Win10 - What's In It For me?

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5288 posts

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#1354268 29-Jul-2015 11:29

nakedmolerat:
surfisup1000:
nathan:
10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 10

and reasons not to upgrade?

11 reasons not to upgrade ;-P ;-P

Ha, i was thinking the reasons he gave to upgrade were really weak and almost arguments not to upgrade.

I view windows 10 as a stop-gap to almost get back to where windows 7 was at.

The best thing about windows 10 to me, are the nice wallpapers, and visual improvements -- it looks really nice.

Other than that, windows 7 is just fine - although, if you can upgrade for free that is just fine.

slingynz

154 posts

Master Geek

#1354316 29-Jul-2015 12:19

Rikkitic: I don't think there is an absolute answer to this kind of question. I have put in for the upgrade for my three machines that are eligible just to cover myself but I will start with one and see how that goes. I also still use XP on another machine and I like it that way. XP is definitely better for some things and the only choice for others when compatibility issues arise. I am not bothered by the security updates issue, which is a bit overblown anyway. In any case, there is nothing vital on the XP computer, it is just a matter of convenience. Everyone has their own way of doing things. This works for me.

Overblown? Multiple security updates made on patch Tuesday + an out-of-band critical security update.
With the Hacking Team dump being worked through, I'm sure there will be more coming in the near future. A lot of these Hacking Team 0-day exploits have proof of concept code which has been released, so it's only a matter of time before they start showing up in the wild.

mattwnz

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#1354325 29-Jul-2015 12:24

What if you have windows 7 but don't wantt o upgrade to windows 10 for a few years. Can you download windows 10 ISO to install for free? Or does it need to be installed in that first year. Eg Will this work? Install windows 10 now, then roll back to windows 7 to use it for a few years, and to then reinstall windows 10 again in a few years.

The big thing that is missing in windows 10 vs windows 7 , is no media centre which i use for recording freeview.

nathan

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#1354333 29-Jul-2015 12:45

mattwnz: What if you have windows 7 but don't wantt o upgrade to windows 10 for a few years. Can you download windows 10 ISO to install for free? Or does it need to be installed in that first year. Eg Will this work? Install windows 10 now, then roll back to windows 7 to use it for a few years, and to then reinstall windows 10 again in a few years.

The big thing that is missing in windows 10 vs windows 7 , is no media centre which i use for recording freeview.

You need to kick off the upgrade from your activated Windows 7 machine, this will store the Windows 10 key for your machine away in the cloud and you can clean install or upgrade in the future

for the next 12 months during the upgrade process Windows 10 will take your Windows 7/8.1 license, and pass it along with a hardware hash to the Windows Store. Then, afterwards if you install Windows 10 from scratch, Windows will use the Hardware Hash when calling the Windows Store, and since you have been validated in the past, it will provide the correct license for Windows 10 again to the new machine.

gzt

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#1354359 29-Jul-2015 12:56

For me it is the desktop management and tablet features,, and on the negative side the fact that 8 will be an afterthought in future (but still very well supported and not at all an orphan like win ME)

SepticSceptic

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#1354387 29-Jul-2015 13:28

10 reasons NOT to upgrade:

http://betanews.com/2015/07/28/10-reasons-not-to-upgrade-to-windows-10

It’s a Work in Progress
There Are Too Many Unanswered Questions
Not All Software/Hardware Will Work as Intended
There’s Too Much Mobile Influence
etc..

YMMV

My two biggies are loss of Windows Media Centre, and Windows Home Server V1 integration / automated backups.

Yes, there are alternatives, No, I don't want to futz around. Yet.

Brumfondl

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#1354420 29-Jul-2015 13:54

You have a year. If you have qualms about upgrading at the moment then DON'T. Just wait a few months or more. Windows 10 is being constantly updated and will only get better with time.

Personally I think it is a great OS and all my machines are running it but I'm an enthusiast and so don't mind being a guinea pig for others, but I am sure not going to try an force it on anyone :)

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#1354421 29-Jul-2015 13:54

slingynz:

Overblown? Multiple security updates made on patch Tuesday + an out-of-band critical security update.
With the Hacking Team dump being worked through, I'm sure there will be more coming in the near future. A lot of these Hacking Team 0-day exploits have proof of concept code which has been released, so it's only a matter of time before they start showing up in the wild.

