Windows 10

I have many of the same reservations.

I understand win 7 and up users have one year to take the free lunch.

I will take a look at T = 10 months when the reviews are in.

I'm inclined to agree on the t + 10 months, but my reckless side is gagging to take a peek !

Previous experience with microsoft is telling me that something has just gotta go wrong during the first several months.

Yes, there's dozens of assumptions about the latest windows dump and when W8.1 support will end.

You can bet it will be as confusing as the last trash they dumped on us.

Windows IT snobs not withstanding, it's junk and there's nothing to suggest that the thieves won't just re-hide the same features and tell us it's better.

What? I just had another "Upgrade" on my mmnenfo ehwj cf mcd,d.'.de'..

I was just in a Microsoft Store in LA a couple weeks ago. I am on an Acer laptop with Windows 7 and everything is hunky dory. I asked the sales tech if I was happy with my current install then was there anything in Windows 10 I should upgrade for? Answer was not really.

Despite the nagging urge to take a peak at the new OS you're probably better off holding back unless you have the time and initiative to try it out.

I am curious about their new browser though...

My Acer laptop died May 31st. Won't power up, the orange charge light doesn't even come on. The brick is good. Just purchased an Acer Desktop el cheapo. It has 8.1.Don't much care for it.

As Lyn stated above, same c^&p, just polished and repackaged.

The principal issue is that the keyboard loc

Windows 10 is supposed to be the last windows based operating system, and will just be upgraded from now on, so they say....I'm in no hurry...There has to be a good reason why they are offering this for free, and the fact they offer no explanation, is very suspicious....I smell a rat....

'Free' Windows 10 Upgrades Kill Priceless Windows 8 And Windows 7 Features

Windows 10 will cost $119 if you're not eligible for ...

Read more - 'Free' Windows 10 Will Be Late And Expensive For Millions

The only entity less trustworthy than MS is our Gooberment.

" If you are using XP it will not be possible to upgrade" you don't know how much I agree with this statement.

Perhaps you can enlighten those of us who just want to use the computer, why it is necessary to hide/delete/complicate/rearrange/rename perfectly good features in the name of "improvement".

Backup on Win 8.1? Nope. Different name and hidden from the user. Copy a recovery DVD, not without buying new software. It's called an upgrade?

Maybe it's just me. I don't see any reason to have to reinvent ones entire life just to feed Bill's bloated bank account.

What, you mean it's not broken?? "Well, we'll have to be sure to fix that right away!"

My Dino Dell 600 w/xp3 has ran so much smoother since MS quit the support, I mean absolutely no problems!

I kept telling my ex-wife, " I'd preform better I'd she'd quit tweeting me", but she kept pushing all my buttons until she found the right one, the one most dreaded--- Delete!! So, I deleted the problem!

And I've found it's a cheaper not to upgrade, without all the unknown expenses disclosed up front!

Bill Gates has the money to run his own R&D program, I don't want to hear of any freebies until the bugs are gone, (unless he wants to buy me a new laptop to experiment with)!

You can easily and freely download the insider preview, I have it running now on a virtualBox which is also free from Oracle.

The benifit of this is that you get to see it running and when you are finished you just shut down the program and you've not changed anything in your current operating system.

I'm not yet sure what the hype was about project spartan, it looks just like a new version of IE...

Anyway, my own preference to any new software is to wait until SP1 is out, that we someone else gets all the issues and hopefully all the major bugs fall out by SP1

EDIT: I should have said, I suspect the FREE upgrade is a means to get more and more people onto Office 365 where they can charge you for the rest of time!

I am so glad I took the plunge an flushed microsoft, like the bloated turd that it is. I have been playing around with various Linux distros for quite some time now. Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" now resides on every computer in my house, (all 5 of them, or was it 6? I loose track) but the wife's. Still working to convince her to take the plunge.

The Cinnamon desktop environment is one of the nicest I've seen and it is a very fluid transition from Win7. Inevitably, some things are different but, the learning curve seems very mild. Very fast and capable. Tons of capable software and, best of all, it's almost all free. Schematic capture programs, PC board designers, a Spice like program, even CAD stuff.

If you haven't experienced the bliss that is open source, I would strongly suggest taking a look. Set up a dual boot system, if you are still apprehensive. Linux has come a long way from the unexciting command line terminal. It's very user friendly now, with lots of eye candy in the latest GUIs.

No slight of hand here, what you see is pretty much what you get. Linux will never try to lock you into using their products so they can rip you off for them. Finally, you are no longer feeding the Microsoft beast.

Ubuntu and Mint (and many other GNU/Linux variations) are quite good, which is why Microsoft is trying to get hardware designed so you can't boot up alternate OS's.

....Or maybe you can, for a license fee....

Yes, they are rather insidious.

And that'll solve, what, exactly?

Motherboard designers are already used to making multiple designs for the same 'generation' of motherboard (Intel CPU vs AMD CPU) so if Windows starts requiring motherboards with 'the Gates Chip⁽¹⁾' to boot, and the Gates Chip prevents other OS'es from booting, the motherboard designers will just design boards that incorporate the Gates Chip and boards that don't use it.

The last I heard, motherboard designers don't pay a licensing fee to Microsoft simply because their hardware COULD run Windows. M$ used to charge a license fee for computer builders (Dell, Gateway, Packard Hell, Bombpack- er, Packard Bell, Compaq)for every computer they sold, whether or not it had Windows pre-installed, but that was ruled an unfair trade practice and banned.I doubt they'll try that again, or if they do, it'll get shot down before the first license fee is paid.

Notes:

1. I know Bill isn't in charge anymore, but he's been the face of M$ since the beginning, and it's hard to remember the name of the guy running things now.
   

Thanks all for many good comments, I'm still digesting this.

It seems that CR4 has an increasing number of people who are ready and prepared to just ditch Windows altogether. Sounds good to me, so long as we have compatible formats for sharing whatever.

I suspect m/s are going free so they can charge for individual apps and cloud storage (or even processing). The question, to my mind, is how long existing Windows versions will last. XP still seem to run OK, and I even know people who run Win 98. At some point, Windows is just not going to be viable anymore - anybody running a large organization might do well to consider long term plans to migrate systems.

MS has already begun to squeeze the consumer dry.

4. The subscription costs

A small business with 25 or fewer users can purchase Office 365 Small Business. If you pay by the year, you'll pay $5, payable in an annual fee of $60 (per user). If you prefer to pay as you go, you'll pay $6 a user per month. Small Business Premium includes the desktop version of all the Office apps, for $150 a year per user. If you have more than 25 users, opt for one of the Enterprise versions from $8 to $24 per user (monthly).

10+ things you should know before buying Office 365 ...

You got the nail on the head. Windows 10 shows exact where they are going. Couple of years, and we all go Liniux.

If Bill gives me a lot of money, I might try argue an alternate view.

Probably everyone has heard by now that MS announced W10 for the end of July. Upgrade free to users of W7 and W8.1, but apparently not 8.0. Free for one year only. Then charge how much--unknown. That free includes free upgrades as long as you have that particular computer. Then free is gone! Morals: If you don't have W7 or W 8.1, upgrade now so you can take advantage of W10 later this summer. Also, if you are thinking of getting a new computer, do it now so your free upgrades, and followups, to W10 will last longer; in August your free upgrade to W10 will be kaput.

It was rumored that W10 would be the last of the line; that the not-optional upgrades would keep it up to date.

I'm with those who won't go to W10 right away; let others find the bugs. I'll follow along in several months. And if something gets screwed up, those free OSs are looking pretty attractive (Linux, etc.)