Microsoft Gives Early Look at Windows 10 Featuring Windows 7 Elements, Broad Adaptability

[ArtOfWarfare]

Within a few week of this being released, Windows 10 will have more users than OSX.

I imagine the adoption rates will be similar to what they were for Windows 7. It took about 20 weeks for Windows 7 to be installed on 10% of computers, so I think in mid-2016, 10% of computers will be running Windows 10. Meanwhile, somewhere around 14% of them will be running some version of OS X, so it'll take until sometime in the later half of 2016 for Windows 10 to overtake OS X.

 

[2984839]

Windows 7, as great as it is, still suffers from the *need* to have anti-virus, anti-malware. I know. I know. OS X has seen its small share of trojans but, as a longtime user, I've never experienced a problem on Mac. Ever. And I've been to some seedy sites.

Also, many Windows users on MacRumors claim to have never gotten a virus and use nothing. That's HARD to believe.

Now, compare that to Windows 7 Professional running enterprise level Norton's which got malware from a website. This isn't some random anecdote (well, to *you* it is), but it happened to me personally at my last job. The website managed to push something to the computer and then the malware and Norton's kept canceling each other out and, by their very nature, auto-started. It was basically fighting with itself.

The admin said, "When enterprise level antivirus gets beaten, there's no sense in trying to clean the computer. We're better off reinstalling Windows."

I've had to reinstall the Mac OS less times since 1988, than many Windows users in a 2-3 year period. That's a sad fact.

So, as much as I like Windows 7 and run it in VirtualBox, there's nothing you can tell me about its security or stability (registry nonsense that still happens, like corrupt profiles) that tells me it's better than OS X. Windows wins on games... and that's it.

If you're a careful user and use a fully updated browser (that isn't IE) with some kind of script blocker, you don't need AV on Windows. Closing open ports is good too if you are on a larger intranet. I have never had a virus on Windows with this method and have never used AV. The overwhelming majority of people who get viruses click on sketchy links in emails or browse to questionable sites using IE.

 

[deputy_doofy]

On Windows 10 vs Mac OS X: Welcome to 2007, Microsoft.
On iPhone 6 vs Nexus 4: Welcome to 2012, Apple.

http://taketotask.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/welcome-to-2012/

It's so not "welcome to 2012, Apple" with the iPhone 6, unless "big screens" are an "innovation" Apple *couldn't* do. The Nexus 4 hasn't EVEN made it 2012 for security, nor 2013 with CPU.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Nope. They use it for their databases which they have not killed as well.

Is it still available free?

My only personal experience has been as the owner of a Sun server. Pre-Oracle and all updates for the server were free and available on an open website. Any updates or drivers, etc, including service manuals... Post-Oracle and you would think they were the plans for stealing the crown jewels (a hysterical overstatement) by the way they guard them. You have to have a valid service/maintenance contract to get them. Quite a change from the 'Sun way'. Heck, we did a 'try before you buy' on this server, and ended up having a power supply issue, and they sent two power supplies, and Sun didn't want the unused one back. We also ended up with two DVD drives somehow (one swapped a defective drive). We had nearly a spares kit for that server. It's to bad they didn't spin the server hardware line to Apple or someone else that could handle it...

But anyway...

 

[roadbloc]

Apple's had multiple desktops (Spaces) back in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Welcome, Windows users, to 2007.

Multiple desktops (or Spaces) have been an add on for Windows since Windows XP. Its only now we approach to Windows 10 Microsoft think it worthwhile to actually integrate it into the OS.

So sorry to piss on your fire and all, but Windows actually had them before OS X.

 

[bretm]

Well Windows did copy Mac in the mid-80's so it's relevant

Mid 90s. Geez Apple barely even had a functional Mac in 1984. Early attempts at a copycat interface by windows was in early 90s. Then they were finally sued in 95 with Windows95.

 

[aggiesrwe03]

Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon....

 

[bawbac]

I imagine the adoption rates will be similar to what they were for Windows 7. It took about 20 weeks for Windows 7 to be installed on 10% of computers, so I think in mid-2016, 10% of computers will be running Windows 10. Meanwhile, somewhere around 14% of them will be running some version of OS X, so it'll take until sometime in the later half of 2016 for Windows 10 to overtake OS X.

