Windows 10?

[woodchucker]

Okay, now they are just ******* with us. I'm probably not the only one with a little windows icon saying "come buy 10".

Every smart PC user knows to purchase every other OS. For example, I went from XP to Win7. Only idiots bought Vista (truly sorry if that applies to you!). Likewise, I am not touching 8 with a 10-foot pole. Where is 9?

If I follow my own mantra, I should purchase 10. But, I've always been happy with XP, until they forced us off. And I'm okay with 7. It's not bad. I have an OCD problem with going two steps up to 10. That just doesn't feel right. Definitely some mind games going on from the dorks at MS.

I'm gonna do what I did with XP. Hold on to 7 until they extort my *** off. And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac.

Yes, I tried Ubuntu also... for a time I had it running on a computer next to my main squeeze. I'm not enough of a nerd to handle it. Not very friendly from a user perspective, and not as well supported with regards to peripherals.

ps: has anyone figured out how to make that little windows icon go away? The one encouraging us to go ahead and purchase 10? I don't want to stare at it for the next 5 years.

 

[redtail]

Okay, now they are just ******* with us. I'm probably not the only one with a little windows icon saying "come buy 10".

Every smart PC user knows to purchase every other OS. For example, I went from XP to Win7. Only idiots bought Vista (truly sorry if that applies to you!). Likewise, I am not touching 8 with a 10-foot pole. Where is 9?

If I follow my own mantra, I should purchase 10. But, I've always been happy with XP, until they forced us off. And I'm okay with 7. It's not bad. I have an OCD problem with going two steps up to 10. That just doesn't feel right. Definitely some mind games going on from the dorks at MS.

I'm gonna do what I did with XP. Hold on to 7 until they extort my *** off. And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac.

Yes, I tried Ubuntu also... for a time I had it running on a computer next to my main squeeze. I'm not enough of a nerd to handle it. Not very friendly from a user perspective, and not as well supported with regards to peripherals.

ps: has anyone figured out how to make that little windows icon go away? The one encouraging us to go ahead and purchase 10? I don't want to stare at it for the next 5 years.

Then Windows 10 will be free for you:wink2:. Ignore said icon.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/features/how-to-reserve-your-free-windows-10-upgrade-698762

I'm using the windows technical preview and like it much better than 8.1. It's cleaner.

 

[bflynn]

Is it out yet or are they selling vapor again?

 

[timwinters]

I just heard on the market news that it's being released in July and is a free upgrade for anyone who owns the last two versions.

 

[Bob Noel]

I'm probably not the only one with a little windows icon saying "come buy 10".

I couldn't help but think of:

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't.

...Every smart PC user knows to purchase every other OS....

...And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac....

...ps: has anyone figured out how to make that little windows icon go away?

hmmmmm. ;-)

 

[EdFred]

Okay, now they are just ******* with us. I'm probably not the only one with a little windows icon saying "come buy 10".

Every smart PC user knows to purchase every other OS. For example, I went from XP to Win7. Only idiots bought Vista (truly sorry if that applies to you!). Likewise, I am not touching 8 with a 10-foot pole. Where is 9?

If I follow my own mantra, I should purchase 10. But, I've always been happy with XP, until they forced us off. And I'm okay with 7. It's not bad. I have an OCD problem with going two steps up to 10. That just doesn't feel right. Definitely some mind games going on from the dorks at MS.

I'm gonna do what I did with XP. Hold on to 7 until they extort my *** off. And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac.

Yes, I tried Ubuntu also... for a time I had it running on a computer next to my main squeeze. I'm not enough of a nerd to handle it. Not very friendly from a user perspective, and not as well supported with regards to peripherals.

ps: has anyone figured out how to make that little windows icon go away? The one encouraging us to go ahead and purchase 10? I don't want to stare at it for the next 5 years.

most likely skipped it because a lot of code may have been written
If WinVersion = 9* Then

Well, it's looking for 95 and 98, and that would probably muck up Windows 9.

 

[timwinters]

I heard a few months ago that 9 was skipped because MS wanted to distance themselves from 8 as quickly as possible...abortion that it was.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Okay, now they are just ******* with us. I'm probably not the only one with a little windows icon saying "come buy 10".

Every smart PC user knows to purchase every other OS. For example, I went from XP to Win7. Only idiots bought Vista (truly sorry if that applies to you!). Likewise, I am not touching 8 with a 10-foot pole. Where is 9?

