@Stephen Leslie Re: Some steps
"You might feel the thing is almost an extension of Microsoft servers, rather than its own operating system. But with some adjustments, you can reclaim your own computer."
Thanks for the post; that's some very useful stuff there..
What I need to know, and will require, I suspect, more time from more tech-competent people than myself, is the degree to which it is possible to disable the constant surveillance, and, simultaneously, what remains in force no matter what the user does. If it *all* can be disabled, then I don't much care what Microsoft has put in there; it's the undefeatable mechanisms that concern me. I doubt that the final word has been said on this matter.