Windows 10: Good, but is it good enough?

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	TOP STORY Windows 10: Good, but is it good enough?
	By Woody Leonhard As even cave-dwelling monks probably know by now, Windows 10 is out for all the world to see — and it appears to be a qualified success. Is downloading and installing the new OS a no-brainer? If you use Win8, the answer is almost assuredly yes; but if you’re a Win7 fan, some serious considerations await.

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The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/top-story/windows-10-good-but-is-it-good-enough (paid content, opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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Is it possible to show menus in the Edge browser ?

Rob

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I upgraded to Win 10 from Win 7 ultimate. Under all Apps I have Windows Media player!!! which appears to be the same as I had in Win 7. It plays, streams and has all my settings as before. I keep reading that it is no longer available when you update to Win 10 ????

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It sure would be useful if there could be a tool to analyze if a machine is capable of upgrading to W10; hardware, applications…

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so “upgrading” keeps Media center since it is already there, but fresh install does not include?

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so “upgrading” keeps Media center since it is already there, but fresh install does not include?

No Media Center is not in Win10. Media Player is there. Microsoft will give you Windows DVD player if you had Media Center on your old OS. Microsoft is going to introduce DVR functionality to XBOX One. That and very little usage of Media Center are why Media Center was not included in Win10.

Joe

--Joe

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Total fail on Dell Core i5 business-class laptop with Intel HD graphics; black screen after update after Windows 10 brought down a new video driver.

Windows 10 was still alive even with the blank screen — Remote desktop was still enabled and the machine could be accessed that way.

A clean install using a USB stick with the Wireless disabled resulted in a working system UNTIL the network connected and Windows update downloaded a new Intel HD Graphics update. As soon as the update hit, the screen went black with no way to recover; remote desktop was disabled by default on a clean install.

The workaround was to do a clean install again with network disabled, enable Remote Desktop, then connect to network, allow updates to kill the display, then use remote desktop to install an older Intel driver.

But here’s the thing — what if this update had come 6 months from now? Imagine your computer just going dark after Microsoft ships down a bad update.

It’s not just a theoretical — it already happened to thousands of mainstream Dell, HP and Lenovo laptops using the most common graphics system (on-chip Intel HD graphics). There must be millions of those laptops out there waiting to be nuked.

Apple can use this sort of update strategy because the hardware targets are well known. The Windows ecosystem is too diverse. Remember, this particular fail is not with some esoteric scanner, it’s not with some outdated video card, it’s Intel core graphics on a mainstream Core i5 laptop!

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It sure would be useful if there could be a tool to analyze if a machine is capable of upgrading to W10; hardware, applications…

The MS updates do that, but don’t always get it right. One reason for waiting a bit before updating.

cheers, Paul

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The MS updates do that, but don’t always get it right. One reason for waiting a bit before updating.

cheers, Paul

There’s still the Upgrade readiness Tool, isn’t there? Again, not infallable, but a good place to start.

-- rc primak

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There is.
In the window for “reserving” an upgrade is a link to the test program.

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There is.
In the window for “reserving” an upgrade is a link to the test program.

I guessed someone might say that. I nearly elaborated about the Get Windows 10 GWX app being the closest, but it’s not a direct download and doesn’t lead directly to an upgrade download and installation.

But my main point was that it’s not called Upgrade/System Readiness Tool or Upgrade Assistant.

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As a cable cutter I rely on Windows Media Center and HD HomeRuns to record OTA broadcasts. It is my understanding Windows 10 cuts Media Center altogether. So this is a BIG negative for me to switch to Win 10 without any real advantages to Win 7 Pro, other than lack of future support. I may have to create a Linux box just for OTA recording…??

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Is it possible to show menus in the Edge browser ?

No.

I upgraded to Win 10 from Win 7 ultimate. Under all Apps I have Windows Media player!!! which appears to be the same as I had in Win 7. It plays, streams and has all my settings as before. I keep reading that it is no longer available when you update to Win 10 ????

Center, not Player.

so “upgrading” keeps Media center since it is already there, but fresh install does not include?

He said Player, not Center.

