a new icon just appeared on my taskbar

so today Monday June 1st a new icon appeared on my computers taskbar. sort of a B&W version of the windows logo... hovered the mouse over it to find that it said 'Get Windows 10', guess Micro$oft wants to know how many people are going to try and crash their servers. the app schedules the computer to d/l win10 when it becomes available, note; it will be a 3gb download.
Rex

Yeah, I saw that. I don't know why they would be giving a free upgrade. I thought it odd when I have been reading about being able to get a free win 10 OS for the Raspberry Pi 2. Now they are pushing out free upgrades on desktops? Makes me wonder what they are really pushing.

However, on my computer, the little app is just asking for your e-mail and says it will e-mail you when your download is ready. So perhaps they won't be bringing down their server if they smartly distribute the e-mails.

For those that use Windows Media Center on either Win7 or Win8, don't upgrade to 10. WMC is discontinued in Windows 10. Bummer.

My local computer guru told me W10 would be free for a year. You won't be able to refer back to your old OS.
Then one day W10 won't work without input for a key purchased by only inputting your CC number.
It will cost you around $400.
I don't know this to be fact, but he is trustworthy and a 28 year vet from Army Electronics in Communication.

Several of the Microsoft "critical" updates we have been receiving lately (in the recent bunch of 21 or so updates) for win 7 and win 8 are nothing more than advertisements for win 10, that will become active in the near future, one of which you are describing Rex. Don't you just love it! :eyeroll:

Woody's Workshop said:

My local computer guru told me W10 would be free for a year. You won't be able to refer back to your old OS.
Then one day W10 won't work without input for a key purchased by only inputting your CC number.
It will cost you around $400.
I don't know this to be fact, but he is trustworthy and a 28 year vet from Army Electronics in Communication.

Click to expand...

For existing licenses of win 7 and 8 the "upgrade" to 10 will be free. No charge ever. However there have been reports of MS exploring other sales models like yearly fees. I don't think $400 would ever fly for a copy of windows though!

More discussion here:

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/wi...upgrade-matrix-which-version-you-get-for-free

I had one of the earlier versions of Windows a few years ago before getting Windows 7. Eventually, I had to get Windows 7, because MS was no longer supporting the earlier version of Windows and viruses were coming into my computer like crazy. Will the same thing happen someday with Windows 7?

aerostadt said:

I had one of the earlier versions of Windows a few years ago before getting Windows 7. Eventually, I had to get Windows 7, because MS was no longer supporting the earlier version of Windows and viruses were coming into my computer like crazy. Will the same thing happen someday with Windows 7?

Click to expand...

Yes, this will happen after January 14th, 2020.
https://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

At this point, MS will have supported Windows 7 for more than 10 years, which is quite long compared to other operating systems.

Reinhard

aerostadt said:

I had one of the earlier versions of Windows a few years ago before getting Windows 7. Eventually, I had to get Windows 7, because MS was no longer supporting the earlier version of Windows and viruses were coming into my computer like crazy. Will the same thing happen someday with Windows 7?

Click to expand...

Yes, Microsoft will provide security support for Win 7 - to a certain point


Mainstream Support is where you can call Microsoft and get support.
Extended Support is the period during which they will limit themselves to security patches. You do not want to run an OS past that date. Not unless you have about 2 million a year to spend on custom support.

There is no way MS is going to charge for Windows 10, however -> keep in mind that MS is moving towards a subscrption model. That is you pay per year to run their software. Office 365 is an example of that.

Just say no to Windows. Hoperfully it is an improvement over 8.

cwbullet said:

Just say no to Windows. Hoperfully it is an improvement over 8.

Click to expand...

I am not sure I understand all the vitriol about Windows 8. Working with it every day I find few difficulties. At least the 8.1 upgrade is very stable, and works with a wide array of my application needs. Load it on a laptop with a SSD and it loads like greased lightning.

Anybody know what Windows 10 might do to a program like RockSim?

H_Rocket said:

I am not sure I understand all the vitriol about Windows 8. Working with it every day I find few difficulties. At least the 8.1 upgrade is very stable, and works with a wide array of my application needs. Load it on a laptop with a SSD and it loads like greased lightning.

Click to expand...

To me it has to do with several areas in the system that seem to be clunky and not well thought out. They are not common sense.

cwbullet said:

To me it has to do with several areas in the system that seem to be clunky and not well thought out. They are not common sense.

Click to expand...

Hey you Luddite...

Get with the times, everyone wants their desktop PC to be laid out like a smartphone.

As a system architect, I have forced myself to use Win8.1 for about six months now. Once you break the original windows XP thought process, it does get somewhat more fluid to use. For me it was a matter of unlearning more than learning.

