People can’t dump Windows 8 fast enough as Windows 10 adoption surges

BGR ^ | 08/14/2015 | By Brad Reed

[SeekAndFind]

So it looks like the Windows 10 launch was a big success if early adoption numbers are to be believed. The Register drops some data from StatCounter showing that Windows 10 already accounts for over 3.5% of desktop operating systems, up from just under 1.4% the week before. More interestingly, The Register says, “the biggest loser looks to be Windows 8.1, which dipped from 16.45 per cent share to 14.93 per cent,” while “Windows 7 went from 54.41per cent to 53.8 per cent and Windows 8 dropped from 3.6 percent to 3.46 percent.”

Of course, Windows 10 has some key advantages going for it that ensured it would see faster adoption among Windows users than any of its predecessors. Upgrading to Windows 10 is totally free for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, which means that the only thing it will cost you to install is disk space and time. Microsoft has also been making a bigger push for users to upgrade to the latest software than it has in the past, which is also giving Windows 10 an important boost.

All the same, the overall reception to Windows 10 has been night-and-day compared to the early reception for Windows 8, which turned out to be a highly polarizing operating system that frustrated many longtime Windows users. Now it seems that Microsoft has really hit the sweet spot by building an operating system that will work well for people who use a keyboard and mouse but that also offers the kind of flexibility Windows 8 wanted to offer as a tablet OS.

[raybbr]

...and I need to have lots of windows open, sometime 20-25.

Actual programs or tabs in your browser?

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Got windows 10. Love it. Fast boot time. Got the start menu back. Talk to Cortana to show me weather and traffic while browsing ESPN.

[usconservative]

I hate, hate hate! Windows 8, but I’ll wait a while longer. I’ve been burned by Windows in the past by jumping on too soon.

Windows 8.1 is so much faster than Windows 7 it's scary.

Windows 10, while much faster than Windows 7 and uses less resources (CPU, Memory) than Windows 7 is already receiving it's second set of security updates and bug fixes. So you're smart to wait.

In the meantime, Install Classic Shell on your Windows 8 machine and make it look like Windows 7, with all the benefits of the increased speed.

Everything will look familiar again and you'll be much happier.

[usconservative]

Windows 8.1 will not run any of those excellent programs, and there are no contemporary reasonably priced, simple substitutes which can run in Win8.1 OR Win10.

You're an engineer? Ever hear of VMWare? Download VMWare Player and build your own VM's to run your outdated software. It's not that hard.

[usconservative]

I still have Windows XP Professional. I’m still getting updates.

The only update your getting is to the malicious software removal tool, and that's being cut off soon.

You are not getting any other updates, or will you get any other updates.

[usconservative]

I suspect that that is due the millions(?) of XP units in use in industrial and embedded machinery word-wide.

Windows XP Embedded is different than Windows XP run on a home PC.

Microsoft is not issuing updates for either to the general public. The only Windows XP updates that continue are to those organizations (ie: US Government primarily...) that are paying hefty ongoing maintenance and support costs. The updates Microsoft writes for them will never be released to the public.

[Poser]

I’m also waiting for a few months. I have 5 machines running either Win7 or Win8.1.

Pretty much anything has bugs when it first comes out and the OS is the most complex program on the computer. I’m sure I’ll like Win10 once the bugs are worked out, but I’m not going to be the one to work them out.

[antidisestablishment]

I feel the same way. I actually beta tested Win7 and moved to it before it went gold. Win 8.1 has been fine. I bought two laptops and they screwed up and gave me the touchscreen models for the same price. My girls love them, and that’s all that matters.

I have a little bit of everything, but am more comfortable in windows. Having been running computers since the stone age, all modern machines are pretty amazing. The Mac/Windows warriors need to get a life. Why do I care what my neighbor prefers?

[right way right]

Is there a way to stop the auto notices to “upgrade”.
I remove it from the task bar and the next day, there it is again!!

[Woodman]

Is your XP Pro maybe an Enterprise addition? I wonder if the enterprise may have extended their support and by default you receive updates?

[amigatec]

I had an HP printer with a double sided paper attachment. I was running it over a print server. The drivers from HP didn't work with it and HP didn't have any way to make it work. But at the same time I had a Linux box running and the driver worked just fine with it.

Go Figure.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Tabs, not programs. Certainly 2/3rds will be Chrome windows doing nothing in particular. Programs, maybe 6. 2-3 of those are stock market front ends which aren’t especially executing anything but they are receiving disseminated data. The issues usually arise when I go somewhere that uses Flash which seems to be a “perennial intermittent” problem, if there is such a thing. I recall several years ago (on an XP machine) I found 3 instances of Flash installed. I don’t know if Flash has that propensity to reinstall itself multiple times in W7. I am somewhat but not super knowledgeable about the workings, I just experience that W7 is pretty forgiving and if it freezes (which it sometimes does a little bit of a lot after some upgrades and then it gets better) if I just let the computer sit for a minute it will “get its footing” and all the apps will return to functioning. Beats a reboot, especially getting out of 20+ balky windows and programs which can in itself take longer than a reboot. In most cases when computers “freeze” they are cooked until you reboot and you are forced to front-panel hard reset-—which you just know is an improper exit on everything you had going. Nobody should like doing that.

[rarestia]

Until Oculus updates their DK2 support for Windows 10, I’m not going anywhere. I love my Rift, and I’m quite fond on Windows 8.1.

[bitt]

Flash and chrome don’t like each other...chrome has it’s own ‘flash’..

[Fido969]

I hear this a lot from Windows users. Yet, they still keep returning to the same company.

The problem is most of the small business software REQUIRES Windows. I hate the thing from soup to nuts.

[mom of young patriots]

Heck, I kinda like poking around in Edlin. Brings back some memories. I booted that old DOS machine a few months ago and it still works.

[mom of young patriots]

However, if you’re going to install Win10, just make sure you’re doing it at a time when you don’t have any urgent work to complete on your PC. Most things seem to go very well, the new interface is nice (although you have to find where things are again, but it’s more like 7 than like 8) and in general I think it will be an improvement.

And for Heaven’s sake, check out the privacy statement first and do some research. If you’d like your private data to remain private, there are quite a few defaults that you’ll need to know to disable.

[cartan]

I tried to upgrade, but the upgrade failed. Now I’m stuck with 8.1…

[pgkdan]

Thanks for that! I’ll install it as soon as I get home this afternoon.

[Hildy]

I am scheduled for an upgrade in 30 minutes. My computer is relatively new and I’ve just pretty much gotten used to windows 8, which I am not particularly fond of. I hope I am doing the right thing. If anyone knows any reason why we shouldn’t engage, speak now or forever hold your peace. :)