Windows 10 free update

[NEFARIOUS]

Tech fanatics (or people who don't like Windows 8/8.1), rejoice... If you have Win7 or above, you can install a FREE version of Win10!

Get started here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...eview-download

New features include the return of the classic start menu layout, voice command with Cortana (similar to Siri and Google), Idiot Explorer being replaced by the much-faster Spartan (I haven't used IE since 2009 except to download Chrome or Firefox so we shall see), plus other changes:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/21/technology/windows-10/

Installing now!

[NEFARIOUS]

And... Done.

[M_Six]

How long is the preview good? 180 days?

[NEFARIOUS]

They are giving a year free, but I heard that future builds will model off OS X where it's a free upgrade.

[Vigilante375]

Windows 10 is going to be a completely free upgrade for anyone with Wins 7 SP1 or 8.1. They are allowing 1 year for people to upgrade then I guess you'll have to pay for it after that. Micro$oft is looking at the OS as a service now, hence the reason for it being free.....for the moment......don't know if I'll jump on that band wagon just yet......

[ashtaron14]

How stable is the "Technical Preview"?

I have 8.1 on my Surface Pro 3 and I feel it's perfectly fine (After the Windows Classic Start Menu Shell)

[NEFARIOUS]

Most things work OK... Except HitManPro isn't working the right way, and Avast isn't working at all, so I reverted to Avira out of a short list of AVs that work (I refuse to trust built in MSE, and AVG has a high failure rate in lots of computers I've worked on lately). Cortana voice search also only works when it feels like it and it takes a few steps to initialize it, the WLAN won't work well on your first try until you restart it, but everything is good.

[Arsonism]

Any Reviews since then?

Any new office features come with this (I work from home occasionally and always wonder what the i7 can manage over the i5 mobile I have at work does).

Any issues with games currently?

[Devious21]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

Most things work OK... Except HitManPro isn't working the right way, and Avast isn't working at all, so I reverted to Avira out of a short list of AVs that work (I refuse to trust built in MSE, and AVG has a high failure rate in lots of computers I've worked on lately). Cortana voice search also only works when it feels like it and it takes a few steps to initialize it, the WLAN won't work well on your first try until you restart it, but everything is good.

I too moved from AVG because of nagging issues and no 64bit client. I then used Avast! for a long time but for the last year or two, I've moved to MSE. MSE has made major improvements. You may want to look at it again if you're still basing your opinion on their old reputation, which was crap.

[NEFARIOUS]

Originally Posted by Arsonism

Any Reviews since then?

Any new office features come with this (I work from home occasionally and always wonder what the i7 can manage over the i5 mobile I have at work does).

Any issues with games currently?

Actually, I narrowed down the WLAN issue; I specifically disabled the latest update to the WLAN driver in Win8.1, but it made its way onto the next WinUpdate, and that's all taking apart my computer for nothing (I also had issues with the cam/mic but it's a matter of needing a new ribbon or even a new computer). Other than a UI refresh and the apps being regular windows that can be resized instead of a full-sized window in 8.1 or even full screen in 8, there's nothing really too new in day-to-day usage. I wish I can say I had an i7 to test out; my laptop's i5 is the most powerful computer I have access to so far, and the i7 computer for graphics design at work runs like crap.

As far as gaming, I haven't had a chance to fully check out all the games I have yet. Lately I've been very busy with looking for work, and now working; but so far SC:Blacklist works the same with no significant issues.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I too moved from AVG because of nagging issues and no 64bit client. I then used Avast! for a long time but for the last year or two, I've moved to MSE. MSE has made major improvements. You may want to look at it again if you're still basing your opinion on their old reputation, which was crap.

Even though the differences are subtle, MSE still lags behind most free AVs, which even right now, I got hired at a furniture wholesaler... The guy calls himself a SW Engineer, yet here's what I saw: Most computers are in pathetic condition... 2 out of 10 computers have NO AV at all, one has let the OEM Norton expire, and another only had MSE, and all of the computers in question had viruses and spyware. So, I pointed it out, and he installs MSE and scans it overnight. It gets rid of some, but not all; still some errors and popups here and there. So, I offer to take over and load up Avira, and it manages to find 200+ viruses on EACH computer (although most of them were tracking cookies in other user's %temp% folders, and the browsers had no popups/excess ads anymore.

The best of the best AVs are paid and not easily "bypassed", so that'll have to wait until my finances are a bit better... Otherwise I'd get a paid subscription for Hitman or BitDefender, which BitDefender has ranked among the top for many years through many reviews (though G Data is a combination of BitDefender and in-house technology I haven't checked them out yet), and Hitman goes DEEP as a 2nd-opinion scanner since it scans with a culmination of 6 different AVs/detectors. Of course, I'd use BitDefender free, but it doesn't allow you to exclude files, and since I deal with people in China and QQ is a must (it registers a false positive since Tencent, its parent company used to make spyware that is almost impossible to remove but that is ancient news from the early 2000s... Plus people from China are glued to QQ like crack even when Skype is a bit more universal and efficient).

http://dottech.org/14151/windows-bes...-avast-vs-avg/

[Arsonism]

If I decide to rock the new win10 I'll let you know how a 4790k handles it

Thanks for the update man.

