Your Experience with Windows 10

[LetsPlayThisBro]

Reading through all of this, I think I'm sticking with 7 until I'm compelled to upgrade. I thought 10 would be a great idea if only because of DX12, but gaming companies haven't really gotten on that bandwagon yet. I play a lot of games and compatibility can be an issue. Since I fried my SSD I figured it would be a good time to re-evaluate upgrading to 10, looks like it's still in the works really. Might have to wait until just before the free year ends and more kinks are ironed out.

Why is it, and a lot of companies do this, they release a product that takes a good year or two to get everything ironed out with it, then just as soon as the issues are dealt with they have a new version of it ready to go and start the whole thing all over again. Ever notice the built in crap that everyone tries to uninstall works better than some of the compatibility issues people would rather have work?

I don't need nor want Cortana, my computer isn't a cellphone, it's kind of why I have a full sized keyboard. I don't need automatic updates, nor do I want them. They keep adding features that are tough to shut off yet seem to withhold other things we do want.

I'm waiting for the day that any OS maker lets you go onto their site, pick and choose which features we want and then allow a custom download with those features and only those features. Something with the "core" OS that doesn't involve all the other forced crap, like Internet Explorer, or whatever they named the newer lighter version of it.

This is particular to MS though isn't it? They try to be everything for everybody and usually get large groups angry at them for the various things they put on us that we don't want for this or that reason. I don't use bing, I don't want bing, I don't need bing, yet there bing is on my Windows install, I assume it's on 10 as well.

I'd rather pay more up front for an OS than have them collecting data on me, it's why Chrome OS isn't for me either. I know a lot of companies collect all kinds of various things about us, but on the OS itself just seems to able to go too deep into our lives, we're not talking about a free cellphone game app that wants access to our friends list, we're talking every damn keystroke seems to be something they can snoop on if they so desire. Something very wrong with that and even if that isn't true, it sure seems to be true and it's a perception issue they're doing nothing to downplay.

So I guess until there is a game out there that requires me to go from 7 to 10, I'll be sticking with 7. 8.1 was good, just so short lived so they could move us to another product that needs more development. These OS releases feel very much like buying an Early Access game off of steam, hit or miss.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Everything you say is entirely true, and has been said about ten million times before. They do what they do, to make money. Nothing is going to change that. Dollars and numbers are the bottom line. Everything else is a distant second.

 

[USAFRet]

Everything you say is entirely true, and has been said about ten million times before. They do what they do, to make money. Nothing is going to change that. Dollars and numbers are the bottom line. Everything else is a distant second.

The only thing in the above that is incorrect is:
"This is particular to MS though isn't it? "

Not even a little bit close.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Reading through all of this, I think I'm sticking with 7 until I'm compelled to upgrade. I thought 10 would be a great idea if only because of DX12, but gaming companies haven't really gotten on that bandwagon yet. I play a lot of games and compatibility can be an issue. Since I fried my SSD I figured it would be a good time to re-evaluate upgrading to 10, looks like it's still in the works really. Might have to wait until just before the free year ends and more kinks are ironed out.

Why is it, and a lot of companies do this, they release a product that takes a good year or two to get everything ironed out with it, then just as soon as the issues are dealt with they have a new version of it ready to go and start the whole thing all over again. Ever notice the built in crap that everyone tries to uninstall works better than some of the compatibility issues people would rather have work?

I don't need nor want Cortana, my computer isn't a cellphone, it's kind of why I have a full sized keyboard. I don't need automatic updates, nor do I want them. They keep adding features that are tough to shut off yet seem to withhold other things we do want.

I'm waiting for the day that any OS maker lets you go onto their site, pick and choose which features we want and then allow a custom download with those features and only those features. Something with the "core" OS that doesn't involve all the other forced crap, like Internet Explorer, or whatever they named the newer lighter version of it.

This is particular to MS though isn't it? They try to be everything for everybody and usually get large groups angry at them for the various things they put on us that we don't want for this or that reason. I don't use bing, I don't want bing, I don't need bing, yet there bing is on my Windows install, I assume it's on 10 as well.

