Windows 10

[Pip]

I'm interested if any of you guys have upgraded to Windows 10 - the supposedly faster, easier OS from Microsoft. What are your thoughts on it?

I can see what Microsoft are trying to do by having a "One Size Fits All" OS to try and compete with Apple at the very least.

But what does it do for YOU - the user? How have you found it if you have upgraded?

Just look at the process for getting Cortana working in the UK (and certainly other countries) 11 steps altogether + download time for the updates.

You can view it here http://ed-baker.com/cortana-uk/?CR_CC=200438481%3FWT.mc_id%3DCRM_DX_FY15_MAAlwaysON_EMAIL_381804_5781_6954615

I was a little late coming to the PC scene as my first OS was XP which was a massive improvement over Win98SE although I did have to try to learn on that for a little while.

Never used a Mac and only have limited (very) knowledge of Linux, beta tester for Vista (Microsoft didn't listen to any of us so what's the point) beta tester for Win 7 (same again so waited to Service Pack 1 before migrating).


Anyway enough rambling. Your views please.

windows-10-logo.jpg (65.41 KiB) Viewed 4345 times

[ctaulbee]

I upgraded on the release date, Edge is a big improvement over IE both in speed and function.

The only issue I have had so far is with the mail app, I don't send much e-mail so it not really a biggie, it's a known problem when they will fix it, hard to say.

The rub is this, if you like me have multiple emails and those emails are all linked to MS, which all mine were (keep all the mail in one basket thinking).

Then what happens since the mail app uses your MS email as your primary login and security check point, is it does not allow you to "select" which email the mail app uses and you can't change it, mine picked my ISP email (as the send default) which I never use and have never used for anything other than to speak to them, it is my most private email.

Now here is the deal, all my mail comes in fine to the mail app as my main MS email account can be managed from the web, the problem is sending I can't use the mail app to send emails as it wants to use the email it picked as the default and will not let me change it (i guess a security issue), I can go online and use the web mail then all works fine.

Why they won't let you change that I do not know other than the security tie in, which is likely why they won't just tell you how to do it yourself but instead make you get tech support involved.

The funny part if you select the update account option inside the app, it sends you to the web lmao, where all is correct, it's a damned-able catch-22.

Other than that I have found no oddness and it all seems to work very well, the upgrade itself was quite painless and it did not mess up any of my settings or installed programs. Now I was running the very latest Win8 as this computer, it is very new, only a few months old and was intended to be upgraded to Win10, can't say that would be the case for all systems especially older ones you know how compatibility support is...



I did manage to uninstall the mail app (not suppose to be possible and has to be done via the command line) however when it re-installed it set itself right back up the way it was, some had suggested this might resolve the issue, it don't so don't waste time on it if this happens to you.

Supposedly MS Tech support can fix it via remote access, you have to get in the queue for that and be available when they call, whenever that happens to be, they only call once so if you miss it and there will be no notice then you must start over, not a big enough deal for me to do that.

If you have only one email with MS and no others linked in then this will never happen, other family who are like that have had no issue with the mail app, it's just the guys like me who have multiple accounts linked into MS.

I suspect if I were to remove all the linked in accounts and leave only my main account active, then remove the mail app and re-install it that it would be correct, that is far too much work as then I'd have to go back and set them all up again, would be quite the pain and is just not worth the effort so I'll just pop into web mail when I need to send one.

[easylife]

garbage. upgraded on my laptop but regret it. when i shut down the laptop wont turn off, have to hold down the power button to turn it of. the task bar only work now and again and have to right click it half of the time to get it to work.

total garbage

[VincentLupo]

Haven't been brave enough to try it yet. I will if only to get my serial # on there list. That way once they fix it I can do a clean install instead of an upgrade.

[Pip]

I upgraded my laptop hard drive some months ago so I'm thinking of putting the old one back in just to test the upgrade. If I find it the same as @easylife then I'll stick with Win 7. Win 8 is a no-go area (or 8.1).

I can see the reasoning behind Win 10 as Microsoft need to appeal to busnisses, forget the consumer market, business market is where the real money is for Microsoft.

XP did it for them, Vista was a failure, Win 7 made significant inroads, Win 8 failed. Anyone see a pattern here?

Win 10 could do it. The cross device sync is, I think, the key. They've a way to go yet though such as cross platform support and more which is going to be a rocky road.

While Microsoft has said Win 10 will be their final OS and no service packs will be released (as it will be continuosly updated via normal windows updates), it is interesting to know that Windows 10 "Redstone" is in development and will be a "core" change to the OS due fall next year. That sounds like a service pack to me going on previous expeience as a tester.

One thing to remember. IF Win 10 is the last OS released by MS what is ther future revenue model?

Will OS updates remain free?

[ctaulbee]

Most of their OS revenue comes from licenses sold in bulk to new computer mfgs, not direct sales to consumers, so that will not change all mfgs will still be paying a license fee, per box, no matter what the version number is.

The Microsoft guys are the masters of selling little more than nothing for a lot of money, one company I worked for built some custom server hardware to interface their wireless data collection products to customer systems, they were small self contained boxes more or less little dedicated pc's, they ran set code from ROM and some RAM, so no HD's, keyboards, ports ect, all the Win OS parts used by the system were burned into a custom ROM to run dedicated but they still had to have a holographic Microsoft license sticker on every box, because they were in fact running Microsoft code inside, even though you could not see or access it and that little sticker was the single largest cost component in the whole damn product, as it represented the licence fee paid to Microsoft for every single box that was built and shipped.

So once per month a private courier would arrive with a little box of stickers and collect a certified check for $50,000 US not bad for a a tiny box of stickers huh...

Then there is of course sales of their applications, which I'm sure will continue as is.