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LOL OK it is “Windows Media Center” (that i want to keep)…I just use it to “play” my OTA TV recordings.
Thanks

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Two things I noticed right off with my windows 10 install, my brand new ASUS USB3 motherboard disc (M5A78L-M) was useless, with the standalone install, I couldn’t get online because the install didn’t install the bridge drivers, oh boy. Make sure you click on the ENG symbol on the install as well, assuming it’s your English, oops, its ENG (UK) which will change your Reclusa keyboard @ symbol into an * symbol, which will keep you from logging in anywhere, that was fun. Want to watch Netflix on Edge, too bad. Error code, break out a different browser. I installed 10 next on an updated 7 fresh install and found that they wanted and insisted on a product key, even though I did an OEM disk install which doesn’t use one. They accepted my upgrade windows 7 product key (which I paid over 130 bucks for) at least. One Cloud offered to back up some files to my other hard drive. I already did, wow. The shell is much improved, and .cmd is much improved as well. Ran chkdsk /f and found the usual screen replaced with a large percent done. No details any more…

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I agree with Woody’s judgement. On a scale of 1 -10, I would consider W10 at 4, which is below average. This is mainly because of the “Start” and its apps. I am using the desktop which works fine and use Start only, if there is no other way. It is disappointing what MR. Nadella as the ultimate responsible individual has done here. It is not what was promised, and I doubt whether W 10 will be successful as he believes it to be.

Here are some examples where I am critical of W 10:

1)First “Mail”, I am running constantly into synching problems, i.e. with the this dumb message “Something went wrong…”, no explanation but an error code 0x80070022 and other. Who put such a dumb cryptic message in there. By now MS should be in the position to explain errors to users and their solution, it cannot be sooo difficult.

2) I do not use Edge. I am unable to work it. I’d rather use Chrome or Firefox. Edge has to be greatly improved before it is in a workable state.

3) Some little things like setting colors is a mess. It is almost not possible to set colors to the individual liking. But this is only a small thing but points to the ignorance of the MS people.

4) They made the settings even more complicated. Making a setting rarely makes the user aware of consequences, and after he did a settings wonders why things do work as expected.

Again, I am not happy with w 10, and I wonder whether MS is going back to Ballmer’s times!?

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Windows 10: Good, but is it good enough?

By Woody Leonhard

Towards the end of this column, in discussing whether to upgrade to Win10, Woody writes: “There are really no significant downsides for most Win7 users.”

As a representative of those readers for whom Windows is not a profession but simply a useful tool for getting things done in other fields of life, it seems important to point out that Windows 7 basically seems to work fine, users have put learning time into it and developed workable habits, and it takes a big divot out of life to be forced to move on to something new. This is a very big “downside”.

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I’m disappointed with this entire issue, starting with Woody’s article. Not because it deals entirely with Win 10, but it doesn’t do so honestly in two senses. The most immediate is Woody’s (and some of the others’) description of Windows 8 as if he’s been asleep the whole time since it’s release, and didn’t notice the programs that allow users the Win 7 start menu and *desktop,* but with improvements in efficiency that Win 8 brought. It’s as he thinks every win 8.x user has been using the “Metro interface” and its tile GUI all this time. A lot of us like lists and icons and really don’t like tiles – by a lot! – and are not seeing anything about being able to get rid of the tiles, let alone that it would be an issue to discuss.

The second sense of dishonesty is that Windows 10 has been announced as a service since Day 1, which in capitalist terms – after all, Microsoft is a capitalist corporation – always means customers pay. The only question being how this capitalist firm would implement it. As some non-Windows Secrets writers noticed, Microsoft was being vague about it, although they most certainly had at least a general plan. Now, the specifics are starting to come out, with pay for basic add-ons, pay for reinstalls, and who knows what else, getting uglier by the day. And Windows Secrets continues to have nothing to say.

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I’m disappointed with this entire issue, starting with Woody’s article.
…
A lot of us like lists and icons and really don’t like tiles – by a lot! – and are not seeing anything about being able to get rid of the tiles, let alone that it would be an issue to discuss.

Woody did mention that tiles can easily be removed:

“As with Win10 Preview, the right side of the start menu holds live tiles. I think of them as Win7 gadgets that have finally become truly useful.
But if they bug you, just right-click the offensive ones and choose Unpin from Start.“

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highstream, could you give some links where MS have said that we will have to pay for basic add-ons and reinstalls please.

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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So far, the free Win10 upgrade has cost me $125. I am one of those poor souls with no broadband access in my area except Verizon mobile hotspot. I’ve had to raise my data allowance from 15 to 20 and now 30GB to handle the failed downloads of Windows 10 that I can’t seem to stop without completely disabling Windows Update (and any needed security patches). I’m sure with unlimited broadband, I could somehow work out a clean install but I can’t afford to keep trying. Wish I’d never told them they could start. Sticking with Windows 7 for now.

