Windows 10 - free upgrade to those with PC using Windows 7 or 8

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by danwdoo

It's amazing what people grow attached to. Can't even count how many times I had a conversation like this:

user: Help my computer is slow or crashes or has other weird issues
Me: What AV?
user: <insert bloated security suite name>
Me: uninstalls suite and installs light, free AV such as Security Essentials. Gives computer back. Asks if problem persists.
user: The computer runs great, but I'd rather have my old AV
me: Why? Isn't the computer running so much better?
user: Yes, but I paid for my old AV. I even just renewed it
me: But this new one is free and your computer is running so much better
user: But I paid for my old AV. I don't want to waste the money.
me: But the new one is free. You aren't paying extra. The old software caused all these problems on your computer. Don't you want a reliable computer?
user: Yea, but I paid for the old software. Can't I use it instead?
me: *facepalm*

Even machines light on bloat ware can suffer problems from manufacturers who put little to no effort into drivers and tuning. It's why so many trackpads are so terrible on PC's. That's why I strongly recommend signature pc's. Not only are they missing bloat ware, they've had the drivers tuned to work well with the device. It really makes a difference.

So true! I can't tell you how many times I have done this for friends but they want their bloated AV back.

Thanks about signature PC tip next time I go PC shopping I will keep that in mind. My trackpad is actually pretty good no problems with it. I use Avira Free as my AV it's lightweight and not over bloated or intrusive. It has a small footprint which is what I prefer with AV programs. It could very well be a driver not playing nice but if so it's not showing up in the event log. Most of my problems occur when the PC has been idle for more than 5 minutes which makes me think something starts running maybe some background task or something similar.

[danwdoo]

Driver importance cannot be understated. For instance, I am beta testing Windows 10. With the current build there is a known problem with AMD video cards/drivers. With AMD's latest driver installed I see:

1) Video performance is poor
2) Fan runs excessively
3) Battery drains rapidly

The above symptoms are not hard to see the cause. But it also causes less expected problems:
1) Screen brightness controls do not to work
2) fingerprint sensor to be unreliable
3) Option to put the laptop to sleep is gone
4) Scaling/font sizes sometimes lose their settings.

Now of course Windows 10 is in early beta and so such extreme behavior is not unexpected, but it shows the potential widespread effect of one bad driver issue. Most manufacturers put very little effort into ensuring their drivers are working well and up to date. It really does matter.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by danwdoo

Driver importance cannot be understated. For instance, I am beta testing Windows 10. With the current build there is a known problem with AMD video cards/drivers. With AMD's latest driver installed I see:

1) Video performance is poor
2) Fan runs excessively
3) Battery drains rapidly

The above symptoms are not hard to see the cause. But it also causes less expected problems:
1) Screen brightness controls do not to work
2) fingerprint sensor to be unreliable
3) Option to put the laptop to sleep is gone
4) Scaling/font sizes sometimes lose their settings.

Now of course Windows 10 is in early beta and so such extreme behavior is not unexpected, but it shows the potential widespread effect of one bad driver issue. Most manufacturers put very little effort into ensuring their drivers are working well and up to date. It really does matter.

Yikes! That sounds bad. I once built a PC and it turned out the chipset drivers were buggy with Flash installed and IE would crash all the time. I mean so often you couldn't do anything which is how I found Firefox It never was resolved by either company and this was back in XP days so I do know what you mean by drivers can wreck havoc on a system.

[LinuxArie]

Originally Posted by Glorfindel

End of mainstream support=No more new features. 7 is still getting security patches until 2018.

No, until january 14, 2020
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

The control panel display personalization screens - both look like you can change the window background color(where you see "Window Text"), but only classic theme actually does.
Attachment 134394
Attachment 134395

I used to do the same change on every single computer I installed and/or helped to maintain. Of course I always trained the user how to change it back in case that [s]he did not like it. Most people kept the change and asked me to do it again on newer computers. And instead of Levander I used to use "toothpaste light-green". Sadly, with increasing version of Windows this is buried deeper and deeper. With Vista the number of steps to make this change became ridiculous.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by zebradude

...

The only desktop left that is FULLY supported by Microsoft is Win 8/8.1.

Actually, only Win8.1 is truly "fully supported". There is minor support for 8.0, but major support is "upgrade to 8.1".

[WT Sharpe]

Shouldn't the title of this thread be "Windows 10 - free upgrade to those with PC using Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8 Pro"?

[Ripplinger]

That it needed to be a Pro version of 7 or 8 wasn't specified in the original news article when this thread was started. And pretty sure only a mod can change a subject.

But I was a bit surprised at the requirement now being said to be a Pro version. It's very possible that will change again before it's finally released too. The Microsoft article that it links isn't really clear. Businesses can upgrade from Windows 7/8/8.1, but home users can only upgrade from the Pro version? Doesn't really make much sense.

http://blogs.windows.com/business/20...nd-up-to-date/

http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwin...ws-windows-10/

After re-reading both articles, I really think it won't be limited to free upgrades for Pro versions only. Of course, like I said, we possibly won't know for sure until it's actually released.

[WT Sharpe]

I hope you're right. The last Mac OS upgrade was free. I hope Microsoft does the same.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

And what percentage of the total installed Windows 8.x systems base do those represent? How many are actual Windows 8.x problems as opposed to hardware or user induced problems? Do you ever ask yourself those sorts of questions?

