Posted on 09/19/2015 6:05:47 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The last four years have been quite troublesome for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company has been rapidly losing market share, especially since the release of Windows 8. Users were not happy with the live tile ecosystem offered and felt that the company did not provide a a user-friendly interface, which had been the main reason for Microsoft’s success in the past. Many users shifted to available alternatives i.e. Linux, iOS and Android.
Windows 7 was a huge success and users soon got accustomed to using it. Later, Windows 8 was released with one foot each each in mobile and computing - which turned out to be a huge failure for the company.
Microsoft recently released Windows 10 – the operating system (OS) is a make-or-break for the company. Windows 10 was released as an open source platform initially, similar to Android. The change meant the company did not just release 32 and 64-bit versions, but also a completely different ARM architecture, which allows the OS to run on smaller devices like smartphones and tablets. The ARM platform in Windows 10 is entirely different from the previous, Windows RT, used on tablets and smartphones. Windows heavily relies on third party apps which work directly with the OS, and because of this, for the first time Microsoft has allowed apps from other platforms to be easily ported into Windows 10. Going forward, it could pose a threat to Microsoft, as it can no longer compete with the likes of iOS and Android, and has thus made the integration of apps much easier.
Upgrading to Windows 10 has also been made much easier. Previously, users had to cough up a sizeable sum to obtain Microsoft’s latest software, but users can now upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 directly, provided their copies are genuine. However, users who do not have a licensed copy have to pay an upgrade fee of $119.99. The upgrades will be available on Amazon, and will soon be sent out on removable flash drives.
The new OS will be available in seven different versions. These are IoT (Internet of Things) for devices like Raspberry Pi, Intel Galileo or Imagination's Creator Ci20, Mobile, Home, Enterprise and Professional. There's also a new Mobile Enterprise version called Education for academic establishments. Windows 10 mobile is mainly targeted toward Lumia devices, and this is Microsoft’s last gasp attempt to catch up with Android and iOS.
The most notable change in Windows 10 is the completely redesigned user interface. After millions of complaints from annoyed users from all over the world, the company has brought back its start menu, although the tile feature from Windows 8 is still present, users now have an option to remove the tiles completely. The OS comes with a new notification pane called the Action Center, which can be accessed from the taskbar and houses quick settings, such as Toggle for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Location services.
Possibly one of the best features Microsoft has added to the new OS is Cortana, which serves as your personal virtual assistant. it is quite different from Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Siri though. Cortana can also be controlled by voice and not only does it search the Internet but also finds files and programs on the computer. The feature was added after repeated user complaints as the search application on previous Windows failed to find files on the hard drive. Cortana adapts to the user, and the more it is used, the smarter it becomes. On top of that, Microsoft has completely redesigned its browser and has changed its name. Internet Explorer was the norm for Windows but it has now been replaced with Microsoft Edge. The new browser comes with many new features i.e. allowing users to highlight text in pages.
The Tablet Mode is another new feature on Windows 10, which allows tablets to be integrated with personal computers. It is a very smart feature and the mode is activated as soon as the user detaches the keyboard, allowing touch features on the PC. The Aero Snap feature allows users to open four applications in each corner of the desktop, an upgrade to the snap feature in previous versions which only allowed two applications. The OS has also beefed up security features and now comes standard with biometric fingerprint support and facial recognition, called Hello. The command prompt has also improved and users can, for the first time, use shortcuts from command prompt to copy and paste text.
After using Windows for a full month, it is evident that Microsoft has incorporated user feedback and improved its latest OS in terms of speed and by making the new interface more user-friendly. Windows 10 seems to be the ticket for Microsoft to get back on top in the computing world.
I did the same thing because I seriously didn’t like Windows 10. I couldn’t find my files, the margin app thingy blocked access to the desktop, and overall I am way beyond having patience to relearn what should be simple usage.
I found a link within the Windows 10 trial offer to uninstall windows 10. It warns you can lose your files etc., but heck I couldn’t find them anyway. I did the uninstall that actually took several hours to run. When I rebooted back to Windows 7 everything was there.
