To effectively implement and use Windows 10 in our homes and businesses, Microsoft must make changes to both the operating system and the policies the company put in place to support the new OS. Those changes fall into two categories:
1) Microsoft must give Windows 10 users more control over when updates are installed. We need the ability to delay or hide damaging updates that impact the computing experience, have undesirable side effects such as blue screens of death, or reduce the functionality to attached devices. Under the current system of mandated updates, we have been adversely impacted by forced driver and firmware updates plus other patches; we've wasted hours dealing with the unwanted side effects. As long-time Windows users, we understand the need to have quicker and more agile security updating. But this agility should not introduce additional risks to our systems. Windows 10 updates have already caused loss of system functionality, video and display issues, and other significant issues.
[edit 11/5/2016: The 1607 release has added active hours, but the release is still mandating nearly weekly reboots which is unacceptable. We feel the updating process isn't getting better, but in fact worse. Users (and Journalists) complain that " ... get a new update to Anniversary Update and some things aren't working like they worked before. I wonder which of the updates I just got did something to it" and have a difficult time determining if a bug has been fixed in a particular release.]
2) Microsoft should provide detailed information on what's in each update -- along with what system changes we should see with each cumulative-update release. We applaud the cumulative-update model, but the lack of documentation doesn't let us to perform the due diligence required for safely deploying and maintaining Windows 10 systems in our organizations.
[edit 11/5/2016 - Microsoft is now providing more detail here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history however the ability to track when a bug in a prior release has been fixed is still difficult to do. The Insider Feedback process doesn't provide an effective way to determine when reported bugs are resolved.]
We have expressed our concerns on the Uservoice feedback platform here and here. We now use change.org's petition platform to express our concerns more broadly.
We need control using our existing patching methodologies.
We need communication.
Sincerely,
Your Windows customers
