Unsure if you're being serious... don't need to look much further than Windows 10 auto update to see how much Microsoft care...
I don't think that the auto-update feature was introduced by a "group of developers". This was purely board of directors driven.
Things like the Windows 10 dark patterns might happen, but once the users complain (and users have been complaining since the day win 10 was out, when the patterns weren't nearly as dark), someone with veto power gets involved.
This was definitely done with the approval - and I guess blessing and even direction of nadella himself.
I didn't buy the "new Microsoft" for a second.
I'm also not sure what "new Microsoft" you're referring to. Their attitude is much much better under Satya; they're not perfect but they're moving in the right direction.
The board level may very well have set down a strategy which was "Hey, computers that are running old versions of our OS are a real pain. Let's tell our OS team that we need them to get customers to upgrade. Hell, we've looked at the figures and it's actually cheaper for us to GIVE Windows 10 away - so keep that in mind technical peeps".
The technical peeps come to look at it and decide on this stupid idea. Interestingly, Microsoft applied a half assed fix to the problem:
"Based on customer feedback, in the most recent version of the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app, we confirm the time of your scheduled upgrade and provide you an additional opportunity for cancelling or rescheduling the upgrade. The screen you see may change slightly based on new feedback."
From: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3095675
So you see, they did address the problem.
It's really not some evil plan to screw over their users. It was a dumb mistake, made by a handful of people who then half-assedly corrected it.
As a tech community we're fixated on this shit but in the real world it really doesn't reflect all of Microsoft.
You also overlook that very often, once these updates are applied you can notice that new applications as essential as "Candy Crush Saga" have been installed on your system. I guess the "technical peeps" you mention thought users would enjoy the game and just pushed it to the release binary.
Irony aside, why do you persist to try to defend what is indefensible ? I am a .NET developer and the first to acknowledge and evangelize the existence of a new Microsoft. But the way they have turned Windows 10 into a malware is unacceptable.
Personally I have made my mind that as soon as .NET Core is mature I am switching to Linux. As much as I like Microsoft I can't accept to run this kind of system, they have crossed a line here.
No one is talking about board level. board meets once a month or two, unless there's a very good reason. I was talking about CEO (whose position on the board is not relevant to this discussion).
It's in every possible computer publication, with discussion of legal class action (and at least one already submitted). If this doesn't get to CEO level, Microsoft is improperly managed. If I had a way to verify, I would bet some money that indeed Nadella is aware, and has authorized or even blessed this course of action.
> So you see, they did address the problem.
People were complaining that they can't make GWX go away; so microsoft made it recommended instead of optional, and an 'x' makes it install. Then they roll back. This is known as the "Squash and a Squeeze"[0] or the "Get rid of the goat"[1] technique to make things seem acceptable. In politics, it is known as the Overton window[2]. I dare say this was a calculated gambit, and I do consider this a dark pattern.
> It was a dumb mistake, made by a handful of people who then half-assedly corrected it.
That is a very charitable explanation, which I do not accept.
> I'm also not sure what "new Microsoft" you're referring to.
I'm referring to the "open source loving, friendly, nice guy" Microsoft is considered by some people lately, as opposed to the convicted monopolist, horrible, only-behave-when-they've-been-beaten-to-submission, android-and-exchange-patent-extorting Microsoft. I don't think a lot has changed - and I think Win10 is a good example for how little has really changed.
I expect you disagree, and that's fine. You keep using Microsoft, and I'll keep avoiding them as I have done for the past 12 years or so.
[0] http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1059041.A_Squash_and_a_Sq... [1] http://www.beliefnet.com/love-family/parenting/2000/10/teach... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window