Microsoft Delays Controversial "Recall" Feature for Windows 11 24H2

[Darmok N Jalad]

This is essentially where I'm headed. For the past week or so I've been looking at the Mini and Studio and will make a decision shortly. I really only have one or two must-have applications that need to run on Windows or MacOS and the rest is just fine on Linux, gaming included. I've been Mac only previously so it's not going to be anything new and my wife has a M1 Macbook Air. I've just been unable to mentally bring myself to spend what Apple's asking for things like storage or RAM upgrades. I think I've finally come to terms with it.

Yeah, it's a tough pill on the upgrades. I've thought about the M2 Pro mini before, but gosh the M4 models can't be far from release now. So far, my Manjaro rig has been pretty faithful, and I'm running it on hardware MS has decided to abandon (Ivy Bridge E), so it might always be a Linux box.

 

[bug]

Yeah, and web search is in a great state today, isn't it? lol, only going to get worse.

I don't think AI is a passing fad, but I don't think it's beneficial in the final analysis, either. In my list of reasons why, I didn't even mention the deluge of cheating/scamming/spoofing that it enables, in schools and elsewhere. Sometimes I almost wish AI really were an apocalyptic singularity, an impossibly smart and potentially hostile human-style consciousness. That would not only be far more impressive than what we have now; at least the threat of it would be serious and straightforward, rather than the death-by-a-thousand-frivolous-cuts that we seem to be heading towards.

But hey, business growth line goes up, so let's all celebrate.

Well, www enables cheating/scamming/spoofing because it makes information readily available. Knives and rocks are even worse, they enable murder. See where I'm going with this?

 

[Tek-Check]

I am curious how they would manage to move hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users to Windows 11 by the end of 2025, especially big institutions whose hundreds and thousands of workers use Windows 10 on a daily basis? Are they sure that those institutions and users would pay a fee for security patches?

Ain't gonna happen. They will backtrack on this one too.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I'm curious where Recall will be in a year or two. Will people even use it? I wonder how many people will more find it to be creepy as opposed to useful. I can't think of a time when I wanted to go back in time to see what I was doing on my PC on a specific date. At most, it's going back to look at browser history for a specific link, but even that is really rare. Is this really a problem people have that needs solving?

 

[Steevo]

Enjoy the vacay, you'll be back! "I'm switching to linux" is the tech world's "I'm moving to Canada."

Is moving back to 10 the equivalent of moving to the country and using a VPN?

 

[Totally]

Is moving back to 10 the equivalent of moving to the country and using a VPN?

Moving away from the craziness to the countryside yeah I'd say that is pretty apt

 

[Space Lynx]

I recently tried out manjaro and have had 0 issues with it. Only thing keeping me on Windows right now is PC game pass being so cheap and FFXIV Dawntrail coming out soon.

Once I finish Dawntrail and a couple more PC game pass games though I am yeeting full time to manjaro, its easier to use than I was expecting, but I am very simply user, i just web browser and play games so meh.

 

[Solaris17]

Only thing keeping me on Windows right now is PC game pass being so cheap and FFXIV Dawntrail coming out soon.

Weird because iv been playing XIV without issue and I dont even use the steam version.

 

[Space Lynx]

Weird because iv been playing XIV without issue and I dont even use the steam version.

You are much more skilled than I am though, I literally only know how to use Heroic Launcher and Steam for playing games on Linux (which is 99% of all I need). I guess I can try to follow a tutorial to install the official non-steam launcher, the download page only has a windows launcher option.

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

Yeah, it's a tough pill on the upgrades. I've thought about the M2 Pro mini before, but gosh the M4 models can't be far from release now. So far, my Manjaro rig has been pretty faithful, and I'm running it on hardware MS has decided to abandon (Ivy Bridge E), so it might always be a Linux box.

That's a very good point. It's probably in my best interest to wait. Appreciate the reminder.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

That's a very good point. It's probably in my best interest to wait. Appreciate the reminder.

Yeah, the Mini is what I've been considering for a while now, and they never updated it to M3. I suspect they'll skip up to M4 at this point. Would love to see them redesign it too. It's way bigger than it needs to be these days.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

You paid more than enough when you bought an apple product.....

Remind me how expensive Surface computers and tablets are again?

