Assessment of Windows 10 (if it went RTM today)

[chrisj1968]

I was a user of Windows 10 TP until 10041 when my Nvidia drivers broke my games. I'm not going to get into the myriad of program crashes either.

 

Let me part with some shots I've seen on the front page of Neowin:

 

 

As I look at the Taskbar and cortana, the icons are absolutely disgusting. Wincustomize could come up with a better set fo system icons than what we are getting. understand that, I'm speaking as a former user and as a careful investigator who has been watching the news of new TP releases in recent months. I'm one of the users of a group who's into asthetics. Having an OS that is appealing to look at and enjoy as this will be the place I will find myself 80-90% of the time. In the screenshot above next to cortana for example, I'm seeing a mish-mash of icons, the start menu (Flat), whatever that icon is to the right of cortana(Flat), the folder explorer or file explorer icons, flat but colorful and what finally looks to be a store app icon? just looking at this alone tells me that this icon setup is a mashed up bunch of icons, some being colorful in an attempt to bring color into the scheme.    I'd expect atleast at this point in the development of Windows 10, a vibrant set of icons that is appealing to the user. Some may look at them and like them. If you're one cool. But for a multi-million dollar corporation who spends money on R&D, didn't do much R&D on creating a pleasent looking experience. never mind how well the OS works. If it works great fine, But what are new users going to think? they'll look at a mess and wonder what's wrong or was this OS just jammed together for a last minute run out the door for sale?

 

 

here we have MSFT trying to do too much or be too much for everyone. that notification in cortana just murdered the desktop with clutter. This is what I'd see as a regular joe user as a "gimmick." I don't think this will pan out because it distracting to look at. maybe a busines user will get use out of it but joe user might likely find it too much.

 

Final assessment: While during the beginning of the TP cycle, I was quite pleased. the OS was snappy and fast. the icon issue wasn't an issue then because I guessed since we were in TP mode, I'd see an advancement of Icons that were appealing to me a normal user. the interface has to exude a sense of artistic prowess, a continuity and look that will make the user hang aroundand use the OS. But as in the screenshots shown, it's a mashing together of mixed up icons and flat lifeless icons in an interface that if Windows 10 is "supposed" to advance the windows system and popularity. I predict it will be called an ugly looking OS by new users. example, when my dad was in business before he retired, he paid a company to design a logo that would appeal to people of other businesses psychologically. They would create a design and then test it out to determine if it could get the response they were attempting to achieve. Looks is everything. this might seem like a small gnat in the overall picture but, it's a gnat that will have far reaching affects when people will eventually place this interface's look of non continuity on their PC's. I honestly think a better push of artistic creativity in creating an interface for the user, would have been money better spent then on what they did with cortana. Gimmicks and the like lose their lustre quickly. While Windows 10 will go on to be a fast OS with great features for cross platform gaming with xboxone, it will also go down as one of the ugliest operating systems since Windows vista or 7.

[lukaradnat]

Windows 10 is very unstable in my opinion and any Universal App is prone to crashing and running slow. It wouldn't be a big problem cause i don't care about Universal Apps anyway but overall Windows 10 UI which is also one big Universal App is very unstable especially *start menu. The only device i will upgrade to Windows 10 at home is Surface Pro 3 as my wife struggles a lot with that device as being not user friendly especially when she tries to use desktop with smart pen. My other two PCs and laptop are staying on Windows 7 for time being, i will give it another shot perhaps sometime next year right before free upgrade offer expires. Windows 10 UI is a big turn off for me. It is so unappealing to my eyes, it just hurts looking at. Fortunately right now Windows 7 is still in its prime. In case i don't decide to go with Windows 10 next year...i guess i will have to wait and see where is Microsoft taking Windows to by 2020 when Windows 7 is officially dead. It seems that we will be stuck with DX12 for a long time which is right now more mimic, true DX12 games won't be out in the next couple of year.

[jamieakers]

Windows 10 is very unstable in my opinion and any Universal App is prone to crashing and running slow. It wouldn't be a big problem cause i don't care about Universal Apps anyway but overall Windows 10 UI which is also one big Universal App is very unstable especially *start menu. The only device i will upgrade to Windows 10 at home is Surface Pro 3 as my wife struggles a lot with that device as being not user friendly especially when she tries to use desktop with smart pen. My other two PCs and laptop are staying on Windows 7 for time being, i will give it another shot perhaps sometime next year right before free upgrade offer expires. Windows 10 UI is a big turn off for me. It is so unappealing to my eyes, it just hurts looking at. Fortunately right now Windows 7 is still in its prime. In case i don't decide to go with Windows 10 next year...i guess i will have to wait and see where is Microsoft taking Windows to by 2020 when Windows 7 is officially dead. It seems that we will be stuck with DX12 for a long time which is right now more mimic, true DX12 games won't be out in the next couple of year.

