Early look at Windows 10, one week after release

I installed Windows 10 on my laptop the day I received notification it was available, a day or two after the July 29 official launch. This laptop is a 2-in-1, which can function as either a traditional laptop or as a tablet, so I was able to check out the features for both styles. Following are my impressions of the new OS after using it for about one week.

Overall Generally positive. Most features work as advertised. The roll out of the free upgrades seemed to work well for me, and with very few exceptions I have been able to adjust to the new features very quickly. But as with any big change there are a few teething pains and small gotchas. Read on to find out more.  

Details The upgrade installation took several hours, it must be done in one continuous session, and the PC will reboot several times during the process. But once it was started it was almost entirely hands off. So block out a large amount of time when you won’t need to use your computer, but can stay nearby, just in case. It actually comes in two major steps. First downloading the new software, and then the installation. Even with a fast internet connection and a fast computer it took quite a while – so be prepared.

Of course it goes without saying – but I’ll say it anyway – be sure to back up your old system and data before you start.

New features Windows 10 provides several new features, and a few changes to existing features from previous versions.

• The Start Menu is back (Hooray)
  
  
  • This is a new format, but it still provides a way to easily find all of your programs.
    
    
  • It combines the traditional Windows XP/7 Start Menu with the Windows 8 tiled menu.
    
    
  • I think having two metaphors is still potentially confusing, but at least now it is all in one place.
    
    
• Charms are gone. I had become used to charms on my Windows 8 tablet, but after a week with the new version I don’t miss them at all.
  
  
• Notification/Action Center is a good step. To some extent it replaces the charms menus, and is somewhat customizable. Many of the things you want to do quickly, like check your network connection, adjust settings, check for recent emails, etc… are all here. And it can switch between desktop and tablet mode with one click/tap very easily.
  
  
• Continuum is the feature that allows Windows to switch from a desktop mode to a tablet mode automatically when you connect or disconnect a keyboard. I think it is a good step, but doesn’t seem to work exactly as expected every time. Maybe it’s because I have a 2-in-1 and not a real tablet, but it seemed like there were times I thought I should be in desktop mode, but the computer was trying to pop up the Touch keyboard and expecting other touch gestures rather than mouse or keyboard. If I figure out whether there is a problem, or if it is just me getting confused, I’ll try to give an update on that later.
  
  
• Most features seem to work well with a mouse, so for mouse-and-keyboard users this upgrade will not be nearly as painful as going from XP or Windows 7 to Windows 8. This is important for power users, or for users without touch enabled monitors. The original version of Windows 8 was very awkward without a touch screen. That is not the case with Windows 10.
  
  
• The touch screen interfaces also seem to work well with most apps, even if they weren’t designed for it. However, for hard core data entry, editing or drawing, a keyboard and mouse is still more efficient.
  
  
• Edge browser – doesn’t work with my antivirus software, and the vendor recommends using Internet Explorer or another browser. Therefore I haven’t used Edge a lot, yet.
  
  
• Most apps/applications seem to work after the upgrade.
  
  
  • I have used most of the Office products, SQL Server, Visual Studio, and also Corel PaintShop Pro and Corel VideoStudio Pro without issues.
    
    
  • At least one game from Windows Store will install but does not start in Windows 10 – it worked in 8.1
    
    
• Cortana is the built in help, search engine and personal assistant with Windows 10. Microsoft says it is like Siri (from Apple) only more. I haven’t used the voice features of Cortana, but I have used it a bit to search for help, and it seems to be well integrated with the help features on the machine and with the internet. I’ll have to try it with the network off to see how that changes its ability to find answers. And no, I haven’t asked Cortana to book dinner reservations and get me tickets to the Seahawks game. J
  
  
• One major drawback for me, Windows 10 would not install on my 2 year old Dell tablet because it said the display is not supported by the vendor. I assume this is just a matter of getting the driver updates from Dell, but haven’t taken the time yet to follow up on that. In this case the installation failed and backed itself out gracefully, so apart from some lost time, no harm done. It does serve as a warning though, to be sure you have options in case your upgrade doesn’t go entirely as planned.
  
   
  
  

Overall impressions and recommendations My overall reactions is mostly positive. A few features aren’t quite there yet, or are not yet supported by all hardware and application vendors – which isn’t surprising.

Check carefully before upgrading to be sure your hardware and any unusual apps you run are supported. Some vendors may take a little time releasing versions that are compatible with Windows 10.

If you are buying a new PC, try to get it with Windows 10 preinstalled. It will save you time, and you will have the added confidence that the PC vendor has done at least some level of validation with the newer OS.

If you are upgrading from Windows 7, or even from Windows XP, definitely skip Windows 8, and go right to Window 10. It will be a big adjustment, but probably much less painful than going through Windows 8.

If you are an Enterprise user in a corporation you probably have an IT department looking after your desktop environments, and may not be given a choice as to when you can make the upgrade. Wait for them to verify that all of your corporate apps work with Windows 10, and then proceed with a reasonably high level of confidence, because generally speaking, I think this is an improvement over previous versions of Windows.