I've always thought that at some point the only "stomachable" version of windows is going to be some hacked offering, by god-knows-who or from where, but it'll still end up being preferable to what MS is requiring.

Isn't that the way it's been for several versions now with scripts to disable all the telemetry and shovelware?

As far as I know there are no scripts that are capable of disabling all of the telemetry and nothing that can't be undone the instant the computer has an internet connection and connects to windows update.

As far as scripts for it, this thread has some sage advice:

https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/n3v0s5/disable_win...

The tools to disable telemetry and bloat:

https://github.com/irmatade/sharpapp https://www.oo-software.com/fr/shutup10 https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

MSFT doc on what all telemetry is gathered, and what is considered "required" telemetry (although they give you enough info to block it at the router):

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy/configure-w...

I do like Win10 as an OS. On the whole I'd say the Satya era of MSFT is a mixed bag, but better on the whole than it was before.