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So far, the free Win10 upgrade has cost me $125. I am one of those poor souls with no broadband access in my area except Verizon mobile hotspot. I’ve had to raise my data allowance from 15 to 20 and now 30GB to handle the failed downloads of Windows 10 that I can’t seem to stop without completely disabling Windows Update (and any needed security patches). I’m sure with unlimited broadband, I could somehow work out a clean install but I can’t afford to keep trying. Wish I’d never told them they could start. Sticking with Windows 7 for now.

I don’t know why you think the Windows 10 download started by itself without your intervention. This has not been the experience of the vast majority of those in the Lounge who did accept the upgrade, or who signed up for it with the pre-order ad. (the icon in the system tray) Without this option set to Accept (and this can be reversed) the Windows 10 upgrade should not download, but other MS Updates should continue as usual.

As for updating anything from Microsoft Updates on a metered or cell data connection, I and many others here advise strongly against this practice for the exact reasons you cite. In Windows 7, if you use such a connection, we strongly advise to set Microsoft Updates to Notify but Not Download in your Control Panel or Action Center settings.

In Windows 8/8.1, any network can be marked as a metered connection, and no MS Updates will download over that connection, including the Windows 10 upgrade.

Unlimited bandwidth (or close to it) may be obtainable at a WiFi hotspot or at a local public library, among other convenient locations. This is how I do my big downloads, due to my very slow DSL home ISP connection. I just trot my laptop or tablet over to the Library, do the download, and if I had a built-in PC at home, I would then burn the installer for Windows 10 onto USB or DVD media. (The Installer has this option for Install on Another Computer.) Then work from there.

I still would not run an upgrade installer on a metered connection because there will be updates and possibly additional downloads to make the new Windows installation work properly. And since software would need to be updated, this is also a reason to do this where there is plenty of bandwidth.

Obtaining the installer where there’s good bandwidth would cut down considerably on the bandwidth used during the actual upgrade installation. For a workstation which can’t leave the house, this is the next-best way to do the upgrade where your connection is limited or metered.

-- rc primak

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I don’t know why you think the Windows 10 download started by itself without your intervention. This has not been the experience of the vast majority of those in the Lounge who did accept the upgrade, or who signed up for it with the pre-order ad. (the icon in the system tray) Without this option set to Accept (and this can be reversed) the Windows 10 upgrade should not download, but other MS Updates should continue as usual.

But businesses with 250 PCs are finding their normal bandwidth reduced to 10% due to the same issue: Admins rail against ‘unwanted and unexpected’ Windows 10 downloads

In Windows 8/8.1, any network can be marked as a metered connection, and no MS Updates will download over that connection, including the Windows 10 upgrade.

For wi-fi or mobile broadband, but not wired networks: Metered Internet connections: FAQ

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I don’t know why you think the Windows 10 download started by itself without your intervention.

It downloaded automatically on all of my computers. MS made the update program a recommended update so a lot of folks installed it unknowingly or automatically, depending on their settings.

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So far I’m a bit disappointed. I upgraded from Windows 7 Pro and was excited to see what Cortana could do but when I went to configure it the setup asked for a Microsoft Live account and that once I did I would have to then use my Live account to log onto my PC using a PIN number. There was also an issue with Cortana tracking where you go, what you do, etc. that I just feel is a bit disturbing so it was a big NO for me on Cortana.

In regard to the Edge browser I was informed by Symantec’s that if I use Edge I’m at risk as their product cannot fully protect me. They instead recommended that I make IE my default browner. None the less I gave Edge a try and was disturbed when I landed on a site that put up a prompt to install some software that I had not asked for. When the prompt went up the whole Cortana screen darkened and I could not change tabs, open a new tab or close the existing tab. I also couldn’t close Edge and tell it to close all tabs and after forcing Edge to close thru task manager and re-launching Edge it reopened right back to the same tab that immediately returned me to a locked out state. Had a terrible time getting off that page but it made me question the wisdom of using edge right now.

So, When you take Cortana away and you take Edge away, what really is Windows 10 offering me? My desktop looks the same as it did under Windows 7 and my apps all run so I guess it’s nice to have the latest OS for free but there really isn’t much here that’s Wowing me.

