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back to article Microsoft's Windows 10 nagware storms live TV weather forecast

Microsoft's relentless Windows 10 nagware has interrupted a live TV weather forecast, urging meteorologist Metinka Slater to upgrade. The operating system suddenly popped up a box on screen insisting the station's computer be upgraded to the latest version – while Slater was on air describing thunderstorms rolling through Iowa …

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  1. cirby

    Oh, yeah...

    We set up a Twitter wall for a major convention, and due to the setup it was a pain to get to the computer. We set it to autorun, and it did fine.

    ...until the second morning of the show, where the Windows 10 ad popped up.

    I've also had it come up during major presentations at conventions, too. A thousand people watching the presenter run back to the computer because of this stupid thing.

    82 2 Reply
    1. Roq D. Kasba
      Reply Icon

      Re: Oh, yeah...

      Does this happen on server OS software too? The times when I see this kind of thing are when people are using client/desktop software for jobs that are better suited to server versions.

      We run huge live shows with dozens of projectors and led walls playing back to create a 360° image with complex maps synced to automated stage objects in real time. That would look very bad if in front of the incumbent head of state of (whichever country) we spoiled the show by trying to cobble together consumer/desktop software to do a server's job.

      10 84 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh, yeah...

        Since when is running a display a server's job? There's a reason that desktop CPUs include a GPU, and server CPUs do not.

        102 3 Reply
        1. BinkyTheMagicPaperclip Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          There was in the days when a GUI only displayed images, now a GPU is a useful calculation device it's frankly a little shortsighted not to include it in many of the Xeons.

          2 3 Reply
          1. Simon Harris
            Reply Icon

            "frankly a little shortsighted"

            But if you do need GPU co-processing support in a server wouldn't it be better it go for a full-feature dedicated GPU (or two, or however many you can link together these days), rather than a cut-down version built into the CPU die?

            13 0 Reply
        2. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          Presumably he meant media server, which are very much targeted toward running lots of large displays/projectors etc, and a lot of them run on some version of windows. Eg Hippotizer, Avolites ai, d3 etc. However the windows they run is usually pretty locked/stripped down and you'd like to think they'd have this covered.

          We do the odd live event using cheaper desktop machines and back in the day I was caught out by a random windows update which rebooted the machine while I wasn't there, which showed the whole reboot to desktop cycle on the big projectors. That was embarrassing. But it's a good way to learn for the future...

          5 0 Reply
          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            "That was embarrassing. But it's a good way to learn for the future"

            Yup. Microsoft, read and learn.

            5 2 Reply
          2. Roq D. Kasba
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...@casinowilhelm

            Yes, of course, thank you for being smart!

            0 0 Reply
        3. Innocent-Bystander*
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          Since when is running a display a server's job?

          When you run huge LED walls and a dozen projectors stacked and blended, all driving the same (usually insanely high resolution) video or composite, desktop gear just won't cut it. Usually you get into specialized equipment. Servers, scalers, video repeaters, mixers... the setup is ellaborate to say the least.

          Desktops need not apply.

          The IT side of large venue setups also tends to run older OS' than Windows 7 so I doubt the nag screens would be a problem.

          1 0 Reply
          1. Mpeler
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            I think you mean workstation, not server. And anything older than Windows 7 is not supported, even though the nagware appears and runs on Vista, aka twisted sister.

            If indeed you ARE driving large numbers of displays, the server versions of the older OS's (XP and dare I say win2k) are only useful in the amount of memory they support, and the number of physical processors they allow. However the newer profi graphics cards won't run in equipment old enough to have been home

            to the Datacenter or Enterprise servers of the XP and 2K timeframe. And good luck with the protected media path and HDCP on those...

            0 0 Reply
        4. sawatts
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          I remember arriving at work (c.2000?) to find our Windows network was borked.

          Discovered that this was due to a modal dialog sitting on the Domain Controller's login screen. The DC was locked away in a secure cell. Clicked "Okay" and the network came back to life.

          6 1 Reply
        5. The Vociferous Time Waster
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          I have met people who run a server OS on their laptops. I laughed at them and then concluded their interview.