Are you sure it says come buy 10 as opposed to come reserve 10? Windows 10 is a free upgrade for most of us. I think it's a combination of a bit of marketing and some roll-out control so that they push it first to people who actually want to update.

I've been running the preview on one of my laptops (tried Ubuntu; couldn't get it to recognize other computers on the network or would have stuck with it) and it's been pretty solid. Even the tech geeks on the internet seem to like it. So I said yes (I bought a laptop with Windows 8 installed; it's so horrible I'm tempted to install the preview on it, but prefer to wait for the general release).

What happened to 9? Windows 8 was such a cluster**** (made many log for the days of Windows ME!) they decided to skip 9 and go right to 10.

 

[write-stuff]

I'm completely and totally happy with Win 7 on my main laptop. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of migrating to a newer one with (barf) Win 8. I detest the overall interface of Win 8 and pray that they've gone back to a more conventional desktop format with Win 10.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I'm completely and totally happy with Win 7 on my main laptop. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of migrating to a newer one with (barf) Win 8. I detest the overall interface of Win 8 and pray that they've gone back to a more conventional desktop format with Win 10.

It's more conventional than Windows 8, bringing back the Start Menu (albeit in a slightly different format). Kind of a hybrid.

I think they are actually trying to do something smart in making the interface consistent between devices. Windows 8 just took too much away (which they seem to do in a lot of their products) and they are trying to give some of them back. The supposed benefit for us in all this is that the OS runs leaner and uses less resources than older versions. I haven't tried, but I have heard that even old, slow XP lap and desktops will be able to run it well.

 

[EdFred]

When I get it, I will probably still install classicshell as the first thing I do.

 

[timwinters]

Are you sure it says come buy 10 as opposed to come reserve 10?

It says "get windows 10"

It showed up on our laptops in the last day or so also.

 

[bullwinkle]

I've been using Win 8 since release. It's actually quite a good OS, very fast and stable, PROVIDED you disable the craptastic Metro interface and only use the standard Windows desktop.

I've been using a program by Stardock Software called "Start8" that adds the regular Windows start menu back into the Windows 8 desktop, and I've been very happy with the results. I don't think I've ever had a single OS crash in the entire couple of years I've used it. And as stated, it's VERY fast, faster than any previous version I've used...though that probably depends on having sufficient memory to run it properly.

If Win 10 is better than Win 8, I think I will like it a lot.

 

[write-stuff]

I've been using Win 8 since release. It's actually quite a good OS, very fast and stable, PROVIDED you disable the craptastic Metro interface and only use the standard Windows desktop.

Can this be done through some simple settings change? Sounds like something I want to try.

Or maybe I should just straight to the Win 10 update...

 

[EdFred]

Can this be done through some simple settings change? Sounds like something I want to try.

Or maybe I should just straight to the Win 10 update...

classicshell.net

 

[EdFred]

It says "get windows 10"

It showed up on our laptops in the last day or so also.

It says get it, but you're only reserving a download, you aren't buying it.

 

[RJM62]

classicshell.net

Yep. Win 8.1 + Classic Shell has worked very well for me, which is why I'm in no hurry to try 10. If it ain't broke...

The other thing I wonder about is why Microsoft is so eager to get 10 out there that they're giving it away. I suspect some sort of enhanced snooping capabilities, not so much because I'm paranoid as because that's the usual price for "free" software.

Rich

 

[midlifeflyer]

Can this be done through some simple settings change? Sounds like something I want to try

There are a number of replacement Start Menus available for Windows 8, both pay (like StarDock's Start8) and free like Classic Shell (which I've been using and installing for friends)

 

[midlifeflyer]

Yep. Win 8.1 + Classic Shell has worked very well for me, which is why I'm in no hurry to try 10. If it ain't broke...

The other thing I wonder about is why Microsoft is so eager to get 10 out there that they're giving it away. I suspect some sort of enhanced snooping capabilities, not so much because I'm paranoid as because that's the usual price for "free" software.

Rich

I think it's more about Microsoft knowing how many people they ****ed off with Window 8. If anything, the current buzzword in the OS world is to allow less snooping as a reaction to the widespread perception of government intrusion.

 

[midlifeflyer]

It says "get windows 10"

It showed up on our laptops in the last day or so also.

Yep. What I thought. It's a prompt to reserve your free update.

 

[Tom-D]

And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac.

