Edit: To clarify the "hit a nerve" bit, when I wrote this my post and agildehaus's were both down voted.
9 out of 10 computers run Windows. Let's try to make it a version that's from 2015.
Though the market share of XP has been dropping. The only real users left are those who don't know what an OS is and only uses it to check AOL in ie6 and businesses who are too stupid to upgrade their horribly dated software.
Other than that, I hope that one day Microsoft will do something to allow Unix folks to be more comfortable on Windows because I honestly don't like anything about OS X and I'm looking forward to a time when Unix lovers will flock to some other brand of hardware and OS. Anything but Apple.
Too bad they could not include free xp upgrades as well
The "AeroGlass" theme was beautiful and my hardware is fast enough - sure some low end mobile hardware can't handle it.
Will Win10 RTM still requires a Microsoft Outlook/Live/Passport/Hotmail-Account? The non-obvious small almost hidden "offline" profile option during Windows install wizard is not okay. It should be an equal option.
And for OneDrive and Cortana there should be an option to disable them and remove them from the interface in all Win10 editions, not just an option in the Enterprise edition.
It seems to me that Microsoft still doesn't care about a larger sizeable margin of the user base at all. Well I don't care that much about Win10, my beloved Win7 is supported til 2022.
Microsoft is, in my opinion, squandering an opportunity to be the major industry player to disintermediate today's "cloud" and give control back to individuals, families, and friends. Because they think of managing local accounts from a 15-year old point of view clouded by overly-complicated Windows Domains, they are unwilling to conceive an interface for managing your family's accounts yourself in a secure manner. But it would be possible, and Microsoft should be the one major player saying: "We're going to provide you the tools to manage your information securely for yourself. Unlike Google and Apple, we don't want your information. It's yours and we value your privacy!"
It's #5 from my 2013 rant on Microsoft: http://tiamat.tsotech.com/microsoft
As to the Live Account thing, as another poster said there is a hidden button to bypass it, but they intentionally make it hard to find to try and force people into using a Live Account (and things like OneDrive and the Store integrate with a Live Account also, so without one functionality will break).
It almost certainly will not. Even in Windows 8.1, I have had to disconnect from the Internet before creating the first user so Microsoft wouldn't fuss about it.
I don't think it's insurmountable, but they definitely have their work cut out for them.
Unable to set static IP. Appeared to Work in GUI but not actually set.
Touchpad being available every other reboot. Device simply not detected.
I recently wanted to bootcamp my Macbook Pro to play some games Windows-only games. I went to Microsoft's website and looked at the options for buying Windows 8. The only options were a retail DVD which would be shipped (and I don't have a DVD drive) or to upgrade from Windows Vista/Windows 7 which I had neither of.
I ended up pirating it because I couldn't figure out how to get a legitimate copy that I could actually install. :(
I haven't used Windows since XP, and 8 is really nice. I'm legitimately excited for Windows 10 especially due to all the open sourcing of .NET-related code recently.
Got a source on this?
I suppose there's a number of people running the preview as VM on non-Windows machines?
The Technical Preview is free and easy to setup with Bootcamp, so you may as well give it a shot.
see https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Command_Line_Option... for more options (I recommend "-novid -window -noborder -high -threads <number of threads that your processor supports>")
One of the disasters of Windows 8 was viewing full-screen Metro applications on a 39" 4K monitor. It would have been funny—heck, it was funny—but it was also tragic. It was a touchstone of how utterly out of touch Windows 8 was with desktop computing.
When Microsoft shows silhouettes of all of the Windows 10 platforms, one should be a 3-monitor monster desktop workstation, the kind of PC that some of us own and love. In not showing something truly high-end, they make us feel like high-productivity computing is no longer a focus of Microsoft.
Honestly I constantly built my own towers for years but these past 3 or 4 years I haven't even booted a desktop tower; laptops are just so good nowadays and I can pick it up and go or dock it with multiple monitors it almost seems silly to do a tower anymore. Obviously there are still plenty of power user use cases or high end gaming to consider but many laptops can do a lot of that well enough.
Frsutrating that Firefox and Chrome boot slower than my phone and tablet!
