On Windows 10
by Volker Weber
Today is Windows 10 day. You will reads lots of reviews and opinion pieces everywhere. Let me just contribute a short list:
- Will Windows 10 make you more productive? Unlikely. An operating system runs applications. You will be able to run your old apps, presumably. When a new version of an operating system comes out, there are hardly any apps that require it. Take your time.
- You may not need Windows 10. But Windows 10 needs you. Only if Microsoft can make lots and lots of people upgrade to Windows 10, writing apps that only work on Windows 10 becomes a viable option. That's why the upgrade is free. And to make it more urgent, it's free for "only" a year. Microsoft tried a similar trick with Windows 8, when it was a whole lot cheaper in the first 3 months. Didn't work. Maybe it does this time.
- Is Windows 10 ready? That depends. It is certainly not finished. It "only" runs on PCs, not on Phones. It only rolls out to "Insiders", people who expect difficulties and can work around them. Windows 10 needs to ship now, to make the crucial "back to school" window. Microsoft does not want people to buy Macs, which they increasingly do.
- Is Windows 10 a good upgrade? I believe it is, much in the same way that Windows 7 corrected many of the mistakes made with Windows Vista. There is a big difference though. When Vista failed, there were not a lot of alternatives but to wait out for Windows 7. Now there are.
- Should I upgrade from Windows 8? Yes. Should I upgrade from Windows 7. Yes. But take your time until Windows 10 matures.
Windows 8 was a disaster. Windows 8.1, or Frankenstein 8.1 as I like to call it, fixed just a few of the issues that users had. Windows 10 undoes more damage. But it's still somewhere midstream of crossing that river. There is still "Settings" and "Control Panel", for instance. Help isn't done. Cortana is ... I can't make up my mind, since it does not work on Surface 3. Windows 10 says the microphone was not designed for Cortana. Which should read "we have not fixed the drivers yet". Work in progress. Take your time.
Comments
Does it only roll out to Insiders? You need to register for the free upgrade, but anyone can do that now. The Insider program was for the previews, wasn't it? As an Insider you can now get updates to Windows 10 earlier, if I'm not mistaken.
Rolls out to anyone that wants it today, not just insiders, but i would wait a week or two to make sure their are no major bugs and do a BACKUP first!
Yes, you can force it. But would you want to?
it's not really forcing it through Windows Update
if you want to force it, use this link and download the install-tool:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
or in german
https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/software-download/windows10
With this tool you can create an USB-Stick or ISO, or you can do just an inplace-upgrade on your Windows 7/8.1 System.
Just finished the in place upgrade on a Samsung Notebook I use only occasionally. Took around an hour including the download. Everything seems to be working so far. Next days will show if it will make it's way to real production machines over here soon.
At least it looks and sounds nice...
