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Windows 10 - First Impressions


dencorso

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A self-proclaimed "avid fan of Windows 8.1" forecasts doom for the major reason Windows 8 was created (putting Windows on mobile devices such as phones):

 

The End of Windows Phone?

 

I don’t own a Windows Phone, and I’ve never really used one for any serious period of time. I did, however, seriously consider buying one for a while--and researched them quite a bit. I also hear, over and over, that Windows Phone really is an amazing operating system. Based upon what I’ve experienced with Windows 8 in tablet form, I’m inclined to believe that Windows Phone would be a truly fantastic operating system. Despite all of this, I can’t help but think that Windows Phone is all but dead.

 

Further analysis at the link...

 

--JorgeA

 

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With Win10 the UI is now a mix of iOS, Android (Hamburger menu) and a bit left from the old WP (but without transparent tiles). I'll only hope they release Win8.1 GDR2 and I will stay on this version. If I want Android, I would buy a Samsung crap device.

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Per the press releases and pundits, I haven't gotten the impression they're planning on releasing any further major updates to any older OS.  Or maybe not unless they see Win 10 flop and change their direction.

 

-Noel

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I tried the latest build of Windows 10...meh. It looks like a strange clone of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. It's not worst than 8.1 but it's not better than 7. The "tell me a joke" thing was fun though. :D

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No comment... ;)

 

Unexpected Windows update on scoreboard computer delays basketball game

 

We've all experienced it - a critical moment when our computer is in need of desperate use. It's usually right at this moment, the dreaded Windows update rears its ugly head. That was the case when an unpredictable Windows update caused a 25-minute game delay at a German basketball game.

 

Since events like this could occur frequently, the laptop is securely locked up and only brought out for use during games in order to prevent such issues. The laptop is set up hours in advance in order to prevent any unexpected happenings. Unfortunately, it seems that the laptop controlling the scoreboard crashed and upon rebooting, immediately started performing Windows updates.

 

--JorgeA
 

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I tried the latest build of Windows 10...meh. It looks like a strange clone of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. It's not worst than 8.1 but it's not better than 7. The "tell me a joke" thing was fun though. :D

 

Is that a Cortana thing?

 

--JorgeA

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Tons of fantastic analysis and viewpoints over in Microsoft's Windows 10 TP forums. Here are a few that caught my eye recently, other than @NoelC's.  ;)

 

On the near-requirement to log onto Windows with a Microsoft Account:

 

Currently, however, there are many cases where, even after stepping through the non-intuitive procedure to make a workgroup account that is not tied to the MS Live ID, it is broken by MS Live ID requirements at later date. This just happened on my Windows 10 evaluation build 10041, when trying to submit feedback, and being required to log on.  The original account management on my system was automatically migrated to my Live log-in credentials, and even after changing local policy to use Ctrl-Alt-Delete secure log-in, I was unable to log in on that original account.

 

I do not--repeat: do not want to use the same password (or even the same user account) across machines, and across all of the forked workflows.  This violates a cardinal security best practice of not using the same password for everything you use a password for.  That is simply a treasure trove for hackers, spear phishers, social engineers, and other unsavory nosy entities.

 

On the stated reason for eliminating the Start Menu in Windows 8:

 

Microsoft claims they got rid of the start menu because it was only used 6% of the time.  I don't think I spend more than 6% of my time in the bathroom but it is necessary to have one.  There is no rule that 6% = 0, yet that is how they chose to interpret the data.

 

On the excuse given for eliminating Aero Glass, that it consumes a lot of resources and battery power on mobile devices:

 

Aero in fact does not require a lot of resources. In fact there have many people here who have posted links to the Aero requirements and many of us have made our own benchmarks and linked to others as well. This is patently false.

 

My Note 3 phone that I had over a year ago had a Quad core 2.4Ghz processor with 3GB of ram on a 5.7" screen. Phone hardware has had the ability to run Aero for more than 5 years now. While it is true that it would consume more battery life even there the amount would be almost negligible. To the point that you hardly notice it.[...]

 

Theres a couple of solutions.

