FORCED TO USE WINDOWS 10 AND INTERNET EXPLORER 11. WHY?

SINCE WHEN DID MICROSOFT OFFER ANY NEW WINDOWS FOR FREE?

WHY WOULD IT BE FREE WHEN THEY'VE GOUGED US ALL FOR YEARS EACH TIME THEY WANT TO RAKE IN A FEW  BILLION BUCKS FOR A NEW VERSION?

HOW MANY HAVE CONSIDERED WHY WINDOWS 10 IS FREE?
FREE?

THAT'S A VERY SPOOKY THING...FREE WINDOWS 10, GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!

NO WAY!
THERE MUST BE A SINISTER REASON IT'S FREE, SURELY!
WHY WOULD MICROSOFT PASS UP MAKING  BILLIONS ON ITS NEWEST WINDOWS?  

"Installing the operating system on 1 billion systems by 2017 is a big deal for Microsoft."

AS SOME MAY HAVE READ IN A PREVIOUS BLOG, THE TEA ROOM LOST ITS TRUSTY OLD (AS IN REALLY, REALLY OLD, BUT EXTREMELY POWERFUL) DESKTOP  COMPUTER TO A VIRUS THAT EVEN KASPERSKY LABS AND 3 AMAZING HIGH-TECH WIZARDS GAVE UP ON.
"OLD FAITHFUL" DIED A NOBLE DEATH.

WENT TO A SMALL DELL LAPTOP, HARD DRIVE CRASHED AFTER A YEAR OF HEAVY USE AND OTHER ABUSES.
SOLID STATE HARD DRIVE , I WAS TOLD, REPLACEMENT VERY IFFY AND MAYBE NOT WORTH THE EFFORT OR COST, STOP USING OLD COMPUTERS.

CURRENT LAPTOP WAS LOADED WITH WINDOWS 8.1.
I LIKE WINDOWS 8 JUST FINE, BUT LOVED XP PROFESSIONAL.

[At the time of writing, there are about as many people still using Windows XP as are using 8.1, with both enjoying around a 13% share of the desktop market, so there.]

BIG PROBLEM...CHROME WON'T WORK, WON'T EVEN INSTALL ON THIS SYSTEM, SO I'M CURSED TO USE INTERNET (gag, hack) EXPLORER.
NO MORE CHROME FOR ME, ALAS.   

[CURSE YOU, GOOGLE, YOU SAID I COULD DOWNLOAD CHROME BUT WON'T ALLOW IT?]

THE TEA ROOM LOATHES INTERNET EXPLORER.
NOTHING SUCKS WORSE ON THE INTERNET THAN "IE", DOES IT? 
BUT OLDER VERSIONS ARE SOON TO BE ABANDONED, ERASED?

"Microsoft is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 on Jan. 12.
The shift will basically mean the end of security updates and technical help for versions of Internet Explorer other than 11, the latest iteration.

That could leave users clinging to the old versions more vulnerable to cyber-attacks against their computers because problems with the software that are discovered down the line won't be fixed."

SO, UPDATE, OR ELSE? 

I AM A LOW-TECH USER.
IF I MANAGE TO SIGN ON AND GET HERE, IT'S A GOOD DAY.

I AM ALSO SICK OF MAILING COMPUTERS AWAY TO BE REPAIRED, ETC, JUST BECAUSE NO ONE LOCALLY (AS IN A VERY RURAL AREA) DOES COMPUTER REPAIRS.  
IT'S ALMOST 60 MILES TO A COMPUTER REPAIR SHOP AND ONE CHAT WITH THE 'TECHNICIAN'  WOULD TELL ANYONE TO RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY.   

I DON'T WANT WINDOWS 10, THANKS. 
 DOES ANYONE? 
WHO HASN'T READ THE HORROR STORIES ABOUT "10"?

BUT MICROSOFT KEEPS VEXING AND HARRASSING ME TO "PRETTY-PLEASE, JUST LET US INSTALL WINDOWS 10, IT'S FREE, FREE, FREE! LOOK, IT'S FREE!"

