Bruce: Be sure to install something like GWX Control Panel which will stop those Windows 7 "updates" which nag/force you to upgrade (back) to Windows 10.

Finally got Visual Studio working again. Read some of my story here

What I didn't describe there is how I removed and tried to reinstall the .NET Framework, found that the Dell touchpad settings were wrong and the application for editing them now crashed, did a fresh install of Windows 7, copied my old user directory back in, found out that the Dell touchpad settings wouldn't run without the .NET Framework, found that .NET Framework 4 froze installing just like on the old install, and - wahoo! - fudged around with directories from the Windows 7 installation DVD maintenance command prompt to get my old Windows install back, installed .NET Framework 4.6.2 or some such, and graaaaaadually fixed Visual Studio as described in the link.

Yeaaaah Windows 7 <3

I don't have many gripes about Windows 10. Overall I like it. It does what it's supposed to, and for the most part it stays out of my way. One thing I hate is the automatic restarts. They let you "schedule" them for a little while, but then they give you a cutoff and force you to restart your computer. All due to Windows Update. I don't use the Windows app store, and all the junk they put on the start menu just gets in the way. So I use desktop shortcuts instead of the start menu. My desktop still isn't so cluttered I can't get anything done, and the desktop shortcut works for most purposes, even if it loads a little bit slowly. I'm not terribly fond of the way windows are grouped on the taskbar, but it is better than having one taskbar button for every single window there is open. That gets a little out of hand. For the most part it just does what I want. Have only had a small handful of bluescreens, and I think that was due to buggy Microsoft Word in Office 2015 doing something it shouldn't have.

Still can't stand MSVS. I love my CodeBlocks, and I'm sticking with it.

As per the taskbar app grouping, I don't mind. I came from Vista, where there was one button for every window, so it's an improvement for me. But what I don't like about it is the preview pane. Sometimes it shows tabs, sometimes it shows windows. I'd rather it just showed the windows that are open. But it treats tabs like they are windows. Perhaps that is application specific behaviour though. I noticed that in Windows 10, SeaMonkey "forgets" screen contents and I have to double restore the window before it shows everything again. Same thing with FireFox. It may be a D3D device lost issue, I don't know.

If Firefox does it, I had disabled it already and forgotten about it. I know at some point it was an option, and I can't remember if it's opt-in or opt-out.

The start menu is definitely a clusterfuck, but fortunately you don't need it very often (well, I certainly don't working from the command line). I pin most applications to the taskbar. The rarely used ones can be found with search.

You still need hacks to change taskbar entries into icons with no text and without grouping instances. You needed a registry hack in Windows 7, but now you actually need a black magic executable to do it. In any case, I find that configuration preferable because it's less hover time to get where you're going and it takes up less space.

I don't know if people are forgetting or just don't care, but the absolute worst part about Windows 10 is that it spies on you and calls home regularly, the details of which are proprietary and secret... I use it at work where I generally care less that it spies on me. I do most of my private stuff in a Linux VM, though I imagine just capturing keystrokes and possibly mouse coordinates would be enough to reverse engineer plenty of data and behavior.

At home I don't even run Windows at the moment. I'm reluctantly running Ubuntu MATE for Valve's Ubuntu Steam support and MATE's superior desktop experience. I don't really have many complaints, aside from the fact that it might spy too by default (or if not Ubuntu then perhaps the proprietary drivers and codecs and software used to make things work so easily). Hopefully the Ubuntu MATE folks remove the call-home stuff (I think it was mainly part of Unity). It sounds like other official flavors don't include it so I bet unofficial flavors don't either. From the sounds of it, they've since resolved the privacy concerns, but I'm not sure I trust them unless the code is free (and I'm not sure that it is). I don't know that they could be as bad as Microsoft or Apple, but I'm still begrudged to settle for less than libre.

Do you really mean taskbar entries here? As I understand it, they default to icons without text in both OSes, and if you don't like the grouping, then, in Windows 7 at least, you can right-click the taskbar -> Properties -> Taskbar buttons: Never combine.

[EDIT] Oh, I see - then it shows labels, which you don't want.

I care about Windows 10 as much as my new baby daughter does.

Congratulations!

So in some years from now (and still on this thread) we will be talking about how Microsoft will just end support for Windows 7 if it is still a very good OS

Bump!

For me, the best use for the Steam Controller is when a game is keyboard only on PC, even though it was a port from console. And for games that natively supports controllers, but you can't reconfigure them.

BTW Bam, you try the gryo on the controller yet? It seems that might bring you even closer to mouse than the trackpad like thing you're mostly used already.