Small But Stupid Move( Windows 10 )

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Ok, so Microsoft did add a calculator to Windows 10 after all. I was wrong. News flash though I am not alone in thinking that. I actually went online to see if it had been moved and found articles where tech sites said it was not included any longer and that is where I got the link I did I posted here.

Why move it and make it so difficult to find is my question? There is still a Windows>Accessories folder with the traditional components in it like Notepad so why not put it where it has always been? Why move something that has been in one place for what, 2 decades now? How does moving it, from where people are accustomed to looking for it, make Windows 10 better? It doesn't.

I still stand behind my comment that Microsoft is forever trying to fix things that just are not broken. They make changes just for change sake and it is ridiculous. Like the changes to the Windows 10 start function.

Anyway, I found the new calculator and checked it out and I prefer the older one so I will keep it. Thanks to those who let me know where the Windows 10 one is( in a nice way rather than the usual BITOG condescending and snarky way some always choose to use ).
 
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It's a problem created by M$.


When you have an established user interface and change it, don't blame the user for not finding the tool you moved.

This is like blaming a mechanic for being unable tomfind his tools when someone else moved them on him.

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
I just get so sick of Microsoft forever trying to fix things that just are not broken.


I would imagine that it's just as frustrating for Microsoft when people claim that something isn't there when it still is. I have 2 Windows 10 machines that were upgrades and 1 that was a fresh factory installation. All 3 have the new, updated Windows calculator that has a tremendous amount of new functionality.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
It's a problem created by M$.


When you have an established user interface and change it, don't blame the user for not finding the tool you moved.

This is like blaming a mechanic for being unable tomfind his tools when someone else moved them on him.


Exactly and thank you. Moving the calculator from where it has been going back as far as I can remember serves what purpose? How does it improve Windows 10? All it does is make it harder for people to find it. Typical Microsoft.
 
I mean personally as a windows power user I rarely use the actual "all programs" anyway. For windows functions, I usually user the Windows Key + R command to bring up run.

From there it's

mstsc for RDP
wordpad, calc, iexplore, to do exactly what they sound like
compmgmt.msc for management (so much easier than control panel for device, disk, user management)
devmgmt.msc to go straight to device manager
CMD for command prompt, etc.

Anything I can't easily run this way I just open start and start typing the name and it instantly searches and I can run it from there.
 
You can't escape MS nonsense by being a poweruser and using the command line.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/peterfi/archive/2008/01/11/mstsc-console-is-now-mstsc-admin.aspx

Quote:

In both Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, the Remote Desktop Program has been updated to version 6.1 (6.0.6001) and one of the changes is that the functionality previously associated with the /console switch is now called the /admin switch. Wasted a few hours chasing this one down.
....

If you use "mstsc /v:servername /console" in a script file then the /console will be ignored (with no warning) and you will be connected to a normal session that is not the server console. If you specify the /console switch in the RDC GUI connection dialog then it will tell you "an unknown parameter was specified in the computer name field".

All is good if you use /admin instead of /console. It would have been great if the developers had seen fit to at least detect the /console switch and issue a message along the lines of "/console no longer supported, use /admin instead"


Basically change the syntax of the command in a new version, still accept the old syntax, give no message to the user and then not honor what the user has requested. Top notch.... probably the worst implementation choice of a very simple functionality change.
 
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With little evidence to back this up, it's my opinion that Microsoft is trying to force the user down a road that will lead to having to SEARCH to launch each and every app...each and every time we want to use it. Why? Because doing so will reduce those pesky icons & app lists that maybe get in the way of Microsoft showing us more ads. And also because an astoundingly large number of users are STILL unwilling or unable to learn how to store data on their computer and then later retrieve it. I know people who routinely use GOOGLE to locate their own bank's online web site, then they worry and fret themselves that they might have fallen prey and somehow been directed to a site that will steal their personal info. Of course, they could've and should've made a bookmark for the valid site in their browser and used that to access their bank, but this just doesn't occur to them.
 