I'd rather pay more up front for an OS than have them collecting data on me, it's why Chrome OS isn't for me either. I know a lot of companies collect all kinds of various things about us, but on the OS itself just seems to able to go too deep into our lives, we're not talking about a free cellphone game app that wants access to our friends list, we're talking every damn keystroke seems to be something they can snoop on if they so desire. Something very wrong with that and even if that isn't true, it sure seems to be true and it's a perception issue they're doing nothing to downplay.

So I guess until there is a game out there that requires me to go from 7 to 10, I'll be sticking with 7. 8.1 was good, just so short lived so they could move us to another product that needs more development. These OS releases feel very much like buying an Early Access game off of steam, hit or miss.

The problem with a product like Windows is that it has to support a wide array of hardware and software configurations so even if they spent twice as long working on it there would be some issues. A lot stem from OEMs not working on their products for the new OS when they should. For example, Microsoft worked closely with Intel, AMD and NVidia on Vista. They made them aware of the requirements for the OS and they all said they were ready. Well when Vista launched there were two problems. The hardware vendors had a lot of driver issues and hardware that was not ready and OEMs tried to shove Vista on systems that could barely run XP SP3 (single core CPUs, 512MB of RAM etc). Try putting 7 on a system like that and you would have the same issues Vista had. Luckily by the time 7 came out most people were on good dual cores or better with 2GB+ of RAM.

Microsoft can work with them all they want but the OEMs are lazy. They want you to buy new hardware, not reuse your old hardware. Look at Lenovo. They would have known about 10 before even consumers did. Yet they had no drivers ready for any of their systems even a month after the launch of the OS. What is Microsoft to do? Delay the OS just for them?

I can tell you that so far I have yet to run into any game incompatibilities with 10 and I mainly game on my system. My wife even plays a F2P MMO that never really gets updated and it works on 10 just fine.

As for Cortana it seems it has replaced the search function. When you turn off the "Get To Know Me" features of Cortana it turns into just a normal Windows search function and is that service. You also have to look at it from Microsofts perspective. They are tryin to make a unified platform so it is easier to go between devices. Hell I welcome the idea of having a phone with Windows on it that I can plug into a dock and use it like a normal desktop. This will make it easier to transition to new OSes as well as they will have one design and core to work with rather than dozens.

And yes Microsoft tries to do a lot for everyone but they will have complaints no matter what. You cannot please all of the people all of the time, that is true in everything we do. As for Bing, it is Microsofts default search as they own it. Do you expect Google to not have Google as the default search on Android? Or Apple to not have Safari as the default on Apple devices? You can change it as well.

Next chance you get think about your cell phone. These days most people are glued to them, even when having dinner. Android and Apple both have the same if not more privacy invading features on their phones that people use far more than their systems these days. In fact Google has clearly stated that your emails are not private when they hit their servers and Apples Siri does a lot of the same things as Cortana does.

You also have to remember that Cortana itself is being pushed as a solution for the office. A lot of people will utilize it and if someone has Windows 10 and a WP 10 device they can have Cortana sync their calendars and contacts across all their devices. It will in the end benefit them. As you said, Microsoft needs to try to appeal to more than just the general consumer.

In the end this will all eventually pass on. Much like the initial hate and slams on Windows 8.1. Hell gamers adopted 8 without so much fuss. At least on Steam.

 

[orlbuckeye]

Everything you say is entirely true, and has been said about ten million times before. They do what they do, to make money. Nothing is going to change that. Dollars and numbers are the bottom line. Everything else is a distant second.

That's what every corporation is in business to do. They have to pay employees and their share holders expect them to make money.

 

[Sundaram sharma]

My experience with Windows 10 is good but not the great. I am still not what I need but it is OK when you know some modifications. By the way I have already installed this OS on more than 100+ systems and after that she simple thing I can say that Intel is still the area with the worst hardware compatibility with more that 50 machines are always running with some drivers issues, most of them are graphics issues. AMD(s) are doing their job almost great and as I am using both nvidia gtx960 and r9 285 on my different machines. I can say that AMD is seriously making move ahead from nvidia while if you are using gpus like gtx 980 or r9 295x2 than you might not see any difference.

