If you have been holding off on upgrading to Windows 10, you are almost out of time to get the free upgrade. The deadline for reserving your copy is July 29, 2016. You are supposed to be able to reserve a copy, even if you don’t install it.(Here’s how to do it.) After the 29th, the upgrade will set you back $120.
A lot of people have been put off by Microsoft’s aggressive (and sneaky) push to get users to install the new version. Some computer experts likened Microsoft’s deceptive actions to malware. I know it took over and installed itself on my husband’s laptop, without permission. We had to roll back immediately because much of his specialized music software would not work on Windows 10.
When my computer hard drive died on me last month, I bought a new Windows 10 machine as replacement. Much of the software I’d been running on the old machine would not work on Windows 10. I am still scrounging for replacements for voice recognition, photo and video editing software. I am still trying to get one of my scanners to work properly. So your choice to upgrade may be strongly influenced by the software and peripherals you use.
Be aware that the new OS is also a privacy nightmare. Thanks to Microsoft’s new freemium model, I found out that you can’t even play a game of solitaire on the new system without being logged in and tracked. 😦
If you do upgrade, or if you already have, you should also note that Microsoft is making some changes to Windows 10 with its upcoming Anniversary update. One of the most disturbing changes is that you lose the ability to turn Cortana off. Since I prefer Google to Bing as a search default, this is probably going to be a big deal for me.
If you have decided not to upgrade your present computer, the good news is that after July 29th, Microsoft has promised that it will turn off the update nag screens (and presumably the sneaky installs). Microsoft has promised that this is the last version of Windows, making it a sure thing that if you buy another Windows machine, sooner or later, you’ll be running Windows 10.
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