          0 8 Reply
          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            "I laughed at them and then concluded their interview."

            They never knew how lucky they were.

            6 0 Reply
      2. 1Rafayal
        Reply Icon

        Re: Oh, yeah...

        I dont think you would see Microsoft advertising a desktop OS on an exsiting installation of a server OS.

        That just doesn't make any sense to man nor beast.

        A lot of people here will now start to cry, whinge an moan about how this will impact bussiness, blah blah blah.

        You dont get the GWX box pop up if you are running the enterprise versions of Windows. So, if this news station had been running an enterprise version of what looks like either Vista or 7, the popup would never have ruined their lovely weather report.

        Fully prepared for the downvotes.

        12 81 Reply
        1. Bob Vistakin
          Reply Icon
          Linux

          Sure it's not part of the real forecast?

          "And today as you can see, we expect a huge pile of shite to descend down on the good folks of Iowa from which there is no escape. Reports indicate this will happen more and more frequently as the desperation of those behind it increases. Citizens are advised to stay indoors and close their Windows. For good."

          84 7 Reply
        2. DaddyHoggy
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          My university's simulation lab runs Enterprise Windows 7, several, but not all of the PCs now have the GWX icon in the Taskbar. So, despite their assurances - MS are creeping GWX into even Enterprise level Win 7 installations (we've not had any pop-ups, and we don't have the 3.5GB stub tucked away ready to go, but the icon, that's definitely there).

          25 3 Reply
          1. P. Lee
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            >A lot of people here will now start to cry, whinge an moan about how this will impact bussiness, blah blah blah.

            "Hey, you didn't pay us for the most expensive version of Windows, so we're going to punish you with annoying and disruptive adverts, and we think that's a valid business model. Here's DaddyHoggy

            to explain why this is acceptable. In the meantime, please buy more of our stuff."

            Oddly enough, Suse doesn't nag me even though I'm two versions behind, neither does it listen in on my conversations in case I want to use voice control nor does it randomly upload my data to some cloud. It lacks all that functionality without me even having to reconfigure it!

            16 2 Reply
            1. 1Rafayal
              Reply Icon

              Re: Oh, yeah...

              P. Lee

              just out of interest, do you use Google?

              1 14 Reply
              1. asdf
                Reply Icon

                Re: Oh, yeah...

                >P. Lee

                >just out of interest, do you use Google?

                If you can't beat em join em eh? Everyone else is doing it. Windows 10 usability is actually decent imho but because Microsoft is no longer in the business of selling an OS and getting the hell out of the way my home computer very rarely boots into it now (only way I can be sure I am not being data mined as I no longer trust them even in the least bit, at least with Google any decent IT person knew their business model was a trojan horse up front). Also having to enter lots of ip addresses to block at your router to keep various other family windows machines from phoning home is garbage.

                4 1 Reply
                1. asdf
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  At least with Android you can run AOSP with F-Droid (with no accounts) and be reasonably sure you are not being data mined (if you pay attention to what you install, plus you can get the source to everything which is not a panacea but is a good start). In fact if you do it right and run Orbot you can be reasonally sure your ISP is not able to data mine you as well (good idea to put as much of your traffic as you can tolerate on Tor in general). Registry hacks and praying Microsoft honors the GUI options they do happen to give in addition to having to monitor the telemetry KB# means no dice.

                  2 0 Reply
                2. Danny 14
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  GWX hasn't hit our "pro" or "enterprise" pcs as you need WSUS to be immune (for the time being at least). The standalone "pro" have full blown nag screens, and standalone "enterprise" have GWX but no nag.

                  Our W10 test image is running LTSB so no edge or cortana (yey! bonus!) and apparently the updates wont be shoved down our throat. As far as the PCs go, they run web apps coded internally, office 2013 and a few graphics packages - nothing major and certainly nothing from the MS store (so LTSB suits us just fine).

                  Incidentally, our W8.1 unattend file worked straight away, no fiddling and no changes at all - this surprised me. The new golden sample was created in an afternoon, the only difference is that OOBE is about twice as slow as 8.1 in unattend.

