> never had an update since purchasing my computer, I'll happily
> take the risk of being hacked over the certainty of being screwed
> over by Microsoft. I don't know if this will work for you or not
> but thought I'd pass it along.
> I did the following changes to my Win 10 Home system:
> Kill win 10 updates
> 1. Search services.msc
> 2. Find windows update service
> 3. Right click, properties, set to disable
> "WIN+X" keys, open powershell as admin
> "Net stop wuauserv"
> "Net stop bits"
> "Net stop dosvc"
> I haven't had an update since. I should also mention that two
> weeks ago my parents' Win 10 computer started behaving as you are
> describing yours, choked with adds that bogged down their
> computer. It took me an hour to figure out that Chrome was
> continuously downloading ads, as soon as I uninstalled it the
> problem disappeared.
> I'm not sure if these ideas would be of any help to you but wanted
> to offer them in case they might work for you too.
That's an interesting idea, and I've considered it, but I still want
the Windows Update downloads. It's the crapware downloads that are
causing the problem, and even those only because Microsoft runs
them at super-high priority, crippling the computer.
Xeraphim1 Wrote:> I'm going to argue against you on some of these. Not the Apple
> throttling, but the Microsoft ones I don't agree with.
> With Windows XX Pro the draw is Active Directory, Remote desktop
> and Hyper V. While moving some group controls to Enterprise could
> be annoying, that isn't why people buy it. Note that I have NO
> promoted apps on my computer and I'm not doing anything special. I
> also don't experience large downloads.
It doesn't really matter why people buy Windows Pro. It is a
violation of antitrust laws to use their monopoly power to force users
to purchase unnecessary products, services, or upgrades.
Xeraphim1 Wrote:> As for the slowdowns, are you referring to the April 2019 update?
> There were reported issues with that one which affected both Win 7
> and 10. Those seem to have been related to contention with third
> party antivirus programs. Updates can be rolled back. Or if it was
> in January it most likely was Meltdown/Spectre patches. That was a
> huge problem and needed to be addressed. Win 8 and older were
> known to suffer performance problems since they are old. No
> avoiding it. You can also avoid Intel chips since AMD didn't have
> the same vulnerabilities.
As I explained in the article, I went to a lot of trouble to analyze
what what going on -- the Microsoft Windows scheduler was adding
milliseconds of time to otherwise idle processes under certain
circumstances. The cpu was not slowing down. Based on my many years
of operating system development experience, there is no other possible
explanation.
Xeraphim1 Wrote:> If you bought a new Dell that's where some of your problems may
> lie. Manufacturers have contracts with third parties to preload
> software and other annoyances. I build my own and use an OEM
> license so I never have to worry. You can buy a Pro key on Kinguin
> for $30.
Once again, my problem is not with the crapware itself. It's with the
crapware downloads running at high priority, crippling the computer.
The only way to tell what's going on is to look at the performance tab
of the task manager, as I described in the article.
***** UPDATE: I should have included the following:
I hope I made it clear in my article how FURIOUS I am. Once or twice
a week while I'm working, all of a sudden the computer freezes, and I
have to wait for hours to get back to work. It took me a few months
to put it all together what's going on, and the result is the article
that I wrote. What's going on is that, at any time, Microsoft starts
downloading several gigabytes of crapware to my computer -- without
asking me, or warning me, or anything -- at high priority, so that the
computer is crippled. I hope the fucking bastards responsible for
this at Microsoft rot in hell.
In the meantime, the amount of power that these online services and
Microsoft have is absolutely staggering. Sitting in Redmond, the
execs can look out over the world and imagine one billion desktop
computers in every country and every region of the world, and the
execs have control over all of those billion desktops. John
D. Rockefeller could never have dreamed of that much power. In fact,
it may be that Donald Trump doesn't have that much power. And the
Twitter hack has revealed just how vulnerable the world is to misuse
of that power by a malicious actor.
