Microsoft to launch Windows 10 on July 29

Same old, same old - another reason to wait awhile before buying a new computer, or this new operating system. They always seem to design it for their own take on what users want, not what users like, or tell them. Big company, big gamble. But as a long-time user, I'll hold my hand until the gamblers have lost theirs'.

I wonder that they don't call it Microsoft OSX.

After the serious advance of Macs in the past 5 or so years, Microsoft must be a little worried about losing a good portion of their market share.

I wonder if this version of windows will turn that around or not.

Dumped Microsoft a long time ago, never again!

I liked Windows 9 better.

Dear Bill,

A few questions, if you don't mind:

Will it be filled with ads like windows 8.1?

Will it be mandatory?

Will I get a nagging bubble every time I fire up my PC to upgrade?

If I upgrade and hate it, can I downgrade?

I hate to sound like a broken record but XP was one of the best windows versions. They should've improved from there. Vista was the hell, people shouldve been compensated for using that piece of garbage.

I hate to sound like a broken record but XP was one of the best windows versions.

It was one of the most stable, I wouldn't say best. Windows 7 was a lot better.

papigiulio:

I agree!!!! I know everything has to change, but things that work and work well should not be forced into an early grave. Vista was awful.

XP was relatively stable, but I can't recall how many times I needed to reinstall that system after it started grinding slowly after a few years of use... no it wasn't as good as 7 in my opinion.

Windows Vista was an unmitigated disaster.

As a long time Windows user, I can safely say that Windows 7 has been the most stable and functional.

Technically Windows 8 was a further refinement - if it weren't for the god-awful Start screen.

Windows 10 should be similar to Windows 7, but Microsoft is pushing to get this out the door in time.... that means it will likely be quite buggy when it arrives, but what I've seen holds promise. People looking to upgrade from 7 have a year to do so for free. My advice is that if you want system stability, wait until around May next year to make the switch.

How long is that icon going to be on my toolbar, asking me to upgrade to Win10? I don't like the fact that Microsoft is nagging you every time you turn on your computer to upgrade.

So a lot of people are complaining about the Windows 10 icon that shows in your icon tray after the KB3035583, which allows you to reserve your Windows 10 copy right away. Even thought you reserve it, it'll stay there. In order to remove it, you simply have to remove it from the start-up (and it's in the Task Scheduler).

I do think unlike the unloved Windows 8 and 8.1 (which forced people to use the quirky Modern tiled user interface much of the time), Windows 10 on desktop and conventional laptop computers will boot into a true Desktop interface familiar to Windows XP, Vista and 7 users, which will make it far more successful among end users. I expect a huge number of government and corporate end users to upgrade to Windows 10 over the next few years, something they didn't do with Windows 8 and 8.1.

Dear Bill,

You mean Bill Gates? He hasn't run the company's operations in almost a decade. Now he's pretty much just a major stockholder.

A few questions, if you don't mind:

Will it be filled with ads like windows 8.1?

??? I have Windows 8.1 and I don't get ANY ads on the operating system. Perhaps you have a hacked version?

Will it be mandatory?

Possibly, but only in the same manner that DOS users found it "mandatory" to upgrade to a Windows version because software stopped being written for DOS. In the same manner, eventually software will stop supporting Windows 8.1.

Will I get a nagging bubble every time I fire up my PC to upgrade?

Perhaps it's different on your computer, but on mine there was just another icon in the System Tray that urged me to upgrade to Win10 for free. I just noticed it for the first time this morning, so I can't really say it's been "nagging". If you're talking about security updates, then Microsoft was forced into being a nag because users are basically stupid. In the "old days", Microsoft made the security updates available but didn't push them down to the local computers. They relied on the end users to do the responsible thing by checking the update web page and keep their computers up-to-date with the latest security patches. Microsoft was SO NAIVE back then! Not only didn't end users do this, they blamed MICROSOFT when their computers subsequently suffered problems because they weren't updated. So... Microsoft became a nag because they were tired of the unwarranted bad press.

If I upgrade and hate it, can I downgrade?

I don't know. Do you have a legal copy of the Win 8.1 installer? If so then you should be able to revert back to Win 8.1 very easy by formatting your hard drive and installing Win 8.1.

What will it do for me? Upgraded start button oh yawn! Voice interface? More boring as I can do all of the functions. So why is it so "good"?

To get rid of the Windows 10 icon delete the task named "refreshgwxconfig-B" in the Task Scheduler (if you know how to do it) or simply rename the C:Windowssystem32GWX to something like C:Windowssystem32stop-boring-me.

Some excepts from this early review: http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-10-1267364/review

The good news is that people who missed out Windows 8 will be right at home – in basic use Windows 10 is not a million miles from Windows 7. You've still got the Start menu, even though it's fundamentally changed (more on that shortly). Key functions are all accessed from the Taskbar, which has a flat, functional feel. The design language feels refined – window borders are smaller, a subtle.

