Windows 10 is designed to appeal to Windows 7 users who were scared off by Windows 8's tiles. It presents a more-familiar desktop interface that includes the trusty-old Start menu. But the operating system represents a whole lot more than simply the return of the overly lamented Start Menu. It's intended to unify the desktop PC, tablet, smartphone, game console, and Internet of Things devices with a single OS and a single app store.
Windows 10 also includes a host of new capabilities like the Cortana voice-responsive assistant, faster startup speed, virtual desktops, touch capability, lightweight Office apps, a notification center, and even a new Web browser that's speedier and more standards-compatible than anything we've yet seen from Microsoft. Despite such a raft of new features, Microsoft is offering the upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for free.
The TL;DR version is this: If you're running Windows 7 or 8.1 on a desktop, laptop, or convertible, you'll want Windows 10. Tablet users may want to hold off a while, as Windows 8.1 still may suit them better in some ways. In Windows 8, Microsoft made tablet use a priority, where Windows 10 favors laptop and desktop users. That said, Windows 10 incorporates many of the advances of Windows 8, and includes tablet-mode functionality such as the ability to close an app by swiping down from the top of the screen and to snap apps to the side in Task view.
Getting Windows 10
Getting Window 10 for free is a simple matter of clicking the Taskbar icon sporting the new Windows logo and reserving a copy. You have until July 29, 2016, to make the move, or you'll have to pay. (Brand new PCs, of course, ship with the new OS in place.) The icon launches a program that checks your system and software for compatibility, and you're notified when the update is ready to install. The minimum system requirements are surprisingly low: a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of hard drive space. The 64-bit version of Windows 10 increases the RAM requirement to 2GB and the disk space to 20GB. You'll also need a DirectX 9-capable graphics card and a display with at least 800-by-600 resolution. For more details on whether your system is up to snuff, read Can My PC Run
Windows 10
Windows 10 is available to most individuals in just two editions: Home and Pro (with 32-bit and 64-bit options for each), but all of the major features appear in both. Pro adds business-y things like network domain joining, Hyper-V virtualization, group policy management, and BitLocker encryption. That last one may be of interest to security-conscious users. Unsurprisingly, if you upgrade from Home levels of Windows 7 or 8, you get Windows 10 Home, and if you update from the professional versions of 7 or 8, you'll get Pro. If you're a DIY PC builder (or you want to upgrade after July 29), you can buy installation software on USB sticks for the same prices of previous Windows versions, $119.99 for Home and $199.99 for Pro. Your data and programs come along for the ride when you update, though it's always a good idea to back up before an OS upgrade.
With the November 2015 update, activating an existing Windows license got easier. At the initial launch of Windows 10, you could only go through the update process on a PC with a valid Windows 7 license, but now you can simply enter a Windows 7 or 8 license key to do a clean installation if you'd rather not upgrade an existing installation. If you don't have your license key, you can still simply upgrade a valid machine. I tested the Windows 10 on a Surface Pro 3 with a Core i5-4300U CPU and 8GB RAM.
Interface
Despite the backlash it inspired, Windows 8 had a profound effect on the design language of interfaces. The clean, flat, 2D, sans serif look even made the jump to Apple's iOS mobile operating system and later into Android's material design. Windows 10 continues this simplicity and clarity, and there's no better place to see it than in the Settings app.
There are still two settings dialogs: The traditional desktop Control Panel and this newer Settings app. Most users will find that the newer tool serves most of their needs, while power users will want the detailed options in the Control Panel.
It bears reiterating that, with Windows 10, Microsoft reemphasizes desktop/laptop use over tablet use, while still maintaining touch-tablet functionality. In Windows 8, the desktop is just another app, while in Windows 10, there's no desktop tile on the Start button, even in tablet mode. This can make it a tad harder to get to the desktop on a tablet if you're in a full-screen modern app.
The November update of Windows 10 included interface refinements like more-consistent right-click context menus and window title bars filled with color rather than the flat white of the original release. The color of the title bar (like that of the Taskbar) is picked up from your choice in Settings' Personalization page. When the window doesn't have the focus, the title bar returns to white. (pcmag.com)
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