If I talk about the software support than Windows 10 is nice but I just loved Windows 8 more than anything

 

[Charles_15]

I'm finding that 10 boots faster and works faster than 7, but a few of my drivers don't work any longer and my laptop manufacturer (HP) tells me that this is an "unsupported" OS for this model. I wish they told me that before they recommended that I do this upgrade!

 

[davnel]

Windows 10 is basically a very good OS. I upgraded from Windows 7 and all apps and drivers seem to work fine - no current problems.

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop that came with Windows 8 basic. After a factory reset, I upgraded that to Win 8 Pro, then Win 8.1 Pro, and finally Win 10 Pro. No problems anywhere in that chain. All games and applications installed fine.

For electronic design and PCB layout, I was using Protel 99SE under Win XP for years. I tried installing it on Win 7 with no luck - wouldn't install. After the laptop was fully upgraded, I tried installing it under Win 10, and IT WORKED! It also runs better and more stably under 10.

My only real issue with 10 is that a reopened window, instead of being where it was placed - as in XP and 7, the window always opens shifted right and down...grrrrr!

All in all, a good OS.

 

[ToineF]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

 

[gangrel]

In what sense do you think it's 'running out of steam'?

 

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Personally? I think Windows would work wonderfully with smaller and more mobile hardware. But as it stands, even the highest-end 4k screens for super fancy triple monitor setups aren't touch enabled. It makes a lot of the adapted functionality from Windows 8 still useless, including he Charms bar. Oh, and from the posts earlier above, there are actually two control panels. It's accessed from the Charms menu, but it shows a super simple mobile layout.
Windows will never fully run out of steam (and Steam) because an international company is backing it, but Lord Gaben's vision of abandoning Windows for Ubuntu as far as Steamboxes go could give Windows a run for the money. For now, however, the best drivers and the vast majority of games are, and will still be made for Windows.

 

[gangrel]

That suggests Microsoft made some serious blunders; the whole "one style for every machine" was always ridiculous in my book. And touch is useful in the right situation, but for most desktops...no.

Steam isn't an OS, it's a gaming environment. And gamers aren't *that* significant in the overall picture. Windows is very large, very bulky, and very general. Steam is pretty narrow and specific. Windows is a CPU; Steam is, at best, a GPU, or a DSP. Steam isn't a threat to Windows. Linux isn't a threat either. Linux is simply not user-oriented at its roots; it's techie-oriented. And that's what it wants to be. The culture of Linux would have to change drastically before it can become a viable choice. I don't think it's possible that they can...and still remain Linux.

 

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

That suggests Microsoft made some serious blunders; the whole "one style for every machine" was always ridiculous in my book. And touch is useful in the right situation, but for most desktops...no.

Steam isn't an OS, it's a gaming environment. And gamers aren't *that* significant in the overall picture. Windows is very large, very bulky, and very general. Steam is pretty narrow and specific. Windows is a CPU; Steam is, at best, a GPU, or a DSP. Steam isn't a threat to Windows. Linux isn't a threat either. Linux is simply not user-oriented at its roots; it's techie-oriented. And that's what it wants to be. The culture of Linux would have to change drastically before it can become a viable choice. I don't think it's possible that they can...and still remain Linux.

Linux does appeal to the modder's side of Steam, but developing for it can be a complete nightmare. You're right, because if Steamboxes are going to appeal to consumers as the highly polished, next big thing, they'll need to be almost flawless, very reliable and easy to use. Guess what popular, closed source, Intel-based money furnace philosophy of an operating system that falls under? OS X. And look how many Mac users do serious gaming. I know OS X is technically a derivative of Linux, but the point is that if Mac was as easy to install as a disc of Windows is, wasn't sold on closed hardware platforms and had equivalent driver support, Mac would have a great chance at taking over the gaming industry, while still being minimally buggy. Ubuntu is the closest equivalent to a user-friendly Linux OS we have, but it's not exceedingly intuitive or reliable. Steam OS is based off Debian Linux (if I'm not mistaken), and so is Ubuntu, but both have had fairly significant shifts in philosophy to keep it simple, so even users completely new to Ubuntu could use it just fine, while hiding the code in the background. The same will probably apply for Steam OS. (For the record, this is off topic, sort of.)

