Presenting:
Yes, It's pretty cool.
It hasn't been very long that we've had actual choices in an OS. Windows XP served us well and there was little to complain about or compare to until Windows 7 (allowing a Serve-pro for Vista and 2000-- like it never even happened) but with the roll out of Windows 8 and 8.1, Chromebooks and Android, people have grown quite judgmental about the system they use and I don't think Microsoft was prepared for that. In the past, if you couldn't fork out $1200 for an Apple, Microsoft had you by the short and curlies and the marketing reflected it. Users had no other alternative. Unless you can use Linux. Good luck with that.
Home computer operating systems have been a programmers market for 15 years and now, finally, capitalism to the rescue! Prodded by the (kinda) open source of Android*, Microsoft has made the long, slow turn from delivering what they thought was best for its users to developing a software that user feedback demanded. They've even made room for the amateur developer and dropped the licensing fees for small screens. This is a huge step in market strategy for the company and the user. The Chinese manufacturers are more than capable of producing decent machines, very fast and very cheap. I bet every factory in Shenzhen and Guangzhou are running 24 hours a day since the announcement and this translates to: the affordability of a Windows PC is no longer an issue. At all. Anywhere. Mass expansion means more users and will ultimately lead to an explosion of decent apps in the Windows Store and possibly a Battle Royale against Google, who is really becoming difficult these days with the hardware requirements they demand to allow Play Store access. ANYWAY....back to the review.
I have been running the Windows 10 Preview Build for about 6 weeks and the final rollout is scheduled for July 29th, 2015 which is in less than 2 weeks.Should you be excited? Yep. Windows 10 is so much better than you would probably give them credit for. I really mean that. The flubbing could have been phenomenal. Instead, the idea and the direction of the idea is absolutely spot-on. The execution is not far behind, either, as Microsoft is ironing out the remaining bugs quicker than I thought was possible. They hit it on the head with the Preview and it appears that they listened to the users. The build takes the intuitiveness we've grown accustomed to with Android and folded it into the familiarity of Windows with improvements across the board. All of the good ideas, to date, are in here: The classic desktop is familiar. Libraries are still being used and along with the drive options like:This PC, Homegroup, User, turn the File Explorer from the most basic of tools to a menu of categories that make no sense. The best I can figure is that the 19 different separations are for the anticipated use of a laptop by 19 different people. So there's a place for eveything. How many My Pictures folders are really needed? One for This PC, one for C:, one for Desktop, one for OneDrive and it seems to go on and on.
Desktop (old trusty)
Yes. Mine Is crowded. I'm cool like that.
Start Menu
The App view from the Start screen. This has a menu on the left and a choice of views on the right. I have All Apps.
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| This is mine on an ASUS |
Windows Store
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| This is not the same store that you would access with Win 8 or 8.1. |
Task View
This is the Task View which shows your open stuff and allows for more than one entire desktop to be opened at one time. The icon to view this is right on the taskbar. Like hitting the square softkey on an Android device. Very functional. I use this all the time.
the search capability from Windows 8 (now personified as Cortana)
Cortana is close cousin to the Windows 8 and 8.1 Search From Start feature that allows you to just start typing. She searches the web as well as the PC. You can activate Cortana by voice. "Hey Cortana" and your command. You can try to, anyway. Cortana lacks the refinement of Google Now. This may be hardware related as it is on an Android, and in that case, I understand. My hardware is pretty cheap. Or maybe she just sucks.
She usually just provides web results to whatever words she actually picked up on. (again, probably my hardware) One cool thing is that you get to choose your own name and ask her to say it.I made her call me "OK, Google" which I thought may turn into something cool but, sadly, it didn't. You can change your name as often as you wish, which adds to the novelty but never climaxes. Now, Cortana is programmed to learn but, you have to put in the time. I haven't and that disqualifies me to judge her.
btw: supposedly, she can tell jokes.
The developer support menu is an exciting glimpse into the future. Hopefully.
The Action Center
The Action Center plays a larger role in
Windows 10. It still resides in the taskbar but
is now a complete notification panel.
It works like the pull-down menu on an Android machine. Amazingly useful and elegant. Microsoft has more planned for this like tabs for real-time alerts and anticipatory information. Like Google Now tabs.
Metro Apps
over the desktop which just feels better to me. A huge direction change over Windows 8, 8.1, you don't have to choose between using the desktop or the Start Menu and it glues the entire experience together.
Side Note; There are a lot of apps that seem to do nothing more than just hold open space for future expansion.
I'm already a huge fan of the new OS and as long as it remains along its current trajectory, I forecast nothing but good things. Smoother interface all around and it seems that this type of platform allows Windows 10 to be completely update-able. It's much more utilitarian than past builds, without lacking style. It doesn't seem gimmicky or dated so the need to produce a new product every few years is probably gone which should really lower the Microsoft overhead. When I say "lower their overhead" I mean that if they open their code up to developers and everyone else, they could shrink their salaried personnel by half or more without affecting profits terribly. This would allow them to focus on business solutions and maybe even hardware. I'm thinking that Windows Phone could use some love. Just saying. Maybe Bill Gates can find the time to finish Miracast because connectivity between devices is undoubtedly the next big thing.
This is my first post of many to come on the subject. I hope to provide something other than a sponsored link when searching for reliable info. Pay attention and click to compare anything you search when you see a www.Presenting" ".blogspot.com entry. We don't sell our product endorsements we are as honest as bad writing allows.
a small part of the gibberish.biz family of informational evaluations.
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