[E85BMW]

Am I the only one that actually likes 8.1? I use it all the time, play my games, and I've never had any issues with it. I have Classic Start Menu installed and I've been good since.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by Kitsune sama

Am I the only one that actually likes 8.1? I use it all the time, play my games, and I've never had any issues with it. I have Classic Start Menu installed and I've been good since.

8.1 has been fantastic for me. I have had zero issues with it, and I do some pretty heavy overclocking. i7 980x @5.0ghz, OCd tri-sli 980s, etc. The system has always been rock solid, I bought the OS the week it came out and have been thrilled with it. I'll definitely be going with 10 when it's available. I'd like to wait until the retail version is released though.

[E85BMW]

I've been debating on upgrading to 10, so I'll see how people like it later this year

[NEFARIOUS]

Yeah, I was on 8.1 and still used the full-screen Start; never bothered me, and for the people that do have a hangup about it, there are replica start menus... But people act like it's the be-all-end-all and Windows 8 is "oh-so-impractical and impossible to use". The only reason I even upgraded is because my other gadgets are antiquated pieces of crap and it's the only thing that keeps my technology fanatic side happy until I get enough paychecks under my belt.

[Dalko43]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

Even though the differences are subtle, MSE still lags behind most free AVs, which even right now, I got hired at a furniture wholesaler... The guy calls himself a SW Engineer, yet here's what I saw: Most computers are in pathetic condition... 2 out of 10 computers have NO AV at all, one has let the OEM Norton expire, and another only had MSE, and all of the computers in question had viruses and spyware. So, I pointed it out, and he installs MSE and scans it overnight. It gets rid of some, but not all; still some errors and popups here and there. So, I offer to take over and load up Avira, and it manages to find 200+ viruses on EACH computer (although most of them were tracking cookies in other user's %temp% folders, and the browsers had no popups/excess ads anymore.

The best of the best AVs are paid and not easily "bypassed", so that'll have to wait until my finances are a bit better... Otherwise I'd get a paid subscription for Hitman or BitDefender, which BitDefender has ranked among the top for many years through many reviews (though G Data is a combination of BitDefender and in-house technology I haven't checked them out yet), and Hitman goes DEEP as a 2nd-opinion scanner since it scans with a culmination of 6 different AVs/detectors. Of course, I'd use BitDefender free, but it doesn't allow you to exclude files, and since I deal with people in China and QQ is a must (it registers a false positive since Tencent, its parent company used to make spyware that is almost impossible to remove but that is ancient news from the early 2000s... Plus people from China are glued to QQ like crack even when Skype is a bit more universal and efficient).

http://dottech.org/14151/windows-bes...-avast-vs-avg/

Windows 8 comes standard with Windows Defender, which is not the same as previous Microsoft virus-ware. Windows Defender is an actual anti-virus program with real-time protection.

I would highly suggest that any Windows 8 users try out and look into their free and standard Windows Defender before paying for an anti-virus program or even downloading a free one....they often times take up a lot of RAM and Processing power unnecessarily so.

The only thing you might need to add to Windows Defender is a good malware removal tool, of which there are many that are free and easy to use (CC Cleaner, Spybot, ect.).

[gtron]

imma dorky linux user but the wife's machine can use an upgrade. when is the actual full (not tech preview) release date?

[NEFARIOUS]

Originally Posted by gtron

imma dorky linux user but the wife's machine can use an upgrade. when is the actual full (not tech preview) release date?

Could be out as early as this summer.

[PTinVT]

Is Windows 10 perpetually updating itself like Windows 7? Jesus H Christmas it's bogging my machines, every time they boot up/shut down/wake up it's a few minutes before it settles down. My laptop fan has been running more than I ever remember it.

Without getting into the OS wars... I do resent that they are pushing it as a nag update in the tray and you can hide it every day and it always comes back. Fcukers.

[davis449]

I will probably stay on 8.1 for a while. I only have three computers in the house (out of 9 total) that I would really consider installing it on. Of those three, only one would I really even want it on (my main desktop). I am fine with the speed of 8.1 on my desktop and two other laptops and have gotten used to not having a start menu. It doesn't even bother me anymore. The other 6 are HTPC's and will remain on 7 until MS stops guide updates for WMC.

[NEFARIOUS]

Well, I posted it pretty much the minute I found out about Win10, but now I have mixed feelings; the novelty of having something new, or continue to put up with this until MS decides to borderline force the updates onto my computer in a few months anyway... But the build updates annoy me a bit since the computer is down and out for 3 hours, and the current build 10130 doesn't exactly work with my WLAN card (I had similar issues where I had to downgrade the drivers in 8.1, but it's much worse now)...

If I had a new computer it'd probably be a different story, but Apple ruined my fingerprint scanner by acquiring Authentec and only Windows Login and Idiot Explorer works (not Chrome or FF anymore), and Intel refuses to admit that the latest drivers for the Centrino N-2230 is garbage so I have to use drivers from early 2014... On a 2 year old computer :mad0261: .