 

1. Bring back Aero and install a larger battery.

2. Allow it to be defeatable and default to off on devices that need it to be.

3. Don't use on mobile devices at all and save it for the desktop.

 

The unified OS MSFT is trying to design isn't about the UI so much as it is the core. In other words as long as Metro app A can be installed from the store on both your laptop and phone then MSFT has achieved their goal. How A appears on individual devices is irrelevant and actually not possible to unify in the first place. How to you take into consideration a difference in screen size or resolution. Metro app A might look great on a 4" phone and total rubbish on a 27" 1080p monitor.

 

Point is choice is the correct answer here. Its what MSFT has always done in the past (even if eventually one of the choices fades out) and for some reason they aren't now. This is why windows 10 (just like 8 and 8.1 before it) will indeed fail and not achieve what MSFT needs it to in either the desktop or mobile markets.

 

[same thread] On the Metro interface being so unpleasant to use that people end up using their PCs less:
 

I too gave 8/8.1 a try for a combined time of about a year. I didn't want to be accused of the "youre just not giving it a chance" ****. After a few weeks I realized that I was using my PC less often which was a problem for me. I soon looked into other solutions like Windowblinds and hacked visual styles (the xp one worked well for me there). after about a year I had a need to format and decided to just go back to 7. I have no idea what I was thinking using 8 in the first place lol

 

(Personally I gave up on the newly borked pseudo-Start Menu and installed Classic Shell on the TP again. It was shocking how much easier and more fun it was to use. No more hideous solid-color rectangles taking up half of my screen when I open the Menu. All Programs actually opens when I hover over it, and the Start Menu actually closes when I hit Escape, and I get my Recent Items list back.)

 

 

A lot of good stuff  being said over there. You end up shaking your head at the Win10 defenders who just don't seem to get it. It's like they're empathy-challenged, unable to understand how anybody else could possibly prefer to do things other than THEIR way. :no:

 

--JorgeA

 

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"Thanks for noticin' me."  :sneaky:

 

The thing *I* am noticing is that hardly anyone seems moderate about Windows 10 any more.

 

There's an almost fanatical devotion shown by a few, and a fair bit of "I hate..." going on.  People seem to want to polarize and to assign others to "camps".  And it feels like it's getting more frenetic.  Forum moderation is reaching new levels...  "In reply to deleted post" is now seen more and more.

 

Very Interesting indeed, the level of crowd dynamics with regard to a piece of software. 

 

I guess it shows us just how "personal" the P in PC is.  People actually seem to resent Microsoft for changing things they are used to.  It's easy to understand why, but you'd think Microsoft was attacking some people's children or spouse the way they react.

 

Perhaps the most surprising thing to me is that some of the folks upset that things they're used to are being changed or removed adamantly won't open their minds even a little bit to accomplishing the same things using 3rd party software.

 

-Noel

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As I see it the real issue is that few people can draw the (IMHO needed) line between OS (actual underlying Operating System) and GUI (actual functionality of the UI) and looks of the GUI (actual esthetics of the UI), which is partially inherent to the way NT actually evolved and the way the good MS guys like at the same time to tag as "new" or "revolutionary" or "better" mostly senseless changes to the functionalities of the GUI and mostly ugly changes in its' looks and to completely fail to highlight and document the (BTW seemingly very few) actually new or "better" changes in the actual underlying OS ( they are however fair in the sense that they also completely fail to highlight and document the actually new but "worse" changes to the underlying OS).

 

jaclaz

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Yeah, and at this point I think at this point few people at Microsoft seem to be able to draw those lines.  Or maybe they draw them and just stay away from the hard core OS side.

 

Anyone notice that, except for the UI, Win 10 has been pretty much stable throughout the pre-release program (I mean regarding crashes, losing data, etc.)?  Ask yourself, "why would that be?"  

 

Incredible care and diligence on the part of Microsoft to keep from releasing an OS with partially completed or untested kernel changes?

 

Clearly, by looking at the other half-baked things being sent out that's not in their nature.  They may not even be able to manage what they're doing at that level any more, based on what we see.