I'm curious where Recall will be in a year or two. Will people even use it? I wonder how many people will more find it to be creepy as opposed to useful. I can't think of a time when I wanted to go back in time to see what I was doing on my PC on a specific date. At most, it's going back to look at browser history for a specific link, but even that is really rare. Is this really a problem people have that needs solving?

It's a problem that certain people have, specifically when looking at what others are doing. Think how much easier this would make the three letter's jobs!

Moving away from the craziness to the countryside yeah I'd say that is pretty apt

It's amazing. Frankly, after a year in the world of the TUX, windows has become almost unrecognizable. You wonder how you dealt with the noise, pollution, and crazy people pooping in the streets for so long. Although in this case, it would be the spying, the constant annoyances, the pointless UI changes, and incongruent menus.

 

[user556]

This is not preschool. Microsoft doesn't need a gold star by their name to show they tried.

They needed to unveil a well thought out AI experience that addressed basic and valid concerns about privacy and security. They failed.

You may have misunderstood me. M$ did carefully calculate and deliver it as intended. They won't be stopping, and will eventually revert to recording every move you make. If you want to stay clear then I suggest you drop Windoze permanently.

 

[Space Lynx]

You may have misunderstood me. M$ did carefully calculate and deliver it as intended. They won't be stopping, and will eventually revert to recording every move you make.

we are so lucky Linux has made so much progress ^^ i plan to just dual boot more often, then eventually make my way to linux full time

 

[ypsylon]

This basically puts final nail in the coffin of Windows for me (since I first read about this crap). Sticking with 10 and will explore Linux & Mac - I'm fairly familiar with Apple and I know how you can turn everything down. Except couple games I've handful of stuff which is Winblows only so it'll require a lot of testing if it can work on Linux - I know it won't work on Mac because lack of CUDA. Fuck you M$ for being total "male procreation organs"!

Yeah, the Mini is what I've been considering for a while now, and they never updated it to M3. I suspect they'll skip up to M4 at this point. Would love to see them redesign it too. It's way bigger than it needs to be these days.

Don't be discouraged by Mac Mini not being updated to M3 or M4. M2 (and M1) is basically the same chip. They just added interconnect paths to scale the die up for MacPro. Lack of single CPU or GPU core is meaningless. M2 is just as good as M4 with same parameters. However rumors are circulating that MacMini will get a internal refresh this year at "hardware" EOY event.

 

[Pumper]

All these years and Microsoft still hasn't learned. They will likely never get it.

They do this shit all the time and their market value keeps going up, so the only lesson they can learn is to keep doing it.

 

[chrcoluk]

I have never liked the concept of searching and indexing contents of files from day 1.

On every Windows machine I manage, windows search service is disabled, and I untick the box on each drive that allows contents to be indexed for good measure.

With SSDs the original argument is now obsolete, originally Microsoft justified it by that searching natively on a spindle was too slow so indexing was added for performance. I never matched on to that either, as even when I was running Windows on a spindle if I searched for a program on the start menu it was almost instant. I still search for file names in a dos prompt, which is fast enough.

 

[Tahagomizer]

"Delays" in corpo-speak means it's implemented, collecting your data, "anonymizing" it and sending to marketing, but you will see the feature when the controversy dies out and everyone forgets about it. I give it three months.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

This basically puts final nail in the coffin of Windows for me (since I first read about this crap). Sticking with 10 and will explore Linux & Mac - I'm fairly familiar with Apple and I know how you can turn everything down. Except couple games I've handful of stuff which is Winblows only so it'll require a lot of testing if it can work on Linux - I know it won't work on Mac because lack of CUDA. Fuck you M$ for being total "male procreation organs"!

Don't be discouraged by Mac Mini not being updated to M3 or M4. M2 (and M1) is basically the same chip. They just added interconnect paths to scale the die up for MacPro. Lack of single CPU or GPU core is meaningless. M2 is just as good as M4 with same parameters. However rumors are circulating that MacMini will get a internal refresh this year at "hardware" EOY event.

The big benefit of the newer M chips is the larger GPU. The M2 tops up with a 19 core GPU, where the M1 tops out at 16 cores.

Now, if only the M series could support Vulkan (or proton could be ported to Metal) and we could use Proton on M series Macs.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

This basically puts final nail in the coffin of Windows for me (since I first read about this crap). Sticking with 10 and will explore Linux & Mac - I'm fairly familiar with Apple and I know how you can turn everything down. Except couple games I've handful of stuff which is Winblows only so it'll require a lot of testing if it can work on Linux - I know it won't work on Mac because lack of CUDA. Fuck you M$ for being total "male procreation organs"!