What terrifies me is the upcoming browser changes.

jackman said:

Anybody know what Windows 10 might do to a program like RockSim?

Click to expand...

If Apogee was smart, they would have the preview in their lab and be testing/developing against Windows10 right now. I am betting there will be compatibility issues right out of the chute.

jackman said:

Anybody know what Windows 10 might do to a program like RockSim?

Click to expand...

RockSim runs fine under Windows 10. I've been running the Win 10 previews for a few months now. None of my software has had any problems (including the finicky at the best of times music production software).

I wonder how this will effect my games(none of which are newer than 2007). my experience as a user, has been that the install/upgrade process these days are fairly painless(Xp came on 7 cds), although I have taken steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly(external hd and full backup ).
Rex

H_Rocket said:

Hey you Luddite...

Get with the times, everyone wants their desktop PC to be laid out like a smartphone.

As a system architect, I have forced myself to use Win8.1 for about six months now. Once you break the original windows XP thought process, it does get somewhat more fluid to use. For me it was a matter of unlearning more than learning.

What terrifies me is the upcoming browser changes.



If Apogee was smart, they would have the preview in their lab and be testing/developing against Windows10 right now. I am betting there will be compatibility issues right out of the chute.

Click to expand...

What if you're using a streamer?

The descent rate is greater than with a parachute? I usually just throw the PC in the compactor.

Of what do you speak?

I am curious to see how they handle multiple machines with multiple licenses connected to the same e-mail. Will it be a new key for every old key?

I am not worried about my desktop computer.

However, I am worried about the ability to go back to Win 7 or 8.1 if 10 doesn't work well on our laptops. Will the old registration key become invalid? It does make some sense to invalidate your old key from their point of view. It keeps you from updating to 10 for free and handing your old key to someone else. I am worried about the installation not working well on a laptop or that mandatory software that has to be on the laptop having conflicts and then needing to roll back to the older OS to find out oops... you key is invalid now.

Correction, if I may.
NOT everyone want's their computer to look like a smart phone.
I don't have a smart phone, and I don't want one.
A phone is a phone, a computer is a computer.
My wife uses a smart phone and can't do crap with it other than face book and email.
So she's always using mine or our son's computer.
I'm sure smart phones have their place in this world, but I would say the majority of people could do with out one.
Too many times I see someone driving and texting, looking at email or whatever, which is against the law.
If people can't obey the driving laws and smart phones, then they should not exist...period, until the laws are obeyed.
The is absolutely nothing wrong with the old tried and true drop down menu's that every learned on.
Just my opinion. If I was still on the road driving from worksite to worksite I might have gotten one to keep up with contractors emails.
But other than that, if you can take the time to text, friggin call. Text is for places like this where voice isn't possible.
It surprises me to no end how many people tell me that if they lost their smart phone they would be lost.
To me, that's like saying, "I'm brain dead and need a pocketl computer to think for me."
As for windows, I think 8.1 will be the last version I will own. There has got to be something better out there!
If not, someone could get extremely rich off making an OS that isn't so screwed up as Windows is getting.
Again, just my 2 cents.

H_Rocket said:

Hey you Luddite...

Get with the times, everyone wants their desktop PC to be laid out like a smartphone.

As a system architect, I have forced myself to use Win8.1 for about six months now. Once you break the original windows XP thought process, it does get somewhat more fluid to use. For me it was a matter of unlearning more than learning.

What terrifies me is the upcoming browser changes.



If Apogee was smart, they would have the preview in their lab and be testing/developing against Windows10 right now. I am betting there will be compatibility issues right out of the chute.

Click to expand...

Correction, if I may.
NOT everyone want's their computer to look like a smart phone.
I don't have a smart phone, and I don't want one.
A phone is a phone, a computer is a computer.
My wife uses a smart phone and can't do crap with it other than face book and email.
So she's always using mine or our son's computer.
I'm sure smart phones have their place in this world, but I would say the majority of people could do with out one.
Too many times I see someone driving and texting, looking at email or whatever, which is against the law.
If people can't obey the driving laws and smart phones, then they should not exist...period, until the laws are obeyed.
The is absolutely nothing wrong with the old tried and true drop down menu's that every learned on.
Just my opinion. If I was still on the road driving from worksite to worksite I might have gotten one to keep up with contractors emails.
But other than that, if you can take the time to text, friggin call. Text is for places like this where voice isn't possible.
It surprises me to no end how many people tell me that if they lost their smart phone they would be lost.
To me, that's like saying, "I'm brain dead and need a pocketl computer to think for me."
As for windows, I think 8.1 will be the last version I will own. There has got to be something better out there!
If not, someone could get extremely rich off making an OS that isn't so screwed up as Windows is getting.
Again, just my 2 cents.

