Windows 10 officially launched this Wednesday – but is an early update a good idea?
Return of the familiar start menu but with cool live tiles!
Here are our initial verdicts: we found the automated update process to be seamless and straightforward, taking under 90 minutes with no changes to our user settings or installed programs. Be warned however: the much publicised free upgrade is only available for users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 – users operating older versions of Windows (Vista, XP and older) will be required to purchase the new operating system.
Once installed, casual users will notice some pleasing design choices in the wake of the heavily criticised release of Windows 8 in 2012: most notably the Windows ‘Start’ Menu familiar from previous Windows versions returns (albeit with an inset Windows 8 style tile system), as do other tools common to earlier versions of Windows.
Internet Explorer has been retired, replaced by Microsoft’s new ‘Edge’ browser. To most users this appears to be a grudging admission of IE officially losing the battle against its rivals, but don’t be fooled: the reminiscent ‘e’ logo suggests Microsoft is not prepared to give up on its brand just yet. Unlike IE, early testing in the tech community suggests Edge functions efficiently with a much simplified interface, allowing users to ‘annotate’ online content in browser, and most importantly, loading web pages at impressive speeds.
Microsoft’s rollout of Windows 10 is doing all it can to publicise more groundbreaking features, arguing that its voice-activated digital ‘personal assistant’ ‘Cortana’, and even augmented reality headsets, herald a ‘new era’ for computing. The company also anticipates this will be the final launch of its kind, with future upgrades taking the form of updates and optimised to work across a multitude of Windows devices of every shape and size.
In practice though, Windows 10 will face it’s real test of public approval over the next few weeks, as thousands of users in 190 countries will put its more basic functionality to the test – watch this space for more updates as the rollout continues.
If you’re thinking about an upgrade to Windows 10 or considering the business value of migrating to Microsoft’s latest operating system, then Lineal can help. Why not get in touch by clicking here.