Why not ?

just asking.

 

[Rigged4Flight]

Then Windows 10 will be free for you:wink2:. Ignore said icon.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/features/how-to-reserve-your-free-windows-10-upgrade-698762

I'm using the windows technical preview and like it much better than 8.1. It's cleaner.

I've been using the technical preview for months. It was pretty ugly at first, but they are constantly tweaking it. And it has never been as bad as Windows 8 was. That was one horrible cluster of an OS - and the reason I've decided that my next laptop will run an Apple OS. I'm tired of Windows deciding I need to be social-engineered into running an OS designed for a tablet.

I haven't tried, but I have heard that even old, slow XP lap and desktops will be able to run it well.

The laptop I installed the Win10 technical preview on ran XP. I have found no hint of my old laptop not playing nice with the new OS.

 

[RJM62]

I think it's more about Microsoft knowing how many people they ****ed off with Window 8. If anything, the current buzzword in the OS world is to allow less snooping as a reaction to the widespread perception of government intrusion.

Could be. Although I personally think 8 is a spectacular OS once you get past the stupid tiled interface and replace the familiar start and context menus, both of which tasks Classic Shell does quite nicely. I hope MS made a handsome contribution to Ivo Beltchev.

I'm not an early adopter, especially of MS stuff. I learned that lesson when I "upgraded" from 98SE to WinME.

Win 8.1 with Classic Shell is working nicely for me. Even if I do take MS up on their free upgrade, it will be after cloning the hard drive so I can easily back out if I don't like it.

Rich

 

[oldShar]

. Only idiots bought Vista (truly sorry if that applies to you!).. Where is 9?

I'm gonna do what I did with XP. Hold on to 7 until they extort my *** off. And there is no way in heck I'm going to a Mac.

ps: has anyone figured out how to make that little windows icon go away?

I had Vista on my last computer.
I didn't specifically buy it --- I requested that it be loaded with XP --- but Vista is what I got.
While it worked, it worked great and actually introduced new features & diagnostics that I really liked.

When the Vista machine died, my new one came with -8 (I asked for -7).
OK, -8 turned out to not be as bad as everyone was predicting it would be.
But then, one day, a little icon popped up telling me (as with Win-10) that I should upgrade to 8.1.

My comment? uh, uh!

Then one day a screen came up saying I was due for a Windows Update (the innocuous thingy that is supposed to ensure security).
Turns out, it wasn't a standard update, AND it didn't give me the option to refuse it ---> it activated (as is normal in Win-8 versions) to do so automatically when the user shuts down the computer.
Surprise, Surprise. When I re-booted, Win-8 was replaced with Win-8.1 and havoc was introduced into the boot process.

I am now leary that one of these days, Microsoft is going to PUSH -10 onto this computer withOUT my blessing or permission and I am likely to boat-anchor this machine.
((Maybe not actually anchor it --- I will delete Microsoft and go to Linux as my only O/S))

[[ They skipped -9 as a marketing gimmick. They explained it sometime last fall, but it was meaningless gobbledygook to all but sales folk --- but it was done intentionally --- you didn't miss an upgrade ]]

Anywho --- be ware that Microsoft will hijack your machine and force -10 on you without your permission or knowledge until after the dastardly deed is done
============

IMO 98SE was a great O/S --- far better than plain 98 and orders of magnitude better than 95

===========

 

[FastEddieB]

I've been a Mac guy since 1985. It works for me.

1) Choosing "10" may be trying to borrow from the panache of Mac OSX, which worked well (after some speed bumps).

2) The tech shows think Windows 10 is promising. Between that and some other harbingers, I took a small position in Microsoft stock, after not owning it for about a decade. In that same decade, Apple stock has been pretty darn good to me! We'll just have to see if Microsoft can perform going forward. They seem to be on a promising path - finally!

3) One unfortunate complication is the myriad versions of Windows 10 - eight or thereabouts, I think. Confusing the end consumer with too many choices is generally not good.

 

[wsuffa]

Full backup before you install. Full backup before you install. Full backup before you install.

I don't trust any of them.

 

[cowman]

One of my IT friends asked me the other day if I'd clicked the "upgrade to windows 10 button". I haven't even turned on my only windows system, my laptop, in almost 2 weeks. I'm on the iPad about 75% of the time out of convenience and the rest of the time the mac mini.

