Railfan Technology > Is an upgrade to Windows 10 worth doing?

I have Win 8 currently, but have recently been bombarded with Micro Soft Reminders that I have only a limited time to upgrade for free. Is this a smart move or not?    Ben

I don't know if 10 is an improvement over 8 but my experience is that Windows 19 SUCKS!!!! I had Windows 7 Pro on both of my machines ( desktop & Laptop ). I never had any problems with 7 Pro. It was even more reliable than NT. I have had nothing but problems since I loaded 10 on both machines. The problems did not occur right away and they have not been the same problems on both computers. By the time they started getting really bad, the period to switch back to my previous version had expired so now I'm stuck with this POS Op System and they don't seem to be doing anything to fix it!     I HATE MICROSOFT!!!!!

Old Bob out in Lost Wages

ns2557 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have Win 8 currently, but have recently been
> bombarded with Micro Soft Reminders that I have
> only a limited time to upgrade for free. Is this a
> smart move or not?    Ben

My judgement is I have learned to live with 8. It works for my appications and devices and does not crash so I am just leaving it alone.

Bob

Microsoft said that Win 10 was to make 8 do what 8 was intended to do.  I upgraded about a week after it came out.  It fixed a few things, made a few other stumble a bit.  Overall, it think it was an improvement over 8 but not a big improvement.  There was a slightly different desktop that I found easier to use after playing with it for a day or two.  

John

I upgraded to Win 10 on my Win 7 and see no real problems. Happy with Win 10 and of course it was a free upgrade now.
My wifes computer had Win 8. She isn't computer savvy but learned Win 8. I had trouble on her Win 8 machine. We upgraded her computer last week and she hasn't said a word about any problems with her Win 10. I see no reason to upgrade if your eligible for the free upload.
Biggest thing is waiting for some upgrading when the switch occured but it didn't take all that long to get the updates on my Win 7 machine.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

Windows is like a large cardboard box full of sockets.   Both inch and metric, mixed up.   If you get the right handle and socket it works.  Apple is like a 16oz framing hammer.  It drives the nails every time.  

I switched 5 years ago, could not be happier.

Oh hell no!

Posted from Android

I went from Win 7 and some experience with a neighbor's Win 8 to the Win 10 free upgrade several months ago. Download was quick and set up was direct. Operation if you are Win 8 is relatively intuitive. From Win 7 you can find what you are looking for in the tile for apps. What you now as programs are now apps. Control Panel is now an app, Device Manager is now an app, Family Tree Maker is now an app.

I was going to do a clean install but there is so much software out there that has not been upgraded to show as Win 10 friendly. Rather than risk Win 10 not downloading the original version later on I left the original installed and upgraded the OS. So far even programs (apps) like Photoshop CS6 are working just fine. Most device drivers were OK or upgraded in the Win 10 software. Other devices I need to find and update. I might be able to uninstall the device and try to reinstall it telling Win 10 this is a Win XP or Win 7 device. That worked with Win 7 when needed.

I have since bought a new laptop with Win 10 from the factory. This is absolutely the fastest open the box to get fully functional computer I have ever had.

I think Win 10 will be better than Win XP &.Win 7 once users learn the new language. Sadly, computers are no longer built with a spreadsheet, PowerPoint, CAD, email focus but are engineered for facebook, twitter and streaming media environment. To get the computer to do what you want it to do you are going to have to dig through that other crap first.

Posted from iPhone

I just upgraded from Win 8.1 to 10 this week. After some initial problems it seems to be working ok. I was not happy with having to upgrade but once it was done and I got a few minor glitches corrected, I'm happy with it.

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

SeaboardMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Windows is like a large cardboard box full of
> sockets.   Both inch and metric, mixed up.   If
> you get the right handle and socket it works.
>  Apple is like a 16oz framing hammer.  It drives
> the nails every time.  
>
> I switched 5 years ago, could not be happier.

Concuer!!!!!!!!!!....Swede....NA7SL........Albany,Or.

