What do you like about Windows 10?
Wow. What a wicked week it is for Microsoft platforms. As May closed, Insider Preview Build 10130 dropped, followed by a preorder page for OEM versions. Then came the big reveal just five days ago: Windows 10 will be available on July 29th. System requirements are out now, though. On June 3rd, the company showed off devices designed for the operating system. A day later, Office 2016 Preview updated with new features, many tapping cloud services. Yesterday, Build 10135 release notes leaked.
Fitting with the "beta" in BetaNews, it's time to pose the big question for those of you daring enough to grab Windows 10 now ahead of next's month's big release. Most of the BN writing team runs the operating system. I'm late to the upgrade party but will join the gang later today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, I ask: What do you like about Windows 10? If you must: What don't you like -- and, related, what do you still want?
With release so close, and builds dropping faster than we can write stories about them, time to ask is finally come. Sure, spit and polish remains but this baby should be feature-complete and performance-stable enough for some honest feedback about the soon to be lock-and-loaded code.
"So two more months to hammer out some bugs", Eric Sleeper comments five days ago. "Most of the GUI and features are there for me -- and look forward to Windows 10 evolving over time. It will be an interesting two months for sure. For myself, I just have one annoying issue with the picture password -- and the only feature I would like from Day One: Tabs in the File Explorer".
But barely_normal answers: "As you've no doubt heard, features are locked. No luck with that one... Get used to them having it their way". Just to clarify: Never assume features are complete until release to manufacturing. Last-minute changes or capabilities kept hush hush until RTM is Microsoft tradition.
Uh-oh, barely_normal adds: "I actually am going to stop testing Windows 10, as I will not use, or recommend, a Windows that forces updates upon the user, unless there is a guarantee of payment, say $500/hour, for each hour my computer is unusable each time the updates bork the machine in any way. Unreasonable? Certainly. In the same manner as Microsoft? You bet!"
Google pushes out Chrome OS updates about every six weeks. Surely Microsoft can execute as well or even better. What is "software-as-a-service" if not something like what barely_normal objects to?
PC_Tool has "no issues with any of the build regarding stability. The constant changes were a bit dramatic; maybe even somewhat traumatizing, but they seem to have settled down a bit and I do like what I see in the latest build".
Jason Hendry's experience is similar: "I'm not having many if any bugs on my Windows 10130 Build. I've used pretty much all their updates as my daily device and only one time I had to reinstall from fresh. I'm surprised how bug-free mostly my experience has been on Windows 10 desktop.
Other BetaNews readers report problems, however. "The software really hates my laptop", Johnrc comments five days ago. "This is the laptop I use for experimentation. No way I am going to upgrade the laptops and desktops I use for real work. I can live with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. The alternative is unacceptable".
Your experience is what? We really want to know. What do you like? Dislike? Still want? Please share with the class, and educate other would-be Windows 10 upgraders -- or others joining the beta plunge -- about your experience.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/S.Castelli