In all the years I have used XP as my primary browsing OS, I have never, ever, once had a serious infection of any kind. I use a free firewall and a passive anti-virus which I sometimes remember to update. Why would any hacker waste time and effort on an outmoded OS anyway? Nowadays they are all employed by professional criminal organisations and they have to justify their hours. Even if I do get hit, there is nothing of value on my computer. No passwords, no financial data, nothing that can be used for blackmail, nothing else that can be monetised. Of course there is plenty of personal information that could be harvested and eventually compiled for targeted advertising or identity theft, but I doubt the cost/benefit ratio would justify the effort. The only thing left is ransomware so I guess I might have to format my drive and restore it. Gee, what a hassle.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Batman

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#1354463 29-Jul-2015 14:48

Can you upgrade from the technical preview (or whatever it's called nowadays)?

gzt

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#1354466 29-Jul-2015 14:50

Yes.

Brumfondl

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#1354467 29-Jul-2015 14:51

joker97: Can you upgrade from the technical preview (or whatever it's called nowadays)?

If you kept gettings builds and were in the Insider then you should already be on build 10240 and activated.

Batman

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#1354500 29-Jul-2015 15:33

ah i see. same thing is it?

nakedmolerat

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#1354525 29-Jul-2015 15:48

Just found out that my laptop is not compatible to upgrade because of no updated driver from Samsung.

I won't bother with windows 10...

I am wondering what is the difference between mainstream support and extended support?

pooky

43 posts

Geek

#1354554 29-Jul-2015 16:06

I did a bit of research on this recently myself, some details other may find interesting (please excuse formatting I wrote it in word originally):

Windows 10 new features

Windows 10 Free Upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 (For a limited time)
Not free outright, must have a retail Windows to be eligible for free upgrade

What is Windows 10 in a nutshell?

Windows 10 is an incremental update to Windows 8.1 which makes a number of small UI refinements in the direction of a unified Desktop and Tablet experience in Windows.
Windows 10 is available as a free update to Windows 8.1 owners. Due for release 29th July

Start menu

Hybrid design which provides best of both worlds, classic single column start menu with jump lists and flyout menus. Has an extra pane for pinning Windows 8 style live tiles.
The Start menu can be customized to be larger, or even full screen like Windows 8.

Command prompt updated

Command prompt now allows copy and paste keyboard shortcuts
Window resizing wraps text correctly, no more hidden text
Can more naturally mouse click and drag to highlight text, no more having to right-click and Mark text to select it
Text that spans multiple lines treated as a single string, no longer broken up into multiple lines in unexpected places
Supported keyboard shortcuts
• CTRL + A - Select all
• CTRL + C - Copy
• CTRL + F - Find
• CTRL + M - Mark
• CTRL + V - Paste
• CTRL + ↑/↓ - Scroll (line) up/down
• CTRL + PgUp/PgDn - Scroll (page) up/down

Settings Menu

Settings have been consolidated into one application ‘Settings’
No more separation between Control panel for Desktop and the Charms bar PC settings for Tablets Modern/Metro UI.
Control Panel still exists
Charms bar is removed

Virtual Desktops

Allows you to configure an arrangement of Apps in a different workspace, and switch between them. Similar to multi-monitor functionality, but virtual.

Windows + Tab to step between Virtual Desktops

Windows + CTRL + Left / Right Arrow keys to move between Virtual Desktops

Alt-Tab Task Switcher improved
The Task Switcher now provides a larger preview making it easier to see what is in each window
Task View icon is available on the task bar (mainly for users who aren’t aware of Alt-Tab)
If you have an application snapped to half your screen, the Alt-Tab preview will intelligently display in the unoccupied half of the screen

Application snapping
Drag applications to the corners to get them to Snap, e.g. Snap automatically resizes the window to fill half, or quarter of the screen
e.g. Can snap up to 4 Windows together onto one screen

Cortana

Voice activated assistant. Similar to Apples’ Siri, or OK Google

Triggered by saying “Hey Cortana”

The types of commands you can use:

• Convert 60 pounds to yen
• How many euros in a pound?
• What's the capital of Qatar?
• Set an alarm for 5:45 am
• Make a call to John at home
• Text Dad
• Put swimming on my calendar for tomorrow
• Remind me to water the plants when I get home
• Note: left my car on level 4
• Play some jazz
• Get me directions to the Eden Project
• What's the weather like today?

Microsoft Edge (ProjectSpartan browser, IE replacement)

Internet Explorer 11 is still available for legacy compatibility. Can be configured as default by policy if required
Browser features new rendering engine
New Reading view that de-clutters a page for optimal readability
Digital inking tools that let you mark up a website and share it with others
Cortana popups with supplementary information while searching

Metro apps are no longer Full screen only. Windowed with title bar

Universal Apps, e.g. Photos, Videos, Music, Maps, Messaging, Mail Calendar etc.
Optimized for display across all devices, e.g. PC, Tablet, Phone
Mail and Calendar in particular have been revamped compared to Windows 8.1
Supports swiping gestures

So, what's a Universal Windows app?
Current versions of Visual Studio provide a Universal Windows app template that lets you create a Windows Store app (for PCs, tablets, and laptops) and a Windows Phone Store app in the same project. When your work is finished, you can produce app packages for the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store with a single action to get your app out to customers on any Windows device.