 

[ToineF]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Personally? I think Windows would work wonderfully with smaller and more mobile hardware. But as it stands, even the highest-end 4k screens for super fancy triple monitor setups aren't touch enabled. It makes a lot of the adapted functionality from Windows 8 still useless, including he Charms bar. Oh, and from the posts earlier above, there are actually two control panels. It's accessed from the Charms menu, but it shows a super simple mobile layout.
Windows will never fully run out of steam (and Steam) because an international company is backing it, but Lord Gaben's vision of abandoning Windows for Ubuntu as far as Steamboxes go could give Windows a run for the money. For now, however, the best drivers and the vast majority of games are, and will still be made for Windows.

seems like the market will become segmented. Basically Windows will become an 'office' machine and games will eventually leave slowly.

Graphic stuff is mostly on apple.

Windows might have to stick with CAD and office... what else? 3D stuff? It will never die, but it might slowly disappear as a home computer.

 

[jimmysmitty]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Personally? I think Windows would work wonderfully with smaller and more mobile hardware. But as it stands, even the highest-end 4k screens for super fancy triple monitor setups aren't touch enabled. It makes a lot of the adapted functionality from Windows 8 still useless, including he Charms bar. Oh, and from the posts earlier above, there are actually two control panels. It's accessed from the Charms menu, but it shows a super simple mobile layout.
Windows will never fully run out of steam (and Steam) because an international company is backing it, but Lord Gaben's vision of abandoning Windows for Ubuntu as far as Steamboxes go could give Windows a run for the money. For now, however, the best drivers and the vast majority of games are, and will still be made for Windows.

seems like the market will become segmented. Basically Windows will become an 'office' machine and games will eventually leave slowly.

Graphic stuff is mostly on apple.

Windows might have to stick with CAD and office... what else? 3D stuff? It will never die, but it might slowly disappear as a home computer.

It would take a very long time. The majority of people are not aware of alternative OSes so unless Linux somehow jumps in and grabs a massive amount of market share for PC gamers, at least 30%, then Windows wont suddenly die out.

Right now Linux has about a 0.94% share of the total Steam user market (http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey). That is a far cry from the 95.71% Windows currently commands.

 

[gangrel]

Plus, Windows CAN game. And do photo editing. And do everything else. Apple is the main competition, but is grossly overpriced.

The gaming market drives...the gaming market. And graphics hardware. Would you be willing to have more than one system...say, a Steam box for gaming, and something else for Other Stuff? Most won't.

 

[cab1994]

I installed Windows 10 on my custom PC with the free upgrade. Haven't had any issues aside from the hybrid sleep function preventing it from shutting down(I fixed that easily). Still on my Windows 7 PC though as of I still need to get the 8GB RAM kit for it and I'm waiting for War Thunder's compatibility problems to be solved for Windows 10. Interestingly, it used my Windows 7 motherboard drivers with no problems.

 

[theunliked]

The thing is that most companies won't risk developing games for macs, because most gamers still use windows.

 

[ToineF]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Personally? I think Windows would work wonderfully with smaller and more mobile hardware. But as it stands, even the highest-end 4k screens for super fancy triple monitor setups aren't touch enabled. It makes a lot of the adapted functionality from Windows 8 still useless, including he Charms bar. Oh, and from the posts earlier above, there are actually two control panels. It's accessed from the Charms menu, but it shows a super simple mobile layout.
Windows will never fully run out of steam (and Steam) because an international company is backing it, but Lord Gaben's vision of abandoning Windows for Ubuntu as far as Steamboxes go could give Windows a run for the money. For now, however, the best drivers and the vast majority of games are, and will still be made for Windows.

seems like the market will become segmented. Basically Windows will become an 'office' machine and games will eventually leave slowly.

