Windows-10-wallpapers-in-4K

So Windows 10 launched last week and as it turns out, it’s a massive hit, with 14m people downloaded it within 24 hours, partly because it is free. But with this post, I wanted it to be part review, part information on why Windows 10 is good for Microsoft.

10, 9, 8…

So Windows 10 is actually going to be the last version of Windows, which is a surprise, but it makes sense as obviously changing it doesn’t work very well for Microsoft. But don’t forget, when Windows 8 launched back in 2012 the mobile landscape was a bit different, the iPad was storming through sales numbers and smashing targets and as it looked, the laptop was dead and the tablet idea was the future. So with Windows 8 Microsoft took a big bet, going all in on a touch based operating system designed primarily for tablets and effectively pushing desktops to the side. But that didn’t bode well with customers as a lot of people just don’t see Windows belonging on a touch based device, to the majority it lives on a desktop or laptop device and if they wanted a tablet, they would by an iPad.

Windows 10 really is something good and different but yet familiar, as it shares DNA from Windows 7 and Windows 8 and combines them to make a very good operating system. Microsoft pulled this off by actually listening to users and with the Insider Preview which lets early adopters use and test it and then provide feedback – that is what has made Windows 10 what it is.

Start

One of the big new features is the return of the start menu which was greatly missed among users. From my opinion I never missed the start menu, well I haven’t used Windows 8 much at all – but the times I have it’s very usable as many people criticise it quite a lot but coming from Windows 7 I can see how people would get confused, as it has a confused mess of different UI styles and apps, the start menu and the desktop.

The Windows 10 Start menu is back!
The Windows 10 Start menu is back!

The first Windows computer I had was a Windows Vista laptop, at the time it was fantastic but then I moved to a iMac, but I have still used Windows computers, just to keep seeing what it has to offer. I have also used Windows 7 a lot but I haven’t used Windows 8 as much. But Windows 10 is like Windows 7 in the way it works, but it just feels a lot more modern as I haven’t always been a fan of the “glassy” effect of the start menu and taskbar, but Windows 10 brings the aero theme back with a modern twist.

The old Windows Vista laptop I used to have
The old Windows Vista laptop I used to have

This is good for Microsoft

Apart from being free and user friendly – which is good for the consumer, Windows 10 is so good for Microsoft, it has helped push the company into positive attention again and almost force a executive shift around. With Satya Nadella leading the ship, Microsoft has transformed from the cheesy brand it once was when Steve Ballmer was in charge and now it is actually cool again, the company is making good hardware and software with the Xbox One, the Surface line and Windows 10, all three are of very high standard.

Surface Pro 3
Surface Pro 3

Again, personally I never used to pay attention to what Microsoft were actually doing, I wasn’t bothered because it wasn’t interesting. Windows 7 was just something you had to use or used and you never questioned it and Office was terrible but again, something that was just ‘used.’ – Surprisingly, as I co-own Alex and Ed Gaming, but I was never bothered much about the Xbox 360, because it was mediocre, in my opinion, but with the new hardware and software that Microsoft has been making recently – I have taken an interest in the company again and I don’t think it is just me who this is happening to.

A year after the Xbox One launched – I bought one because the hardware was fantastic and it showed promise, I jumped on the Windows 10 bandwagon and so did a million or so other people because it is genuinely exciting and what Microsoft is basing themselves on for the future.

Growth

Within 24 hours, Windows 10 saw a huge adoption rate with 14 million people downloading it, for Microsoft this is unheard of. One reason is because it is free and another is because it is actually good.

8, 9, 10…

We have a way to go with Windows 10, as more and more people use it, send feedback and report bugs so it will get better and more stable and just because this is going to be the last version of Windows, it doest mean Microsoft is making it and then leaving it – new features will be added every month as well as so many updates.

In the end, as a Mac user I am really impressed with Windows 10 and I am using every day. Stay tuned for the full review.