Microsoft breaks own design rules in dupe-the-user Windows 10 upgrade tactic

Microsoft's interpretation of the "Close" button in a notification of an impending upgrade to Windows 10 is contrary to company design guidelines and other recommendations, according to documents on the firm's website.

As part of a final push to boost the number of PCs running Windows 10 before the July 29 expiration of its free upgrade offer, Microsoft has altered the behavior of a notification dialog so that clicking the "X" in the upper-right corner authorizes the pre-scheduled upgrade.

Not only is that contrary to decades of convention and user expectations, but it's a change from past behavior of the dialog. Previously, when users saw dialog frames posed by the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app -- which was responsible for producing the notification -- they could both exit the dialog and cancel the proposed action by clicking on the X to close the window.

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