> Windows prolly has more GUI applications than both those OSes combined.

Some perspective is needed here. Windows has more GUI applications than both those OSes combined and multiplied by some large number. A windows PC can run every Windows application made in the last twenty years, with some exceptions, and it's an infinitely larger market for commercial software.

> > What about all the spying and restrictions that Microsoft has integrated into the Windows?

> If you don't give permission the action is not taken. Granted I am currently getting spammed to update my home computer from win 7 to 10 but it hasn't force installed on me. Likewise for automatic updates.

Except for the actions that the operating system doesn't tell you about, and you can't be sure about becuase it's proprietary (Windows has at least 3 backdoors and spy features that we know of, and none of them ask for permission). And all of the DRM and related malicious functionality that stops you from doing things you'd obviously want to do with your computer.

> You being extremely lucky doesn't change statistics.

There's nothing lucky about being prudent.

> Now days all the developer/engineer GUI apps are made OS X first, Linux second and maybe Windows.

That's not even close to true, you're living in a bubble. Windows and windows apps still dominate the world, by a long shot.

I absolutely love the fact that windows download and install critical updates automatically for me. I would feel like a slave if I had to do it manually.

You kind of are a slave aren't you?

After all you can only auto update microsoft and store apps. Other apps will either handle updates themselves probably with an annoying UAC prompt and possibly at inconvenient times when you actually want to use the apps. Some have processes that constantly sit in the background sucking up your resources to pop up annoying prompts to update application foo during which you must watch for them changing your browser preferences and installing adware. Others you will simply have to go to their website and download an exe or msi.

Meanwhile you are missing the fact that people don't want to avoid automatic updates to fix security holes. They want to avoid updating to the next undesirable update foisted on the users before its ready and much to peoples annoyance. Example the windows 8 UI change.

Unbelievably staying on an older still supported platform until you are ready to update is a feature you have to pay money for!

Lest you misunderstand I'm not talking about clinging to windows xp till they claw it from your cold dead hands 3 years after end of life I'm talking about the future equivalent of staying with windows 7 and upgrading to windows 10 because 8 sucks.

> "Meanwhile you are missing the fact that people don't want to avoid automatic updates to fix security holes."

You are right. My english is not very good and I did not read what OP wrote carefully about this. Maybe it was the silliness of the word "slave" being used like this that threw me off ;)

Those third apps updates can be annoying but I honestly cannot complain about all those problems you talk about, like processes sucking up resources, popups, and adware automatic installation on updates. I do not even see this happening with (very) non tech people around me. So I think it is a very suspicious argument. Even worst would be to suggest that those are problems are Microsofts blame. Maybe you get those adwares exactly because you think UAC is annoying. Can we blame Google when a user get a virus ridden app from a place other than the official store and ignore the OS warnings?

But if this is the reality, it is another good argument for the push for windows 10 update and the adoption of UWP. In fact, I think microsoft should push even harder for windows 10 updates, it is the right move.

Also, I think that the idea of maintaining a Windows machine updated with only the parts the user wants is hilarious. And I do not know who are those people you talk about. I love to test OS previews and I have never heard a person who already do not liked Microsoft for whatever reason make a big deal about a UI update (windows 8 "metro" mode was shit but easily ignored, windows 10 UI is better and amazing).

The more updates and innovation, the better. I am not afraid :)

> Unbelievably staying on an older still supported platform until you are ready to update is a feature you have to pay money for!

You are making it sound like they are forcing, or even automatically upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 8, or Windows 8 to Windows 10. They aren't. You have to specifically choose the 8->10 update, even if you are getting updates automatically installed.

> I'm talking about the future equivalent of staying with windows 7 and upgrading to windows 10 because 8 sucks.

Which you can do. I'm not sure what exactly your complaint is here. What am I missing?

(Note: I found Windows 8 to be superior to Windows 7 in every way except the start menu. I find Windows 10 superior to Windows 8 in every way except for Privacy :/ )

"You are making it sound like they are forcing, or even automatically upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 8, or Windows 8 to Windows 10. They aren't."

That's not true. They're automatically upgrading computers. Read some of the thousands of below comments to hear the stories. My Windows 8.1 laptop automatically scheduled itself to upgrade, and I was fortunate enough to be paying close attention to cancel it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/4a0asv/warning_...

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/4a5edx/psa_window...

That was a mistake. I find it beyond belief that they would intentionally upgrade people without confirmation or notification. As much as they would like people to upgrade, they know this would be PR suicide. At a minimum they would have had notifications that it was going to happen, and made it opt out. To my mind, that it was automatically checked but in the optional updates section points towards it being a weird bug in which an unforeseen interaction of attributes caused the problem. For example, it's possible that selecting that you did want to upgrade to Windows 10 through the popups they showed was supposed to put it in that weird state, where it was optional but checked by default, which would be a non-normal situation for an update. Weird exceptions like that are very prone to bugs.

Really wishing you were correct. :/

MS have been pushing Win10 onto Win7/8(.1) end users for what seems like a few months now, continually escalating how forceful they're being.

eg recent IT media about it:

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/17/microsoft_windows_10_upgrade_gwx_vs_humanity/

As you mention, it seems like straight out PR suicide.

Personally, it would be useful to know what their end game is justifying all of this bad karma. It'd have to be fantastic. Either that, or someone inside MS is seriously out of control. :(

While that's a wild situation, and MS is not behaving well, it's not quite forcing a Windows 10 upgrade. It's forcing people to be nagged about it, and causing problems in corporate IT departments where they do not want to upgrade and it keeps subverting their control.

It's not good, but it's not forcing upgrades either (which is liable to get them sued).

Hmmm, I really get the impression it's doing a lot more than just nagging. Direct examples mentioned here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11285488

Whoa, I missed that. I was thinking of the prior case where it "accidentally" became recommended, but this casts that prior episode in new light. I can't imagine what they are thinking.

Unless... There's some fundamental core security problem in earlier Windows versions that isn't in Windows 10 and they don't want to tip off anyone to what it is, because it's so large and egregious it opens them up to a lot of liability and lawsuits. Okay, I'll take my tinfoil hat off now...

Well said my friend! Upvote