Thecompleteinabilityto runtheOSis more likelyonthose
machinesthatonceranWindowsXP, butit’s notexclusivelytrue
andsomethatranWindowsVistaand7 canrunintohardware-
relatedproblems.
UnlessthePCjustdoesn’t havea feature (likesufficient
memory)to runWindows10,thentheproblemis mostlively
driverrelated,becausesystemsthatrely ondriversthatwere
eitherbutcheredfromWindows 2000 or XPdriversmightwell
breakrulesthatWindows 10 appliesto its drivermodel.
If you’re unsure aboutyourPC,thebestpolicyis to swap
yourhard driveoutfora blankone,if youhaveonespare,
andtryto freshinstallWindows 10 usinga USBkeyandthe
installation.isoyoucangetfromMicrosoft.If it errorsor won’t
install,thenyoujustavoidedtrashingyourexistingsystemto
discoverthatproblem.
There is a possibilitythatit willruna freshinstallationand
notanupgrade,probablybecauseof theaforementioneddriver
issues.In thatcase,you’llbebackingupyourPCanddoinga
freshinstallation,usingtheproductkeyfromWindows7 to
activateit (hopefully).
SystemsmadebyLenovo,Dell,AcerandTo shibaall haveweb
locationswhere theylistequipmentthatthey’vemadethatis
supportedbyWindows10.If youdon’t seeyourmachineon
thelist,thenI’dbepreparedfordisappointment.A quicktrip
there mightpreventlotsof problemsandsaveyoutonsof time,
becauseevenif Windows 10 is free,thatdoesn’t guaranteeit will
workonyourcomputer.
6.MorePrivacy
Privacyhasbecomesomethingof a hotpotatoforMicrosoft,since
it startedintroducingfeatures likeCortanaandentirelyalteredthe
wayit trackscustomerswithan‘AdvertisingID’.Te chnically, that
lastfeature wasintroducedwithWindows8, butrelativelyfew
peopleknewaboutit, untilsomeonedecidedto findoutexactly
whatinformationWindows 10 wasphoninghome.
There is a fineironyto allthis,becausepreviouslyMicrosoft
rana lengthyadcampaigncriticalof Google(“You’vebeen
Scroogled”),andnowit’s doingexactlythesame,if not
arguablyworse.
Microsoft’s defenceis thatyoucanturn manyof theseprivacy
features to notallowthisinformationto beused,thoughit will
damagetheusefulnessof Cortana,if she’s notallowedto gather
intelligencefromyouremail,contactsandcalendar. However,
in therecentNovemberupgrade,Microsoftaccidentallyresetall
thesesettingsto the‘on’position,andit wasforcedto patchthat
error andretrieveusers’preferredsettingsfromthecloud,where
it keepsthemsafefor(orfrom)you.
ThosewhofindMicrosoft’s attitudeto personalprivacy
concerningwon’t beinspiredbya servicethatit addedrecently
calledDiagTrack(DiagnosticsTrackingService).Analysisof this
coderevealedthatit’s a spyware tooldevisedbyMicrosoftto grab
yourname;emailaddress;preferencesandinterests;browsing,
searchandfilehistory;andphonecallandSMSdata.
Whenthisbecamecommonknowledgeandpeoplebegan
disablingit, Microsoftrespondedbyremovingit – before
renamingit andthenreinstallingit.
If you’dlikemore control overyourpersonaldata,thenstick
withWindows7, becausewhateverMicrosoftsays,it’s playing
thesamegameas GoogleandAppleas faras yourpersonal
informationis concerned.7.TheMediaCenter
WhenMediaCenterfirstappearedin WindowsXPMCE,I thought
it wasoneof theslickestinterfacesI’deverseenona computer.
However, it remainedlargelyunchangedoverits entire lifespan,
becauseaccordingto Microsoft’s data,veryfewpeopleactually
usedit.
In 2009,theytookthepeopleresponsible(oris that‘person’?)
andputthemto dosomethingelsebutonlyendedtheavailability
of theapplicationin Windows 10 thisyear. Te chnically, it couldbe
gotwithXPMCE(MediaCenterEdition),WindowsVistaHome
PremiumandUltimateeditions,andthroughanadd-onpackto
Windows7 and8.
If youusethistoolto manageyourmediaplayback,thenyou
needto eitherfindsomethingelse,likePlex,or staywitha version
of Windowsthatsupportsit.WhatMicrosoftwantsis
in itsbest interest,and not
necessarilyidentical to the
needs of itscustomerbase