Office Document Strategies Blog

Time For Windows 10

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Mar 2, 2016 @ 08:03 AM

Windows 10 is being described as one of the most successful launches of a new operating system in Microsoft's history.  Of course the fact that the bulk of the new users of this OS are able to get it as a free download from Microsoft as an upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 has certainly helped.  Windows_10_Downloading.jpg

Another factor is that there has been a fairly low amount of noise about any problems with the new release.  Personally I use it on three different PCs with very different configurations and different ages.  They are not power PCs and the ease of operation with Windows 10 has led me to recommend to others that they go ahead with the upgrade.  Currently, anyone with a computer running Windows 7 or later is eligible for the free upgrade to 10.  It is stated that this is available until July 2016 and one can only speculate whether Microsoft will extend the upgrade free window beyond that point.

Should you do the upgrade?

From my experience and largely from what I have been able to read the answer to the question is generally yes.  Of course if you do so and then try to move back to your previous install there could be some difficulties so it is worth checking through the software you are using to be sure that Windows 10 will support it.  I have only experienced one instance where I could not load old software onto one of my Windows 10 machines and the software was pretty old (several more recent versions have been released) and the inability for it to run successfully was not a surprise.

For another opinion on the upgrade and some more details on the pros and cons of doing so you could reference this recent article from PC Advisor.

Using a new OS takes some effort and having an idea of what you should expect can help in familiarizing you.  A simple guide to the features of Windows 10 and some of its key components is available here.

Cortana.  A new way to work on your PC

One of the strongest and newest features of Windows 10 is the addition of Cortana for desktops in the latest upgrade of the software.  This release which has come along in the past couple of months permits users to activate a voice command tool which works similarly to those which have been available for mobile phones.

Cortana offers a number of capabilities which go way beyond search and voice command.  It is billed as a digital assistant and the only way to really get comfortable with it is to turn it on, do a little configuration and then just try using it.  You will adapt to it as it adapts to you.  Here are a couple of crib sheet articles which can help you get through the learning curve, one which started at the time of beta release and one which is more in depth and detailed.

2016 is going to see the continued growth of Windows 10 as it becomes more firmly deployed into enterprise and business environments.  These are the areas where moving from Windows 7 are the hardest to do but with Windows 10 being well received in the consumer market and the OS now released with all new PCs business deployments will have to expand substantially over time.  Holding out on Windows 7 will not be a successful strategy as the year moves ahead.

Lee K

DocUcapture - Canadian based Document file storage

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Topics: Computer, Windows 10