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Apparently your windows 8.1 computer is not connected to a domain account. I have a Windows Essentials 2012 R2 server at home, and have 3 computers connected to it under its domain. The upgrade to Windows 10 is *not* automatically available to any of my computers. It would be helpful if you mentioned something about the upgrade path available to domain account users other than to tell them to contact their administrator – the Microsoft approach. I am the administrator and need some advice without having to rely on google searches and wading through all the garbage out there. Just sayin’

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Apparently your windows 8.1 computer is not connected to a domain account. I have a Windows Essentials 2012 R2 server at home, and have 3 computers connected to it under its domain. The upgrade to Windows 10 is *not* automatically available to any of my computers. It would be helpful if you mentioned something about the upgrade path available to domain account users other than to tell them to contact their administrator – the Microsoft approach. I am the administrator and need some advice without having to rely on google searches and wading through all the garbage out there. Just sayin’

Try asking a question in the Windows 10 forum. This forum is for comments about articles. The other forums are better for problem solving.

Joe

--Joe

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Apparently your windows 8.1 computer is not connected to a domain account. I have a Windows Essentials 2012 R2 server at home, and have 3 computers connected to it under its domain. The upgrade to Windows 10 is *not* automatically available to any of my computers. It would be helpful if you mentioned something about the upgrade path available to domain account users other than to tell them to contact their administrator – the Microsoft approach. I am the administrator and need some advice without having to rely on google searches and wading through all the garbage out there. Just sayin’

Use the ISO download tool to pull down the Windows 10 then use that to install it.

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I love conspiracy theories. 🙂

cheers, Paul

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Genreally, this was a reassuring article, especially for upgrading from Windows 8/8.1 to Windows 10. Still, I have some lingering doubts about the upgrade and future MS Updates.

As for forced updates, I’m on the fence at this point. The case of a video driver disaster is really scary enough, but there is another potential pitfall not discussed by Microsoft at this time.

As Susan Bradley has repeatedly remarked, certain Microsoft security Updates are called kernel-level driver updates. She almost always puts these on hold for awhile. And with good reasons. Serious, unrecoverable crashes have occurred when these updates are applied to certain Windows PCs. Especialy thosse with customized OEM drivers. No one has said yet how we are to recover when Windows won’t even boot into a Recovery Options screen.

The uninstall and hide tool does not seem to cover these situations. We need a bootable WinPE based tool to undo a bad video driver or security update — if even that would work.

The other issue not addressed is tablets. Many have or boot from, WIM files, contained on ROMs or in special OEM Recovery Partitions. If Windows 10 security and driver updates alter these WIMs, a botched update could mean a serious, non-recoverable, device crash. No one has yet addressed this issue either.

I have such a device in my ASUS Transformer Book t100ta (64GB) tablet. It has already had to be factory reset due to the Recovery Partition and/or its OEM WIM being corrupted. And that is under Windows 8.1. Windows Connected does not allow reinstalling or running Windows without the factory OEM WIM being present somewhere on the device. Generic downloaded Windows installers do not work without this WIM. (Been there, tried that, and failed.) I am not looking forward to being told by ASUS support that for love or money, two years from now they can no longer find a factory OEM reset image for my tablet.

I can wait for the pioneers to get the arrows in their backs. Then see whether Windows 10 is a good upgrade idea.

The fate of my tablet hangs in the balance. My laptop can run on Linux for the foreseeable future.

-- rc primak

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There’s still the Upgrade readiness Tool, isn’t there? Again, not infallable, but a good place to start.

Which tool do you mean? (There isn’t one by that name.)

Windows Connected does not allow reinstalling or running Windows without the factory OEM WIM being present somewhere on the device.

What is Windows Connected? Any references for that term?

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Which tool do you mean? (There isn’t one by that name.)

What is Windows Connected? Any references for that term?

The Windows Connected term was provided by NirSoft’s ProduKey utility. What I have looks like this description of Windows 8.1 with Bing:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2158665/microsoft-announces-windows-8-1-with-bing-for-low-cost-pcs-and-tablets.html

But I see nowhere in that article any mention of a mandatory dependency of such installations upon an OEM WIM contained inside a special ROM or Partition. My tablet has such a dependency, as far as I know.