Well, Apple gets $0 for their 14% OS share of computers while MS gets billions.

It may take a few years but when you're getting paid for each OS install, I'm sure MS doesn't mind waiting for the cash to flow in a steady stream instead of a surge that goes ways.

Available on October 22, 2009
In just six months, over 100 million copies had been sold worldwide, increasing to over 630 million licenses by July 2012, and a market share of 50.06% as of May 2014 according to Net Applications, making it the most widely used version of Windows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

 

[deputy_doofy]

If you're a careful user and use a fully updated browser (that isn't IE) with some kind of script blocker, you don't need AV on Windows. Closing open ports is good too if you are on a larger intranet. I have never had a virus on Windows with this method and have never used AV. The overwhelming majority of people who get viruses click on sketchy links in emails or browse to questionable sites using IE.

I don't think it's impossible, but close.

Telling me North Philly is safe as long as I don't make any eye contact, yet avoid not making any eye contact at all, lest they see fear and attack me anyway... and I should make sure I have a gun just in case....

Yeah, no thanks. That's why Windows will never be my choice at home for casual use. Too many safeguards required and that *still* doesn't guarantee no infection. Just reduces it.

I know there's the song of "but Macs get infected, too," but I've never had that problem and I don't play it safe.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Within a few week of this being released, Windows 10 will have more users than OSX.

Apple would love to be in this position.

I'd like Apple to be in this position but windows is still alive and isn't going anywhere - no matter how many people on these forums predict the demise of Microsoft!

No they wouldn't. Microsoft makes the bulk of their money in enterprise-application software and services. Not in desktop operating systems. With the shift of going mobile and less desktops this is also more apparent. Apple makes most of its money in hardware not software.

 

[macpeach55]

If you need to explain it, it's not a joke! Geez, the English have no humor.

Gudi, Gudi, Gudi, can you so easily dismiss my gem of a joke earlier in this thread?
I give it you again, so you might see that all British Humour did not stop with Monty Python:-

... Obviously Microsoft is being secretly run by Ms. Uumellmahaye from the Movie "The Man with Two Brains"

Anne Uumellmahaye: [counting in a neurological test after Delores placed the brain in an oven to boil] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, ten.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: You. You cooked her nines! Out! Out of my house! Out of my life!

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Well, Apple gets $0 for their 14% OS share of computers while MS gets billions.

It may take a few years but when you're getting paid for each OS install, I'm sure MS doesn't mind waiting for the cash to flow in a steady stream instead of a surge that goes ways.

Actually, you have that perfectly backwards. Windows 10 is free and Microsoft doesn't make hardware, which means Microsoft won't directly be making money off of Windows 10. Meanwhile, Apple sells Macs, which are legally the only computers which can run OS X, which means every percentage point that OS X has represents a sale of a Mac (pretty much - I imagine Hackintoshs are so rare as to not be worth factoring in. I've heard from a few people who attempted to make one, but I've never heard about actually working Hackintoshs in person. I have heard about a few online, but there's always caveats about parts that don't work. So I imagine Linux has a far higher share than Hackintoshes, and Linux's share is so small it's not generally considered.)

Microsoft has a variety of indirect ways of making money that I imagine they'll employ for Windows 10 (IE, selling support, selling apps, both of which are revenue sources that Apple has on top of what they get just from selling Macs.)

 

[Tech198]

i only watched the first 30-seconds and was board already.. Someone give this guy a donut.

Its not that interesting that MS is playing catch-up with multiple desktops..

This is one area i can gladly say "took ya time" ..... Apple does it too, so both are to blame for each other's lack of features.

 

[jordanm86]

Vista and 8 have been by far my favourite OSes on that side. 2000 was great at the time also, but lacked a lot of functionality. Vista was stylish and fast, while retaining the XP-style taskbar that was still so functional back then. 7 tried to do too much with transparency and forgot about various important things like consistency around the place. 8 stripped everything back, got rid of the rubbish Windows Live style apps and instead included streamlined 'modern' apps with such small feature sets that they just allowed one to get the job done.

