Microsoft breaks own design rules in dupe-the-user Windows 10 upgrade tactic

[allheart55 (Cindy E)]

Microsoft's interpretation of the "Close" button in a notification of an impending upgrade to Windows 10 is contrary to company design guidelines and other recommendations, according to documents on the firm's website.

As part of a final push to boost the number of PCs running Windows 10 before the July 29 expiration of its free upgrade offer, Microsoft has altered the behavior of a notification dialog so that clicking the "X" in the upper-right corner authorizes the pre-scheduled upgrade.



Not only is that contrary to decades of convention and user expectations, but it's a change from past behavior of the dialog. Previously, when users saw dialog frames posed by the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app -- which was responsible for producing the notification -- they could both exit the dialog and cancel the proposed action by clicking on the X to close the window.

Microsoft first downloaded and installed GWX on millions of Windows 7 and 8.1 machines last year, initially as a way for customers to "reserve" the free upgrade to 10, and has repeatedly tweaked and re-installed it on PCs since. As the months ticked by, Microsoft got progressively more aggressive with GWX and its Windows 10 upgrade strategy, including automatically downloading the necessary bits to most eligible PCs, later extending that to silently scheduling the upgrade process.

by March 23 at the latest, but perhaps earlier -- Microsoft decided to redefine an X-click as approving the upgrade. "If you click on OK or on the red 'X,' you're all set for the upgrade and there is nothing further to do [emphasis added]," stated a Microsoft support document on the auto-scheduling of the Windows 10 upgrade.

Although some argued that click-on-X was to be treated as a "Close" button, not an "Exit" button -- the former makes the dialog vanish, while the latter cancels the under-consideration process -- and implied that Microsoft did not violate its own design guidelines, that's not correct.

At least not by Microsoft's own documentation.

"The Close button on the title bar should have the same effect as the Cancel or Close button within the dialog box," stated the firm's guidelines on crafting dialog boxes. "Never give it the same effect as OK [emphasis added]."



That's exactly how users treated the X in the upgrade scheduling dialog box, as a "negative commit," or in plain English, as a "No thanks." Microsoft, on the other hand, interpreted it as the exact opposite.

Other examples from the same set of guidelines show that Microsoft broke its own rules. "Make sure the Close button on the title bar has the same effect as Cancel or Close," the document said.

User experience (UX) designers and developers debated the pros and cons of the Close button in an interesting discussion thread from 2014 on Stack Exchange, the Q&A community. Several pointed out the perceptions users have of the action tool, which were at odds with Microsoft's more recent switch in GWX.

"A close button is a very known and comfortable escape hatch," Matt Lavoie, a senior UX designer at policy-management vendor PowerDMS, contended on Stack Exchange in October 2014. "Depending on the scenario, either 'Yes' or 'No' could be the destructive action. If a user got to this place, and is now in panic mode because they really don't want to do the negative action, they might want to get out of there as quickly as possible. 'Close' is just going to get me out of here, no questions asked. I don't have to think about it."

Microsoft has also told users to use the Close button to bail out of questionable situations. As Brad Chacos, senior editor of PCworld recently noted -- like Computerworld, PCworld is owned by IDG -- Microsoft has offered this advice: "Never click 'Agree' or 'OK' to close a window that you suspect might be spyware. Instead, click the red 'x' in the corner of the window or press Alt + F4 on your keyboard to close a window."

Users intending to avoid the Windows 10 upgrade did what Microsoft suggested. But because there were no explanations about the close button's changed behavior in the notification -- only in the overlooked support document -- it's highly likely that the vast majority of those who clicked on the X to make the pop-up disappear had no idea that they were, in fact, authorizing an upgrade.

Source: computerworld

 

[allheart55 (Cindy E)]

If Microsoft really wanted one billion people using Windows 10, then instead of using underhanded and sneaky tricks to upgrade the unsuspecting user, why not just offer it for free to XP and Vista users?

 

[Bill M.]

It is unreasonable to expect "good behavior" from MS, IMO.

 

[Digerati]

It is unreasonable to expect "good behavior" from MS, IMO.

I disagree completely. It is totally reasonable to expect good behavior from MS. And that's the problem. These latest tactics are not.

I am usually a pretty staunch defender of Microsoft because I am tired of the relentless bashing they get all the time for things not in their control - particularly over security issues which were really caused by, first and foremost, badguys who were left unchecked by the so called anti-malware industry failing to do their job, and by undisciplined, careless users who let the badguys in. I have no toleration for false accusations, regardless the character or reputation of the accused.

We all know Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 hard. From a business sense, it makes sense. It is better for consumers if MS can concentrate all their resources on just one OS platform. And for security reasons, it makes sense too, IMO. All 1.5 billion Windows users should be using the latest, most secure version of Windows, and that's W10 - if only because compromised computers become threats to the rest of us, not just the users of the older Windows computers. But the marketing weenies at MS failed miserably (again!) "marketing" W10. And their purposeful intention to make opting out of the upgrade nearly impossible was simply one of the worst marketing decisions MS ever made - and they've made some doozies!

But now Microsoft has gone even farther and crossed the line. They are running roughshod over users and upgrading their systems to Windows 10 without their permission. Susan Bradley gives Microsoft a piece of her mind, and I have to admit, I feel the same way. See Susan Bradley, Windows 10 and the forced release. I recommend you read the whole blog entry. In the meantime here's a little excerpt,

First and foremost I think Microsoft is being a bully on the Internet. A big bully. The manner in which Windows 10 has been pushed out the patching channel has me seriously questioning if I want to be associated with this Company going forward… No update should install without your explicit permission to do so. I don’t appreciate that it’s being done with the justification of “from feedback from Microsoft customers”. No, Microsoft, we asked you for an easier way to say no, thank you. No one asked you to schedule the upgrade for us.

Susan in the most recent Windows Secret toned down her rhetoric a bit, but her message is still clear. And I agree completely with her when she says,

It's saddens me that MS developers had design meetings in which they discussed and approved building a upgrade-acceptance system that appears to use techniques favored by malware authors.

On a personal note, I know my MS MVP status does not mean I represent or speak for Microsoft. But many "regular posters" believe there is an association, some tie, expected loyalty (or string pulling) or some form of sponsorship going on. They look at me and ask, "why is MS doing this?" And again, while I do firmly believe part of "practicing safe computing" means using the most recent and most secure version of Windows (ie, W10), I cannot answer or come up with a sound justification for their methods - except to blame the mess on misguided marketing tactics and not the actual Windows program developers (it is a great OS, after all!).

I have to admit, I used to be really proud of my MVP status but this latest round of MS bullying tactics is causing me embarrassment. And I don't like it.