 

I'm curious - what hardware are you running this on and did you do a clean install or an upgrade?  I ask because I'm using the latest builds on everything from a (deliberately) low-performance ESXi Virtual Machine, right through to a top-of-the-range dual Xeon monster.  I've not seen any issues like those you describe.

[lukaradnat]

I'm curious - what hardware are you running this on and did you do a clean install or an upgrade?  I ask because I'm using the latest builds on everything from a (deliberately) low-performance ESXi Virtual Machine, right through to a top-of-the-range dual Xeon monster.  I've not seen any issues like those you describe.

 

I tried on HP Laptop A6, Intel SSD + 4GB of RAM. A laptop originally came with Windows 7. I did upgraded bios to the latest version UEFI. For example i would click on Start Menu, then i would choose to uninstall some Universal App and then whole thing would crash and i cannot invoke Start Menu unless i sign out. Also by just browsing applications through start menu it would just close and again cannot open it unless i sign out and then login. PC Settings would also suddenly close then when i try to open it just takes forever to load. Some Universal Apps run some unexpectedly close. It is pretty much hit and miss. I didn't try Windows 10 on my main PC which runs 6 Core i7 with 7970 in crossfire and 16Gb of RAM. Again i didn't try on Surface Pro 3, i just reserved copy there and waiting for RTM on it.

 

First impressions are not that great, and compared to Windows 8.x at the same time release doesn't sound promising.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Windows 10 is a no-go for me, as it breaks compatibility with my sound interface. I contacted the manufacturer and they are assessing the situation but won't have any further information until closer to launch. If my sound interface isn't supported I won't be upgrading, as it would cost me

[chrisj1968]

Windows 10 is a no-go for me, as it breaks compatibility with my sound interface. I contacted the manufacturer and they are assessing the situation but won't have any further information until closer to launch. If my sound interface isn't supported I won't be upgrading, as it would cost me

[Night Prowler]

Windows 10 is a no-go for me, as it breaks compatibility with my sound interface. I contacted the manufacturer and they are assessing the situation but won't have any further information until closer to launch. If my sound interface isn't supported I won't be upgrading, as it would cost me

[Unobscured Vision]

Evaluating 10041 Windows 10 isn't a fair assessment. That's an early-ish Preview Build with a lot of features still in transition and in flux. I'm a primarily Linux user now, but I have to call a spade a spade. I've also been called out several times for being a little unfair toward Windows from a security standpoint, but in this particular instance I think that the Windows 10 bashing is jumping the shark somewhat.

 

Perhaps waiting until we have a Release Candidate to evaluate would be a more logical and valid starting point. Microsoft themselves have acknowledged that initial releases are somewhat flaky the first year or so, and updates/platform upgrades/service packs are used to address OS-Level issues afterward.

 

My advice: use Windows 10. Give Microsoft as much useful telemetry/Feedback/Bug Reporting as possible. Help them make Windows better instead of simply criticizing it. I've already done the same regarding the security issues I've encountered on relatives' and friends' devices and computers in the past few months (so that I'm not seen as being "all talk"). Then you yourselves can say that you've done your parts.

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

Windows 10 is a no-go for me, as it breaks compatibility with my sound interface. I contacted the manufacturer and they are assessing the situation but won't have any further information until closer to launch. If my sound interface isn't supported I won't be upgrading, as it would cost me

[theyarecomingforyou]

Let me guess, ASIO drivers? Is it M-Audio by any chance? They always take aaaaages to bring out any drivers, if at all.

It's the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. It's not that the ASIO driver is even the issue, as it doesn't work on the destkop (it just cycles rapidly through the sample rates making a mechanical noise that sounds like it could damage the unit).

 

It's not even out of BETA yet. Most device manufactures won't even look at new code until an OEM release. They really don't want to spend money they don't have to. It's your prerogative to run these BETA versions of Windows 10. Problems that show up with hardware usually get back to the manufacture/developer during this period so they have a plan of attack.

 

Any hardware manufacture that is worth anything will be on top of getting their devices running on any new OS that has been officially released to the public. If they don't you should just look for new hardware because you will be stuck exactly where you are at for all time.

That's just stating the obvious and doesn't have any bearing on what I posted. My sound interface isn't supported, therefore I won't be upgrading until it is supported. I don't think any other manufacturer (MOTU, M-Audio, Avid, RME, Akai) has Windows 10 support, so it's not like I have any choice in the matter. Even if I did I wouldn't be spending

[Jhienk]

Latest build has rendered my PC unusable. After upgrading it goes into infinite bootloop saying not enough memory available. I have 16gigs of ram. Had to fresh install last build or even 8.1 to use.

[greenwizard88]

I think it's mixed. If you have a computer that doesn't have driver issues, Windows 10 is a pretty nice, stable, usable OS. If you have any sort of driver issues though, you'll curse Windows 10 to the depths of hell.