I SMELL A RAT! 
I SMELL ANOTHER RAT WHEN I KEEP READING THAT ALL VERSIONS OF THE CURSED INTERNET EXPLORER WILL GO "POOF" ANY DAY NOW. 

WHY? 

I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHICH IE VERSION I AM FORCED TO USE TODAY, DON'T CARE, WON'T BOTHER TO GO FIND OUT.
I LOATHE IE THAT MUCH.

BUT WHY TOSS OLDER VERSIONS SO ABRUPTLY? 

SEEMS TO ME THAT IT'S A MATTER OF COMPLETE CONTROL...THAT SOMEONE WANTS ALL OF US TO HAVE VERSIONS OF EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE COMPLETELY CONTROLLED  BY, OH, I DUNNO, MAYBE OUR BELOVED "HOMELAND SECURITY", THE FCC, NSA/CSS, MICROSOFT? 

WHO'S BEHIND THIS PUSH TO CRAM WINDOWS 10 AND IE 11 DOWN EVERY COMPUTER'S THROAT THAT EXISTS?        
WHY, AFTER DECADES, HAS THE ENTIRE ATTITUDE OF THOSE WHO "GAVE" US WINDOWS AND IE CHANGED SO DRASTICALLY?

WHY HAS PROFIT BEEN TOSSED ASIDE BY A HUGE CORPORATION LIKE GREEDY OLD MICROSOFT TO FORCE WINDOWS 10 UPON US?

OR HAS IT?

WHAT ABOUT MICROSOFT INCESSANTLY TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO CHARGE US ALL A "YEARLY FEE"?

"Once the new operating system debuts, the company will count on app sales to drive revenue.
 Windows 10 is chock full of opportunities for Microsoft to make some money off of you. [MICROSOFT'S] chief operating office recently spoke about moving from one-time licensing fees to an "annuity conversion," meaning that the company may still be trying to figure out how to loop people, or at least corporations, into paying an annual fee."

THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN A FREE "10", SINCE ANY AND ALL VERSIONS OF WINDOWS COULD BE CHARGED A FEE.


SHOULD WE ALL GO TO LINUX?  
BUT LINUX JUST SHAFTED ITS  "INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS", SO, NO, AND I NEVER LIKED LINUX ANYWAY.

NOT APPLE!
NOOOO!

BUT READING SUCH AS THIS... IT GETS SCARIER, YES?  

"Microsoft's new operating system has certainly brought forth a lot of changes, and perhaps the most notable is that Windows 10 will be the LAST incarnation of the OS.

That doesn't mean the end of Windows, but rather the beginning of "Windows as a Service".

Updates will be pushed to consumers once Microsoft deems them ready, while businesses will be offered a choice of two release channels, dubbed Current and Long Term which offer more rigid release cycles.
Individuals who purchase (or are entitled to a free) copy of Windows will see it supported
"for the lifetime of that device".

When Windows 10 Mobile
is released, it will enable users to plug their phones into a monitor, mouse and keyboard and use the handset as they would a regular PC." 

THAT'S JUST STRANGE.

BOTTOM LINE, I'LL "GO DARK" BEFORE I GO TO WINDOWS 10. 
I'M TOO OLD AND SET IN MY WAYS TO JUST KEEP COMPLYING WITH EVERY WHIM MICROSOFT HAS TO FORCE ME TO GIVE UP WHAT I LIKE.

AND GOOGLE COULD, AS IN REALLY COULD, GIVE US CHROME FOR WINDOWS 8, 8.1, WHATEVER.

SO, WHY WON'T THEY?

WHY ALL THIS CRAP?

BY ALL MEANS, LEAVE ANY HELPFUL COMMENT ON THIS.

I AM SORELY VEXED...WHICH CAN BE TRANSLATED TO "SCREW MICROSOFT...AND GOOGLE." 

END RANT....