>In the upcoming Anniversary edition, more anti-features that do nothing for users and are all about Microsoft:
>
>http://www.pcworld.com/article/3100358/windows/you-cant-turn-off-cortana-in-the-windows-10-anniversary-update.html
>http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/28/microsoft-removes-policies-windows-10-pro/
>
>Curiously, MS is not being up-front about these changes. Maybe they're being floated as trial balloons, if public reaction is bad MS might not implement them in the actual Anniversary release which apparently starts rolling out August 2. I have to say I'm not sanguine.
>
>I used to look forward to new MS OS releases - up to and including Windows 7 (I never ran Vista myself but understood its necessity). Their philosophy changed with Windows 8 - the release that was mainly about making things consistent between phones, tablets and PCs - convenient for MS in having a single code base, more difficult for end users who need to get things done using their PCs as the tools they're supposed to be.
>
>Now Windows 10 users are frogs being slowly boiled. Users are losing their privacy and control over their computing environments:
>
>- Quickly, if they are unskilled consumers leaving Windows 10 at its default settings
>- Slowly (but still surely), if they are skilled and concerned about privacy and control
>
>Somehow, Microsoft considers it an improvement to Windows 10 if they can now install Candy Crush on my computers and I can't stop them from doing that.
>
>It's ironic that Bill Gates launched Microsoft's "Trustworthy Computing" initiative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trustworthy_computing#Microsoft_and_Trustworthy_Computing : "Four areas were identified as the initiative’s key areas: Security, Privacy, Reliability, and Business Integrity". With Windows 10, MS is throwing away Privacy and Business Integrity.
>
>I've not fully trusted Microsoft for some time, but now that they're compromising the core OS I don't trust them at all.

Great post, Al. I agree with this 100%.