Windows 10 Review – Windows 7 Reimagined

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    Windows 10 Review – Windows 7 Reimagined

    Windows 10 Review – Windows 7 Reimagined


    Posted: 25 Dec 2014

    It’s not a secret anymore and no matter how hard one tries not to admit it, Windows 8 failed to meet expectations and instead of changing the way we work on our computers, it actually made things worse and caused confusion on a platform that was already familiar to pretty much everyone thanks to Bill Gates’ ambition to bring a PC on every desk across the globe.

    Windows 8 was an experiment from the very beginning and many people actually compared it to with Windows Vista, which in its turn is often referred to as “the biggest flop in Microsoft’s history.”

    So Windows 8 quickly turned into what some analysts called “the new Vista,” thus destroying Microsoft’s chances to shoot two birds with one stone in a single release: get people off Windows XP and 7 and help the recovery of the PC industry, thus boosting its own revenues as well.

    Enter Windows 10. From the very beginning, Windows 10 was not designed to be the typical stand-alone operating system, but one that fixes what went wrong in Windows 8. Windows 10 is Windows 8’s antidote, so many of the features you’ll find here are either missing in Windows 8 or coming with a new design, features, or settings that would make it more appropriate for all user categories.

    Before jumping into details and explaining what’s new in Windows 10, there’s something that needs to be very clear; Windows 10 is still in progress, so some of the features we talk about might be tweaked until the OS comes out. More, some could be removed and others could be introduced, so the final OS could be more or less different. The version we tested and wrote about is build 9901.
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    labeeman's Avatar Posted By: labeeman
    25 Dec 2014


  1. Posts : 22,740
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #1

    Thanks for the link.

    Conclusion from article:
    Conclusion

    Overall, Windows 10 feels like home, but it’s hard to call it impressive. It does get the desktop right, this time, but it might fail in some other areas that could continue disappointing a number of users.

    The new OneDrive system which requires users to sync certain folders and thus download files to their devices isn’t really pleasing and there are already thousands of people out there complaining about this.

    At the same time, others point to apps that have (until now) been neglected, such as File Explorer, which continue to retain the classic look available since Windows 98. No tab support, no modern icons, no refreshed look. File Explorer looks almost the same with the very first version of Windows Explorer, so let’s just hope that until the final version of Windows 10 comes out, Microsoft has a look at this one too.

    The bottom line: Windows 10 is a step forward for modern Windows. And to summarize, it’s Windows 8 done right.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 487
       #2

    Does it fix what went wrong in Windows 8 though?

    I haven’t installed Windows 10 yet, although I’ve been following the changes as an observer and it appears they haven’t really changed much so far compared to Windows 8.1. Predominantly just windowed store apps, multiple desktops and the option of a Start Menu.

    I never really minded Windows 8, but what I liked about it was more to do with the improvements made behind the scenes, rather than the changes Windows 8 is infamous for (it also helped that I prefer the Start Screen rather than a Start Menu). For me though, the area where Windows 8 is really, really bad (and one that’s still the same in Windows 10), is when it comes to the Store Apps. Using them is really a horrible disjointed experience.

    OK, so in Windows 10 they’ve allowed the store apps to run in a window, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still a dictatorship style, limited functionality, non-customisable mess with a horrible menus. You have menus at the top, menu’s at the bottom, bit’s that slide out from the left, bits that slide out from the right. When you right-click you have these massive buttons appear with no consistency about them. It’s all over the place. With normal desktop software the menus are consistent, so no matter what software you’re using you have familiarity.

    It wouldn’t be so bad if Microsoft were going to continue developing proper software applications, but given that it seems they’re abandoning development of normal windows software for these store apps, they really need to sort them out because they’re terrible. It’s a bit like a car manufacturer removing all the passenger seats/carpet/interior trim, swapping all the controls around, welding up all the doors and then selling it as a more economical and more secure version. Sure, it probably is, but it’s no good if it’s borderline unusable.

    Believe me, I really want to like store apps, because the least amount of additional software I have to install on Windows, the better, but whenever I try using store apps again to see if they’ve improved, I always end up going back to the desktop software I was using before. Not to mention they update automatically, with no documentation what’s been changed, you just have to put up with the changes and if you don’t like them, tough, you can’t even keep using an older version of the app.

    An example of that is the Mail app. The earlier version was better without the stupid flat ‘metro’ icons on the left hand side. It just had Inbox, Sent items, Deleted items, etc. written in plain text on the left, which was much more useable and familiar. In the new version, even if you never ever use ‘Flagged’ and ‘Favourites’, you’re stuck with them. Also the colour scheme changed to the horrible blue in the new version. But there’s nothing you can do about any of that, you’re stuck using something that some person the other side of the world has decided you have to like. Like it or lump it! The outlook.com website is better than the Mail, People & Calendar store apps and not only a better interface, but has better functionality. Yes, a webpage is even better than Microsoft's North Korean store apps.