I will stop using a desktop computer when you pry the mechnical keyboard out of my cold dead hands.
P.S. Never personally owned a laptop and only use one's provided by my work.
(Full disclosure: I use a workstation as my main computer both at home and at work. My laptop is mainly for traveling and computing in the sofa)
To get laptop specs approaching my desktop I'd need to spend close to double the cost and I'd still be giving up quite a bit since there just aren't equivalent laptop-grade CPUs, GPUs, and storage options that compare.
Instead, I keep a desktop that's a bit lower spec than a serious workstation but higher than most basic office/home systems (i7, 16GB RAM, SSD, a couple of HDDs that were in previous machines, GTX 980, optical drive, etc) and a more basic laptop for use in less demanding tasks when away from home.
I guess my usage is a bit of a throwback in this sense but my desktop is the center of my home computing. Until recently it was the network storage for my media library (since offloaded to a NAS but still acts as the Plex server for transcoding and streaming media throughout the house). It's my main gaming platform. I use it for editing photos and video and well as my hobbyist-level dabbling in 3D graphics and animation. And it's obviously capable of all the less-demanding stuff like web browsing and Netflix on a decent-sized monitor.
A docked laptop would have lower CPU, GPU, and storage options and even if I bought some exorbitant "desktop replacement" model, it would cost a fortune and not be very portable. Much easier to buy a more reasonable notebook to take with me and even remote into my desktop if I really need to do some heavy lifting outside the house.
* iPhone (General Use)
* Macbook Air (Development, consuming media)
* Mac Mini (Work, development)
*Windows PC (Gaming)
Also worth noting, my wife has a 2-in-1 laptop which she loves.
However one problems with latops, or anything with a small screen which is by default not at eye level when your head is in it's standard position, is that it is probably quite bad ergonomically. I really wonder what is going to happen to all those young people spending hours with their neck bent in what seems a rather unnatural position. I am not entirely sure it really is bad nor do I have the background to argue much about it, but it just seems not right. Maybe someone with a medical background or so can chime in?
Or are there other infos out about this very typical scenario among IT people?
On the community discussion it's been asked without an official response yet (http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-...).
Fro memory: press the Meta/Windows key; write "privacy" on the dash; a window with privacy options appears; hit the Search tab, disable the checkbox.
It annoys me that it's there by default and non-technical users will not know how to do anything. There should be an option or warning on the dash itself.
My lodger's old laptop is in desperate need of something before I let it have more open access to my local network... (I've been thinking Ubuntu but that might take a little more retraining so Win10 might be preferable if free and it'll run OK on that elderly machine without driver and/or CPU/RAM/space resource issues)
Nope. There is no upgrade path from XP -> Windows 10. You will have to go from Win7/8 to qualify for the free upgrade to 10.
In 2012, when they offered cheap (£/$15) 7 -> 8 upgrades it was effectively open to anyone who was willing to lie about having bought a machine running Windows 7 in the last X months. Windows 8 could then be installed on any machine using the product key provided.
Can I turn off the notifications?
Yes. Click “Customize” in the System Tray and turn off the Get Windows 10 app notifications in the menu that comes up.
I guess one could uninstall :
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3035583
Looks like this thing was sleeping all this time on my computer and then woke up on a given signal. Sounds like a virus to me... !
If they stay with bing as the only web search integrated into cortana google will lose some users. Nevertheless they should implement google as an option.
"Two areas have seen changes in SP1 that have come as the result of concerns from software vendors. One of these is desktop search; users will be able to change the default desktop search program to one provided by a third party instead of the Microsoft desktop search program that comes with Windows Vista, and desktop search programs will be able to seamlessly tie in their services into the operating system. These changes come in part due to complaints from Google, whose Google Desktop Search application was hindered by the presence of Vista's built-in desktop search. In June 2007, Google claimed that the changes being introduced for SP1 "are a step in the right direction, but they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers"." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Desktop
Win10 should support third party personal agents like Google Now and others!
> this is something that other operating systems have had in their text shells for ages
Perhaps someone knows the date from which you could highlight single lines as single lines in the commad prompt for linux / mac?
Does Microsoft have some kind of comparison table between Windows 7 and Windows 10 i can use to make an informed decision?
