Thursday, July 30, 2015

Should I Get Windows 10?

After years of working with Windows 8 and 8.1 (and writing books about it), I'm ready for Windows 10…almost. Microsoft has completed a full circle and finally produced a proper successor to Windows 7. (At least, that's what most of the reviews say.) People who have hung onto Windows XP can now consider moving to Windows 10 without that horrible Windows 8 learning curve. All the things left out of Windows 8 have now been restored to Windows 10 making it look like a properly souped up Windows 7 computer. The Start Menu is back.

If you own Windows 7 (or Windows 8.1), then you qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10. No rush. You have the next year to do it. If you're happy with what you have now, then don't be in too much of a hurry. The early stages of any new release can be problematic. Microsoft is already planning a major update in early August. It may be to your benefit to wait until then. Or even better, you may want to postpone your upgrade until October when there is another planned release—this time with more new features, as well as, the fixing of bugs. By that time most of the upgrade problems should be worked out.

It you own Windows XP, then it will cost you $110 to get Windows 10 Home version. Plus you will need to do a clean install wiping all of your old files. In addition, there is no guarantee that the machine will support the upgrade. A couple of years ago, I had some XP machines which wouldn't take Windows 8. I can only assume that there will be some similar install problems for Windows 10 on computers which are too old.

If I were using XP, I would consider spending a few hundred dollars more and buy a new computer with much more power and less legacy problems. You won't realize what a dog you're XP is until you get one of the latest computers with faster processors and huge, speedy hard drives.

Windows 10 will include a new Web browser called Edge (clever name). Apparently,  Microsoft has finally given up on Internet Explorer. (Don't worry. Internet Explorer will still be available, but only updated with security patches.) Edge looks and acts a lot like the Google Chrome browser. Humm.

If you want to know if you should get Windows 10, my answer is yes. (I don't want to be the only one upgrading.) While those funky tiles and Modern screen introduced in Windows 8 are still included, they are much easier to totally ignore in Windows 10. If you use either Windows XP or Windows 7, then the experience should be familiar. If you use any version of Windows 8, then the new operating system should be a relief. It should be worth doing—especially if it's free.

Note: If you're wondering what happened to Window 9, Microsoft skipped it. Digitally the number 10 is much more solid than the number 9—even though 9 is a perfect square. Windows 10 is intended to be the last version of Windows ever. It will be updated from here to eternity. Why the change in Microsoft's strategy? Just look at how many people still use Windows XP.

3 comments:

  1. I installed the Windows 10 update today, it took about 45 minutes and was pretty much painless. I like the new look and feel better than Windows 8.1. Jack is right, it feels like a souped up Windows 7. One thing though, if you are looking for "Programs and Features" (to uninstall a program) you won't find it in its normal place in the Control Panel, Windows 10 refers to Programs as Apps. You'll find it under Settings and System then "Apps & Features" Like any other upgrade, you'll just need to get used to the changes.

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  2. I'll probably wait until a couple updates are released. I'm using Windows 7

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  3. At least wait until the fall for "Threshold 2" for Windows 10. If you like IE, wait for Edge's features to catch up.

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