                  "why" are we moving to 10? Don't think I am yet, but I want an image ready *just* in case MS do something stupid with WSUS customers....

                  2 0 Reply
                3. asdf
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  >P. Lee

                  >just out of interest, do you use Google?

                  Another big difference is Google hasn't been convicted of leveraging their monopoly illegally (yet). Not saying Google isn't evil (especially privacy wise) but Microsoft because of their past behavior is going to be held to a higher standard. You can get a smart phone very easily without giving a cent to Google or even having to install their spyware but its still not trivial to buy a PC without a windows license.

                  3 0 Reply

            2. This post has been deleted by its author

              1. 1Rafayal
                Reply Icon

                Re: Oh, yeah...

                if you have a mic attached and if you have Cortana enabled and if you have opted in to allowing Microsoft to collect usage data then people assume that Cortana is listening to everything you say and reporting it back to Microsoft.

                Despite the fact that Cortana only really works for Americans properly. And even then it can only perform simplistic operations, its clunky and not as nice to use as Siri or OK Google, or even the XBox One OS which probably is listening to everything you say.

                But in all honesty, its just FUD. If everyone who had Windows 10 installed with a mic attached and Cortana setup correctly, how exactly would MS crunch all the data? And what would they be looking for?

                At least with Samsung TVs that apparently do listen in for certain things, they know what they are looking for.

                But dont bother listening to me, I am apparently a Microsoft apologist.

                1 7 Reply
        3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          "So, if this news station had been running an enterprise version of what looks like either Vista or 7, the popup would never have ruined their lovely weather report."

          Disregarding for a moment the post which says your assumption isn't true, let's examine the implications a little further. At some point in the past, probably several years ago, they set up this system. They used what would at that time have been a perfectly appropriate version of Windows, Vista or 7, probably Professional. Now you're saying that they should have spent extra on Enterprise, even if they had no other reason to do so, because they should have predicted that Microsoft would do this and they should have protected themselves. They may be doing weather forecasting but that doesn't extend so far into the future.

          75 2 Reply
          1. 1Rafayal
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            @Doctor Syntax.

            Unless I have completely read this article wrong:

            https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/3080351

            Then it would appear to me that the GWX nag and download is automatically suppressed from certain enterprise versions of Windows. It also looks like the icon for GWX is also automatically suppressed from certain enterprise versions of Windows.

            Now, on to what version of Windows would be suitable for them to deploy in house. As a news station they have been operating for over 60 years and have what looks to be just under 150 members of staff. Deploying and maintaining the professional version of Windows Vista or 7 would be, in my opinion, the wrong choice in terms of administration and cost for an organisation of this size.

            I would imagine that who ever is in charge of their IT function would have (or in this case should have) made use of Microsoft's volume licensing deals in order to get the best value out of the software that they are clearly using. However, you are making the assumption that they are using the professional version in the first place, and not the home version - either way it makes no difference because both versions would get the nag.

            I wont speculate as to what productivity or office software they are running, I think everyone can make an educated guess on that.

            Administering this many WIndows 7 or Vista Professional installations is, at best, as fun as setting your balls on fire. Thus making the Enterprise version not only cheaper but easier to maintain. Additionally, many IT teams that have to work with Windows installed on the desktop will go with the enterprise version as it is simply given away for free with what ever else they might have licensed from Microsoft.

            Using the enterprise version means that they have full control over the update process, and in the case of Windows 10, no GWX nags, downloads or icons.

            @DaddyHoggy

            Do people in your lab have admin rights on those machines by any chance? Given that some have the icon present and some dont, I would start to think that maybe someone has been playing around with the way they are configured? Or possibly the way they are updated?

            In general, if organisations are using enterprise versions of Windows, the GWX nag, download and tray icon are automatically suppressed. The only way it would become apparent is if the administrator either chose to allow it to appear or made a mistake during a patch run.

            The whole GWX nag and download is aimed at the home consumer, not at business. Business has been bombarded already with Windows 10 nags, but in a completely different way entirely.

            Lets see if I can reach 100 downvotes for this.

            7 46 Reply
            1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
              Reply Icon

              Re: Oh, yeah...

