Windows 10 Review

This chant is what Microsoft is indirectly telling the public with its first major OS overhaul since 2012's Windows 8. Moreover, let's be clear for die-hard Windows fans the last few years have been nothing but a battle. The general public has all but ignored Microsoft's tiled new world and slumping PC sales reflect this indifference too. Toss in the rise of mobile computing and Microsoft had to do something radical to win back its audience.

Windows 10 is supposed to be that clarion call for change. Windows 10 is not just a new OS but an entire platform that very shortly will span PCs, laptops, tablets, wearable accessories, holographic computers and even the Xbox One.

Windows 10 is an OS for all things and all people. So says Microsoft. It is never actually finished either. Microsoft is making Windows a 'service' with constant upgrades, new features, and patches resulting in a more dynamic computing environment. Does it hold up? What does someone like me who liked Windows 8.1 a lot think about all the changes?

This is my review of Windows 10.

Before we break down Windows 10 into its features along with the traditional 'the good, the bad and the ugly' let us talk about Microsoft's shift in philosophy. It is important for the bigger picture, so join me for the ride.

Windows Converged

Windows 10 is first and foremost not just an OS update. Sure it is that but it marks something much more dramatic namely the realization of the 'three screens and a cloud' vision from a few years back. Microsoft no longer uses this apt phrase, but it applies perfectly to Windows 10.

Back in 2009 Steve Ballmer described Microsoft's vision for the future in an interview for TechCrunch:

"We used to talk about mainframe computer, minicomputer, PC computing, client-server computing, graphical computing, the internet; I think this notion of three screens and a cloud, multiple devices that are all important, the cloud not just as a point of delivery of individual applications, but really as a new platform, a scale-out, very manageable platform that has services that span security contacts, I think it's a big deal...."

Ballmer goes on:

"It is the next big generational shift in the computing platform. And people are going to want applications, I'll call them that, or services, depending on whether you like old fashioned words or new words, but they're going to want things that service them across those environments ...."

Ballmer was referring to the convergence of computing around three screens -- the PC, the smartphone, and the television. This dream was not achieved in Windows 7, nor Windows 8. However, those were necessary steps to Windows 10 (Microsoft has skipped 'Windows 9' to convey this paradigm shift). Okay, there were missteps too. The core of Windows 10 is now applicable to servers, your home computer, and coming this year your smartphone, TV, and even the Microsoft Band wearable.

Assuming the world goes along with Microsoft, this change is a massive paradigm shift. Never have we seen an operating system that can live everywhere and be anything. Microsoft is attempting to transcend the home PCwith a forward-looking OS that can be put on any computer no matter its size. Even the 'three screens' part is now outdated. Devices like HoloLens (holographic computer) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are devices that do not even have formal displays with a traditional graphical user interface (GUI). Windows 10 can run there too.

The beauty of this architecture is that if the traditional home PC as we know it dies (and it very well might) Microsoft's Windows will survive. Whether it is your tablet, athletic device, phone, gaming console or whatever comes next.

This introduction brings us to two major meta-level changes to Windows 10: Windows as a Service andContinuum.

Windows Forever

Windows 10 might as well be just called Windows. Version numbers are a conceptual device for demarcating upgrades. It no longer applies. Sure, we still need the '10' designation for other reasons. Try doing a web search for 'Windows' and you'll drown in a sea of vagary - but Windows 10 is the beginning of Windows as a Service(WaaS).

The phrase Windows as a Service is a bit misleading. For many, the word service implies punctuated monthly or yearly financial charges akin to Netflix or even Microsoft's own Office 365. However, this is not the case here. Assuming you have a PC or laptop with a valid Windows 7 or Windows 8 license key, Windows 10 is a free upgrade that will receive free upgrades for the life of the product.

Indeed, Microsoft offers complete support for Windows 10 until October 2020, including new feature additions. Further support for security and bug fixes run even longer through October 2025.

Once you upgrade to Windows 10, it is yours forever. Granted, Microsoft is likely to release a 'Windows 11' in 2020 but in four years, the computing world is also likely to be a very different place. Even then, it is not clear what Microsoft would do as there are extreme market pressures to keep Windows free persistently.

Taken from : Windows Central