Windows 10 - The Wait Is Over


After the longest and most public beta programs in the history of development, the world’s largest software company released the latest edition of the world’s best selling software program.

The company is, of course, Microsoft, and the landmark piece of software is none other than the much-anticipated Windows 10. A New release of Windows is a major event in the technology industry, and this has never been truer for Microsoft than right now. The last major revision, Windows 8.0, received a very cool reception from the user base as a whole and after two years boasted the lowest adoption rate in the product’s history. Microsoft took a lot of chances on Windows 8, in an effort to create a single operating system that would satisfy desktop and mobile users alike, they ended up satisfying no one.
Disregarding the cries of millions of users, Microsoft abandoned the long-established and much-loved ‘Start’ menu for a new tiled interface that many found confusing and cumbersome. In another effort to bring the mobile experience to the desktop, Windows 8 featured an entirely new type of application. “Metro” or “Modern” apps as they were later renamed after a trademark infringement suit were single purpose, full-screen applications that may have been at home on a mobile device – but clearly weren’t wanted on the desktop. There were even more poor decisions and examples of bad design, but suffice it to say that Windows 8 was a disaster that Microsoft did not need.

Windows 10 came with the promise of repairing all the missteps of its predecessor. Microsoft quickly brought back the ‘Start’ menu, and many took this as an indication that they would begin listening to their users once again. Listen they did. The entire Windows 10 development process was conducted with as much transparency and user-participation as Microsoft could muster. Their newly established “Insider” program allowed interested users and developers to receive constant updates throughout the process – and most importantly, offered them the opportunity to contribute feedback and comments.

New Microsoft Windows Start Screen
The end product of all this effort saw its first public release on July 29, 2015. In the weeks leading up to this date, many existing users of Windows 7 and 8 saw the appearance of a small, white icon in their system trays – inviting them to pre-arrange their free upgrade to Windows 10. It was obviously to all that Microsoft was not taking any chances with poor adoption. They did everything they could to encourage users to take the leap into Windows 10 the moment it was released.

Installing a new operating system is always a major decision. The o/s is the underlying software upon which everything else operates and relies. Problems with the operating system, means problems with any or all of the application software installed on the PC. For any user, this can mean a huge inconvenience if the newly minted o/s doesn’t run perfectly. For business users, who rely on software applications to generate their livelihoods, o/s issues can be devastating. It’s for this reason that most businesses don’t adopt new Windows version until they’ve been in release for as long as a year. That having been said, there are always those that just can’t wait.


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