Don't be discouraged by Mac Mini not being updated to M3 or M4. M2 (and M1) is basically the same chip. They just added interconnect paths to scale the die up for MacPro. Lack of single CPU or GPU core is meaningless. M2 is just as good as M4 with same parameters. However rumors are circulating that MacMini will get a internal refresh this year at "hardware" EOY event.

I'm not discouraged, it's simply that it makes sense to wait for the refresh at this point. Going from M2 to M4 should be a pretty good upgrade. On the other hand, if you can find the M2 spec'ed how you want at an Apple reseller for a good discount, that's another option. Apple usually does a back-to-school event where you might get Airpods or a gift card when you buy.

 

[phanbuey]

It goes beyond the Mac.

Apple vertically integrated product stack (hardware, software, services) will benefit massively from systemwide AI integration. After a couple of years of trepidation and hesitation (which is a very sensible reaction), many people will realize the benefit of AI assistance on a large scale.

It's not about the computer on your desk. It's about the phone in your pocket, the watch on your wrist, the earbud, and maybe other things (some of which are unreleased and sitting in a lab in Cupertino).

Microsoft has no presence whatsoever on a person's body when they step out of the house.

Like I said earlier, consumer AI innovation will be driven by the smartphone. What can be done on a small battery powered device with limited memory? That's where the consumer AI battle will be duked out, not on $2500 GPUs running off of 1200W PSUs in some nerd cave.

If you want to program AI apps for iOS/iPadOS devices, yes, by all means get an M4 Mac.

But if you just want AI to help you with your daily life as a consumer and maybe do some work related stuff, you're probably better off waiting for the next gen iPhone 16 when it releases this fall.

Personally I plan on waiting for the M5 SoC chips before I upgrade my Mac mini M2 Pro. But my iPhone will be replaced first. That's the first device I grab before I step out the front door. That's the one that truly matters.

Microsoft completely screwed their future consumer prospects when they canceled Windows Phone.

The big purchasers of AI are corporations - they will spend HUGE money for automation, customer service, support, security services -- and they do have massive nerd caves to run these things. Microsoft has a stranglehold on the corporate market, and especially on the network/Active Directory/ Security side. There's OODLES of money to be made there on AI and i think that's where their focus will be.

But on the consumer side -- i agree -- it's really bad. I feel like the windows OS had great stability during 7 and 10 - I really don't like 11 - it feels sloppy, and disjointed, and their AI integration into it is a mess. Their approach to the user experience is why windows phone never took off. Everything microsoft does is needlessly complicated, and to do anything even remotely complex takes way longer to figure out than it should.

 

[Vayra86]

This is not preschool. Microsoft doesn't need a gold star by their name to show they tried.

They needed to unveil a well thought out AI experience that addressed basic and valid concerns about privacy and security. They failed.

Nope, Microsoft went for the glitzy demo and then had nothing to say for a few days when people kicked the tires.

As I said earlier, this is not Microsoft's first rodeo. They aren't some little startup just tryin' to figure stuff out because y'all know this computing stuff can be a little tricky at times.

For sure Microsoft will try to ramrod Recall down everyone's throats just like they tried with Cortana. My guess is when it debuts, it will do so rather weakly, a few people will play around with it for a month or two, then the world will move onto something else because Microsoft will have very limited AI presence on their phones. Out of sight, out of mind. "Microsoft? Who cares? It doesn't run on my phone."

Two years from now, Microsoft will rebrand it, try to relaunch it, and it will fail again. They'll let it fester for a couple more years then pull the plug.

Because that's the Microsoft Way.

I think you're pretty accurate here.

GFWL. That is all. We've been here a few dozen times now. MS should really. Really, just stick to making Windows and Office the best OS and office packages they can be. Heck, do some added services through Azure for all I care. Teams, some analytics, DevOps, etc. Fine apps. They can exist and make money alongside Windows and Office. But all these steps around it? Forcing cloud on us, forcing mobiles on us, forcing ARM tablets on us... or a Store and UWP-nonsense apps... just GTFO. We don't need it, we don't want it, its not better, and its never sexy enough to make a dent so why do they even bother.

