Let me give you and those reading this a little history on how we’ve tested new versions of Windows in past. We started Cloudeight back in the day of Windows 95. At that point in time we had no access to beta versions of Windows, but we were always looking for something new, something better, something different – as most folks are when they get involved in something new and exciting. When Windows 95 – by today’s standard – was a real mess. We came to figure out that if we formatted our hard drives and re-installed Windows ever 3 months it ran better. Also, using it more than a couple hours at time resulted in a computer that barely worked because of the memory leaks that existed in that version of Windows. I can \u00a0remember the day Windows 98 came out both Darcy and I were the one of the first people in the store to buy it; we came racing home with excitement and installed it. It was so much better than Windows 95.<\/p>\n
Then Microsoft came out with Windows 98 SE (second edition) and I believe that was released as service pack (though it’s been so long ago I can’t remember). Windows 98SE was like a dream compared to the old Windows 95 – yet there were those, back in that day, who clung to Windows 95 no matter how glowing the reviews of Windows 98 were.<\/p>\n
Microsoft then made one of its – “We need a new operating system to make billions more dollars” and rushed to market with Windows ME (Windows Millennium), a cute name to play on the turn of the century hoopla that was going on back in 1999. Windows ME was Microsoft first sales disaster. Like we did with Windows 98, we rushed to the store to buy Windows ME on its release day. We installed it and after a couple weeks of using it we were both back to using Windows 98SE. Windows ME was a mess. It had that half-finished feel – not much more than a terrible update to Windows 98SE – it was, however the edition of Windows that introduced System Restore – one of the few pluses in Windows ME.<\/p>\n
It didn’t take Microsoft long to realize what a sales disaster (and piece of work) Windows ME was -although it allowed manufacturers to keep pumping out new Windows ME PCs. Microsoft made billions on it but lost a lot of customer loyal and it lost a lot of respect from those in the tech industry.<\/p>\n
Bill Gates, to his credit, dressed down the Windows teams after the failure of Windows ME and tasked them to come up with an operating system built from scratch – all previous versions of Windows for home users, were built on the preceding version of Windows. The result was Windows XP.<\/p>\n
I began using Windows XP in its early beta stage. After a couple of months, I liked it so well that I upgraded my main PC to it against my better judgement. I found it so fun to use and so different from Windows 98SE (and ME) that I wanted to use it full time. And I did.<\/p>\n
At the time I was trusting my computer to a beta version of Windows XP, we had the biggest email stationery site on the Web. The name Cloudeight meant great email stationery because we wanted to be the best. We had hundreds of thousands of email subscribers, and over 12 million unique visitors to our site a year. The only reason I mention that is if something would have gone wrong with XP – some major glitch- it would have hurt our business. \u00a0But I had used it for 2 months on a second computer and loved it. I trusted it would work as well six months down the road as it had the first 2 months – and it did.<\/p>\n
There were a lot of glowing reviews about Windows XP all over the Internet, including ours. Yet there were millions using Windows 98 who swore they’d never upgrade – they were happy with Windows 98. Then there were the cautious users who decided to wait until Microsoft ironed out the glitches in Windows XP – but XP was so widely tested by so many people – there were no major glitches with Windows XP – not when it was release and not in its service life. We, along with hundreds of millions of others, really liked Windows XP. It was and is a great testament to what a company can do if it cares about customers.<\/p>\n
But for some reason a few years later (2006) Microsoft want back to its money-mode and hurried out Windows Vista. At the time, I needed a new computer and my exposure to Windows Vista came when I bought a new computer – I didn’t rush out to buy an upgrade disk to upgrade to Vista. I had tested the Vista beta version and came away with the same feeling I had about Windows ME. Vista was a horrible, resource hungry, and buggy version of Windows. I would have never upgraded XP to Vista.<\/p>\n
Microsoft again, realized what a mistake Vista was – no so much because of its sales or review but because it lost a lot of business when Netbooks were all the rage. Vista was too resource-hungry and wouldn’t work on Netbooks, so Microsoft reluctantly allowed Netbook makers to install Windows XP on them – and this is why the service life of XP was extended 5 extra years.<\/p>\n
Windows 7 followed and it corrected the mistakes MS made with Vista. I liked Windows 7 when I was using it in Beta and ended up upgrading my Vista computer to Windows 7. Windows 7 was what Vista should have been. Vista, like Windows ME never seemed finished. Windows 7 had a nice finished feel to it and it became quite popular but never as popular as Windows XP was.<\/p>\n
Then for some reason – again probably money – Microsoft started working on Windows 8. Now remember, between Windows 7 and Windows 8 – Apple had set the world on fire with iPod and iPad and iPhones and all sorts of products that consumers loved. iPad and iPhones – and later versions of the iPod all had big tiled start screens – which I admit, worked well on devices with smaller screens like phones and tablets. I can’t imagine having a start menu on a smart phone – one would have to have very nimble fingers and good eyesight to \u00a0tap those little tiny titles and icons. So Apple came up with a tiled interface where each program had a large tile shortcut that you tapped to open.<\/p>\n