              "have what looks to be just under 150 members of staff. Deploying and maintaining the professional version of Windows Vista or 7 would be, in my opinion, the wrong choice in terms of administration and cost for an organisation of this size."

              What size does an organisation have to be before, in your opinion, it takes on the extra overhead of specialised staff to run its IT system? Not that it matters, their finance department is likely to have the say over this.

              "I would imagine that who ever is in charge of their IT function would have (or in this case should have) made use of Microsoft's volume licensing deals in order to get the best value out of the software that they are clearly using"

              Whoever is in charge of their IT function might well have been told to keep their hands off studio kit. In fact, it may well have been bought in completely separately from any other IT in the business as a specialised hardware/software bundle for this purpose.

              In any event there is no excuse whatsoever, zero, zilch, nil for a vendor overriding what the user is doing to display messages or initiate updates at arbitrary times. None.

              39 2 Reply
              1. nkuk
                Reply Icon

                Re: Oh, yeah...

                "In any event there is no excuse whatsoever, zero, zilch, nil for a vendor overriding what the user is doing to display messages or initiate updates at arbitrary times. None."

                This. Its pretty obvious Microsoft don't see it that way, they see the your desktop as their advertising space and its steadily getting worse.

                18 1 Reply
                1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  "This. Its pretty obvious Microsoft don't see it that way, they see the your desktop as their advertising space and its steadily getting worse."

                  Just because that's the way they see it doesn't make it excusable.

                  4 2 Reply
                  1. bombastic bob Silver badge
                    Reply Icon

                    Re: Oh, yeah...

                    <quote>

                    "This. Its pretty obvious Microsoft don't see it that way, they see the your desktop as their advertising space and its steadily getting worse."

                    Just because that's the way they see it doesn't make it excusable.

                    </quote>

                    yeah, I don't want my DESKTOP SCREEN looking like the TV from 'Idiocracy' with ads all around the outside, and about 1/3 of the screen devoted to actual content...

                    oh, wait, like a TYPICAL WEB SITE in the 21st century, except it's the "new desktop model"

                    /me self-slap for giving Micro-shaft yet ANOTHER way of SCREWING UP THE OS

                    1 1 Reply
                2. Josh 14
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  And a solid reason is given, once again, to move away from MS.

                  I do understand that many things are tied to Windows, but enough of this can only aid in pushing customers, and their suppliers away from a software environment which is turning more and more malicious.

                  Not only do we have to secure against malware slinging idiots and the click on anything users, but now we have to defend against the OS manufacturer as well?

                  A few machines used for gaming are running Win7 or 10 at my home, but my personal machines are now running various flavors of *nix, and a few people I help are starting to consider the expense of Apple products just to avoid the MS idiocy.

                  4 0 Reply
            2. Avatar of They
              Reply Icon
              Thumb Down

              Re: Oh, yeah...

              Whoops.

              http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/14/get_windows_10_business_pcs/

              Nagware is now available on biz pc's.

              M$ really want to peddle their wares.

              5 2 Reply
              1. 1Rafayal
                Reply Icon

                Re: Oh, yeah...

                Hm, let me see - trust The Register when it comes to reporting things about Microsoft, or trust searching the internet... I know which one I would go for.

                I still dont have my 100 downvotes for my second post. As soon as I do I am making a donation of £10 to Clic.

                At least then something sensible will have happened.

                2 18 Reply
                1. David Neil
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah...

                  Give them the money and stop waving your hands in the air saying "look how clever I am"

                  1 1 Reply
                  1. Nigel 11
                    Reply Icon

                    Re: Oh, yeah...

                    Give them the money

                    You mean the $50,000 that you might have to pay to have a consultant come in and rewrite some vital application code so that it runs on Windows 10? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

                    (Hypothetically assume that it was an old old application when it was installed on Windows 7 ... but it worked AOK then and now. Also assume that somewhere down the years, the source code and/or the organisation that wrote the original have disappeared. And that they have actually tried reinstalling it on Windows 10 without success. )

                    6 1 Reply
            3. Roland6 Silver badge
              Reply Icon

              Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

              So 1Rafayal, given the rules around Microsoft volume licensing agreements, could you enlighten us as to how the tens of thousands of SME's ie. any business with 1 or more Windows PC, could have simply purchased a version of Windows that enabled them to avoid the GWX nagware? Remember, MS themselves were selling and licensing 'Pro' editions of Windows and Office as being for business usage...

