I finally got off my butt and installed the Windows 10 beta. And it’s not too soon, either, because next week most Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs will be provided with a free update. So again I find myself on the leading edge.
My big excuse is that I’ve been busy. I love it when work piles up in the dark months of winter. I’m inside. It’s miserable outside. I have no excuses but to get to work.
This time of year, it’s nice outside. I have a garden going. I have a project in the garage. Stuff to do surrounds me! And I have multiple projects for work — that writing thing I still do inside.
The Windows 10 installation went smoothly, which is a first. I do, after a time, eventually update my test computers. It’s not out of free will that I do so. No, I’m required to update for my books.
This round, I’ve put off updating because I just don’t like, nor do I recommend, the updates. Windows 10 might be the first exception. (Well, I did recommend updating Windows Vista to Windows 7 a while back.)
Another fear factor is that I chose my laptop as the upgrade target.
Laptops have special hardware drivers, which are often not included with the generic Windows update. So when I’ve updated laptops in the past, I’ve lost features like the touchpad, rotating screens, Wi-Fi, and other hardware specific items. So I didn’t sit easy as the Windows 10 update process churned away on my beloved Lenovo laptop.
My first reaction?
OMG! This is so much better than I expected.
Roman Emperor Tiberius knew that for him to be remembered fondly, he’d need a successor far worse than he was. That’s what brought history the emperor Caligula. (Of course, Tiberius is still not remembered fondly.) I suppose that same logic applies inversely to Windows 10: Because Windows 8 sucked so drastically, Windows 10 is going to be universally met with surprise and delight.
Mind you, it’s not perfect. I still see some of the old Microsoft-shoehorn happening. I see some forced features and things that no one has asked for and, yet suddenly, there they are! But that kind of stuff is truly tangential to the overall operating system experience. On that score, Windows 10 gets a blue ribbon.
Figure 1 shows my Windows 10 desktop, which is the old Windows 7 motif, comfortable and familiar.
Figure 1. Windows 10 desktop on my laptop.
Some of the features I view as improvements. The Windows Explorer (file manager) has been fine-tuned, which is nice.
Apparently Internet Explorer is being replaced by Project Spartan or something. I just can’t figure out why Project Spartan is necessary.
The multiple desktop feature is nice, although Mac has had Exposé for a while.
The Start button menu is a shotgun marriage between the Windows 7 Start button and Windows 8 Start screen. It’s tolerable, but I’ll work later to search for a way to tone it down.
Oh, and all the laptop’s features work after the upgrade, which is amazing.
That’s my quick looksee. By the end of the month, most of my machines will be updated. Then I’ll post some tips and tricks and further rants and raves. You know how it goes.