Graphic stuff is mostly on apple.

Windows might have to stick with CAD and office... what else? 3D stuff? It will never die, but it might slowly disappear as a home computer.

It would take a very long time. The majority of people are not aware of alternative OSes so unless Linux somehow jumps in and grabs a massive amount of market share for PC gamers, at least 30%, then Windows wont suddenly die out.

Right now Linux has about a 0.94% share of the total Steam user market (http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey). That is a far cry from the 95.71% Windows currently commands.

I wouldn't put windows at 95% Apple has at least 8 to 10%.

But down the road games will leave the PC market... You see now that the big releases come out on console first and dont always follow up on PC.

Besides SteamOS which is based on linux will slowly shift the pc gaming market in my opinion.

We will see I guess, but I am not so optimistic.

 

[Daniel Hart]

Personally? Currently, I run a little Mini ITX build with an AMD A10-7870K and a Radeon R7 250X, in and out of crossfire (yes, it's not officially supported, I make the two do it only for Folding@Home). I had a Windows 7 license from a previous build, and this being my first SSD based build before I make something totally awesome on the Skylake platform, I timed the boot at 11 seconds, cold boot to desktop. Upgrading to Windows 10 felt like a step backwards: Multiple displays became a hassle instead of a convenience, I don't care about apps but can't uninstall them, the Start Menu is super sluggish, the Task Manager doesn't provide nearly enough control as I would like it to, and my computer noticeably slowed down from all these sudden background services that I don't even need, without the option to disable any (touch running on non-touch monitors?). I especially hated the Control Panel, they turned it into a children's toy. I don't know where to find anything in the settings anymore. And don't get me started on Cortana. I didn't even take the risk of pushing the downgrade button; I backed up everything important and wiped the drive, and then reinstalled Windows 7. I'll probably upgrade come June 2016, but it feels highly ignorant of any desktop or power users. I can see myself enjoying W10 much more on a tablet than any desktop computer.

Seems like you spent 5 minutes and said "it's not exactly the same!" and gave up. Funny considering the Task Manager and Control Panel are pretty much identical to past windows. You're talking about "Settings", which is NOT control panel. Start menu is definitely designed for looks, but right clicking it now gives you all the good options that tech guys would want. Also multi monitors is definitely easier on Win10. Sounds like something was just wonky with your upgrade, nothing some tweaking won't fix. The background services you CAN disable, and you can tell Cortana to shut it as well.

 

[Daniel Hart]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Look at the amount of Win10 downloads and let me know if you still think they're "running out of steam".

 

[jimmysmitty]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Personally? I think Windows would work wonderfully with smaller and more mobile hardware. But as it stands, even the highest-end 4k screens for super fancy triple monitor setups aren't touch enabled. It makes a lot of the adapted functionality from Windows 8 still useless, including he Charms bar. Oh, and from the posts earlier above, there are actually two control panels. It's accessed from the Charms menu, but it shows a super simple mobile layout.
Windows will never fully run out of steam (and Steam) because an international company is backing it, but Lord Gaben's vision of abandoning Windows for Ubuntu as far as Steamboxes go could give Windows a run for the money. For now, however, the best drivers and the vast majority of games are, and will still be made for Windows.

seems like the market will become segmented. Basically Windows will become an 'office' machine and games will eventually leave slowly.

Graphic stuff is mostly on apple.

Windows might have to stick with CAD and office... what else? 3D stuff? It will never die, but it might slowly disappear as a home computer.

It would take a very long time. The majority of people are not aware of alternative OSes so unless Linux somehow jumps in and grabs a massive amount of market share for PC gamers, at least 30%, then Windows wont suddenly die out.

Right now Linux has about a 0.94% share of the total Steam user market (http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey). That is a far cry from the 95.71% Windows currently commands.

I wouldn't put windows at 95% Apple has at least 8 to 10%.

But down the road games will leave the PC market... You see now that the big releases come out on console first and dont always follow up on PC.

Besides SteamOS which is based on linux will slowly shift the pc gaming market in my opinion.

