Windows 10

​Windows 10 was released in the UK on July 29th 2015.
 
A more appropriate name for Windows 10 would be Windows 8.2 because it is essentially another tweaking of Microsoft's Windows 8 environment. It will install on top of Windows 7, 8 & 8.1, although I always recommend doing a full, clean installation. When booting up, it is identical to Windows 8 and you only begin to notice cosmetic differences at the login prompt. When the desktop appears (not the Windows 8 'tile mode', thankfully) the main difference is the appearance of 'flatter' more two-dimensional icons and the new all-in-one search bar resident in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
 
One of the main changes is witnessed when clicking on the start button in the bottom left of the screen (or by tapping the Windows logo key on the keyboard). The new start menu doesn't switch to the Windows 8 'tile mode' (thankfully) but produces a compact desktop start menu hybrid which includes a shutdown/restart button (the Windows 8 'charm' menu which had to be swiped in from the right edge of the screen has gone).
 
The biggest shock comes when you want to surf the internet only to discover that Microsoft has ditched Internet Explorer. Twenty years' of market-branding down the drain. The replacement (although you can still find Internet Explorer lurking around) is called Microsoft Edge. Edge builds on the adopted simplistic style of Chrome and Firefox and is actually quite nice to use. In fact, for the first time, I think it is fair to say that Microsoft is now leading the browser competition. The only challenge with Edge is figuring how to set your default search engine as Google rather than Microsoft's Bing. Microsoft has applied almost every trick in the book to steer you away from their Google enemy.
 
The other new gimmick is 'Cortana' your personal assistant. I'm going to spend a lot more time with Cortana in order to comment fairly.
 
When Windows 10 is released, should you upgrade? Well yes, it is free but note that Windows 10 doesn't feel comfortable unless your PC has 4Gb of RAM or more.
 
 
Update 2nd May 2015

Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 in the UK on July 29th 2015. You can download it by clicking on the Windows logo that has already started to appear in the system tray of Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs.

 
Update 17th July 2015
 
Just two weeks to go before Windows 10 is publicly available.
 
I've been testing the latest release and there have been a number of significant changes and last minute tweaks.
 
To my great relief, 'Project Spartan' appears to have disappeared completely. 'Microsoft Edge' is the name of the flagship browser to replace Internet Explorer. And to Microsoft's credit, it feels smooth and fast. In fact, Microsoft Edge is instantly likeable. You can doodle on webpages. That gets my vote.
 
Although Microsoft Edge is superb, your first little puzzle is 'how do I set Google as my default search engine?'. I'll leave you to work through that one on your own.
 
 
Update 29th July 2015
 
Today is the day. Microsoft have announced that they will be flushing out Windows 10 in phases to avoid congestion, so don't be disheartened if the option to upgrade hasn't appeared for you yet.
 
Here is what the BBC have to say:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33689332
 
 
Update 30th July 2015
 
If your Windows 10 upgrade has not offered itself automatically, you can 'force' the upgrade with the help of Microsoft's 'Media Creation Tool'. Click to download:

• Windows 10 Media Creation

 
When you run the Media Creation Tool you will be presented with two choices. You can 'Upgrade your PC' now' or 'Create Installation media' in order to upgrade at a later point or on another computer. It is wise to create your own installation media and to do so will require a USB memory stick (needs to be 8Gb or more and will be wiped) or a blank DVD (and DVD burner).
 
Finally, you need to choose your language (English), the edition to install (Windows 10 Pro) and your architecture (64bit unless your PC is rather old).

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