heh. i remember for some odd reason my win3.11? came with os/2 warp.. obviously didn't take me long to screw the whole thing up and ended up with win3.11 only...

I loved OS/2 and OS/2 Warp. Far better multitasking at the time than Windows or DesqView. I ran a four node FidoNet BBS with it and then started using it as the OS on my workstations for a while. Ahhhh memories.

You're not alone, I don't like 10, either, for the same reason as you and more.  The telemetry is a resource hog if you let it be, but there are apps available to disable all of that and more.... like Automatic Updates,etc. 

I don't use Cortana or any of those Modern Apps so they're gone... and I don't mean disabled, I mean GONE!!!  Damned bloat!  I want my OS to behave and look like an OS, not a damned phone or tablet laden with apps/tiles, etc.  Admittedly, 10 is better since I tinkered with it to suit my wants and needs more, but MS needs to do a lot more to make it right.

Back when I first began with computers, I bought a second-hand IBM machine that had Windows XP on it, and what a nice machine it was, too.... a matt black beauty with a front panel that in some ways resembled a radiator grill.

Anyway, it developed some issues that I could not fix myself, only being very new to computers, so I took it to what became my fave PC store for many years.  To cut a long story short, Pat [the store owner] restored the machine to its former glory with OS2 as the primary OS.  Apparently it was there the whole time. 

The previous owner had put XP on a different drive but didn't dual boot for some reason, so I was oblivious to it until Pat discovered it on the original HDD.  I ran that machine with OS2 for about six months, but sadly, I wanted a faster and more powerful machine, and the IBM wasn't up for an upgrade, so I foolishly sold it to buy a new machine with a dual core Pentium P4 that, at the time, was blazingly quick.

I regret selling it now, cos I'd love to be able to tinker with it, etc, but sadly it's gone forever, ne'er to be seen again.  The person I sold it to went on to also sell it, but to an unknown person, so who knows where it is these days ... if it even exists still, given that was like 20-ish years ago.

Quoting Jafo,

reply 9

I still have a complete box of OS2-Warp4 somewhere....bunch of floppies [I think]....may have to play with it again sometime...

So do I    And no machine with a floppy drive

That's a bit hard to credit. The process for getting the upgrade included validating that the Win7 copy was legit. Your friend must have been giving you an "alternate fact."

Quoting Publius of NV,

reply 10

Quoting Jafo,

reply 9

I still have a complete box of OS2-Warp4 somewhere....bunch of floppies [I think]....may have to play with it again sometime...

So do I    And no machine with a floppy drive

You could probably pick up a floppy drive from one of those weekend markets where folk sell PC parts and etc.

Yes, that was the original requirement from MS, but later in the piece it relaxed that condition in a bid to make everyone run legit OSes. This was in the latter part of when Win 10 was still being given away 'free'.   I don't know how far that news got because I only ever saw it on majorgeeks.com, who provided a link to another site that ran the full story.

On the other side of the story, not that I really wanted it, but I had a legit version of Win 8.1 that wouldn't upgrade to Win 10.  A likely reason was 3rd party software that 10 didn't like, because once I had performed a clean install of 8.1, Win 10 decided it would install itself via Scheduled Maintenance while I wasn't looking.

I have a feeling that I may even have one stashed away with various PC parts.  I don't know that they'll ever be the 'in thing' again, but I do recall keeping one because I have a couple of boxes of floppys that may have been found a use for.  That hasn't happened [as yet'], either, given all my HDDs and SSDs have more than enough storage.

Hehe, maybe I'll hide my p0rn collection on them.  I mean, who's gonna think to look for p0rn on a bunch of old obsolete floppys?

On a serious note, the discs and drive could one day become collectors items and be worth a bit of cash

Quoting Jafo,

reply 19

I'm still arguing with Win 10 on my laptop.......the OS keeps on telling me there is no WiFi network when there is....and to fix it I have to uninstall the driver and refresh hardware in Device Manager...

....AND it's an Aussie Invention.... [WiFi, not bloody Win10].

I don't give a hoot who invented it, Win 10 has no fechen right to perpetually argue there is no wi-fi network and force users uninstall the drivers, etc.   It has been happening on my HP 2-in-1 since 10 ousted my beloved Windows 8.1 and performed its first update.  Every month without fail Win 10 updates perfectly good Intel network drivers with its own perverted versions and fechs up my internet.

As you say, the only way to repair it is to uninstall in device manager and do a refresh to install the original drivers.  Thing is, we shouldn't have to keep doing this every month... and more.  What's more, there's eff all you can do to stop it.  Even if you uninstall and hide the specific KB in Windows Updates, those damned perverted drivers still get downloaded when Scheduled Maintenance is running under the hood.... and that you cannot stop.

Bastard 10 also does it to the Bluetooth keyboard and sometimes the audio drivers.

Go to majorgeeks and look on the left side menu, System Tools and Windows 10 Fixes.  There you will find several programs that will remove Cortana and any other unwanted apps.  I use Destroy 10 Spying, which does the job and is easy to use.

It's an old joke...

....note the number of floppies needed..