 

In my case, I just can't hibernate without my PC rebooting on resume. If I avoid hibernation, it's a great OS. If I expect to be able to save my work when my battery gets low, and resume where I left off when I get back to my charger, it's terrrrrrible.

 

Latest build has rendered my PC unusable. After upgrading it goes into infinite bootloop saying not enough memory available. I have 16gigs of ram. Had to fresh install last build or even 8.1 to use.

Did you try downloading some more?

[SnoopZ]

Yikes. That's a sizable amount.

 

The OS operationally speaking is fine. its quite fast and I like DX12. But whoever decided to make the Icons needs to be whipped with a wet noodle.

Those icons have now changed and may change again.

[Dadwen]

The last 3 updates seem to have been buggy for me (I think the last stable one was 10064) after that getting some strange crashes (from sleep or even just coming back from the lock screen), not just me a co-worker has a Surface pro 3 and keeps having issues when it wakes up.

 

have to admit between the changes to the windows update (personally dislike it) not sure it really bring any features I really think I need (Still annoyed I can't run something in spartan and minimize the screen and have it keep playing the sound)

 

guess it's a good thing we have year to look it over (I'll update one of my computer to 10 at release but not sure it will be on either of my main ones.)

 

**Another thing thats kind of bugged me a little, I have a netbook (I don't use much anymore) but it runs windows 7 on it fine (2gigs and a Gforce 9300m) but 10 is a major dog on it to the point of being unusable.

[TruckWEB]

I find the File Explorer to be quite unstable, especially during network access and file copy.  Clean install, latest build.

[francescob]

Beta is the new stable but the most important issues will likely be fixed far more quickly once it hits RTM. The most important change of Win10 is supposedly the faster upgrade cycle so let's just hope they won't pull another annoying Win8.1-like upgrade process again, having a full setup install for those relatively small changes was way too extreme.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

Live news hot off the press:

Beta software is not ready!

 

/s

[Night Prowler]

It's the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. It's not that the ASIO driver is even the issue, as it doesn't work on the destkop (it just cycles rapidly through the sample rates making a mechanical noise that sounds like it could damage the unit).

 

 

That's just stating the obvious and doesn't have any bearing on what I posted. My sound interface isn't supported, therefore I won't be upgrading until it is supported. I don't think any other manufacturer (MOTU, M-Audio, Avid, RME, Akai) has Windows 10 support, so it's not like I have any choice in the matter. Even if I did I wouldn't be spending

[xendrome]

Why even speculate on "If this Beta software was RTM today". It's not,  That's the whole point of the process. The whole thought of trying to analyze this is borderline insane.

[theyarecomingforyou]

It has everything to do with what you said. It's in beta and making any preconceived judgments at this point in BETA development is just wrong.

Windows 10 doesn't support my system therefore I won't be upgrading. If and when it is supported I will reassess. The fact it's in beta

[+Fahim S. MVC]

Windows 10 doesn't support my system therefore I won't be upgrading. If and when it is supported I will reassess. The fact it's in beta

[tompkin]

I'd argue that your devices don't support Windows 10, rather than Windows 10 not supporting your system.  The readiness of Windows 10 has absolutely no bearing on your willingness to upgrade in its current state.

I agree with you Fahim.

 

I'm in the same boat. My video card doesn't have a compatible driver. That's not the readiness of the OS. That's just the unavailability of a driver.

[Active.]

If it went RTM today I'd consider it a buggy mess. On the other hand, it's plenty fast and imho Windows has never looked better than this. Love the Yosemite-like translucency effects they've recently added. It still needs a lot more polish and more design consistency across the system and its apps. There's still a bit of a dichotomy between the Modern apps and the rest of the system, but with the new window management features and integration of Modern apps into the Desktop it's a huge improvement compared to 8/8.1. Would install again.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I'd argue that your devices don't support Windows 10, rather than Windows 10 not supporting your system.  The readiness of Windows 10 has absolutely no bearing on your willingness to upgrade in its current state.

Absolutely. I'm not suggesting Windows 10 isn't ready, I'm speaking purely from my perspective. Unfortunately the changes made in Windows 10 broke compatibility with a lot of audio hardware

[purrcher]

Unless they do some extremely great improvements in the next few weeks I wont be installing 10 on any production level system's in my or my friends homes. Out of all my testing systems (AMD, Intel and VM) all are having show stopping issues ranging from bsod to settings & start menu not displaying or updating after changes. I'm used to beta programs and having to file reports on issues, but I don't remember Vista / 7 / 8 being this unstable this close to release. I'll keep testing and hoping for something to come through that makes me go yes this makes the OS worth using on local accounts (sorry but I don't like my devices syncing and rather sign into my apps as I use them).