Windows package manager does not permit opting out of telemetry

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by m0xte on Thursday May 21, 2020 @11:10AM (#23259303)

See the comment about user panels. Select a random portion of your userbase and ask them. Talk to your account managers. Communicate between them. This is software 101.

I've built and supported software with 80k end users and did that effectively single-handedly.

I'm sure a large corp can do the same if it sacrifices a bit of bottom line...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by kevingadd on Thursday May 21, 2020 @01:43PM (#23261852)

Finding representative portions of your userbase that will actually talk to you is pretty difficult. I've worked on a couple different products with millions of end users and we frequently discovered a subset of our userbase was having big problems and we simply weren't hearing from them.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by mbesto on Thursday May 21, 2020 @11:22AM (#23259482)

> Select a random portion of your userbase and ask them.

This sounds great in theory - harder to do in practice. Often what ends up happening is the only people who will share their time with you are the ones who want something specifically changed for them. Thus my point, it's effective, but it's not a silver bullet.

> I've built and supported software with 80k end users and did that effectively single-handedly.

And plenty of businesses have used Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc. combined with the aforementioned technique.

TL;DR - The two strategies are not mutually exclusive.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by TeMPOraL on Thursday May 21, 2020 @11:37AM (#23259699)

Problem is, the latter strategy is rarely used (telemetry is cheaper!), and as far as I can see the consequences, telemetry data is hard to use correctly. In particular, it's prone to become a mirror of your design, creating a feedback loop. Telemetry will show people will use more of the things you've exposed more, and less of the things you've exposed less, so if you take that at face value, then you're just amplifying your own initial design bias.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by reaperducer on Thursday May 21, 2020 @12:08PM (#23260183)

This sounds great in theory - harder to do in practice

And therein lies the root of "telemetry" — the SV bubble's lack of interest, lack of effort, and fear of interfacing with the wetware.

Telemetry is easy. Talking to people is hard. Too bad.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Windows package manager does not permit opting out of tel... by wtetzner on Thursday May 21, 2020 @11:33AM (#23259623)

> This sounds great in theory - harder to do in practice.

Sure, but lots of things are hard. That doesn't mean we should all be happy about software phoning home without the consent of the user.

[ Parent | on HN ]