But it seems that you regard your poor experience as being par for the course and so to be lived with, and are dismissive of an alternative view based on much hands on experience, so I will leave you with YOUR problems (which are problems most do not share).

Well, Windows is the system that is just supposed to work for people who don't know/can't be bothered with fighting their computer (and doing techie stuff), right?

So if a certain percentage of people are having such problems, what precisely are they getting out of Windows, that they could not get more easily out of, say, linux?

I mean, either way you have to fight with the system, right?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Lets say you use XP and the version of Calibre you have is either 1.48 or 2.0.0. You buy a new Reader that's not supported in either version but ins in a new version. What worked no no longer works because it's been updated to have the functionality you now need. So with Calibre at least, sometimes you do have to upgrade or it's functionality for the version you are running isn't sufficient.

Clearly my point eluded you.

It still works.

It never did work with that reader.

A new version is the first one to work with said hardware.

The current installed version still does everything it used to do.

If you like, I can keep telling you this again and again. After enough threads have passed by that we could have rewritten Qt to support WinXP, will you believe me?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Nope, they aren't better because after the upgrade you still have Linux.

Well, yes, that was my objective -- to upgrade by installing linux.

Considering I was joking (which some here might have actually realized) you shouldn't be taking it so seriously -- and perhaps you can stop insisting that linux is absolutely positively horrible, you sound just like the linux fanbois you keep disparaging...

Aren't opinions fun?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I think you are overly sensitive. I did not mean to imply you know nothing about Windows, just that you are not overly fond of Windows. Perhaps you have even called it Windoze? If I am completely wrong, I apologise.

I just don't understand your hostility on this.

Helen

Because you made a random, unnecessary comment, which incidentally made no sense and included the rather arbitrary belief that the default assumption should be that a person can only know about one thing at a time.

(Yes, I have called it Windoze, all the time. It is. There are professional Windows IT guys who say the same thing, so I ask again -- what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

Originally Posted by Mivo

It's a frequent issue with Linux users who tend to be patronizingly overzealous in a way that reminds me of well-meaning missionaries who believe they must show the right way to the uncivilized and uneducated barbarians who don't know any better -- only, of course, to save their souls.

That some of us barbarians are perfectly happy with our from capitalism tainted Windows machines, or that many of us wild people explored the beer-flavored promised paradise already, and went back to our swamp, does not seem to find much consideration. We must be converted to the Linux.

For our own good.

In this case, I am simply irritated that I have someone telling me I must have no idea what I am talking about, when I am talking about Windows (in that particular instance, I was merely observing that MS had not, in fact, moved to a subscription model for Windows -- that is all I said)...

because I am a linux guy.

I have made jokes about the superiority of linux, yes. But I don't generally demand that people convert (I have suggested it as an option, say, when people want to know why they cannot run the latest versions of calibre on WinXP).
I like to think I am reasonably relaxed on the issue of other people using Windows. I have helped people lots of times get their Windows computers running the way they need it.

I also could not possibly care less about the "capitalism tainted-ness" of Windows or any MS product. I would be happy to use it myself, if I found it as easy to use as linux.
That would be why I don't tend toward proselytizing, either -- to me, it is all about the usability.

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I'm also going to let you in on a little secret about Linux users: many Linux users are annoyed by those open source fundamentalists. While the typical Linux user appreciates the benefits of open source software, they are not puritanical about it.

Exactly.

Richard Stallman & Co. are the ones you should be complaining about -- most linux users are not like that.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Of course I still wonder whether I should move on to Mac OSX you know, to try something else for a change. The curious part in me wants to do just that whereas the lazy part in my tells me to just wait for Windows 10.
also the financial part of me says I should go for Windows 10 as a good Mac would be kind of expensive...

"Change" for the sake of "change" is rather pointless, you need an actual goal and a reason to go for it.
Just look at recent politics to see why it's a bad idea.
Do you have any reason to think you might enjoy a Mac?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

crapple? I don't own an IOS device, but I have a hard time giving any credence to someone using such a term with out substantial stated reasons. Have you had years of hands on experience with Apples?

I understand someone not liking it, but with millions of seemingly happy users I doubt it is quite that bad.

Helen

The world is full of stupid people, that has been known since dawn of time and it hasn't gotten any better since then.

People will spend a lot of money on something that looks nice. The fanatical devotion the average Apple product owner possesses, far outstrips the devotion of any similar product type -- leading me to doubt their reasons are based on logic.
Having used a borrowed MacBook for a week or so, I can say: NEVER AGAIN. For starters, the interface is IMHO a nighmare...

It's not that the hardware is bad (it is overpriced because of the Apple logo on the back) it is simply that you are forced into a mold, matching the cultish nature of the product.
A Mac will limit what you can do, and then charge you extra money for some pretty basic things.
As has been pointed out, for example, they now solder the RAM into the machine so you have to buy a preconfigured box with more RAM rather than buying the RAM yourself and upgrading it (tends to be cheaper).

Millions of happy users also doesn't in and of itself provide a proof in comparison to the far greater number of people who use Windows... and are quite happy. I also would like to point out it is iOS, not OSX, that is Apple's big seller.


Perhaps there are people with legitimate reasons even though they haven't passed your personal approval yet?