Posted on 01/21/2015 6:27:53 PM PST by smokingfrog
Today’s Windows event was the flashiest to grace Redmond in years. The company pulled a number of projects, like HoloLens, out of its skunk works in an effort to convince finicky geeks it isn’t out of ideas.
Whether this gambit was successful is hard to say (the Twittersphere seems impressed), but in a few weeks it will also be irrelevant. Microsoft’s problem has always been execution, not imagination. Kinect, Courier and even Windows 8.1 are examples of ideas getting ahead of reality.
Yet this event wasn’t entirely about concepts and prototypes. Alongside holograms and room-sized tablets, the company also displayed a number of improvements and innovations that could once again give Windows an edge. Practicality, not pizzazz, will win back the confidence Windows 8 lost.
The Windows 10 Technical Preview is only the latest in a long line of beta builds used to test out new editions, but its rollout has been different than those prior. Built-in feedback tools have helped users direct their concerns to the people in Redmond who can actually fix them.
It’s easy to see the results. At the event, we witnessed a refined Start Menu that works better with tablets, an easy way to switch between tablet and desktop mode, and a blending of the control panel and Metro settings menu that finally resolves a core conflict between the old-fashioned desktop and the modern Windows interface.
(Excerpt) Read more at digitaltrends.com ...
I guess I will skip Windows 10 as well. I have no use for an OS that "abandons add-ons, menus and bookmark lists." Win7 is not going anywhere.
I made a step up to...Ubuntu Linux. It boots up fast and shuts down fast. Works great and comes with all the software I need. Price is great, too.
My preference is Linux Mint with KDE. It is based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian, so they are relatives :-) I have it installed in a VM currently, running on Win7 host. But if things change I will run Linux as host, and WinXP or Win7 will be the guest, to run a few Windows-specific programs that I cannot avoid. But more and more industrial / professional software is released for Linux. If Microsoft continues their self-destruct sequence, people will simply have no choice but to migrate to Linux. Most people aren't going to change their work pattern to please some hipsters at Microsoft who know it all.
The only way I would progress from the machine I have, running windoze 7, would be if the machine self-incinerated, after evoking, “Good morning, Mr. Phelps ...”.
I will not purchase a new machine with a camera installed, any sort of ‘office anything with Internet explorer inclusive’, and any sort of ‘social imbecility access’.
I’m retired, and no longer paid to have ‘office software’ on a machine. I have no existing family members, so I do not have to engage in the present rage of social imbecility software, whether video or audio, nor any need to sit before the machine’s internal camera, whether I turn it on, or Obama’s ilk.
Win7 will probably be gone in months of 10’s release since they’ve done what I didn’t expect: Made 10 a free update from both 8 and 7.
Virtual assistants sound nice. But because they are limited to a vocal interface they are ultimately not optimal for universal operating systems.
Not everyone wants to be conversing with a computer.
I expect it to be like touchscreens and 8. Nice, but far from necessary for regular use.
I’ve been running 10 in my lab and I like it better than 8, if that means anything.
I sat next to a Microsoft rep on a flight in December. He had the beta version of Windows 10 on his laptop and he gave me a little peek.
I like Win8.1 pretty well. I even got my mom used to it fairly quick. I don’t understand the complainers. I usually go to desktop mode and launch my main apps from the taskbar and rarer ones from the start screen. The start screen doesn’t take anymore (and often far less) clicks than the 7 cascading menu design.
People get in a real mass hysteria about things and just hate it cause it’s different or more likely cause they heard someone else say they don’t like it. 8.1’s fast and stable. I’m still looking forward to 10 though.
I only have to repeat: Win7 will not be gone. At least while the compatible hardware is produced. After that it will be runnable in a VM. Even XP is available today. Or ... perhaps you are worried that the KMS at Microsoft will no longer be issuing keys? Then run your own, for yourself or for others. Plenty of businesses use private KMS today, as it is required for Win7 Pro (it renews the license every 180 days.)
How would you compare it with Win 7 and ease of use transfer from Win 7 to Win 10? Thanks.
Ok, not ‘gone’. But quickly overtaken in the consumer marketplace at least. And I bet a lot of businesses too. It’ll be faster than 7 replaced vista.
Same here
I like 8.1 also. I’m waiting until 10 comes loaded on the Surface Pro and will update when that happens. My laptop is getting pretty weathered so I’m looking forward to it.
My laptop came with vista, and it runs 8.1 well but it’s aged. It was a top of the line when I got it in 2007, and I’ll get another top of the line when 10 is out. This current one is held together with hinges so it won’t close and I had to replace the cpu fan which cracked up a bunch of the innards. Still working though, Asus makes good stuff but now MSI has better top end ones. It’ll be awhile until I get the new one. I also want a skylake CPU.
How about giving us back the icons we had on 7 and prior. I like my icons.
In December you could have had it on your own computer.
yeah and Democrats only lose because they just didn't get their message out...
You know something is bad when the only "Pro" arguments for it is the customers are just to dumb to understand or they are afraid of something new. See Soccer, Presta valves, Windows Vista, etc.
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