Gaming and the occasional need for some proprietary software have been the only reasons I kept using windows at all and I'm not gaming much anymore...

 

[Henning]

What I got for an answer to "What about 9?" from a buddy at MS was that "it got supeceded before completion."

 

[JoeSelch]

I'm quite happy with my Win 7 & 8 systems, both running classic shell.
I won't be moving to 10 or whatever follows until I'm no longer happy. Why?

 

[Henning]

I'm quite happy with my Win 7 & 8 systems, both running classic shell.
I won't be moving to 10 or whatever follows until I'm no longer happy. Why?

8 I am only happy with with a touchscreen, then it's better than any prior by a long shot, without a touchscreen 8 is annoying as hell. I'll switch to 10 after it has been in full release for a bit. Not keeping up in a reasonable amount of time always seems to cause problems.

 

[Rigged4Flight]

Then one day a screen came up saying I was due for a Windows Update (the innocuous thingy that is supposed to ensure security).
Turns out, it wasn't a standard update, AND it didn't give me the option to refuse it ---> it activated (as is normal in Win-8 versions) to do so automatically when the user shuts down the computer.
Surprise, Surprise. When I re-booted, Win-8 was replaced with Win-8.1 and havoc was introduced into the boot process.

I am now leary that one of these days, Microsoft is going to PUSH -10 onto this computer withOUT my blessing or permission and I am likely to boat-anchor this machine.
((Maybe not actually anchor it --- I will delete Microsoft and go to Linux as my only O/S))

[[ They skipped -9 as a marketing gimmick. They explained it sometime last fall, but it was meaningless gobbledygook to all but sales folk --- but it was done intentionally --- you didn't miss an upgrade ]]

Anywho --- be ware that Microsoft will hijack your machine and force -10 on you without your permission or knowledge until after the dastardly deed is done

It is this mentality - that they can and will decide when to radically change my user experience - that has pushed me to move to another platform. I'm not going to throw money at it right now, but my next major personal computer purchase will not include Windows. And Microsoft is 100% to blame for this. I'm going to lose some things when I make the move. Some software that I've purchased that won't work (at least not without some digital gymnastics), a couple of decades + of experience working in a Windows-centric network/computing environment, and living with the expectation that any software I wanted would be compatible with my OS. But I'm just ****ed off enough to do it anyway.

 

[MadseasoN]

Ask Nigel Tufnel what happened to Windows 9.

Windows 8 makes sense. Most people use the same programs day after day. Pin those to the taskbar. The start menu was full of shortcuts, pin those to the start page in Win 8.

A close relative recently asked me to fix his win XP machine. 15 minutes into it I lost patience and took him to Microcenter to buy a new Pc ... Which I paid for. That's how much of a waste of time XP is. I'm sure we'll feel the same way about win 7 some day

 

[exncsurfer]

It is this mentality - that they can and will decide when to radically change my user experience - that has pushed me to move to another platform. I'm not going to throw money at it right now, but my next major personal computer purchase will not include Windows. And Microsoft is 100% to blame for this. I'm going to lose some things when I make the move. Some software that I've purchased that won't work (at least not without some digital gymnastics), a couple of decades + of experience working in a Windows-centric network/computing environment, and living with the expectation that any software I wanted would be compatible with my OS. But I'm just ****ed off enough to do it anyway.

You don't think 'they' will change whatever OS you decide to switch to? Ever? Apple? Linux? Has anyone ever seen two linux installs that looked alike, I haven't.

You can still use XP if you want to, as long as your hardware holds up. Sounds like you need an ipad as your primary PC, thats probably the trend anyway.

 

[airdale]

... The other thing I wonder about is why Microsoft is so eager to get 10 out there that they're giving it away. I suspect some sort of enhanced snooping capabilities, not so much because I'm paranoid as because that's the usual price for "free" software.

Probably correct. In 8.1 you have to work to keep the OS from signing into your Microsoft account every time it boots. The better to spy on you and to sell Office subscriptions. 10 will probably be worse.

The long term scenario for subscription Office is that your files will be inaccessible to you if you don't stay paid up.

The other reason to push 10 is that they are probably headed towards a subscription model for the OS, so then your computer will become a useless brick unless you keep paying them.

 

[Henning]

I use whatever platform that supports what I need to do best. Sad thing is, right now I still need 2 platforms to do that, Windows and iOS. Each does not support functionality I need, but luckily the failures are not overlapping, and in reality, between the two I have it pretty good these days. I have no like for any of the platforms particularly, they all manage to **** me off one way or another.

