Don't Upgrade to Windows 10 on July 29?

[allheart55 (Cindy E)]

The most important event in the history of the desktop will be the end-of-the-month rollout of Windows 10. It will also be one of the most confusing moments in computer history.

Because Windows 10 is a free upgrade, the rollout will be a fiasco of epic proportions. The average consumer will want to upgrade to Windows 10 immediately because everyone is in a rush.

Just look at the lines outside Apple Stores every time a new iPhone is released. Who really needs to buy the new iPhone the second it goes on sale? No one. These days, you can waltz into the store later that afternoon, and pick up a device with no wait whatsoever.

Maybe the phenomenon is preparation for an economic downturn. The same idiots will be waiting in a bread line and say, "Naw. This line is nothing, you should have seen the line for the iPhone 4!" (A New Yorker cartoon beckons).

For Windows 10, the public will likely crash the system and prove, once again, that Microsoft cannot work the cloud properly. If you were happily running Windows 7 or 8 on Tuesday, why do you need to change to Windows 10 on Wednesday? You don't, but you'll try.

Of course Microsoft, like Apple, will use this failing as positive publicity: "We knew it would be popular, but not this popular. Wow."

I have advised people to get the upgrade after the first bug reports. You have one year to upgrade for free. There is no rush.

Another note of confusion has recently appeared in the news. Windows 10 may not work with old hardware. This seems to be targeted at older legacy graphics cards you might find in an XP box that was later upgraded to Windows 7. As far as I'm concerned, if Windows 7 runs on the machine, so should Windows 10. How hard can it be? My analysis is one thing, reality is another.

I have never fully understood how Microsoft goes from OS to OS while breaking drivers left and right. I wrote a whole column about Windows 7 not supporting my Epson printer and failing to recognize a NAS that Vista clearly saw.

I suspect that they have death panels in Redmond, where a committee decides to pull the plug on certain products by yanking the drivers from the Windows native support bundle. If you were using one of those products you are out of luck. Windows 10 will be the final arbiter. Get ready to make a dump run with gear you will never be able to use ever again.

There is another thing I must reiterate. Microsoft claims that Windows 10 will be the last Windows ever. This means one of three things: the company is planning on going broke in the next few years; it plans to incorporate a subscription-model perpetual OS upgrade scheme that has yet to be revealed; or it's simply dropping the Windows branding and there will be some sort of new name. I'll leave it to others to come up with jokes regarding future nomenclature.

Since this is an era of reboots and new beginnings, I predict that the next Microsoft operating system, the one to eventually replace Windows, will be called OS-1 or maybe just ONE. You watch.
Windows 10 will be a big deal. Because of the free upgrades, it will be declared the "most popular version of Windows in history" in an attempt to generate positive buzz. The fact that Microsoft could dream up a trick like this should be lauded.

The Windows 10 code is not so radical that it will create much of a backlash like Vista did. In fact, it looks like Windows 8.2 to me. So it should be smooth sailing. But because there's little that is radically different, that again tells me there is no hurry to upgrade. Wait a few months. Do it over a weekend when you have time on your hands. And whatever your strategy, prepare to buy new peripherals.

Source : pcmag

 

[starbuck]

Because Windows 10 is a free upgrade, the rollout will be a fiasco of epic proportions. The average consumer will want to upgrade to Windows 10 immediately because everyone is in a rush.
For Windows 10, the public will likely crash the system and prove, once again, that Microsoft cannot work the cloud properly. If you were happily running Windows 7 or 8 on Tuesday, why do you need to change to Windows 10 on Wednesday? You don't, but you'll try.

Sadly I get the impression that this guy doesn't quite know how Win10 update is going to be delivered.
You’ll get a notification after July 29, 2015 once Windows 10 is downloaded to your device.
Install it right away or pick a time that’s good for you.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade?OCID=win10_null_vanity_win10upgrade

You don't go and get it on the 29th..... It'll be downloaded as Win updates are.

 

[allheart55 (Cindy E)]

I got the same impression, Pete.
I almost didn't even post this article.

 

[starbuck]

Have to say that I added the same reply to the PcMag article.
That company need to get writers that know what they're doing and printing.

 

[AWS]

Another note of confusion has recently appeared in the news. Windows 10 may not work with old hardware. This seems to be targeted at older legacy graphics cards you might find in an XP box that was later upgraded to Windows 7. As far as I'm concerned, if Windows 7 runs on the machine, so should Windows 10. How hard can it be? My analysis is one thing, reality is another.

I wonder if this guy had any real experience with this or if he is just saying it for fluff.

I did 3 test installs on older Intel Core Duo processor laptops that I consider legacy hardware since these laptops were originally purchased in 2005 and did not have one problem. In fact our old inventory software that I have since dropped and hadn't done any update to it in 8 years worked on Windows 10. It never worked on Windows 7 and was the main reason why I only upgraded everyone to Windows 7 last year after we were able to rewrite it to work on Windows 7.

Now if you want to try to install it on an old Pentium 3 there might be a problem.

 

[Plastic Nev]

Thanks for mentioning that some older software that won't work on W7 yet will on W10 Bob, I have an old music sequencer program that worked great on XP, but won't install on W7, so I will try an experiment once I get W10.

As for installing on legacy hardware, who is going to be brave enough to try installing W10 on that old Windows 95 machine that is now in the loft or cellar?

Nev.