10 looks like it is trying to coax those that feared 8 in by giving them a bit more 7 love. I tend to agree with the view that 8's more aggressive intro to 'modern apps' was necessary in order to get people to even vaguely care about that ecosystem, which they needed to push in order to have their own curated store - it is only a shame they did such an awful curation job with it in 8. However, now that people are at least used to having the modern interface around, we can go back to them giving more options. Charms if you want them, start screen if you want it, and so on. Otherwise, 10 does seem to be doing remarkably little in terms of going forwards!

95 and 98 were pretty stable too

 

[Espeonia]

Well, Apple gets $0 for their 14% OS share of computers while MS gets billions.

Apple gets their market share from Macs that they build and sell. 100% of the revenue goes to them whenever they sell a Mac in an Apple store. They are essentially subsidizing the cost of the OS in there, somewhere.

i only watched the first 30-seconds and was board already.. Someone give this guy a donut.

Its not that interesting that MS is playing catch-up with multiple desktops..

This is one area i can gladly say "took ya time" ..... Apple does it too, so both are to blame for each other's lack of features.

It has been mentioned before that MS isn't rally playing catch-up with multiple desktops; they really got there first and didn't implement it by default.

 

[haravikk]

Are they just skipping 9?

Yep. It seems they're aware of the reputation that all even numbered Windows releases should be skipped, and have decided to solve the problem not by working to make a good release now and another good release later, but by cheating and changing the number to skip ahead; truly brilliant ability to miss the point on Microsoft's behalf.

I dunno, it's a really stupid thing; they claim they wanted to go for "Windows One" to match other branding, but that they can't because Bill Gates already created that one (the anecdote was ****ing hilarious by the way), but that makes no sense as Bill Gates created "Windows" or "Windows 1", and in terms of branding "Windows One" isn't the same thing. Besides which they seemed to have no trouble with naming their games consoles chronologically as XBox -> XBox 360 -> XBox One.

So really I'd rather they'd named it Windows One, as it'd make more sense than just skipping 9 for no reason at all.


Mini-rant on that over, it looks like Windows 10 is shaping up to be the same kind of release that Windows 7 was to Windows Vista; in other words a great big question mark over "why didn't you do it this way in the first place?". I would have thought that literally anyone could have told Microsoft that Windows 8 wasn't going to work as-is, and a hybrid Start Menu, along with Metro apps in windows were extremely obvious ways to make it work for everyone, but apparently Microsoft is really gifted at finding people that won't challenge higher ups who don't really know anything about their target markets. In fact, all through the beta/preview/leaked releases Windows 8 was being panned for its awkward usability, yet Microsoft did nothing to meaningfully correct it, that is until now that businesses and users have totally failed to switch.

Still, it'll be nice to finally be able to get the Windows 8 underlying technologies, but with Windows 7 usability. I do really wish they'd finally do something about desktop and quick-launch shortcuts though; every bloody installer tries to recreate them (or just does it regardless, Apple is guilty of this actually) and it's horrific. If you let every installer create a desktop shortcut then you may as well not have a desktop. Old style installers, dll hell and registry corruption would also nice to see banished, but my prediction is that we're stuck with those for at least fifty more years.

In fact, I recently tried ElementaryOS; it's a pretty OS X like Linux distro with a lot of great features of its own, one of which is a total lack of a desktop folder! You can still have a background image, but you can't put icons on the desktop, it's total genius. Might sound like a silly issue, but I've been dealing with messy desktops (not just my own, as I've gotten quite tidy over the years) since Windows 95 and Mac OS 7! Maybe it's just a pet peeve, but I want an end to it!

 

[Darkrider]

Rumor is the reason they named it windows 10 is because this is going to be the last big windows release and they are going to start doing smaller os upgrades like they did with 8 and 8.1. So we will being seeing 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 and so on......

MMMM is it me or does that sound almost exactly like another company in the tech world?

 

[i.mac]

do they think 10 sounds cooler than 9 or is it because 9 (?) is bad luck in some asian cultures

edit: or was it 4? then nvm

None of the above. 'Ten' invokes thoughts of Mac os X. Copy apple as they have always done.

 

[2984839]

Rumor is the reason they named it windows 10 is because this is going to be the last big windows release and they are going to start doing smaller os upgrades like they did with 8 and 8.1. So we will being seeing 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 and so on......

MMMM is it me or does that sound almost exactly like another company in the tech world?

