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Any software or hardware vendor may develop a .cpl (Control Panel Item) plugin. You don't see them too often, but e.g. Java has (or had?) one. I have seen a few others as well.
So Microsoft certainly ha not designed everything in the Control Panel.
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But MS is in complete control of Control Panel itself. It has the ability to update Control Panel's code via the dreaded Update Service, and add telemetry to Control Panel that notifies MS of every plugin that has been enabled. It could even make it so that a ghost of the Control Panel ran in the background and forwarded those plugins to the new Settings application. They are engineers, for christ sake! Or aren't they?
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So you are saying that when I buy/obtain some software (or hardware with accompanying driver software) that installs some .cpl on my machine, without the knowledge of MS, because they have control over the Control Panel itself, they should, through telemetry, not not only know of every .cpl in the world, installed on my PC or any other PC, networked or not, but they are also able to deduce, again through telemetry, in which way all these different vendors are dependent on their Control Panel plugins.
There is no reason whatsoever why they should ask any other vendor: If you in the future no longer will have the option to configure your hardware or software through your current .cpl, how will that affect you? - since MS controls the main CP, they should know, through telemetry, how it will affect other software and hardware vendors if they loose the opportunity to plug their configuration programs into the Control Panel.
I cannot say 100% for sure that MS does not have supernatural powers to deduce the implications of taking away from other vendors their CP based configuration mechanism. As you say: "They are engineers, for christ sake! Or aren't they?" - so they may possess such supernatural powers. Or maybe they don't.
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No. I am saying that if they make the decision to move all Control Panel functionality to the Settings program, they should engineer a way to do so and be done with it. One feasible way is to modify Control Panel to let MS know what .cpls are used. Hell, they could even have the .cpl sent to their labs, reverse engineer it, and redo it for the Settings program if they are so damned excited about eliminating the Control Panel. And they could do so by modifying the program they control - the Control Panel itself, to do so.
In short, if they are so set on moving to the Settings program, then do so. There shouldn't be any real reason for them to ask what is needed from the users. Or, just leave the Control Panel alone.
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So I understand that you think it is better if MS do not communicates with its users (here: .cpl developers) to discuss their needs.
Personally, I think good communication between software vendors and users is essential to develop a good product. I don't see any good reason to work against it.
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MS already knows the needs of the users. The users need the functionality that the Control Panel already gave them. No need to ask!
The quote from the article I posted wasn't asking .cpl developers. It was asking users.
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I think lots of open software developers think the same way. "We know what the users need; we don't have to ask them".
That is a major reason why there is still a lot of room for commercial software.
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And yet Microsoft continually IGNORES the feedback of the users! Many have said they don't want the ribbon interface. Many have said to keep the top bar of a window for dragging. And make it so you can tell which window has focus in a clear and concise manner. And keep the scrollbars visible by default. And many other feedbacks MS has ignored. So your insistence that MS asks the users is actually kind of humorous, because they have shown they will not listen to it even if they ask!
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David O'Neil wrote: One feasible way is to modify Control Panel to let MS know what .cpls are used. Hell, they could even have the .cpl sent to their labs, reverse engineer it, and redo it for the Settings program if they are so damned excited about eliminating the Control Panel. And they could do so by modifying the program they control - the Control Panel itself, to do so.
If 99% of users set their w10 telemetry to "open the firehose all the way, give them everything including the keys to the kingdom and the kitchen sink" what you suggest might be an option.
I'm pretty sure the reality is that most users have set telemetry to the minimum level and aren't even reporting which parts of the Control Panel are still being used; so they're asking to get data about what to prioritize porting next, and potentially if any parts are so little used that they might be reduced to hidden registry keys or group policy settings instead.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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You've got a point there. Maybe they could get around the issue with their fast ring builds (if they didn't require a complete ground-level install), and requiring telemetry in them. Then the MS guy could have made a statement like: "We've incorporated all of the Control Panel plugins that our early beta testers required in the latest and greatest Settings program! Try it out, and if we've overlooked one that you need, let us know before we eliminate Control Panel entirely in the next major build!" (In other words, sell it as a pretty much done deal, rather than something they are looking for feedback on.)
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Maybe eventually, their progress has been slow enough since W8 came out that I'm not expecting them to get to the point of being able to axe the control panel for at least another 5 or 10 years.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Dan Neely wrote: for at least another 5 or 10 years.
That sounds about right.
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Yes, follow the lead of Android where settings are scattered around; make it a treasure hunt!
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And I wonder (again, and again, and again...) how many things will they break to make this completely undesired and unrequested disaster "feature" available? 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I think they're just setting up a CYA moment for when a future Windows update accidently deletes all or part of the control panel.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Can an organization that pretty much eliminated their QA department have the intelligence to think that far ahead? I doubt it.
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Windows had a QA department? Really? What did they do? Go on picnics all day?
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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In a C# 9 deep dive, we go in-depth on records. 45s or 33s? (or 78s for the oldsters)
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Designated initialization is an extension of aggregate initialization and empowers you to directly initialize the members of a class type using their names. Are they the ones that drive you to the bar if you're already too drunk?
Even with all the size and age of C++, it amazes me when it just gets a feature common to many other languages.
Yes, I'm sheltered.
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Kent Sharkey wrote: Are they the ones that drive you to the bar if you're already too drunk?
Better to the bar than to the brothel, don't you think?
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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As voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa increasingly make their way into internet of things devices, it’s becoming harder to track when audio recordings are sent to the cloud and who might gain access to them. Alyssa eluted the electroanalyitical elixer mixer (order one of everything. send.)
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Accidentally... yeah, right.
Is it ever disconnected?
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I know they're disconnected at my house. I keep them at the store to avoid accidental connection
TTFN - Kent
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Another possibility[^]
After reading it for the first time I did it at a friend's place... now it is always disconnected everytime we go to visit them 
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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