TWENTY-FOUR hours after it was released, more than 14 million devices were already running Windows 10, the company’s “last version” of Windows. It’s a solid release, by most accounts. Coming from the debacle that was Windows 8, the latest iteration of the operating system will feel familiar to those who used previous versions.
I upgraded my development box at home last week and found the process straightforward and encountered no hitches. All the software packages I had with Windows 8 still worked, without incompatibilities.
Like many users, I had “reserved” my free copy of Windows 10 when I was prompted some weeks back. But instead of waiting for the upgrade files to download, I decided to download an .iso installation file, instead, because I had two Windows boxes at home that needed upgrading and I did not want to eat up even more bandwidth by having each PC downloading the same set of files. The download took less than two hours and installation, even with the continuous download of new upgrade files, took just about an hour.
The immediately visible change from Windows 8 is the return of the Start icon but vastly improved with the addition of tiles of information such as calendar items, emails, weather and photos.
The removal of the Start icon on Windows 8 so unnerved long-time Windows users that hundreds of thousands of web resources talk about it, awaited its coming “resurrection” and discussed apps and hacks to bring it back. Many held off updating and there were even those who downgraded to Windows XP.
With the Start menu back, Windows 10 feels more familiar. Modern, yet still familiar.
Windows 10 also comes with a robust multi-tasking capability with its Task View and native virtual desktops. For Windows power users, this has been a long time coming. In Mac OS X and in the various Linux flavors, virtual desktops come baked into the operating system. While virtual desktops were available in previous Windows releases, it was through add-ons like Windows XP Power Toys.
Virtual desktops allow you to multi-task “like a boss,” without having a multi-monitor setup.
In Windows 10, you can press the Windows Key + Tab to get a preview of all open windows in your desktop; it’s an enhanced task view compared to what you get with pressing Alt + Tab. In Alt + Tab, you cycle through the different open tasks and the system will open the pane that you choose as soon as you release the keys.
When you press Windows + Tab, you also get a tiled view but the preview stays even after you release the keys. You can then click on a window to open it. You can also choose to add another desktop or shift to it.
Windows 10 also comes with a nifty shortcut to cycle through desktops by pressing Ctrl + Windows + left or right arrow.
Among the features I’ve tried so far with Windows 10, it is the virtual desktop that stands out for me. I’m a heavy virtual desktop user in Mac OS X and Linux and I like to segregate my different panes according to the task. Typically I’d have one desktop for coding and app development, another for content-related tasks such as article processing, writing or editing, and another for browsing, in case I need to look something up and for reference such as tech manuals and code snippets.
Virtual desktop on Windows 10 feels better than on Mac OS X and on Elementary OS and Ubuntu. I know, heretical.
Windows 10 also comes with an Action Center notifications portal that gives you updates on such things as emails, including a preview of the messages.
It also comes with Windows snapping, which allows you to arrange windows side by side or one on top of another, which is great with comparing documents, referencing materials or transferring files. I haven’t tried key features like Cortana but all in all, Windows 10 is a great release. Microsoft describes it as the last version because they will continuously upgrade it rather than releasing major software upgrades like the previous Windows 95, XP, Vista, 7 and 8.
If you’re still using a previous release, including the now-unsupported and unpatched Windows XP, you should upgrade to Windows 10. It will give your PC new life.
(max@limpag.com / http://max.limpag.com)