Windows 8.1 Connected shows up in the device description as Windows With Bing. But this is not a normal Windows 8.1 Home installation. It should also not be a WIMBoot configuration on the 64GB Transformer Book model. My OEM Recovery WIM is not on a separate ROM, but is in a special OEM Recovery Partition. Windows will not boot if the OEM WIM is not found. It goes to a Blue Screen which reports that a required device is not connected. What this device is, I don’t know. But the Product Key listed in Nir Sofer’s ProduKey utility is clearly labeled “Windows 8.1 connected”, whatever that means.

One thing Windows Connected means is that using the downloaded generic Windows 8.1 Home 32-bits installer from the Microsoft ISO, when I enter the correct and verified Product License Key for Windows, if the OEM Recoveyr WIM is not found, the installer reports that it did not find the required WIM anywhere where it can look, and quits right there. So this is some sort of non-normal Windows 8.1 Home variation. It is totally dependent on, but does not boot from, an OEM WIM.

As for the Microsoft System Readiness Tool (for upgrades), maybe it was called an Upgrade Assistant?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-assistant-download-online-faq

It was a system readiness tool to determine whether your system meets the requirements for upgrading. I recall it also gave suggestions about some software, and advised if there was something incompatible which would not make the transition. The Assistant or Readiness Tool was a separate download which was run prior to donwloading the version upgrade installer.

I confess, I do not understand the technical ins and outs of either of these two items. So please forgive me if my use of terms is not as precise as it might be if I had a better technical understanding of these issues. If I had such an understanding, the current RMA for factory reset might never have occurred with my tablet.

-- rc primak

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As for the Microsoft System Readiness Tool (for upgrades), maybe it was called an Upgrade Assistant?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-assistant-download-online-faq

It was a system readiness tool to determine whether your system meets the requirements for upgrading. I recall it also gave suggestions about some software, and advised if there was something incompatible which would not make the transition. The Assistant or Readiness Tool was a separate download which was run prior to donwloading the version upgrade installer.

There’s no Windows 10 equivalent.

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I guess this article is mostly aimed at home users. Business users on 8 will most likely not want to install 10. I have found zero compelling reasons to do so.

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I have my cake and can eat it too. I backed up an image of Win 7 and installed Win 10 on an image of a fresh Win 7 install. No problem switching back and forth.

On the other hand, I have a small, $200 HP laptop with a 2 GB ssd. The app said things were fine, but eventually told me there’s not enough memory. I’m not surprised, and I’m going to at some more GBs by installing a micro SD card, a nice option.

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I have my cake and can eat it too. I backed up an image of Win 7 and installed Win 10 on an image of a fresh Win 7 install. No problem switching back and forth.

On the other hand, I have a small, $200 HP laptop with a 2 GB ssd. The app said things were fine, but eventually told me there’s not enough memory. I’m not surprised, and I’m going to at some more GBs by installing a micro SD card, a nice option.

Is activation an issue? The Win 7 license key should have been taken over by Windows 10 when Win 10 was installed as an upgrade. This would render the existing Win 7 installation, even in an activiated Image Restoration, incapable of remaining activated or “genuine”. How did you get around all of this? Has your Windows 7 received any MS Updates since your double-use of its activation?

-- rc primak

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Two things…..

The article mentions that roll back is quick and easy and works. I agree with the first 2, but not the third. Task Scheduler gets messed up! After I rolled back, every time I opened TS, I had 62 error messages indicating tasks were corrupted. Since I had only created about 10, I don’t know what the impact was of those I didn’t create. Not all MS tasks seemed affected, but some were, I believe. One of the main problems with this is that the errors repeat every time the scheduler is opened. The “corrupted” tasks don’t get deleted, and I don’t know of any way to get rid of them, since there are complicated sets of registry keys associated with scheduled tasks. In the end, my only way out of it was a partition restore from EaseUS ToDo backup.

I have posted about this in the Windows 10 section of this forum. The post also contains a link to a technet post on the same subject.

Another thing I think is worth pointing out is that, in Win 10, I believe System Restore is actually disabled on install. (It was on my main system, that’s for sure.) Also, the task that controls the creation of System Restore points has no automatic triggers. In previous versions, there were triggers at System Startup, and a daily trigger. Those are not there any more. So, for someone that relies on this (or uses it occasionally, I would suggest enabling it (Properties of This PC, then select System Protection), and finding the associated scheduling task (in Task Scheduler Library, under Microsoft|Windows|SystemRestore) and adding triggers.