[Pip]

You missed the point ct. Consumer sales represent mfgs sales. That is not the businesses I was referring to.

i.e. consumer buys a new rig from mfg, mfg pays MS for the system rights, miniscure income for MS on what could be got.

That said cdomsumer sales are dwarfed by the sales to such as Insurance Compamies, big retailers etc. that is where the wealth is. Don't really think they would get into the Governmental market though.

I'm sure the Linux community are working on some sort of retalitory qaction thogh.

[ctaulbee]

Microsoft owns the OS market because of the fact the PC market is dominated by machines running a Windows OS in one flavor or the other that's been the case for a very long time.

Apple or Macs are a tiny percent of the Personal computer market and since all PC's other than Apples run windows and any other OS's like Linux would be even smaller group by comparison due to it primarily being used on servers but even so windows is catching up fast there too.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "Governmental market" as they already own it too.

Recent Quote from Zdnet:

After 30 years, Apple’s share of the PC market is still in single digits, percentage-wise. In its history, the Mac product line has sold more than 5 million units in a quarter only once. Last quarter, Apple shipped 4.8 million total units of its Mac product line. The PC industry – you know, the one that’s in decline – ships that many Windows machines in less than a week.

I mean, I don't know who's facts you are looking at but Windows PC's rule the Personal and Business Computer markets and always have. Apple while a solid second still can't compete, not with those numbers, they never have, Macs have appeal only in very select areas and with certain consumers but they are a tiny percent of the total. All other OS systems come in a distant third with practically no appeal in the personal or business market unless your talking web host servers which again is a small percent of the total OS market.

The rest of that summary of why anything but Windows is highly unlikely to ever catch up in the real world of business follows oh and it's long so I'll put it in spoiler tags.

Spoiler Block

When I look at the modern enterprise, I see six reasons why Windows desktops still dominate and Macs are still outsiders.

1. Enterprises run on Windows.

The average enterprise has thousands of custom, line-of-business Windows apps deployed. Some of those apps are more than 10 years old, and the cost of replacing them with cross-platform solutions such as web-based apps is prohibitive. That huge installed base of apps is one reason why the migration from Windows XP has been so slow in large organizations. And it’s why non-Windows machines are a nonstarter regardless of the operating system they run.

2. Macs are expensive. Enterprise IT budgets are tight.

The average selling price of a Mac in the most recently concluded quarter (Q1 of Apple’s 2014 fiscal year) was $1,322. That’s far more than the ASP of a Windows PC, which has hovered around $500 for years. Even if you assume that enterprises buy more expensive machines, there are still hidden costs of owning Macs, including (ironically) the cost of virtualization software and separate Windows licenses so that those Macs can run important Windows apps.

3. Microsoft Office is a second-class citizen on Macs.

Office on the Mac is always a year behind the corresponding Windows version, and Outlook is still a relative newcomer (and a poor relation). Some Office programs, most notably Access, have never been ported to the Mac. File format compatibility is strong, and for most users Office on the Mac is good enough. But it’s still a checklist item for most enterprises.

4. The desktop PC isn’t dead.

Businesses still buy lots and lots of boring desktop PCs, for workers who sit at a desk most of the day. In enterprise settings, desktops have multiple advantages. You can easily hook up multiple monitors, they’re easy to repair and upgrade, and they have ample expansion capabilities. In recent years, Apple has focused most of its efforts on the MacBook line. The iMac line is fine for art galleries and other small businesses that can run everything on a single PC, but it’s not an option for high-volume corporate computing. And we won’t even talk about the new $10,000+ Mac Pro.

5. Those Macs aren’t going to manage themselves.

The single biggest strength of the Windows ecosystem is the enormously powerful range of management software available for enterprises that run Windows domains. A tightly run IT shop can secure data, keep roaming profiles organized, and replace the image on a broken PC with the push of a remote switch. For the most part, Macs are managed as if they were mobile devices. That gives IT staff limited support tools, but it’s nothing like the management options of a fully managed, domain-joined PC.

6. Apple doesn’t provide long-term support.

Microsoft provides a guaranteed 10-year support lifecycle for Windows devices. That means an enterprise can count on a device being supported with bug fixes and security patches for a decade. Apple, by contrast, abandons older versions of OS X quickly. Yes, upgrades to recent versions of OS X are free, but IT staffs who have to deal with the costs of deploying those upgrades and dealing with attending incompatibilities might beg to differ.

These days, of course, Apple’s efforts are focused on mobile devices. The iPad line outsold all Macs by a margin of better than five to one last quarter and is beginning to approach PC shipment levels. And Apple is quick to note that most enterprises are now allowing iPads inside the corporate network.

That shift from conventional PCs/Macs to mobile devices is probably the largest reason of all why Macs have largely stalled in the enterprise. Apple long ago dropped the word “Computer” from its name, after all

[Pip]

Perhaps this better explains what I was getting at.

"Nearly Half of U.S. and U.K. Companies Still Using Windows XP a Year after End of Life, According to Bit9 + Carbon Black Survey" (May 2015)

Source https://www.bit9.com/company/news/press-releases/nearly-half-of-u-s-and-u-k-companies-still-using-windows-xp-a-year-after-end-of-life-according-to-bit9-carbon-black-survey/

Add to that this:-

"Windows XP clings to No. 2 spot as Windows 10 gets closer" (April 2015)

Scource http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-xp-use-continues-to-drop-but-still-in-no-2-spot/

[ctaulbee]

That's always been an issue, they did the same thing with Win95 but they eventually went to XP when they had too, they will move to the new OS once they have too, many companies never do anything until they are forced too.

[bankska22]

So far so good for me. No issues at the moment.