There's countless reasons why I will never upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10.  Among them the out-of-pocket cost to replace or upgrade purchased software that won't run under Win 10.  Part of that is the cost of re-purchasing software that allowed only 1 installation, in some cases creating a temporary-for-24-hours link to their site to download from.  My first installation of Microsoft Office 2010 was on my XP computer which I've had to keep running because some of the programs I have on that machine won't run under Win 10...especially the ones I had to 'trick' to run when I moved to XP from Windows 2000.  When I built my Windows 7 computer, that was installation #2 of Office 2010.  Any more installations means buying Office 20xx for too much money AND enduring yet another 'traumatic' change to the new version (Office 2000 to 2010 was beyond traumatic as all the 'usual' features performed in 1 or 2 clicks became 'hunt and find' and 3-4 clicks to do the same thing!

Throw in a myriad of other Microsoft 'tricks up their sleeve' that are coming to light in the IT world including Microsofts' recent announcment that any new hardware from motherboards to video cards that are created by other companies will NOT have device drivers created for Windows XP, 7, 8, and 8.1.  That way, if a big company, for example, buys 500 new Windows 10 computers in the future, they cannot install Windows 7 on them as there won't be any available device drivers.  Won't the IT department at the Class I railroads have fun with that one!!!  
No backwards compatible device drivers article

Add to that the 'spying' that Windows 10 does so they can collect data of what hardware and software is on your computer -AND- every site you've visited on the internet and sell the info! 
Windows 10 spying on you

Also, throw in the inability to -NOT- select Windows updates for your computer (Home version only, at present), the elimination of Media Player (gone in Win 8), the increased emphasis on 'remote console' control (so 'they' can take control of your computer and do what 'they' want to) and a host of other Windows 10 document problems, my computer will have to go up in flames before I go to Windows 10.  Oh...and my offsite backup has all I need to rebuild a Windows 7 computer!

No thanks.  My Windows 7 computers are running very stable, even my overclocked 4.7ghz 8-processor main computer.  There's no reason possible...not new features, not new hardware, not new software, or any other reason that I can find for taking on the added aggrevation of a new operating system.  I'm therefore doing everything possible to prevent my 3 Windows 7 computers from being converted to Win 10 'behind my back' (and it WILL happen to the unwary!), I've even installed software designed to prevent any of that Windows 10 trash on my computer.
Windows 10 blocker
 

ns2557 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have Win 8 currently, but have recently been
> bombarded with Micro Soft Reminders that I have
> only a limited time to upgrade for free. Is this a
> smart move or not?    Ben

There's a proverb I learned from my many visits in Japan: "Nothing is more expensive than free."

If the "limited time to upgrade for free" is your only motivation to go to Windows 10, don't do it. Microsoft is already ending support for Windows 8 (but not Windows 8.1) so there's a second reason you should upgrade, but you have a choice between 8.1 and 10... although I don't know if Microsoft is going to dissuade you from 8.1 since they are forcing 10 on users.

There have been some good advice above, but I have to respond to those who want you to switch to a Mac. Another reason NOT to do things is brand loyalty forced upon you by converts. None of my Windows machines (going back to 3.1 in the early 1990s) experienced problems, so that has never been a reason for me to use a Mac. In fact, many don't mention Apple loyalists suffering through the Mac OS 7/8 era and the early Mac OS X era, where many switched to Windows!

You should be motivated by what you are going to use your computer for. For me, video editing feature is what made me decide on which platform to use. Microsoft failed me when they dangled the new video filter carrot on Movie Maker on a platform that I found useless (Windows 8) so I switched to a Mac with iMovie. No loyalty here, my choice is function driven, and hopefully, yours will be, too.

Just get a Mac and relax.
Chris

SeaboardMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Windows is like a large cardboard box full of
> sockets.   Both inch and metric, mixed up.   If
> you get the right handle and socket it works.
>  Apple is like a 16oz framing hammer.  It drives
> the nails every time.  
>
> I switched 5 years ago, could not be happier.

True, a hammer that will last forever. But you do have to pay for that hammer built to federal goverment standards with a federal goverment price tag. And it will only hammer the nails specificly approved and made for that hammer. And those nails are only sold in boxes of 1000 and again are made to federal goverment standards with a federal goverment price tag.

Next make, make sure you make fair comparisons.

jst3751 Wrote:
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> Next make, make sure you make fair comparisons.

I think it's perfectly fair. The total cost of ownership over the life of the product is cheaper on the Mac side for most people, especially non-tech users.

More in my post in this thread... http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?9,3936166,page=2