 

No, it's because they're just not making substantive changes at that level.  Probably they know they've no longer got the expertise to do hard core OS stuff.  So what to do? 

 

Play only with the UI and bundled applications.

 

-Noel

Edited by NoelC
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Exactly, what is now a Beta (or whatever it is called the current Windows 10 release) is very likely to be nothing but a re-branding of the service pack 2 for Windows 8 given to a few demented kids to play with it's UI. 

 

The Immortal Bard remains Immortal :yes:

 

What's in a name?

Windows 8 Service Pack 2 10.

That which we call a rose huge pile of bullsh*t  :realmad:

by any other name would smell stink as sweet much  :unsure:

 

 

jaclaz

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"Thanks for noticin' me."  :sneaky:

 

The thing *I* am noticing is that hardly anyone seems moderate about Windows 10 any more.

 

There's an almost fanatical devotion shown by a few, and a fair bit of "I hate..." going on.  People seem to want to polarize and to assign others to "camps".  And it feels like it's getting more frenetic.  Forum moderation is reaching new levels...  "In reply to deleted post" is now seen more and more.

 

Very Interesting indeed, the level of crowd dynamics with regard to a piece of software. 

 

I guess it shows us just how "personal" the P in PC is.  People actually seem to resent Microsoft for changing things they are used to.  It's easy to understand why, but you'd think Microsoft was attacking some people's children or spouse the way they react.

 

Perhaps the most surprising thing to me is that some of the folks upset that things they're used to are being changed or removed adamantly won't open their minds even a little bit to accomplishing the same things using 3rd party software.

 

-Noel

 

Just to add one observation to this --

 

I get the impression that some people's first reaction to Windows 10 is "meh," but then when they express that view they get slammed by the fanboys, which then changes their original lukewarm stance into a stronger one.

 

--JorgeA

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As I see it the real issue is that few people can draw the (IMHO needed) line between OS (actual underlying Operating System) and GUI (actual functionality of the UI) and looks of the GUI (actual esthetics of the UI), which is partially inherent to the way NT actually evolved and the way the good MS guys like at the same time to tag as "new" or "revolutionary" or "better" mostly senseless changes to the functionalities of the GUI and mostly ugly changes in its' looks and to completely fail to highlight and document the (BTW seemingly very few) actually new or "better" changes in the actual underlying OS ( they are however fair in the sense that they also completely fail to highlight and document the actually new but "worse" changes to the underlying OS).

 

jaclaz

 

That's interesting -- there's precious little new that's of substance, so people argue over esthetics. Makes sense. Although I would say that esthetics is important in the sense that a visually appealing UI is one that the user is more likely to want to stay at for longer.

 

In terms of new features in Win10, about the only thing that I can think of, off the top of my head, is Cortana. And that's something I switched off as soon as I figured out how.

 

--JorgeA

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This theme in the tech news sites has become so common that it's part of the landscape. Microsoft needs to get out more and survey it.

 

How to bring back the Start menu and button to Windows 8

 

Here’s the problem, in a nutshell: Let’s say you’ve just installed Windows 8.1 for the first time, or perhaps bought your first Windows 8 PC. After poking around for a bit you’ve finally found your way to the desktop. In the bottom left corner, you’ll see what looks like the Start button, but when you click it, you’ll be rewarded with a hideous new Start screen, not the Start menu that you know and love from Windows 7 and Vista. For some reason, despite the aforementioned series of updates over the last two years that are meant to make Windows 8 more user friendly for mouse-and-keyboard users, Microsoft is still forcing us to use the Metro interface instead of a real Start menu.

 

The good news is, despite Microsoft’s best efforts to ensure that the Start button and menu remain banished from its new OS, there are a bunch of third-party Windows 8 Start menu replacement apps that you can download today. Really, it goes to show how devoted the existing user base is. Microsoft completely stripped out the underlying Start menu code to quash potential Luddite revolutionaries, and yet now there are dozens of Start menu and Start button replacements — some of which are even superior to Microsoft’s own Windows 7 Start menu.

 

Two projects involving friends of MSFN (Classic Shell and StartIsBack) are included in the selection.

 

--JorgeA

 

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