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	TOP STORY Windows 10: Good, but is it good enough?
	By Woody Leonhard As even cave-dwelling monks probably know by now, Windows 10 is out for all the world to see — and it appears to be a qualified success. Is downloading and installing the new OS a no-brainer? If you use Win8, the answer is almost assuredly yes; but if you’re a Win7 fan, some serious considerations await.

---

The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/top-story/windows-10-good-but-is-it-good-enough (paid content, opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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I feel that Microsoft dumbed down Internet Explorer so that everyone would want to use Edge. The problem with Edge has no extensions or add-ons. I use Norton Identity Safe to store my passwords. I can’t get to them with Edge. And basically, IE is so bad in Windows 10 – slow to load, slow to navigate, and drops IE regularly.

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I hang out with a bunch of geeks online and none of us have had a good experience with windows 10. Initially, of the 15 upgrades we tried, 11 failed. Of the 4 that succeeded Microsoft updates downloaded updated drivers that rendered the video display all black until they were rolled back and then it automatically installed the driver again. The recent cumulative update put systems in a reboot loop. Additionally, updates function in the same manner as BitTorrent files, sharing users bandwidth in order to share the updates. Microsoft sees this as a plus, obviously since they are using others bandwidth free and not having to pay for more on their own. We are in the process of tweaking Windows 10 by disabling updates, blocking all connections with microsoft, adding a shell (just like we had to do with 8/8.1) to get the Win 7 look and feel, and installing a 3d party file manager. As a group we are advising friends, family, and business to avoid Windows 10 like the plague. Fortunately I made images of all my systems before upgrading so I have restored them all to Windows 7 or 8.1. I have installed it in a couple VMs but only so I can look at the system and see what it is doing as far as communicating with Microsoft and other sites (so far we have found 58 domains that Windows 10 connects with after its basic installation). There will be no Windows 10 allowed on any network I have control over.

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Really not a really big issue, as there are great free players out there, I like the open-source VLC player for playing DVDs. The 321 Media Player Classic is also free with Windows Essentials Media Codecs. Currently running a Windows 10 upgrade from my Windows 7. Edge needs a bit of work, Netflix gives an error message, can’t see images in Facebook chat with high-contrast enabled, can’t edit comments in Facebook, either with Edge. All these things work well in Chrome, minus the native color management feature, of course.

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So how long will they be keeping Windows 7 going? Not just essential security updates, but full support? This is looking like an important question to me.

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So how long will they be keeping Windows 7 going? Not just essential security updates, but full support? This is looking like an important question to me.

Ended six months ago: Windows 7 Support Lifecycle

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Personally, I haven’t seen a compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 10. I have downloaded the Windows 10 ISO (using the Media Creation Tool), but I haven’t found a good reason to upgrade from Windows 8.1…

PRO: Start Menu.
CON: I already have Classic Shell, which is more like the Start Menu to which I am accustomed, and much more configurable.

PRO: Edge Browser.
CON: I’d rather use Firefox.

PRO: Cortana.
CON: This is a security risk just waiting to happen; that being said, this may be a pro… Then again, maybe not. I’m on the fence…

PRO: Multiple Desktops.
CON: Already available to XP and above from Microsoft Sysinternals Desktops 2.0.

PRO: Windowed Universal (Metro/Windows Store) Apps.
CON: I haven’t found any Universal Apps that are any better than the desktop programs I already have installed.

PRO: Comes with Solitaire:
CON: You can get solitaire in Windows 8.1 also, from the Windows Store.

PRO: New Mail and Calendar Apps.
CON: Not even as capable as Microsoft’s Windows Live Mail 2012 with Microsoft Accounts, and relatively useless with some other accounts. Where are my local folders? Why is the Spam from the junk folder archived forever, it’s Spam!?!

PRO: New Photos App.
CON: Better photo editors are out there.

PRO: DirectX 12.
CON: I can’t think of a con to this one, except I don’t really play games on this computer. That’s what consoles are for. (And I don’t really care about the XBox App…)

PRO: Unified Settings.
CON: Thanks for moving around the Control Panel again…

PRO: New Task Switcher.
CON: Alt-Tab

PRO: Schedule Restarts.
CON: Forced Windows Updates. Because Microsoft never fudges updates…

PRO: Hello.
CON: Like I have an infrared 3D camera…

etc.

I’ll probably upgrade one of these days, just not until some installation and compatibility problems are fixed.

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