Microsoft’s latest tactic for keeping us in line

I’m no longer in the Windows 10 Insider Preview program, but I still see Microsoft’s preview build announcements. The latest is for build 14926.

The announcement for build 14926 reveals yet another reminder that we are just pawns in Microsoft’s overall strategy. Anyone participating in the Preview program must allow Microsoft to update their Windows 10 computer, and if they don’t cooperate, the computer will stop working. Specifically, it will start rebooting itself every three hours, and if that doesn’t force your cooperation, eventually the computer will stop booting altogether.

My reaction to this news (click for animated version).
My reaction to this news (click for animated version).

Update 2016Sep22: The announcement for Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14931 confirms that this is Microsoft’s new policy. No explanation is provided, although if pressed, I’m sure Microsoft would bloviate about ‘user experience’, ‘reliability’ and other things that sound good but deflect attention away from what’s actually going on, which is that Microsoft really wants to control what happens on your computer.

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

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