For example, I am shocked by the number of useless pre-installed apps that come with Windows and demand attention, e.g. with top-level Start Menu icons. Most of these are at best irrelevant (e.g. OneDrive) and at worst completely inappropriate for a work machine (e.g. Xbox). Even worse, it seems that this is just the beginning: Windows will automatically download more inappropriate apps in the future. [A]
What changes have you made to your Windows 10 install to make it suitable for professional work? For example, I am looking for ways to:
1. Remove all of the irrelevant apps cluttering my machine, and prevent any more from being downloaded. Control of what is installed on my computer should rest with me, not with Microsoft.
2. Remove advertising from the operating system. I can't believe anyone considers this acceptable.
3. Ensure Windows is respecting my privacy. I already changed the relevant settings [1] to off/basic when installing Windows - is there anything else I should do?
4. Prevent the OS from restarting to install Windows updates, except when specifically told to do so.
With Windows 10, I'm so pleased that I can do most of my work in Linux and macOS. However, as long as some of my customers use Windows, I have to keep it installed.
What can I do to make Windows 10 "Professional" worthy of the name?
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[A] I don't understand this at all. On the one hand, Microsoft sell "Signature Edition PCs" [2] which avoid the problems caused by PC manufacturers' "pre-installed junk". At the same time, they have started propagating the same junk themselves?
[1] http://hexus.net/media/uploaded/2017/4/4d9dfa9f-69ec-4378-9688-8e7cd7e8d009.jpg
[2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/pcsignatureedition