I am pretty sure the start>run>calc still functions. That is what I have been doing since the 1990's and it appears to still work okay.
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
I am pretty sure the start>run>calc still functions. That is what I have been doing since the 1990's and it appears to still work okay.


It does but I have never used a computer that way as a normal practice( use it on rare occasions )and it didn't dawn on me to do a search( probably should have ). Also, understand here, that in the Windows>Accessories folder where the calculator has been for as long as I can recall is a new program called Math Input Panel. It "appeared" they had replaced the old calculator with that foolish thing. Think about it, people are used to going there for the calculator and now there is a Math Input Panel. Would not a reasonable person assume it replaced the calculator? Doesn't Microsoft do things like that all the time?

So, when I went to where the Windows calculator has always been, and discovered it was not there but that other thing is, my 1st thought was search online and see what happened NOT do a computer search for calculator. That is where I found some tech articles saying it had been removed and where I was directed to the link I posted that installs the old calculator in the location people expect it to be.

I can come up with absolutely no justification to remove the calculator from the Windows>Accessories location. Add in the fact that they put the Math Input Panel in there, and you have to search to find the calculator, makes me think this was done purposely and with reason. What that reason is escapes me though as it usually does when pondering odd moves from Microsoft.

IN the grand scheme of things this is a minor annoyance. I was just trying to help others with some info. Didn't mean to start a referendum on my intelligence and such.
 
If you use Google Chrome as your web browser, you can get the App Launcher from the Google Chrome App Store and then get the Calculator App Google makes. These are all free.
 
Originally Posted By: blupupher
The new calculator takes longer to open. In all Windows OS prior, click calculator and it opened instantly. The new one takes about a second to open.



Mine opens instantly.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: javacontour
It's a problem created by M$.


When you have an established user interface and change it, don't blame the user for not finding the tool you moved.

This is like blaming a mechanic for being unable tomfind his tools when someone else moved them on him.


Exactly and thank you. Moving the calculator from where it has been going back as far as I can remember serves what purpose? How does it improve Windows 10? All it does is make it harder for people to find it. Typical Microsoft.

i stand corrected: both of you where right, i'm wrong. (source, M$ updates mess up perfectly running legacy machines... or booting those machines....)
 
On my Windows 10 installation, I just click the Search Windows magnifying glass icon there at the bottom left of my screen, and it makes it simple to find it all. When that search window is open, I do turn off all three Cortana options. At least turn off the web search results.
 
This seems similar to the post where someone complained about how hard it was to get to the control panel in W10.

I would honestly think that most users would love how W10 works. No complicated terminology or clicking through folders to find things. Simply tap the Windows button once and type what you want to find. This isn't a "power user" technique or something used only by young techie-types. It's simply faster, easier, and something we're all familiar with - it's almost as easy as searching on Google.

A couple of quick examples:

Select: Windows button >> type: "calc" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.

Select: Windows button >> type: "device manager" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.)

Etc.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
This seems similar to the post where someone complained about how hard it was to get to the control panel in W10.

I would honestly think that most users would love how W10 works. No complicated terminology or clicking through folders to find things. Simply tap the Windows button once and type what you want to find. This isn't a "power user" technique or something used only by young techie-types. It's simply faster, easier, and something we're all familiar with - it's almost as easy as searching on Google.

A couple of quick examples:

Select: Windows button >> type: "calc" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.

Select: Windows button >> type: "device manager" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.)

Etc.


I posted that about finding the control panel( as you well know so don't pretend not to - just lame ). Sorry, but I can't disagree with you more. There are certain things that have been accessed the same way in Windows dating back to 95 and maybe even 3.1( been so long since I used that I can't be 100% sure ). Why change them now?

Let the people who want to search by name do that if they think it is so much better and faster. Just don't take away the standard UI path that they have used forever that the rest of us prefer to use. To do so is ridiculous.

I realize you are just looking to bait me by dredging this up. I am not getting into it further than I have now. Please go pester someone else.
 
The issue being that Windows 10 IS SLOWING down some older machines. I think it involves the video card. So some could experience slower operations.