You can create Universal Windows apps using the programming languages you're most familiar with, like JavaScript, C#, Visual Basic, or C++. You can even write components in one language and use them in an app that's written in another language.
Universal Windows apps can use the Windows Runtime, a native API built into the operating system. This API is implemented in C++ and supported in JavaScript, C#, Visual Basic, and C++ in a way that feels natural for each language.
Office Apps get touch support

A new version of Office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook will provide a touch-first interface across phones, tablets and PCs.

The persistent function ribbon at the top of the apps is now an app bar that shows up only when you need it.

In Outlook, you’ll now be able to delete messages from your inbox by swiping each entry to the left. Swiping to the right flags that message. The apps will look and perform the same way on a PC as they do on a mobile device for a more coherent experience.

Windows Store, users can download desktop programs as well as modern Windows apps (Metro is now known as Modern UI). “One Windows” platform, there will only be one store for ap acquisition, distribution and updates.
Miscellaneous

Continuum Mode (Automatically swaps between tablet and keyboard / mouse behaviour when keyboard is detected)

System Tray tools, the standard tools in the system tray all get updates to the new Windows 10 look, with a new menu showing available Wi-Fi, a new volume slider and a power monitor that also lets you change screen brightness.

Notifications center for information like Windows updates or other notifications, appears as a bar on the right edge of the screen.

Windows Explorer, Home view in Explorer provides Quick Access list of useful locations, recently opened files and folders

New logon methods, Windows can use facial recognition, or Iris recognition to log you on to your PC. Also works with fingerprint readers, requires a 3D infrared camera to use facial recognition.

Previous Versions tab now available on file properties. This is similar to OS X’s Time Machine feature that allows you to access older versions of files. Windows File recovery restore points, and Windows File History features allow the user to access old versions of files. File recovery is like traditional Windows backup functionality, File History only backs up your personal files in your profile, e.g. documents and media. These are enabled in Windows Control Panel. Requires external drive for backup.
DirectX 12, new graphics API. Can improve performance for not only games, but also CAD or graphic design applications.

Xbox App, integrates many features available on Xbox and makes them available on PC.

Observations:
When there is no PDF viewer installed Edge browser is the default viewer.
Where is Program Files (x86)? Trapeze Desktop installs to Program Files.

A Package Manager Built In
Developers have grown to love package managers inside IDEs to install frameworks, libraries, etc. They also enjoy OS package managers to quickly find and install third-party applications. With Windows 10, developers finally get one.
OneGet is a package manager included in Windows 10, that allows you to install additional software from the PowerShell command line. Simply open a PowerShell window and type the following command:
Install-Package -Name Firefox
Using the Windows 10 Technical Preview, you will see the following screen as shown in Figure 1. You will want to read this blog post for more details on what commands OneGet offers.

Figure 1 : Installing Firefox from the PowerShell command line in the Windows 10 Technical Preview.

A Better Task Manager
While not exactly new to Windows 10, a better task manager has evolved. How many times have you wanted an easy way to disable applications that automatically start-up or learn more information about what a program actually is? What about more detailed information about the Startup impact of an application? As a developer, I invested in the latest hardware and don’t want an app to slow my system down or a suspicious program that might be a virus. Thankfully, you can take care of both of these issues in the Task Manager as shown in Figure 5.

Developer perspective
https://dev.windows.com/en-us/getstarted/whats-new-windows-10

Most of the changes are aimed towards Apps written using new frameworks which target cross platform compatibility.

App-to-App communication
New app-to-app communication APIs in Windows 10 make it possible for Windows applications (as well as Windows Web applications) to launch each other and exchange data and files.
Using these new APIs, complex tasks that would have required the user to use multiple applications can now be handled seamlessly. For example, your app could launch a social networking app to choose a contact, or launch a checkout application to complete a payment process.

File Explorer
The new Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchFolderAsync methods let you launch File Explorer and displays the contents of a folder that you specify.

WebView Edge mode browsing
The WebView control uses the same rendering engine as the new Edge browser. This provides the most accurate, standards-compliant mode of HTML rendering.

jim.cox

224 posts

Master Geek

#1354991 30-Jul-2015 06:37

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

Looks to me like Cortana is the only really significant new feature.

Which is not something I actually want.

Think I can stick to my previous-millennium steam-driven computing for a while yet...

=mjc=
.

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