List of features (vs. 8.1):
- Package manager (OneGet).
- Virtual desktops.
- Improved conhost (cmd and powershell "window").
- Improved multi-monitor support.
- Start Menu is back (but the 'Power User' right click menu remains!).
- Settings app (improved Control Panel experience).
- 2F auth, better biometrics, face and iris support.
- Lower disk usage (reduced 2.6 GB on 64 bit).
- Edge browser. Cortana. Improved Windows Explorer icons & folder favourites.
- Notifications UI.
List of features (vs. 7):
- Faster boot (inc. hybrid boot).
- Improved Task Manager.
- Improved Copy/Move dialog boxes (pause, graphs, prioritisation, etc).
- Better touch screen support.
- More login options (pin, picture, etc).
- Improved multi-monitor support (taskbar options).
- Up button and ribbon in Windows Explorer.
- Native support for ISO, IMG, and VHD mounting.
- Better on-screen keyboard.
- Peek passwords.
- File History (UI mostly).
- Refresh, Reset, etc restore options.
- "Basic" biometrics.
- Improved encryption.
- Client Hyper-V (on Pro and above).
So for 8.1 users, the improvements to 10 are mostly graphical with a handful of very nice to have functionality improvements. For Windows 7 users, the improvements are substantial and across the board. 8 and 8.1 actually improved 7 a lot, people just ignore it because "omg the Start Screen."
So to the people saying "Windows 7 is until 2020, why upgrade!" I say: you're missing out on a lot of improvements that you could be taking advantage of, in particular improvements 8 and 8.1 brought that you ignored.
Seriously though, with classic shell, I like 8.1 a lot, and notice the improved performance over 7... I don't use touch screens, and mostly dual monitor desktop use... that said, it's pretty decent. You may want to hold out until 3-6 months after win10 comes out though...
If you don't need any of that stuff, there's no reason to upgrade.
Will Office 2016 be released the same day?
The only reason I haven't installed the tech preview and used it as my sole OS (on my gaming PC) is because I don't want to have to reinstall 8.1 in order to upgrade back to 10 once it launches.
I survived Windows 95, I can deal with BSODs and wonky features. I just want the latest. And Windows Hello, because Jarvis.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2873214/windows-10-will-be-a-...
The free for the first year has caveats but there is no scenario where we are discussing Microsoft making you pay for essential updates in the second year. In fact, while I am not a Microsoft fan I will stick my neck out and say that it is extremely unlikely that you will have to pay for updates in consumer SKU's of Microsoft Windows for the next six years. Seven years is typically the regularly advertised end of life and end of mainline support for previous versions of Microsoft Windows.
The first major caveat is that this is for existing Windows users. This offer only applies for people who currently on qualifying versions of Microsoft Windows today. If your computer came with a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows 7 or above, it is in Microsoft's best interest that you get on board with the latest version of Windows.
The second major caveat is that this is specifically not for organizations. Enterprise cash cows will remain cash cows.
I'd urge you to be skeptical and not infer any promises Microsoft has not specifically made. However, if anyone has been telling you that Microsoft will make you pay for security updates or Windows in general beginning the second year are at best incorrect and at worst maliciously spreading FUD. Of course, Microsoft isn't helping because there are so many details we don't know yet such as when is the end of life for Windows 10 (assuming I accept all updates)? There is a lot of things we don't know. However, we can say with a lot of confidence that you will not have to pay a subscription the second year of moving to Windows 10.
For what it is worth, I intend to update to Windows 10 on my personal computer as soon as possible. I also intend to stay on the fast lane of updates (more updates more often but possibly some buggy updates) once I get on Windows 10.
I wonder what Adobe and Genius think of that.
http://liliputing.com/2015/05/this-is-how-win32-apps-can-bec...
Since corporate Windows users tend to run mostly desktop apps, if modern Windows is not going to support their apps they will not move.
I want that one.
http://techranker.net/dell-xps-13-review-pros-and-cons-best-...
Other things I noticed they are rolling back when I ran the TP, the start menu is basically the Win 7 start menu with some extra features, no more metro start screen (that I saw.)