I am researching video cards and more memory to band-aid my 5 year old machine.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
This seems similar to the post where someone complained about how hard it was to get to the control panel in W10.

I would honestly think that most users would love how W10 works. No complicated terminology or clicking through folders to find things. Simply tap the Windows button once and type what you want to find. This isn't a "power user" technique or something used only by young techie-types. It's simply faster, easier, and something we're all familiar with - it's almost as easy as searching on Google.

A couple of quick examples:

Select: Windows button >> type: "calc" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.

Select: Windows button >> type: "device manager" >> select: enter (or click within the search results.)

Etc.


I posted that about finding the control panel( as you well know so don't pretend not to - just lame ). Sorry, but I can't disagree with you more. There are certain things that have been accessed the same way in Windows dating back to 95 and maybe even 3.1( been so long since I used that I can't be 100% sure ). Why change them now?

Let the people who want to search by name do that if they think it is so much better and faster. Just don't take away the standard UI path that they have used forever that the rest of us prefer to use. To do so is ridiculous.

I realize you are just looking to bait me by dredging this up. I am not getting into it further than I have now. Please go pester someone else.


Some here seem to mark everything said by everyone, but that's not me. Also, why on Earth would I want to bait you in a Windows 10 thread? Seriously, it's Windows 10, not Mobile 1 (sic)! Well, now that you've resorted to name-calling and attempting to bite my head off, I will say:

Since you've just told me that you are the person who started the hard-to-get-to-the-control-panel thread, which I did not know until you just told me, I'm not sure what to tell you. You've twice asked Windows 10-related question that had simple, effective solutions. I'm not going to go back and look at the previous thread, but, based on your responses in this one, I'm going to guess that you failed to acknowledge the responses and solutions in that one, too.

None of us is attempting to brow-beat you into using a completely new program or utilizing Windows 10 in an entirely unfamiliar manner. It's really as simple (and mostly more effective) as Googling something. If you really want to click on something, then you can also create a legacy "click here" folder with short-cuts to all of your favorite used-ta-links. I haven't tried this, but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

Regardless of how long a program (or OS) has been around, there are faster and more effective ways to use it, even BEFORE upgrading. Case in point: the ability to find the control panel and calculator and other features has been around at least since W7, and some of us have found the efficiency in opening programs this way. It wasn't a W10 change we had to get used to; it's simply a more efficient method that was already there, and with which Windows might be pushing newer users toward using.

A good example: several years ago I complained when all of our work laptops were upgraded to Office 2010, because its UI was unfamiliar and everything I did seemed to take longer than before, because there weren't easy-to-click headers and sub-headers to navigate through. I considered it unnecessarily 'pretty' and overall less practical. When someone showed me how to use it, as well as the shortcuts that were also available in previous versions, I begrudgingly changed my opinion. I could have continued to stubbornly complain about how it used to be, but where would that get me? My company wasn't going to downgrade, simply because I liked the way it used to be, right?

Kind of a bad example, because Office is sometimes one of the most difficult programs to easily use. You really need to take a freaking course just to relearn a format you lost that you created a long time ago and have continued to use (e.g., I hadn't used pivot tables in 3 year and completely forgot how to use them, when I again needed to generate a quick report.)

Originally Posted By: CKN
The issue being that Windows 10 IS SLOWING down some older machines. I think it involves the video card. So some could experience slower operations.

I am researching video cards and more memory to band-aid my 5 year old machine.


I just upgraded my old laptop, but not because of Windows 10; it was already painfully slow with its E-350 AMD APU. Actually, boot time and file access times were REDUCED with W10 (from W7), not lengthened. The reason I'm upgrade, is because it was adequate 5 years ago and was simply a poor choice for long-term ownership. The small, low-res screen and very modest specs were adequate for a tiny travel laptop, but not one that I need more for work-horse duties now.

My PC, which is also the same age as my laptop, had and has no issues, because it had more appropriate specs for what I needed: i-7 920, 12GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 5850 video card. It won't play the latest games on more than mid-low settings, but it will have enough power to last me another few years, at least.
 
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