This means their software goes through two test phases before it's rolled out to businesses: first Windows Insider participants then private consumers. The telemetric data Microsoft collects from us not only serves to personalize ads but also helps them fix bugs and optimize the OS. You don't have to be a cynic to feel like a guinea pig here. Nope, when it comes to potentially system-breaking updates, it's private consumers first, companies second. This is especially bad for companies, right? They could have just ramrodded the security updates and leave out "feature improvements" but they didn't. Microsoft's reasoning was that security risks outweigh user rights and thus ignored their settings, rendering many working PCs unusable in the process. And not only that but the update process was automatically triggered on machines that had automatic updates disabled. In March, many older PCs got stuck in a loop when the update began, failed and then began anew, only to fail again. Aside from 68 security updates, users were treated to various issues surrounding VPN tools, Chrome and even Microsoft's own software like Cortana, who became deaf and dumb, or Edge, that forgot all its settings. The October update already sabotaged many machines. All of this would be easier to accept if it was an isolated incident, but 2018 has been a nightmare for Windows 10 users. Instead, users are advised to seek help from third party data recovery specialists or accept that their data is lost - disgraceful for a company of this size. They did point out the latest update build no longer had the issue though - terrific! Doesn't Microsoft have an undeleter tool somewhere to help users restore their affected files? Apparently not. Well, think again! Apologies were plenty, solutions were not. You might think this a golden opportunity for Microsoft's support team to spring into action and save the day. Many malware authors must have gone green with envy! How did the update make it past quality assurance? Is Windows Insider just a fig leaf to feign extensive testing or are Microsoft unable to cope with the huge amounts of feedback they receive? So not only were their files deleted, but the update also took away their ability to revert their machines to a previous state. To make matters worse, the update disabled system restore for some users. This affected personal documents, game states and streaming profiles. At least participants know what they're in for.īut what good is an army of free testers, if reported issues are ignored? Weeks before the update was released, Microsoft had received a plethora of reports pointing to data loss in users' home directories (C:\Users). Sure, errors happen but it goes deeper than that - they were already known beforehand! Thanks to the Windows Insider program, Microsoft now has an army of roughly 10 million beta testers who receive software pre-release builds - with a proviso that the software might not behave as expected, of course. Many customers experienced massive audio issues, flaky internet connections and even blue screens. The Windows 10 October update nearly gave millions of users a heart attack because, depending on their configuration, it deleted all of their personal files! And that was just the beginning. In other words: Get your act together, Microsoft! However, once updates are forced down your throat, errors get ignored and customer service is next to nonexistent, the relationship quickly cools off and you start taking precautions. Your partner may no longer be the love of your life but you've become intimately familiar and know each other's quirks. Using an OS for many years can feel like marriage: there are good and bad times and you adapt to get along.
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