              11 1 Reply
              1. Anonymous Coward
                Reply Icon
                Anonymous Coward

                Microsoft apologists

                Wow, they are out in full force today with their "blame the victim" mentality. A local TV station with a few dozen employees should be running the Enterprise or Server version of Windows for the on air weather map, because it can't POSSIBLY be Microsoft's fault for creating this bullshit malware Windows 10 GWX infestation that requires its own anti-malware solution called GWX Control panel to eliminate!

                32 1 Reply
              2. 1Rafayal
                Reply Icon

                Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                @Rolan6

                you mean the licensing agreements for Server, Office, Exchange, SQL Server etc that all come with

                Windows Enterprise entitlements?

                Those ones?

                Or maybe the licensing agreements you get with the MS Action Pack?

                Or maybe the agreements tied into your MSDN subscription?

                Or I guess there is the gold partnership subscription agreement...

                Can you think of any more?

                The fact of the matter is, like it or not, for everyone who is complaining about the GWX nag affecting business, it comes down to how your organisation is handling its licensing. Even if your organisation installed the dreaded Windows 10, there would be no automatic updates unless the administrators allowed them to take place.

                Even WIndows 10 Pro users can defer updates for what, for 3 months or something?

                2 13 Reply
                1. Roland6 Silver badge
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                  you mean the licensing agreements for Server, Office, Exchange, SQL Server etc that all come with Windows Enterprise entitlements?

                  Don't know what you mean, neither of the Server 2012 R2 and Exchange Server 2012 licenses I recently obtained through VLSC (UK) had any client OS entitlements.

                  Or maybe the licensing agreements you get with the MS Action Pack?

                  Or maybe the agreements tied into your MSDN subscription?

                  Or I guess there is the gold partnership subscription agreement...

                  Do these supply Enterprise volume licenses that satisfy the MS no GWX nagware criteria?

                  Can you think of any more?

                  Software purchased from high st. outlets and wholesalers that come with the relevant Enterprise volume licenses ...

                  Remember, I'm not talking about IT nerds who are prepared to jump through MS's hoops to get free software, I'm talking about normal people who need a computer to do the accounts, send email, browse the web and prepare proposals/quotes/invoices...

                  6 0 Reply
                  1. 1Rafayal
                    Reply Icon

                    Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                    @Roland6

                    Obtaining an license agreement for SQL Server 2014 will give you Windows 10 enterprise entitlements. Same goes for some Office 2016 license agreements.

                    With the MS action pack, you get access to a number of Windows licenses, they are enterprise licenses. I cannot remember how many you get off the top of my head, maybe 5? But yes, this means the GWX nag and download would automatically be suppressed, unless the user chose to make any changes themselves. Even the system tray icon is suppressed.

                    Now, lets get on to the point that so many people have obviously missed - I haven't said at all that people should go out and buy an enterprise license, haven't said it once. I dont even think its possible for the consumer to buy one - officially. i guess a uni student or power geek might want to install and use it, but I am going to go out on a limb and say those people are going to be few and far between.

                    My comments above have all been to do with business, not the average end user at home. I have made that perfectly clear. If people work for an organisation using say Windows 7 enterprise, which is entirely likely given the administration options available for it, then they wont see the nag.

                    I dont understand why organisations who are using Windows wouldn't want to use the enterprise version, otherwise they are literally leaving the update schedule up to Microsoft. And if organisations start using Windows 10, which is going to happen at some point, then the update schedule becomes even more pernicious.

                    How is this not sensible?

                    0 0 Reply
                    1. Roland6 Silver badge
                      Reply Icon

                      Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                      @1Rfayal - "My comments above have all been to do with business" - So have mine.

                      Business'es come in many sizes, a very large number will have simply walked into a reseller eg. PC World (UK) and been sold a system or two by their 'business' section. I've done work for larger SME's where they've purchased PC's direct from Dell and simply had a local maintainer install Office on them and connect them to the network.

