Windows 10 is currently functioning well.
Windows 10 is currently functioning well.
I've been using Windows 10 for a while now, and it's really nice. It's essentially a bridge between Windows 7 and 8. It carries the classic Windows 8 aesthetic while retaining that familiar Windows 7 vibe. I have to admit, there are some quirks—like certain app sounds that sound odd. Yeah, it's like a faint signal from a Mars rover during its Pluto transmission. It seems to point to either a hardware problem or an OS glitch. On the positive side, Cortana works well, although I can't use my microphone since it's dead. This isn't a hardware failure; it's been offline for some time. I wish there was a way to collapse Cortana completely and just show an icon. That would be great.
My system is an HP ENVY DV7 with an AMD A8 processor, 4500mhz, and 4GB of RAM. It comes with a 500GB HDD. Not ideal, but I've seen worse and owned worse before. It runs Windows 10 smoothly, and gaming on it is actually quite solid—I mainly use it for browsing and drawing on my webpage, which is pretty fun. The multitasking is impressive; everything stays organized neatly.
The tablet mode works well if you have a touchscreen, at least it's available. Now, my main complaints start here. During the initial setup, you can pick between preset options or custom settings. If you choose custom, you'll likely want to adjust some settings, as certain options might affect your personal data.
I also noticed that when you first set up Windows 10, it completely disables your passwords for "ease of access." I set a password for a reason, so it should be restored now. But I want to double-check—no one wants their 10 gaming rig crashing because of random viruses.
Background apps run without issue, but you often need to close them manually in Task Manager, which uses up a lot of memory. Overall, it's a decent OS with some early issues, but I'm hopeful for improvements. That's the main point.
In case you don't know System > Privacy > Background Apps. Put everything on OFF. They have no reason to every be run at all time. Especially the ones you don't even use anyway. (And those you do use, like say, Weather, will work just fine even if it's OFF) But yes, so far I think it's good. On my tablet (touchscreen, no keyboard or mouse), it is a LOT better than Windows 8.1, because of Tablet mode. I no longer need to press the keyboard button at the bottom of the screen to write something, the virtual keyboard now shows up automatically, as it should, this is great! (Why this was even a thing in Windows 8/8.1 is beyond me) And if I don't want to use tablet mode with everything in fullscreen, there's also a feature to make the virtual keyboard show up automatically even in Desktop mode!
Based on %75 feedback, most of my clients prefer staying on Debian, openSUSE, or CentOS rather than downgrading to Windows 10 from their current Debian 8 Jessie installation.
I really enjoy Windows 10! It has some problems, but I’m going to try fixing a few of the things you mentioned. It seems like a weak signal was coming from the Mars rover that connected to Pluto during transmission... I haven’t heard of that, but I deleted all the preinstalled apps, which might explain why I wish there was a way to collapse them and just show the icon. If that option exists, let me know. I right-clicked on the search bar and selected 'show Cortana icon'—that was my first step. Why does Windows 10 setup for the first time completely "deactivate" my passwords? It’s supposed to help with accessibility. Honestly, no, I set a password for a reason—it’s there for security. Why would it disappear? I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Every time I turn on my computer, I have to log in again. Unless you mean just after the initial upgrade? That usually happens because you need to set up a user account before applying a password. But that shouldn’t be too bothersome after you’ve changed it. This is why Windows 10 uses a lot of memory and can have leaks, possibly linked to ntoskrnl.exe and the Runtime Broker. There might be other factors involved too.
Not advised. I moved from 8.1 and went back down after just a few days.