We will see I guess, but I am not so optimistic.

As I said the statistics are from Steam which is used by most every gamer, especially Apple and Linux gamers since VALVe pushes multiple platforms more than other big developers.

And most games have hit consoles first then moved to PC. The console market is larger. But the PC market has more indie developers and we have gotten most games, very few are console exclusive these days. Hell if we want to go into exclusive games PC has vastly more than consoles.

People have been predicting that PC gaming would fail or that Windows would lose its market share. Problem is that PC gaming is doing better than ever (PC had its own spot at E3 and more games are coming this yea for PC than consoles) and Windows still holds the market. It will because most people are not savvy enough to build a PC let alone use or install Linux properly and even with hardware devs working more on Linux their drivers stil are not as well done as with Windows.

I don't see Windows losing its PC majority until there is a unified Linux OS that is as easy to install and is offered by most OEMs or gaming PC developers or game devs start to move to OpenGL/Vulkan, which will be hard with the XB1 supporting DX12 and being a popular console. Until then Windows will maintain its hold.

 

[ToineF]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Look at the amount of Win10 downloads and let me know if you still think they're "running out of steam".

it's because it's a free upgrade. That means MS is not making money out of it!

Dont get me wrong, I love windows and I love to built my own computer and play full HD games. I am just trying to be realistic and I tend to see that windows is running out of energy. The chrome books are very good alternatives to cheap windows machine and mac (unfortunately) is gaining popularity. That might be temporary tho.

Also keep in mind that fewer and fewer windows based computers and laptops are being sold. Most people will be just fine with a tablette or even a phone. In this new market, where does windows stand?

 

[USAFRet]

Also keep in mind that fewer and fewer windows based computers and laptops are being sold. Most people will be just fine with a tablette or even a phone. In this new market, where does windows stand?

In terms of gaming, a 7" screen is a 7" screen. Too small, no matter what is powering it.
In terms of movies, again...a 7" screen is a 7" screen.
In terms of office stuff, I defy you to manipulate a complex Excel workbook on a little tablet.

Phones and tablets are good as consumption devices. They are not so good for creating.

Yes, 'fewer' PC's are being sold, and more tablety things are being sold. This is because most PC's are 'good enough' right now. For a lot of people, there is no compelling need to get a new one and upgrade.

A 3 year old i5 CPU does just fine. Scrapping that for a new shiny i7 brings minimal benefit for that $1500+ for a whole new box.
Along with this, more tablety things are being sold, because they are in addition to the 3 or 4 year old desktop, and not a replacement for.
Currently, I have 1 PC and 4 'tablets'. An Asus MeMo, Asus Transformer, and 2 Kindles. 4-1 purchase over the last few years. Just looking at those raw numbers, you'd obviously conclude that the PC is dying.

But the vast majority of my time is spent on the PC.

The Transformer is great as a travel device. The MeMO is going to become a kitchen recipe book. The Kindles are obviously for books.

 

[Daniel Hart]

is windows dying tho? Imean it will never really go away and I love the fact that all the hardware and software is compatible with windows. But it just seems like it's running out of steam a bit.

Look at the amount of Win10 downloads and let me know if you still think they're "running out of steam".

it's because it's a free upgrade. That means MS is not making money out of it!

Dont get me wrong, I love windows and I love to built my own computer and play full HD games. I am just trying to be realistic and I tend to see that windows is running out of energy. The chrome books are very good alternatives to cheap windows machine and mac (unfortunately) is gaining popularity. That might be temporary tho.

Also keep in mind that fewer and fewer windows based computers and laptops are being sold. Most people will be just fine with a tablette or even a phone. In this new market, where does windows stand?

You think just because it's free to us that MS isn't making money off it by having everyone use it? Rather naïve, and short sighted.. selling information is where the real $ is at. Yes they're falling behind in mobile territory but they were never ahead there to begin with. For desktop OS, Windows is in no way shape or form, losing it's steam. I don't agree that Mac is "gaining popularity" either, Apple has been on top of the laptop game for years, and it seems to me that lately they've been losing that edge if anything.