                      Yes Enterprise licenses, which are only available through volume licensing, maybe wonderful but for many businesses they simply don't exist because they are not aware of them and have little real reason to investigate.

                      Plus who back in 2012~15 (when many migrated off XP on to 7) knew that one of the benefits of Windows Enterprise licensing would be that they would be excluded from the GWX nag? I'm a 100% confident that you didn't know before MS released KB3080351 in mid 2015!

                      3 0 Reply
                    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
                      Reply Icon

                      Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                      "I dont understand why organisations who are using Windows wouldn't want to use the enterprise version,"

                      As asked elsewhere, when does switching to enterprise/volume licensing become economic? How about my local newsagent who runs a couple of PCs in the back room? Can't you understand why they don't have an IT department, a sysadmin and an MS enterprise/volume licensing server to monitor it?

                      0 0 Reply
                2. asdf
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                  >Even WIndows 10 Pro users can defer updates for what, for 3 months or something?

                  Now nice of Microsoft to give their users 3 months free of yet more telemetry tracking only updates.

                  1 1 Reply
                3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: Oh, yeah... @1Rafayal

                  "The fact of the matter is, like it or not, for everyone who is complaining about the GWX nag affecting business, it comes down to how your organisation is handling its licensing."

                  Bearing in mind it's almost impossible to buy a PC without a Windows Licence already attached, when does it become economic to add in the costs and complexity of enterprise licensing? Does an enterprise/volume licence take into account the already purchased licences?

                  Those are real questions by the way. I'm not involved with that side of the business.

                  5 0 Reply
            4. Mpeler
              Reply Icon
              FAIL

              Re: Oh, yeah...

              Aim low enough and you'll never miss.

              Apparently you're another paid shill from Micro$oft, flogging a television station for not using an inappropriate version (Enterprise) of Windows.

              Nice threadjacking.

              Here's a downvote for your efforts. Not 100 but I'm sure you'll garner more. Perhaps you could add them to your "new customer totals" or some such.

              Nagware is just another form of malware, a virus named GWX.

              2 1 Reply
            5. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Oh, yeah...

              @ 1Rafayal

              I won't down vote you, but I will speak harshly at you. So we're a 600+ employee company and have about 400 PCs/Laptops/Thin Clients. We purchase these machines from DELL with our custom W7 Pro image applied. I'd like to see how purchasing Enterprise licenses (which are totally unnecessary) for each of those machines would be cheaper and easier for us. The Ent keys are definitely more expensive.

              We have had to suppress the W10 GWX crap through GPO to keep it off our PRO stations. I've made this comment many times on this subject, "Microsoft can go F themselves with w10" as far as I'm concerned. It will NEVER EVER EVER be used by my company (at least not while I'm in charge).

              if there comes a time when W7 is no longer useable, I will begin using a Linux or VDI solution. Redmond has gotten it's last Windows dollar from me. GWX has cost me many hours in both personal and business time, without even a reach around.

              1 0 Reply
          2. Zot
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            "So, if this news station had been running an enterprise version of what looks like either Vista or 7, the popup would never have ruined their lovely weather report."

            But how would they have known this? They're just meteorologist presenters with a laptop.

            Besides, the next day they'll reboot it and it get stuck in crash loop like the last update.

            4 0 Reply
        4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          "That just doesn't make any sense to man nor beast."

          We're talking about Microsoft here - oh, I see what you mean: beast.

          15 3 Reply
        5. raving angry loony
          Reply Icon

          Re: Oh, yeah...

          Have a downvote. Because expecting people to purchase enterprise versions for obviously small office requirements is never an excuse to foist spam-ware on anyone. You make a good Microsoft apologist though, have you considered working for their marketing dept?

          4 0 Reply
          1. asdf
            Reply Icon

            Re: Oh, yeah...

            >You make a good Microsoft apologist though

            For once at least not everything is AC or an account that was made yesterday (his 2011 looks like). Pretty sure his living depends on Microsoft in some way but is nice to see some progress.

            1 1 Reply

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