Posted on 06/01/2015 12:02:49 PM PDT by dayglored
Microsoft's next generation of its operating system, Windows 10, is due to be released next month.
The company said PCs and tablets running the software would go on sale on 29 July, at which point the OS would also be offered as a free download to existing users.
The roll-out of the product for smartphones, Xbox games consoles and other kit will follow later.
One expert said the release could prove critical to the Microsoft's fortunes.
Windows 8 - the current iteration - has had a troubled life, with many deciding not to update to its touch-centric user interface.
The company has acknowledged the fact by returning some features dropped from the more popular Windows 7.
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(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
BFLR — I was wondering about this myself.
I hear ya. For me, the point of the Windows operating system is to run my critical Windows-only apps, period. I have Mac and Linux boxes for fussing with building software and playing with OSes. The years I spent building software for Windows are long over; now I'm just a user on that OS.
Personally I intend to get the free Win10 upgrade for one of my Win7 systems, but the rest will likely continue to run Win7 for another 5 years until security upgrade support runs out in 2020. I'm not a fan of the Metro interface, and while Win10 is substantially better than Win8,x in that regard, it still bugs hell out of me. I'll use my upgraded Win10 to try to get used to it, who knows... I've adapted to weirder things than that, I suppose. :-)
I only tolerate 8.1 because of Classic Shell.
Great article, thanks!!
I ran as administrator first, then in compatibility mode.
Do a full backup of your computer to a USB disk using Windows backup. The backup will be saved as a VHD file on your USB drive. That VHD is essentially a clone of the computer and can be used to spin up VMs, for instance.
Although I use the Cloud only for stuff that does not matter like music.
On the Q&A and link it says:
Q: Will all my stuff be in the cloud?
A: Your files are saved on the hard drive of your device by default. Windows 10 includes OneDrive which provides free storage space in the cloud; this is completely optional, but gives you the benefit of being able to access your personal files from anywhere.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-faq?ocid=win10_auxapp_context
Did you read what you posted in your comment? It says that Cloud storage is completely optional. So, if you don’t want anything on the cloud, then don’t use the OneDrive option.
Thanks for the tips. I've been in the computer industry as a software engineer since 1972. I've been around the block.
When forced to finally leave XP, I will switch to Linux.
I'd encourage you to consider Linux seriously now, rather than wait.
Personally I'm a CentOS (free RedHat) fan, have been since I first encountered RedHat in 2001. Also used Fedora years ago, but I find CentOS is the best overall blend of stability and up-to-date functionality.
A lot of folks like Ubuntu; I find it too goofy and unsettled, every release changes mission-critical functions, how they work and where they are configured and it's just a mess borne of too many over-eager cooks, in my opinion. And their Unity UI is awful, almost as bad as Windows 8 Metro IMO. I'm a Gnome fan. But as I say, some folks love it.
Anyway, Linux will give you greater security and functionality than WinXP, and besides, when you still want to run XP for a few Windows-only programs, you can get Xen or VMware Player (both of which I've had good results from) or VirtualBox (which I've not used personally but has good reviews), and run your XP license in a VM.
If Linux is your future, I'll encourage you to make it your present as soon as you can, and have the best of both worlds.
I have another friend who keeps telling me the same thing. Nag, nag, nag. ;-D I know in my heart you are right as rain.
My most recent Linux experience was with Fedora. I ran XP under VMware and found no issues. What I like about Linux is that it matures and keeps up with technology, but does not change its face too much. The programming interface to the operating system is still there. The package manager seems to be a lot better integrated than Microsoft installers and the like.
I'll probably make the switch before summer's end. There are dark clouds in XP land.
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