Now to get rid of the annoying Pop-up to upgrade to Windows 10? No idea how to get rid of it.
Plex media server/client. We don’t have TV/Cable. 100% of our television and movies are streamed over internet.
Under windows 7 the client was a regular program. Windows 10 it is an app, and like android/iphone apps it requires subscription to play media files on our server because it thinks it’s a mobile device on my wife’s notebook.
This isn’t actually the fault of Microsoft, it’s the fault of Plex, but either way Windows 10 won’t work. There were a few other minor things.
It was sort of the same when Vista first came out, a bunch of Windows XP software we had wouldn’t run/install. Had to wait for software updates or Vista updates before we could upgrade.
If she doesn't use the 8.1 dual boot anyway, might as well given 10 a shot and upgrade it. From what I hear it's only uphill compared to 8.1, as long as you don't have an upgrade problem. And I haven't heard about many issues there as long as the computer is 3-4 years old max.
I plan to upgrade my wife's 8.1 laptop to 10 soon. But I'm waiting until the first patch release, which sounds like November. If it goes well, I'll try migrating my 4 desktop Win7 machines next, but only after doing a full disk image backup before the migration so I can recover to where I was if there's an issue.
I “upgraded” to Windows 10 soon after the release and it was a horrible experience.
When it was done all it would literally do was sit there and flash the screen (it flashed on and off) with the spinning wheel most times. I couldn’t even click on the start menu to shut it off. I had to use CTRl ALt DEL.
I let it sit for an hour in that confused state to see if it would update with a patch of some sort and nothing. Just kept flashing. It was unusable.
I ended up wiping that and going back to Windows 7. I haven’t tried it since.
I read before the upgrade that NVIDIA video cards and associated drivers had comparablity issues with WIN 10. So I knew about that possibility. But I only have one monitor (not two or more which most of the issues revolved around) and I updated to the latest driver for my card before upgrading Windows. I guess it was still an issue but the bit of post update research I did (while it sat flashing for an hour) didn’t address my issue at all.
This is a perfect example of why I hate PC’s and the Windows OS. Just like all past OSes (with XP and Windows 7 being somewhat excepted) unless everything is installed perfectly and configured correctly they don’t work at all or very limited. I only went back to the PC when it became clear to me that there simply aren’t any good gaming video cards on Mac’s.
From now on though I will sacrifice some video quality for computer reliability. And not “upgrade” again the Windows until at least this November if not ever.
Windows 10 will be a success as it is Windows 7 and 8. Also you can use touch if you have the screen for it on your laptop or big monitor. Tablets of course will use the feature. It also run android apps on some devices.
I do not like the privacy issues as I suspect even though you turn off the spying they are still recording everything and one day oops we “accidentally’ turned it all back on and zippppp your private info is uploaded to be sold to advertisers.
I also do not like the simply things that are blocked like changing the font or the drop shadows with white text or changing the color of the title bar (there is a workaround for that).
I hope someone finds where microsoft stores all our info they are monitoring and figures out a way to delete it.
Right click on Start button> Run
Type in: sfc /scannow
Windows will repair itself. I had to do this when several problems came when I did an upgrade. One item was not able to left click on the Start button.
Most were fixed but it seemed sluggish so I did a format during the install and all was well. I had backed up my files prior to the upgrade.
They hold an iron grip on the enterprise market. That won’t change anytime soon.
LOL! Did you read the article?
By most FReepers’ accountings, Microsoft is going to be the next Mark Twain: “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
You all absolutely slay me. Microsoft is strong than ever. Putz around on your $2,000+ aluminum produce laptops all you want. Microsoft isn’t going anywhere.
Or...
...orrrrr...
You could be a responsible computer user and configure your machine to be more secure and private.
All the FReepers who bitch about Microsoft strike me as the type of person who just want their machines to self-configure to their own desires, and I'm sorry to tell you, that's not how any computing platform works, even Apple devices. If you think you're natively "private" on an Apple device, you should probably do some reading on your own.
Ok thanks. I’ll try that if/when I upgrade again. If it’s like before though I’m not sure even this would work because last time I couldn’t left click on the Start menu. But maybe I could right click.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.