Microsoft Pays Woman $10,000 for Unwanted Windows 10 Update. Here Are 5 Times the Upgrade Came at the Worst Moment. The tech giant has been on a mission to roll out the newest version of its operating system to the world.
By Rose Leadem
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
It's no secret that PC users have been fuming these past few months over Microsoft's pushy Windows 10 update. Finally, one of these victims has seen glory.
Terri Goldstein, a small-business owner based in California, sued the company and won $10,000 for her unwanted Windows 10 update with claims that her PC didn't function properly after. "I had never heard of Windows 10," Goldstein tells The Seattle Times. "Nobody ever asked me if I wanted an update."
Like Goldstein, many PC users and companies are angered by the interruptions the upgrade has caused. Here are five horror stories from people who received the automatic update at the seemingly worst possible moment.
1. During a live newscast.
Metinka Slater, a meteorologist for Iowa's KCCI Channel 8, was reporting the day's weather during a live broadcast when the Windows 10 upgrade notification appeared over the map behind her. Taken by surprise, Slater briefly found herself reporting on the software update rather than the forecasted rainfall.
2. During a nine-hour gaming marathon.
Many online gamers are complaining that the blue "window of doom" pop-ups have made their games unplayable and forced them to exit -- a major problem for competitive gamers like Erik Flom, who has a following of nearly 130,000. A forced installation caused Flom to panic, and his expletive-laden outrage was captured live on the video-streaming service Twitch. After facing the emotional distress of having to break during a nine-hour gaming marathon, Flom realized nothing could be done to stop the upgrade.
3. During a radio show.
Popular radio host Thom Hartmann's server went offline when his system suddenly decided to upgrade in the middle of this show, interrupting his YouTube livestream.
Our youtube stream is down because the computer it runs out of is "automatically" updating to Windows 10 WITHOUT our permission. Grrrrrrr.
— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) March 11, 2016
4. During final exams.
The update may even threaten students' grades. With summer approaching, the last thing stressed-out students need is a delay as they scramble to finish final exams. A student complained on a Reddit forum that she got up from her desk for a couple of minutes and came back to find her PC in the middle of an update.
5. During a visit to the doctor.
On a more serious note, Windows 10 has presented some inconvenience in the workplace, even in one doctor's office. A Reddit user reported: "I needed to set up my department's bronchoscopy cart quickly for someone with some sick lungs… when I turned on the computer it had to do a Windows update." Seriously, Microsoft?
