windows 10 ?

J

johnwilliams

Registered User
Messages
244
I understand windows 10 has just been released as free upgrade for windows 7/8 . any one downloaded windows 10 upgrade for windows 7/8. is it any good, more important any problems with it?
 
I've registered for it, but haven't gotten the nod yet. They're doing a phased roll-out over a few weeks so that their servers/ support lines can cope with the demand. Will report back when I get it.
 
I downloaded it last night. I see the start button is back. Thank God for that. That's one thing that really annoyed me about Window 8. Thought I quite liked the apps layout. Not sure about this new layout. Probably just a matter of getting used to it. Not sure if it was on Windows 8 and I didn't notice of if it is a new app but see that there are two apps: One Note and Sway on it. I gather One Note is just for making notes but Sway is more like Keynote/PowerPoint. Does anyone know which is better from the presentation point of view and which is easier to use?
 
I've run XP, 8, 8.1 and the beta versions of 10 and only XP impressed me. Microsoft messed up. I've also been running OneNote on Mac & iOS for a while and it's one of the most useful apps around. It allows you to store documents in the cloud with syncing and access from any device or OS. Once set up it works seamlessly and flawlessly. It's not the only app in this class but it's one of the best. And it's free.
 
I updated to Windows 10 as soon as it was released. The new Start menu doesn't impress me. So I've done what I did on Windows 8 and 8.1 -- installed the Start menu from startisback.com. What's more, because I already had licensed it on Windows 8 I didn't have to pay for it again. It's really simple, allowing you to pin applications and documents, plus other features. I don't normally sing the praises of desktop software, but this is functional and cheap, and does exactly what it says on the tin. At less than $3 per PC, or a non-expiring trial version, and free upgrades forever, I consider it well worth it to not have to worry about the whims of Microsoft and what they might throw at you.

So far, my favourite feature on Win 10 is the Task View. Basically, you can move your application windows between multiple desktops, letting you cleanly organise different tasks without clutter. It's well implemented and very welcome.

For me, Windows Search seems to be broken as usual. Usually it hogs the machine and has to be killed, but on Win 10 it indexes without freezing the machine, but the search just plain doesn't work. I gave up on it years ago anyway, so no loss. I'm writing my own replacement for it at the moment.

I like that the ugly and unwanted Win 8 charms bar no longer appears when I accidentally moved the mouse to the wrong corner of the screen.

On first viewing, the new much-heralded Edge browser is a dog. I didn't even have time to check out whether it is more HTML5 compatible than it's antiquated creaking predecessor, Internet Explorer. Almost as soon as I launched it, it was consuming 1.5 gigabytes of memory. Uh, thanks but I'll be sticking with Firefox (and I thought it was a hog). Also, I will never be running any browser on which Ad Blocker Plus doesn't work.

Apart from that, I'm not seeing any big changes.
 
dub_nerd said:
I like that the ugly and unwanted Win 8 charms bar no longer appears when I accidentally moved the mouse to the wrong corner of the screen.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with that. It used to drive me crazy. Also agree with the XP comment. I preferred it as well. Pity they changed it
 
dub_nerd said:
... Uh, thanks but I'll be sticking with Firefox (and I thought it was a hog). Also, I will never be running any browser on which Ad Blocker Plus doesn't work.

Apart from that, I'm not seeing any big changes.
Click to expand...
Try giving Safari a whirl. Ad Block Plus, Blur and other useful extensions work with it. I used it on Windoze 10 beta and it seemed OK.

I haven't tried the released version of 10, but I'm disappointed to hear that not a lot has changed, unless it's under the hoody.
 
mathepac said:
Try giving Safari a whirl. Ad Block Plus, Blur and other useful extensions work with it. I used it on Windoze 10 beta and it seemed OK.
Click to expand...

Safari 5.1.7, released on May 9, 2012, is the last version available for Windows. It's over three years old.
 
A word of advice for anyone who has made the move, check your privacy settings. By default, you give Microsoft full permission to access and keep records of all your personal information from documents, emails, etc.. You need to go into Settings and then open the Privacy applet to disable that. Lots of options in there, review them carefully.

Cortana also scans all your contacts and documents, modify that in the Speech applet.

WiFi sharing is also enabled by default, make sure you turn that off.
 
My WIFI has gone on the blink since moving to Win10 recently, it takes ages to get it to connect (if at all) and I'm tired of fiddling with the settings trying to get a connection each time I log back in. The modem is working okay and the signal is fine when I use ethernet cable. I suppose I can always go back to W8 if all fails. I've googled it and it seems this is a problem. Any suggestions?
 
Would be interested to hear of solutions to this issue also. My wife's HP laptop has had some pretty poor wi-fi issues since upgrading and she has demanded that I revert it back to its previous state!!
 
foggylad said:
My WIFI has gone on the blink since moving to Win10 recently, it takes ages to get it to connect (if at all) and I'm tired of fiddling with the settings trying to get a connection each time I log back in.
Click to expand...

I presume you're using the laptop's built-in wifi adapter? You could disable that and use a newer USB alternative.
 
Yes Leo I'm using the laptop's built-in wifi. I'd need to explore the disable/USB option as I'm not too techie but I'll keep it in mind. It's not an old PC and it seems a shame to have to go to all this trouble for an update. I wouldn't rule out returning to Win 8.1, though naturally I'd like to have the most up-to-date version. Thanks anyway.
 
foggylad said:
Yes Leo I'm using the laptop's built-in wifi. I'd need to explore the disable/USB option as I'm not too techie but I'll keep it in mind. It's not an old PC and it seems a shame to have to go to all this trouble for an update. I wouldn't rule out returning to Win 8.1, though naturally I'd like to have the most up-to-date version. Thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

Some of the built-in adapters are notoriously problematic, and looks like this is a common problem with HPs. Try Kessel76's solution on page three of the support site here.
 
Leo said:
Some of the built-in adapters are notoriously problematic, and looks like this is a common problem with HPs. Try Kessel76's solution on page three of the support site here.
Click to expand...
No luck with Kessel76 solution but thanks anyway.
 
Last edited:
Try this.

Plug in the LAN cable and leave it plugged in.

In the Device Manager try un-installing the wifi network adaptor. It will probably be named Broadcom xxxx. Right click it select Uninstall.

[broken link removed]

In order to reinstall the driver, either click the Scan for Hardware Changes button or restart your computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top