Displaying items by tag: Windows 10

Just when you thought it could not get more annoying, Microsoft has turned up the Windows 10 update notifications. The little nudges for Windows 8.x users pop up in the corner (systray) and also when you boot up your PC or do something as crazy as open Internet Explorer. This last one has many looking to alternate browsers just so they do not get bothered with the pop-up.

Over the course of its development there has been a lot to like about Windows 10. There seems to be a good blend of the traditional Windows desktop with some of the touch-centric features that Microsoft tried to force in Windows 8. You are also getting more than a few performance improvements including DX12. If you have not heard about all of the goodness in DX12 you are in for quite a pleasant surprise. However, despite all of the good there is in Windows 10 there seems to be a group at Microsoft that have still not learned lessons from the past.

So, remember that comment Microsoft made about upgrading non-genuine version of Windows 7 and 8.x to Windows 10? Well we finally have some more information on that. Sadly the new information causes more confusion than it clears up. According to Microsoft the non-genuine upgrades will “not be supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner”. This is interesting as we do not know of any pirate that has ever gone to Microsoft or a trusted partner for help with their illegal copy of Windows.

Microsoft is making a bold move with Windows 10 and we are not just talking about a redesign of the OS here. It seems that they would really like people to move from Windows 7 and 8.x to Windows 10. To entice you they are offering free upgrades to anyone with a qualifying system. What makes things even more interesting is that there is talk that the upgrade will even be available to non-genuine versions of Windows. This last bit is very much out of pattern for Microsoft, but we have a pretty good idea of why they are doing it.

Despite a valiant attempt to label P2P transfers and BitTorrent as the devil Microsoft and others are looking to move this direction for updates and other services. In the latest build of Windows 10 the new P2P updating mechanism was found hiding out as an option in the code. Fortunately Microsoft does give you a few options when it comes to this new feature.

As the world gets all excited about some of the new “features” in Windows 10 there are some in the press (and consumers) that are less than thrilled about them. We are talking about Cortana and some of the predictive typing tools and features that Microsoft has embedded and how they really work. On the surface the concept of predictive text and searches is a pretty neat idea. After you type something in, or search for a topic your system will build a small database of information to help you find those things again.

Well it seems that Microsoft is tired of being the brunt of jokes about slow internet browsing, compatibility and… well just about everything else. If the rumors are to be believed they are going to strip down the render engine for IE 12 and push out two versions with Windows 10. The much leaner version will remove all of the bloat needed for backwards IE compatibility and focus on being a real standards based browser.

With the launch of Windows 8 the gaming world was a tad shaken up. It seems that Microsoft was abandoning the PC gamer in favor of their own console. Everything about Windows 8 seemed designed to push the Xbox as the center of the gaming world. It was a decision that made many development houses more than a little angry. It was bad enough that Valve made the choice to begin working on their own Linux based OS to support games. The gaming community responded favorably to this change which we are sure made Microsoft more than a little nervous. To add insult to injury the Xbox One did not do as well as expected at launch and in the first months of its life.

Microsoft had a brief moment in the sun with the release of Windows 10 after the less than stellar market performance of Windows 8.x. However, it seems they are determined to make sure that they screw things up as it was uncovered that the EULA (End User License Agreement) for the Windows 10 Technical Preview allowed them access to a little more than they would usually need for a Beta program.

Microsoft announced their next version of Windows yesterday and the world focused on one thing: the name. While it is true that the decision to jump from Windows 8 to Windows 10 was an unusual one, it certainly should not be what we all focus on. After all Microsoft is known for rather glaring PR and Marketing errors, so why should a clumsy name really be news worthy?