If you did immerse yourself in learning Windows 8, there is a little problem in that the Charms (the little icons that appeared on the right-hand side of the screen) have totally gone. Probably the shortest-lived yet supposedly crucial interface element in history. Microsoft said they were the future! Well they aren't now.

YuriOtani if you REALLY want to know what's different about Win10, I'd recommend the above review because for the part I read (six pages) it seemed pretty thorough.

I hate to sound like a broken record but XP was one of the best windows versions.

Well then you clearly weren't around when between the years 2001 and 2004(release of SP2). A lot of people complained and hated it. Especially the fact that it had what was called a Fisher-Price GUI.

If I upgrade and hate it, can I downgrade?

I don't know. Do you have a legal copy of the Win 8.1 installer? If so then you should be able to revert back to Win 8.1 very easy by formatting your hard drive and installing Win 8.1.

There's a feature in the Win8 settings -- Recovery -- Reinstall Windows without affecting your files

If that feature is still kept in Win10, then one can always go back to how it was when the device was purchased.

Anyhow, if ya guys were interested, the free Win10 Preview was already available for thousands of users for months. Microsoft has been making changes depending on what Preview users vote for.

As for the Win10 icon on the Taskbar, ya can delete it if your computer is short on resources. Or ya can just simply Customize the Taskbar and hide the icon and ya won't ever see it unless ya want to.

I'm using 8.1 now. Been using it on both rigs for over a year. No problems. Zero. And I'm on my PCs about 10 hours a day every day.

Never understood the win 8 criticism. I assume it's either from people who havent used it or are too dumb to learn a couple of simple new things, like the tile format.

Yes, the tiles! You see them on your screen, and then click the one whose application you want to use. And then the application...get this...opens! Wow, how challenging is that?

It's not that it's challenging, it's just bad UX. Good UX means that things work the way the user expects them to, without the user having to think about it. Anytime the user has to think about it to figure out how to do something, it's bad UX.

You are used to Win 8, so you can probably do everything without thinking about it. But I remember the first time I sat down to Win 8, I couldn't figure out how to do anything - and I'm a computer guy. Think of the amateurs.

As an XP user whose computer hasn't failed (although it has once in a while had a minor glitch I've managed, as a DOS3.1 programmer, to get over or around) I'll wait until I see unchallenged proof that 10 will work as an 'operating system' should, without making me the operation, thank you.

"it's bad UX."

Huh? The tiles are icons, except bigger and easier to see. And you can open them or move them by touching them directly with your finger.

The alternative is gripping a mouse and simultaneously pressing a button on the left side of the mouse with your right index finger and you track the movement of the cursor and guide it into place.

To me, it's blindingly clear which user experience is superior.

The proof is in the pudding - look how many people hated it. If it were good UX, people would have been fine with it.

Strangerland: If it were good UX, people would have been fine with it.

Microsoft has gotten too used to their business model, throwing out junk every few years to keep the money coming in. They call it churning in the stock market, I think.

What use C#, the massive Windows API, all that stuff? If it was so good the first time, why need new major releases every few years?

If it was so good the first time, why need new major releases every few years?

Lot's of reasons. Software technology changes and improves, allowing for more than was possible previously. Hardware changes, allowing for more processing, and different ways of interacting with said hardware. New technology/products are released that the previous release wasn't built to work/interact with etc.

No. They could have added all that in incrementally. They do that all the time anyway. The older compiler versions did the job, the differences between those versions and the latest are just window dressing in my opinion.

Are you saying that as a programmer who knows what they are talking about?

Coded my first Windows program on the job 20+ years ago, last one a couple of years ago, and a few Windows programs in between (coded for other platforms not Windows, "in between"), and unpaid programs before that in college. In real, compiled languages, not script languages.

It's a subscription model, I get that. They don't get paid for free security updates, device driver updates, etc., so where would their funding for the free stuff come from, if not for the paid releases?

But Linux is out there for free, and is better as far as I can tell. And no need to foist that Metro trash on us, just to make an excuse for a new release. I wonder if in several years or a few dozen years Microsoft will be around.

One thing about Metro. It seems Google Maps has changed over to a layout similar to Metro, to its great detriment. Can't even get back to Classic Maps now.

And there was another site with similar changeover, maybe the download site for Firefox or Flash or Chrome? There are noticeably few gray heads when you see the Googlers walking around outside on their way to lunch. Are they trying to move everyone to a touchscreen world, like Metro did?

I mean the new Google Maps really, really sucks. And is slow, too!

It has been years since I last used Windows, but from reading every new Windows release, it seems that users have to abandon something from the last version they were fond of or used to, in order to learn something new that is not so efficient as in the previous version or it's hard to understand. Am I wrong?

My most serious concern: How many of the applications running currently on my Win 7 machines are going to be compatible with Win 10?

I spent several months on the beta/preview builds and it was enough for me to decide that it's time to move on from Windows 7 (I skipped 8). It's got some really cool features on the DX12 api seems impressive in how quick draw calls can be made.