For some reason – Apple envy – Microsoft tried to turn Windows PCs into huge iPad. The result was a convoluted mess. If you look back over our newsletters for the past 2 years, you’ll find many tips for Windows 8, but you’ll also find my negative comments in many of them calling Windows 8 “a disaster”,, “a convoluted mess”and worse. You won’t find any glowing reviews from me about Windows 8 anywhere. It’s now how I work; it’s now how Darcy works. We are not shills for Microsoft. In fact, we’ve been pretty rough on them over the last five or six years. I think Microsoft has spent too much time trying to copy Apple and Android that they forgot the customers who made Microsoft the success that it is.<\/p>\n
Windows 10 is the best thing Microsoft has done since XP. I’ve been using Windows 10 preview versions for six months or more. I have yet to see a major glitch. I have yet to see a feature that didn’t make sense (like Windows 8). With preview versions there are many updates over the life of the preview – each went without a hitch.<\/p>\n
Glitches? Glitches? I don’t see no stinkin’ glitches \ud83d\ude42<\/h4>\n
Maybe there will be glitches, but in months of using Windows 10 I’ve not seen anything that I’d consider a glitch. Past performance does not guarantee future performance, but as I found with XP back in its preview day – I don’t see any glitches and I never saw any major glitches in XP either.<\/p>\n
Update or die!<\/h4>\n
If Windows 10’s update system was the same as the buggy on in Windows 7 and Windows 8x we might be tempted to agree with you. However, many of those reading this, perhaps even you, Jon, have an Android or Apple smartphone or and iPad or Android tablet, or a Chromebook. \u00a0Are these companies “dictators” because they don’t give you a choice not to update? All of these devices update silently so users always have the newest version of the operating system. Apple and those who make Chromebooks and Android devices have been doing this for years. It’s the only way I can see to keep an operating system updated to its newest version without releasing (and SELLING) new versions every few years (as Microsoft has always done).<\/p>\n
While the PRO version does give you the option to defer upgrades for “several months” it does not give you the options not to install security updates – you’ll get those whether you want them or not.<\/p>\n
And Windows 10 users a different way of updating and it doesn’t seem to have the problems of “failed updates” that plagued Windows 7 and continued to annoy Windows 8x users.<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/updates-win10.png\")
<\/a>Windows 10 changes the way Windows Updates are delivered.<\/p><\/div>\n
If Microsoft is being honest and this is the last named\/numbered version of Windows, then updates are the only way to give users new features and new operating system upgrades – and this is exactly what Apple and makers of Android devices and Chromebooks have always done – it’s not forcing something down your throat if other companies do it, but it is when Microsoft does it?<\/p>\n
And finally…<\/h4>\n
You write…<\/p>\n
Irresspective of the accolades and beat-up you give to Windows 10………………in many ways I wish to advise…..’it does not wash’…………..Windows 7 on 3 our machines will remain until Microsoft cease being dictators…..imagine a car manufacturer telling a client how to drive the vehicle he paid for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We don’t give Windows 10 a “beat up”. We don’t care if you keep Windows 7, Jon. That’s your decision. You’re certainly free to use what you like. Our job, or at least I think our job, is to tell it like it is. If something’s horrible, like Windows 8, we’ll tell you. If it’s great, like Windows 10, we’ll tell you. It’s our opinion. I imagine there are those using Windows 8 who actually like it – and that is certainly their opinion and they are free to keep using it. We are not telling you or anyone else they must install Windows 10 or we will think they are out of touch old fogies \ud83d\ude42 Hey, we’re old fogies and maybe in someways out of touch, but we think we are spot on about Windows 10 – we like it and we like it more than any previous version of Windows except for Windows XP. If it only had a real desktop email program we’d like it even better than XP.<\/p>\n
As far as your analogy of a car manufacturer telling you how to drive? That’s not a very good analogy.\u00a0I have never seen Microsoft ever telling anyone how to use his or her computer. A better one would be a car manufacturer telling you that you would never have to buy a new car because they’re going to give you updates so you always have the newest model.<\/p>\n
Thanks for your long time support. And please don’t think we’re going to be angry if you keep using Windows 7!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi TC and EB, Windows 10 looks good, has nice features, and appears to be as efficient as Windows 7 with added ‘nice things’. However, with the Home edition, I disagree entirely that Microsoft will install updates at their will, not mine, especially as it is a ‘new’ OS, and, I-betcha that there are glitches, which is understandable,\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9818"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9822,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9818\/revisions\/9822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}