Microsoft released the official version of Windows 10 yesterday, and it is a free upgrade for computers running retail versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 with a valid license. For more details on whether or not a computer qualifies for the free upgrade, this article from PCWorld explains it in more detail: http://www.pcworld.com/Windows10-Upgrade
We can’t possibly cover everything about Windows 10 in one blog post, and since we think that it will be a hot topic of conversation moving forward, we are in the process of setting up a special blog page called the PJ Networks Windows 10 Forum, which will be dedicated entirely to Windows 10 as it evolves into full maturity. Please check back here soon for a link to the new forum, and the opportunity to sign up for new posts and to contribute your own comments and questions to us and the rest of the world!
In the meantime, we have been testing out the Windows 10 Preview Release for several months now and the overall opinion among our team is that we like it. A lot. Does that mean that you should immediately sign up for the free upgrade and install it? Probably not.
Here’s why:
First of all, we’re talking about a brand new software release and we’re talking about Microsoft. No matter how much it has been tested or how many people have tried out the Preview Release, there are going to be kinks that still need to be worked out and there are features that have not been flushed out in full detail. Cortana is pretty neat, but she still needs more work. The new Microsoft Edge browser has great potential, but is still a long way from being fully compatible with many web sites. And the list goes on.
Second, since this is a brand new release, there are probably going to be a number of compatibility issues with Windows 10 and certain combinations of hardware and other software that may not work very well together, yet. Give Microsoft a little time to work on that without having to be the guinea pig.
Third, if you are running Windows 7 and are perfectly happy with it, the extra features in Windows 10 may not be worth losing some of the features in Windows 7 that will not be available in Windows 10: http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-problems-missing-features. The most notable one is Windows Media Center, and another is the Desktop Gadgets feature in Windows 7.
In other words, if you have Windows 7, you like it and it is running well for you, you may never want to upgrade to Windows 10, and there is no rush – you have a whole year to make up your mind. Unfortunately, there will come a time when Windows 7 End of Life occurs and you will need to start the transition to Windows 10. If you have Windows 8.1 and you do not like it, then we think that you probably will want to take advantage of the free upgrade, but you should still probably wait at least a month or two in order to give Microsoft a chance to release some additional updates for Windows 10.
Regardless of when or why you might choose to upgrade to Windows 10, you will want to make sure that your computer is completely up to date with the latest Microsoft updates and patches, and that it is free of viruses, spyware and other malware. Otherwise, the upgrade may not go smoothly or it may fail to complete. If you have any concerns about whether or not your computer is ready to make the leap to Windows 10, just contact us to find out how we can assist – that’s what we’re for!
We are setting up demo Windows 10 systems at both of our shops so that people can walk in and take it for a test drive, and we will also be burning copies of the Windows 10 installation files to DVD for those folks who don’t want to have to download 3 gigabytes of software using their own Internet connection. We will be giving those DVDs away at no charge, but please call ahead to make sure that we have one available for you before you come by to pick one up.
Happy computing, Folks! Let’s be careful out there.
-The PJ Networks Team
PS – Please share this blog post with your friends and family! They may want to know more about Windows 10, as well. 🙂
