Well, it’s been a busy month for me, so I haven’t written for a while now. One of the things that kept me busy was a computer problem with my main computer and, it turned out that I had to get a replacement. So I did.

My new computer, with which I am writing this post, comes with Windows 10, the newest Windows operating system. My old computer, as well as my small backup computer, run Windows 7, which, for me, is a very good and useful operating system.

I’d heard a lot of negative views of Windows 10 but of course, you don’t really know until you’ve tried it, and my cousin, who liked Windows 7 over Vista when Windows 7 came out and suggested I install it on my computer, also likes Windows 10 and, when I used her computer on a recent visit, Windows 10 was easy to use. Plus, as it is a popular system, it is easy to get a computer repair when needed.

Now, I did do some research and talked to some computer people before I bought my new computer and they all basically said that Windows 10 is a better and more secure operating system than either Windows 7 or 8. But they did say that Windows 10 was designed with touch screen computers in mind and that it’s better to not take the free upgrade to Windows 10 on a Windows 7 or 8 computer unless it has a touchscreen, otherwise, Windows 10 can be frustrating. Also, I have gotten the impression that the upgraded versions of Windows 10 on Windows 7 and 8 computers have had more problems than the versions built-in on new computers, perhaps because the new computers were made as Windows 10 computers from the start.

My impressions? Well, I’ve only had my computer for about a week now, but I do find that Windows 10 has not been the monster its detractors claim, at least not so far. Also, the computer people I’ve talked to all said that Microsoft will address any bugs that come up with Windows 10 much faster as Windows 10 is their top baby right now, and, if Microsoft really means for Windows 10 to be its last and ultimate/permanent operating system, they’re likely to pay a lot of attention to its maintenance and workability.

I have found the touchscreen useful at times but I’ve had no problems using my trackball in most situations, and I think that it may not be as frustrating having Windows 10 on a non-touch screen computer as I was told.

Windows 10 Start Menu. 11/27/2015

The start button looks different and the start menu scrolls up when the start button is clicked on. And it includes thumbnails of different sites and features as well, which may be more familiar to those users coming from Windows 8 than to those coming from a Windows 7 computer.

Also, I do find that some programs work and look a little different on Windows 10, such as the folder icons in Windows Explorer, and importing pictures from an SD card. Some of these aspects of Windows 10 will take getting used to.

Then there’s Windows Edge, the replacement browser for Internet Explorer which was on earlier versions of Windows, and Cortana, the voice of Windows 10.

Windows Edge seems quite functional from what little I’ve used it, since I installed Google Chrome right away and use Chrome as my default browser, with Firefox as a backup. But I do understand that it is more secure and functional than the old Internet Explorer.

As for Cortana, I really haven’t tried it out yet and may take some figuring out.

One not so good feature is that, while notepad and wordpad are available on Windows 10, you have to purchase Windows Office suite, as there no longer is Office Starter, if you want to have more ability to edit documents or create Excel type spreadsheets.

However, in researching, I did learn of several free software imitations of Windows office that are just as good. One of these is Libre Office, which I’ve downloaded from the website, https://www.libreoffice.org/, and am using to write this post. And it is quite impressive so far.

If you used Photo Gallery in the past with earlier versions of Windows, you can use it with Windows 10, too, but you have to go and get it from Microsoft. But it does work with Windows 10 and is better than “Photos”, the Windows 10 default photo manager.

There’s still a lot for me to check out on this computer and with Windows 10, but so far, it’s been positive and I’m sure I’ll get used to its way, just as I did with Windows 7 when I switched over from Windows XP.

So, don’t be afraid of Windows 10.

Happy computing!

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