Top5 reasons you shouldn't upgrade to Windows 10

5. Ads abound

The only ad Windows 7 and 8.1 customers have had to fend off is the one for Windows 10. Imagine a world in which you could be poked by ads all day, every day. Right now, we’re getting ads on the lock screen and from the Suggested item in the Start menu, along with the odd toaster notification and a slew of default live tiles with ads out the wazoo.

It’s easy to disable ads on the lock screen: Start > Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > turn off “Get fun facts, tips and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.” It’s easy to disable ads on the Start menu: Start > Settings > Personalization > Start > turn off “Occasionally show suggestions in Start.” You can right-click on an advertising tile and bury it. But I’m convinced we’re only seeing the tip of the ad iceberg.

A year ago I wrote about a Microsoft advertising piece that extolled the virtues of advertising in Windows 10. In the blog post, which has been pulled down, then-Bing ads GM David Pann explains how Windows 10 is great for advertisers. We’re only beginning to see the ads. Windows 10 Pro can no longer block ads through Group Policy. Who knows what else Microsoft will force-install next.

4. Start menu is getting worse, not better

Windows 8.1 fans have no reason to gripe, but if you’re on Windows 7, and you’ve learned how to use (and customize!) the Win 7 Start menu, Win10 is a big step down. The Anniversary Update doesn’t make it any better.

There’s a strip of icons on the left that can include any of a set of predefined actions. There’s a humongous list of apps, in alphabetical order for the most part, in the middle. On the right, you see the same blinking live tile we’ve seen for years. Microsoft promises it’s going to make the tiles “Chaseable Live Tiles” -- if you click on a tile, you go to the article shown on the tile -- but that’s still beyond Windows 10’s capabilities.

If you want to take control of the Win10 Start menu, you have to install a third-party app like Start10 or Classic Shell. Or you can stick with Windows 7.

3. The march to forced updates continues

I’ve been complaining about Windows 10’s forced updates for a year and a half, and the situation’s only gotten worse. Granted, we now have the wushowhide tool to block specific patches, but it doesn’t give you control over updating your machine. If you aren’t attached to a corporate network, the process for blocking forced patches is long and convoluted.

How important is it to control updates on your machine? You need look no further than the “Get Windows 10” campaign, which pushed enormous numbers of Windows 7 and 8.1 users to Windows 10 -- whether or not they understood what they were doing.

Microsoft has demonstrated, at least to my satisfaction, that if given a chance it will reach into customer PCs and modify them -- "accidental" forced upgrades, dicey signup notices ("Upgrade Now/Upgrade Tonight"), hidden folders with 3GB to 6GB of unwanted downloaded data, and nagging Windows processes that automatically restart themselves.

I no longer trust Microsoft to update my Windows machines. Then again, I never did.

Thinkstock

2. Ain’t broke, don’t fix

The old adage comes from painful experience -- and it’s as applicable now as it ever was.

If you’re using Windows 7, and it’s properly patched up and working for you, and you’ve stopped using Internet Explorer, you have to consider whether it’s worth the effort to upgrade to Windows 10.

Few programs will run on Windows 10, but not Windows 7. The only major ones I can think of, aside from a small handful of touch-centric programs, are Cortana and Edge, both of which come baked into Windows 10.

If you’re using Windows 8.1 with a mouse and you’re OK with the interface (there must be a dozen of you), Windows 10 may be more trouble than it’s worth.

There’s no harm in waiting. If you don’t see anything in Windows 10 that rings your chimes, wait until your current machine falls into the bit bucket -- at that point you’ll be in a better position to decide whether you want to continue with a Windows PC, or if there’s a better alternative. Microsoft will continue to provide security patches for Windows 7 SP 1 until Jan. 14, 2020, and for Windows 8.1 Update 1 until Jan. 10, 2023.

1. Questions, questions, questions

We really don’t know where Microsoft is heading with Windows 10. Nobody has come out and said Win10 will be supported by advertising or by add-ons or by sales of harvested data. All we know for sure is that, “once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device -- at no additional charge.”

That’s what Windows honcho Terry Myerson promised us on Jan. 21, 2015. Of course, the same person promised us on Oct. 29, 2015, that Win7 and 8.1 customers “can specify that you no longer want to receive notifications of the Windows 10 upgrade through the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 settings pages." That promise didn’t come true until a few weeks before the marched upgrade stopped. On Sept. 28, 2015, he promised, “Windows 10 collects information so the product will work better for you. You are in control with the ability to determine what information is collected.” That one’s never come close.

Lacking promises from Microsoft, all sorts of rumors have appeared and will continue to circulate. Although it seems highly unlikely that Microsoft will start charging a monthly fee for the use of Windows 10, or some variant, we’ve seen nothing beyond the “supported lifetime of the device” promise, which can be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps at some point we’ll be able to pay in order to reduce the snooping or manually install updates.

We already know that admins with Win10 Pro machines on their networks won’t be able to control advertising.

No matter how you look at it, Windows is in its golden years. PC sales are down, and there’s no rational reason to expect the trend to reverse itself. Microsoft could help revive Windows a bit by reducing some of the uncertainty associated with moving to its new platform. So far, we’ve seen very little action in that direction.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to stick with your Win 7 or 8.1 PC, and wait to see what other options appear.