Woody

Sit back, take a mellow tab, and relax. It was a freaking ironic comment.

Woody's Workshop said:

My local computer guru told me W10 would be free for a year. You won't be able to refer back to your old OS.
Then one day W10 won't work without input for a key purchased by only inputting your CC number.
It will cost you around $400.
I don't know this to be fact, but he is trustworthy and a 28 year vet from Army Electronics in Communication.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I wouldn't trust him anymore. If you upgrade within the first year from Win7 or above, Win10 is completely free, period. If you wait to upgrade until after the year period, however, it will cost around $120 ($200 for the Pro version, which almost no one should need). And if you're building your own system and need a fresh install of Win10, you'll have to buy it.

As mentioned earlier, if you depend on Windows Media Center (like I do on my desktop machine, which I use as a DVR to record over-the-air stations), DO NOT UPGRADE, at least until you can find the same functionality elsewhere.



https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/1/8701145/windows-10-price-119

H_Rocket said:

Woody

Sit back, take a mellow tab, and relax. It was a freaking ironic comment.

Click to expand...

I'm mellow, just my opinion.
Change is good, if it's better.
Not good, if it's just for profit.

Woody's Workshop said:

I'm mellow, just my opinion.
Change is good, if it's better.
Not good, if it's just for profit.

Click to expand...

Define better.

The utility of computers is shifting from a sit at your desk and play solitaire world to a more mobility oriented work flow. Microsoft is trying to adapt to that (and really not doing the best job - IMHO) . However - they are looking towards the global scale and a much younger demographic. You think unlearning years of Windows 95 OI is hard? Try doing it in a secure corporate environment. As much as I dislike it, if we are going to continue using computers, adaptation to evolving technology is necessary. We are now really in the the world of "Are you smarter that a fifth grader." I watch young people pick thes new interfaces up and use them with almost zero learning curve. Those of us who need to unlearn old methods are the ones at a disadvantage. To the younger folk, these new interfaces actually are intuitive.

Your Army vet buddy is likely talking about Office365.

H_Rocket said:

Define better.

The utility of computers is shifting from a sit at your desk and play solitaire world to a more mobility oriented work flow. Microsoft is trying to adapt to that (and really not doing the best job - IMHO) . However - they are looking towards the global scale and a much younger demographic. You think unlearning years of Windows 95 OI is hard? Try doing it in a secure corporate environment. As much as I dislike it, if we are going to continue using computers, adaptation to evolving technology is necessary. We are now really in the the world of "Are you smarter that a fifth grader." I watch young people pick thes new interfaces up and use them with almost zero learning curve. Those of us who need to unlearn old methods are the ones at a disadvantage. To the younger folk, these new interfaces actually are intuitive.

Your Army vet buddy is likely talking about Office365.

Click to expand...

Even Office 365 is only $99 a year and installable on five machines. If you want Office old-school (no subscription, you run it as long as you want), yes, that's $400.

I'm no spring chicken, but it took me only a couple of hours to 'get' the Windows 8 touch interface. But, yes, for the first fifteen minutes, I was really baffled, even though I had read Microsoft's developer marketing about it for months prior. And I had had an iPhone since 2008.

Start learning Linux. I started in 1994 and rarely have to go to a Windows machine now except rarely to update firmware sometimes. Get an old machine and start dinking with different flavors until you find one you like. Push comes to shove, you can use Vbox to run an XP client for some of the older software.
Rocksim will run in a client or with work, WINE will run it. Burnsim too. Kurt

Didn't mean to start a debate!
Just my opinions.
I base it on this;
Years ago employers use to take care of their employees, ones that stayed with them for years.
Now we are just a throw away work force. Just a number in one way or the other.
Why pay this old fart, when we can have 2 young college idiots for the same price?
I'm a victom of this. And it isn't what America is suppose to be all about.
It's a race to the bottom. Whom can make it faster and cheaper to make the company the most money.
So they can buy politicians so they will pass more laws to take more American jobs away and feed the political machine.
The touch screens are fine for 3D CAD and design, but not for the every day mom n pop who just want to get pics of their grand kids.
Some things should stay the same while others NEED to move on.
Again, it's just MHO.

I have W7 on my home PC, but am still using XP at work. And, believe or not, I still get updates, so....... I like XP, probably their best ever OS, I like 7, I'm used to it, not really looking to change. What's the old adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's probably too simple......