CharlieSummers
New Member
- Messages
- 7
I am not a huge fan of "stores," which I see only as a way for companies to track and monitor their users for profilling and marketing purposes. I refuse to use any iDevices for this reason. I have many Android devices, but do not maintain a Google account, do not use the Play Store, and indeed rip out most Google apps from the devices as well as firewall off all of the Google-controlled netblocks I know about. It is...difficult sometimes to sideload everything, but I have been able to keep my devices free of big-G snooping and install most things I've wanted, other than some commercial applications. (It is, after all, just linux with a pretty face.)
So now I am faced with installing Windows8 (actually plan to install as dual-boot at first since I don't want to commit until I'm comfortable), which of course contains Microsoft's catch-up tracking "store." I have no plans whatsoever for using the tablet/phone interface since I use my desktop computer for actual work (video and audio processing, etc.), uses for which these little "apps" would be effectively useless (I don't compress TS streams on my phone or tablet, either) and so won't be messing around with the Windows Store...but is it possible to (as with Android) completely firewall off the store? I'm concerned because seemingly the only way to upgrade to Windows 8.1 is through the store, which will of course leak personal information, something I am not particularly interested in doing. (Especially to a company I trust as little as I trust Microsoft.)
Is it possible, assuming installing only "real" Windows programs and not "apps," to completely firewall off the MS Store?
So now I am faced with installing Windows8 (actually plan to install as dual-boot at first since I don't want to commit until I'm comfortable), which of course contains Microsoft's catch-up tracking "store." I have no plans whatsoever for using the tablet/phone interface since I use my desktop computer for actual work (video and audio processing, etc.), uses for which these little "apps" would be effectively useless (I don't compress TS streams on my phone or tablet, either) and so won't be messing around with the Windows Store...but is it possible to (as with Android) completely firewall off the store? I'm concerned because seemingly the only way to upgrade to Windows 8.1 is through the store, which will of course leak personal information, something I am not particularly interested in doing. (Especially to a company I trust as little as I trust Microsoft.)
Is it possible, assuming installing only "real" Windows programs and not "apps," to completely firewall off the MS Store?
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Various