    Then don’t get me started on the functionality! You're not even able to back up your emails locally. But even simple things like viewing email attachments don’t work properly. So, someone sends you a picture file and despite having all the default programs set for file associations, it still asks you what software you want to use to open the file. OK, with JPEG, PNG & GIF it remembers your choice, but with TIFF and BMP for example, every single time it just says “We can’t open this file. Do you want to save it and try opening it with another app?” even after telling it what default program to use. Really!

    Now, some may say, why don’t you just use the photo app as the default picture viewer instead of Windows Photo Viewer. Well, it’s because the photo app is also rubbish. It doesn’t even allow you to view file properties/exif of the image, or allow you to view the image at 100%. It doesn't even have a print button. Pretty basic functionality is missing and I’m not even sure whether it’s colour managed or not. And let’s not forget the disjointed way the photos app launches in a split screen from the Mail app, instead of its own full window.

    Still at least it’s not as bad as the video app. That goes beyond just rubbish to unusable. Yup, even if you look past the wall of ads from Microsoft trying to get you to buy TV programs from their tv/film store, when all you want to do is view a video on your computer, it’s terrible. I watch several podcasts every week, that run in the background when I’m working. If there’s something in the podcast I need to look at I just click on Windows Media Player and start watching. Then move it back to the background and carry on listening whilst working. But with the Video app you can’t do that, nope that’s right, you can’t just listen to it in the background, because as soon as you start using your desktop programs it suspends the video app and stops playing. All you can do is allow it to use quarter of the screen, but that’s no good when you need the whole screen for work. So, you have no choice but to go back to Windows Media Player or VLC (even though I’ve never really liked the Windows Media player UI either).

    So, IMO Windows 10 isn’t Windows 8 done right. Nowhere near it until they either sort out those stupid store apps, or continue development of normal desktop programs such as Windows Live Mail, Windows Media Player, etc.

    Happy Christmas! :)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 22,740
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #3

    Why not try it before judging it. It might give you a clearer perspective on it maybe??
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 29,078
    Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043.1023
       #4

    ARC1020 said:
    Does it fix what went wrong in Windows 8 though?

    I haven’t installed Windows 10 yet, although I’ve been following the changes as an observer and it appears they haven’t really changed much so far compared to Windows 8.1. Predominantly just windowed store apps, multiple desktops and the option of a Start Menu.
    Reading on the Internet is a far cry from installing and using Windows 10.

    I'd suggest that before offering up your review, you actually try the OS first.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,463
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64 bit
       #5

      My Computer


  6. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #6

    In my humble opinion, I think Windows 10 is developing quite nicely. I wish I had all Windows devices though, which would make my opinion much more well rounded.

    One thing I do find a tiny bit irritating:
    In the 'Modern' UI, sometimes you can't realize a live link because they don't 'glow' very much on mouse hover, you more or less have to click on them to see if it IS a live link or not.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 29,078
    Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043.1023
       #7

    Edwin said:
    In my humble opinion, I think Windows 10 is developing quite nicely. I wish I had all Windows devices though, which would make my opinion much more well rounded.

    One thing I do find a tiny bit irritating:
    In the 'Modern' UI, sometimes you can't realize a live link because they don't 'glow' very much on mouse hover, you more or less have to click on them to see if it IS a live link or not.
    Yeah, I kinda like it too, but haven't tried it long enough to give an educated opinion.

    I read somewhere that if a certain "beta" were installed that Windows 10 wouldn't install the current updates; however, that doesn't seem to hold true.

    The computer has been sitting alone and unattended for a couple or three months and I have that certain "beta" installed. Windows 10 updated quite nicely this AM. So, I guess that was either fixed or wasn't true. :)
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #8

    Wynona said:
    Edwin said:
    In my humble opinion, I think Windows 10 is developing quite nicely. I wish I had all Windows devices though, which would make my opinion much more well rounded.

    One thing I do find a tiny bit irritating:
    In the 'Modern' UI, sometimes you can't realize a live link because they don't 'glow' very much on mouse hover, you more or less have to click on them to see if it IS a live link or not.
    Yeah, I kinda like it too, but haven't tried it long enough to give an educated opinion.

    I read somewhere that if a certain "beta" were installed that Windows 10 wouldn't install the current updates; however, that doesn't seem to hold true.

    The computer has been sitting alone and unattended for a couple or three months and I have that certain "beta" installed. Windows 10 updated quite nicely this AM. So, I guess that was either fixed or wasn't true. :)
    Which Beta are you using?

    I'm on Build 9841 at this very moment because I like the features on it the best, (with the possible exception of Build 9901!), but I can't open 'Update and Recovery'/'Preview Builds' because it wants to force an update on me!
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,463
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64 bit
       #9

    MS said that if you are running a leaked version of W10 that the next release, expected in Jan would not install. Those version still get minor updates.

    Jim
      My Computer


 

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