Are you really trying to suggest that Microsoft is copying Apple's naming convention? This naming system has been in use by Unix like systems since the 70s.

 

[cammyg123]

Looks neat, glad the start menu is back.

 

[bawbac]

Actually, you have that perfectly backwards. Windows 10 is free and Microsoft doesn't make hardware, which means Microsoft won't directly be making money off of Windows 10. Meanwhile, Apple sells Macs, which are legally the only computers which can run OS X, which means every percentage point that OS X has represents a sale of a Mac (pretty much - I imagine Hackintoshs are so rare as to not be worth factoring in. I've heard from a few people who attempted to make one, but I've never heard about actually working Hackintoshs in person. I have heard about a few online, but there's always caveats about parts that don't work. So I imagine Linux has a far higher share than Hackintoshes, and Linux's share is so small it's not generally considered.)

Microsoft has a variety of indirect ways of making money that I imagine they'll employ for Windows 10 (IE, selling support, selling apps, both of which are revenue sources that Apple has on top of what they get just from selling Macs.)

Windows 10 free?
LOL

If you want beta or when released, MS is thinking about letting Windows 8/8.1 customer have it for free.

Otherwise, MS is going to get paid for each license they sell.

 

[alexrmc92]

Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been, and i would imagine Windows 10 will do the same for Windows 8. This whole video just showcases that Microsoft acknowledged that Windows 8 was a mess and is now trying to fix it.

I work in IT for a living, and everyone i know in the industry has avoided Windows 8 like the plague. It's not that it's a buggy OS like Windows ME, because it does work. We just don't have the staff to handle every single user calling in about how the new interface works. Not to mention all of the compatibility problems it has with 32-bit SQL applications. They even changed the entire programming API making porting applications to back to Windows 7 a bitch. Of course, the old API still works fine. They wonder why their app store is lacking, what programmer is going to write an entire application in the new API when the old one works fine and has a bigger market share.

Maybe one day i can convince the higher up to move to unix/linux/BSD servers and Mac OS clients. One can dream i suppose.

In fact, I recently tried ElementaryOS; it's a pretty OS X like Linux distro with a lot of great features of its own, one of which is a total lack of a desktop folder! You can still have a background image, but you can't put icons on the desktop, it's total genius. Might sound like a silly issue, but I've been dealing with messy desktops (not just my own, as I've gotten quite tidy over the years) since Windows 95 and Mac OS 7! Maybe it's just a pet peeve, but I want an end to it!

Some people don't realize how much rendering desktop icons can actually reduce system performance. I remember doing a mail migration a few months back and accidentally moved 18,000 individually filed emails to the desktop of my Mac Pro. It basically made the entire system unusable, i had to go into single user mode to move them to another folder.

Of course that's an pretty extreme case.

 

[matt9013]

Haven't used a Windows OS since Windows XP but gotta say Windows 10 looks cool. Won't be getting a Windows machine ever again but gotta admit 10 looks nice.

 

[jgibson24]

Multiple desktops... like... the feature Mac OSX has had for years? And all of the great new improvements are just normal old features they brought back. Fullscreen apps open the same way desktop apps do? Woah. Revolutionary.

How do PC users not recognize how far ahead of windows OSX is?

Multiple desktops has been a "hidden" feature in windows for years. Apparently now they are thinking that it's finally time to make it disoverable / used.

I love OSX and do think it's superior but I get tired of <<insert OS here>> had <<X feature>> first as I want vendors whether Microsoft or Apple or anyone else to see good features offered in other OS's and implement them. And it's not like Apple hasn't done its fair share of embracing and extending of features from other OSs.

 

[antonis]

It's especially hard when you have kept the same consistent features of the OS for decades, and then overnight throw your users into the caldron of whatever Windows 8 was.

It also helps 'penetration' when the leaders of the project all 'leave' the company...

I can see that penetration jokes are going to be popular again...

The change from W7 to W8 was indeed very sudden, especially when you think how static was the UI up until then. This lack of consistency is typical for Microsoft. However, although clumsy, W8 was a step towards the right direction.

But now they chose not to support this decision, and move back a bit. And in an even more clumsy pattern. I mean, this abominable start menu of W10 doesn't remind me either of W7 or W8 UI. It's just...meh.