Continued development has become a goal upon itself, it seems, but some things are just done, maybe they need a few touch ups over time, but really, Windows is done. Its not only done but its still got a great presence in the market, the feared 'everyone's going mobile and ARM' is not happening, especially not where the earning model has always been (enterprise). If you want to be productive, you're not doing it on a mobile or derivative. Simple.

MS should stop fucking whining for more services and money. They're readily shooting themselves in the foot now with it, as they have been doing ever since the godawful idea of Metro UI. I think that's when the madness set in, for reasons unknown, because them missing all those markets they had to get onboard with hasn't really damaged them at all.

 

[Rais]

I am not seeing any scenario where UE can allow any of this.
If it's not possible to uninstall Recall (i can't take the risk of it being activated by any malware or updated) i will really have to say bye to PC gaming.

 

[Lycanwolfen]

Microsoft just keeps inventing stuff to be exploited. Ransomware would have never exisited if MS had not invented Bitlocker. Root kits would never happened if sony had not invented it. Recall is just another invented thing hackers could get ahold of and turn it inside out. I saw one person mention Bill Gates Ya I wish he was running MS and not trying to run the world with the WEF and his stupid buying up farms and killing people.
We need the consumer protection act put back in LAW. Companies today are seriusly getting away with murder with people information. Adobe now you have to use their own cloud just to activate adobe. You cannot just buy adobe and own it anymore and they cloud read all your PDF's. All these companies talk security then have no security at all in the end.

I'm not discouraged, it's simply that it makes sense to wait for the refresh at this point. Going from M2 to M4 should be a pretty good upgrade. On the other hand, if you can find the M2 spec'ed how you want at an Apple reseller for a good discount, that's another option. Apple usually does a back-to-school event where you might get Airpods or a gift card when you buy.

Apple could control the entire market. They could if they wanted to be the top provider of all computers period. Apples could if they really wanted too sell their OS for all computers x86 and x64. If they did that windows would be done period over MS would have to really compete in the OS market. Apple OS is unix based if they would just update their kernal which is based on Free BSD to 4.0 or higher and runing newer Free BSD code 11 or something it would run on any PC. Then people could upgrade there MAC's with gaming computers and business class computers. But Apple does not do this they make money on Hardware sales that's it.

Microsoft just keeps inventing stuff to be exploited. Ransomware would have never exisited if MS had not invented Bitlocker. Root kits would never happened if sony had not invented it. Recall is just another invented thing hackers could get ahold of and turn it inside out. I saw one person mention Bill Gates Ya I wish he was running MS and not trying to run the world with the WEF and his stupid buying up farms and killing people.
We need the consumer protection act put back in LAW. Companies today are seriusly getting away with murder with people information. Adobe now you have to use their own cloud just to activate adobe. You cannot just buy adobe and own it anymore and they cloud read all your PDF's. All these companies talk security then have no security at all in the end.


Apple could control the entire market. They could if they wanted to be the top provider of all computers period. Apples could if they really wanted too sell their OS for all computers x86 and x64. If they did that windows would be done period over MS would have to really compete in the OS market. Apple OS is unix based if they would just update their kernal which is based on Free BSD to 4.0 or higher and runing newer Free BSD code 11 or something it would run on any PC. Then people could upgrade there MAC's with gaming computers and business class computers. But Apple does not do this they make money on Hardware sales that's it.

I built many Apple Hackentoshs back in the day that worked flawlessly with everything working even apple thought I owned 14 Mac servers and 14 macbook pros. I never bought one I installed there OS on a PC and it worked. Had to really do some tweaking to make it all work but it ran amazing faster than a real bought mac in some cases as it took advantage of all the CPU resources and did not down clock everything. Apple are ID10T's they could win the OS market with a snap of a finger.

 

[Jermelescu]

I love it when people freak out about things that are not yet released, and then they get surprised of last minute changes.
It was as clear as day that this will not be released in the announced form. Never ever ever ever, yet most people got so paranoid it was hillarios.
Anyway, it doesn't matter because only 0,1% tops of people using Windows have heard about this, since the vast majority of Windows users don't read tech news and don't actually care about things like this until they have it in front of their eyes.
Life moves on.

But as far as I go, can't wait for this feature to drop in. I spend way too much time searching for stuff I've seen or done in the past, so this will be a godsent to focus more on the present and future.