This is as accurate today as the day it first appeared long ago...

 

[EppyGA]

I'm completely and totally happy with Win 7 on my main laptop. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of migrating to a newer one with (barf) Win 8. I detest the overall interface of Win 8 and pray that they've gone back to a more conventional desktop format with Win 10.

Classic Shell or the Stardock product.

 

[Rigged4Flight]

You don't think 'they' will change whatever OS you decide to switch to? Ever? Apple? Linux? Has anyone ever seen two linux installs that looked alike, I haven't.

You can still use XP if you want to, as long as your hardware holds up. Sounds like you need an ipad as your primary PC, thats probably the trend anyway.

I haven't seen a radical rape of the user experience in Apple computers. And yet Microsoft is legendary for it. Yes, any OS company can and will update and change the UI over time. But I've been through one too many Windows "upgrades" that forced me to radically change the way I work. I'll go with a more stable experience next time.

And who the hell includes Linux in a conversation about wanting a more sane and predictable user experience? I'm well past the point in my life where I want to tinker, tweak and cajole my computer to get it to do what I want. I was all about that back in my DOS days. I could make my config.sys and autoexec.bat stand up and sing together back then. But after a couple of decades in IT, the thrill is gone for me and now I'm all about just using the damn thing for what I want to get done instead of investing time that I could be using for productive work on figuring out the nuts and bolts of how the OS works with the hardware.

 

[CT4ME]

For the average user, I would avoid the free upgrade. I have nothing against Windows 10 (been using it for 6 months), it will be a good product. But, historically, upgrading the OS has never been a good thing. Most of the bad stories you've heard about *ANY* Windows upgrade came from idiots that did an over-install on an old PC.

If your Win7 machine is running well, just stick to Win7. Win10 has little, if any, advantage. If your Win7 machine is a bit jiggy, doing the upgrade is likely to just transfer those problems to the new environment. You'll be operating under an ongoing question mark.

If you *MUST* upgrade, consider backing up all your data and settings, and doing a full clean install of Windows 10. It's extra work, but you'll have a lean/clean machine.

The safest way to go to Windows 10 is to get it on your next new computer.

PS. Win9 was skipped because there was a bunch of potential problems with programming code that referenced Windows9 (from Windows 95/98 days). The problems were not so much with Microsoft products, but a ton of 3rd party software that may be affected.

 

[exncsurfer]

I haven't seen a radical rape of the user experience in Apple computers. And yet Microsoft is legendary for it. Yes, any OS company can and will update and change the UI over time. But I've been through one too many Windows "upgrades" that forced me to radically change the way I work. I'll go with a more stable experience next time.

And who the hell includes Linux in a conversation about wanting a more sane and predictable user experience? I'm well past the point in my life where I want to tinker, tweak and cajole my computer to get it to do what I want. I was all about that back in my DOS days. I could make my config.sys and autoexec.bat stand up and sing together back then. But after a couple of decades in IT, the thrill is gone for me and now I'm all about just using the damn thing for what I want to get done instead of investing time that I could be using for productive work on figuring out the nuts and bolts of how the OS works with the hardware.

Good points. I think CT4ME has the right strategy(for sticking with Windows). Ride the hardware till it falls apart or obsolete. Get your next new computer with the latest 'stable' version(not latest greatest necessarily). Let the masses beta test it for a while.

I just cant get behind apple's control culture to get on the i-bandwagon. Let the hardware folks compete for price.

 

[Henning]

I haven't seen a radical rape of the user experience in Apple computers. And yet Microsoft is legendary for it. Yes, any OS company can and will update and change the UI over time. But I've been through one too many Windows "upgrades" that forced me to radically change the way I work. I'll go with a more stable experience next time.

And who the hell includes Linux in a conversation about wanting a more sane and predictable user experience? I'm well past the point in my life where I want to tinker, tweak and cajole my computer to get it to do what I want. I was all about that back in my DOS days. I could make my config.sys and autoexec.bat stand up and sing together back then. But after a couple of decades in IT, the thrill is gone for me and now I'm all about just using the damn thing for what I want to get done instead of investing time that I could be using for productive work on figuring out the nuts and bolts of how the OS works with the hardware.

That's because the MAC user experience never had anything to give up, it always sucked. LINUX has never figured out how to climb as high as sucking.