# I upgraded to Win-10 today **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581 "2015-07-19T04:03:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/1 "2015-07-19T04:03:53Z")
My son’s employer sponsored an upgrade fair today. Since I was visiting, I went along with him with my Surface Pro and also participated. The upgrade went smoothly, although there was a hitch: the battery has stopped working. The battery is at 84% and is neither charging nor discharging and, when I pull the plug it shuts down instantly. The helper who was there sent emails to a couple of experts and I expect an answer (which might involve servicing) on Monday. Generally, I would say that Win-10 is a bit easier to use than Win-8, but time will tell. My son works for Microsoft.:o ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/2 "2015-07-19T05:22:33Z")
This is why I let other people upgrade first. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/3 "2015-07-19T17:21:21Z")
Thanks for taking oen for the team, **Hari Seldon**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/4 "2015-07-19T21:45:58Z")
Is your Surface Pro a 1st gen or what? What software have you been able to run on it so far? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/5 "2015-07-21T09:12:02Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > there was a hitch: the battery has stopped working. The battery is neither charging nor discharging and, when I pull the plug it shuts down instantly. I expect an answer (which might involve servicing) on Monday. Your computer’s battery stopped working, and you expect to take it in for service, and probably leave it at the shop for a day or two. This is an upgrade? It sounds like a _down_grade to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/6 "2015-07-21T12:21:03Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Your computer’s battery stopped working, and you expect to take it in for service, and probably leave it at the shop for a day or two. > > This is an upgrade? It sounds like a _down_grade to me. Depends on whether or not you need a new doorstop. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/7 "2015-07-21T13:08:28Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Depends on whether or not you need a new doorstop. This is my worst fear. I have an older WIN7 tower which I prized because I hated WIN8. I’m “in line” for an update at the end of July, but I don’t know how it will go… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/8 "2015-07-21T13:45:19Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > This is my worst fear. I have an older WIN7 tower which I prized because I hated WIN8. I’m “in line” for an update at the end of July, but I don’t know how it will go… You have a year to use the free upgrade. I’m planning on waiting for the final body count. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/9 "2015-07-21T17:37:52Z")
It is absolutely not clear that the battery failure had anything to do with the upgrade since I normally used it under battery power anyway. The programs I tested were: Kedit, an editor I have been using for (literally) 30 years and it ran fine; tex, specifically pdflatex, which ran fine; TakeCommand, a command line processor that descends from 4DOS; Sumatrapdf, a pdf reader that is both smaller (grossly) and more usable than Adobe (because it allows you to recompile the file you are viewing and automatically update it). I didn’t try anything else but that would appear to test it pretty well. My son bought it for me at the MS employee store last Novermber and he will be taking it back today. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/10 "2015-07-21T23:50:45Z")
I just finally got my 81 year old mother used to using 8.1. I’m waiting for a few months to upgrade mine, and I’ll let her try mine out to see if she likes it, before I upgrade hers. If it’s similar to Win 7, I have a feeling she may like it better though. It was really tough for her to adapt to Win 8. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/11 "2015-07-23T18:22:26Z")
I have Win 7 on my desktop at work, and Win 8 on my laptop at home. Hate them both. Even Vista was better than either of them. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/12 "2015-07-23T18:58:33Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I just finally got my 81 year old mother used to using 8.1. So _that’s_ the version numbering algorithm. The version number is 1/10 of the age you’ll be when you finally give in and upgrade. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/13 "2015-07-23T21:34:28Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > So _that’s_ the version numbering algorithm. The version number is 1/10 of the age you’ll be when you finally give in and upgrade. 🙂 You’ve figured out the code. You must be silenced. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/14 "2015-07-23T23:55:19Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The programs I tested were: Kedit, an editor I have been using for (literally) 30 years and it ran fine; tex, specifically pdflatex, which ran fine; TakeCommand, a command line processor that descends from 4DOS; Sumatrapdf, a pdf reader that is both smaller (grossly) and more usable than Adobe (because it allows you to recompile the file you are viewing and automatically update it). I didn’t try anything else but that would appear to test it pretty well. Neat and thanks. You’re using some obscure stuff, there, so it’s good to hear that it’s working well. I’m looking forward to trying this for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/15 "2015-07-24T00:32:35Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Generally, I would say that Win-10 is a bit easier to use than Win-8, but time will tell. > > My son works for Microsoft.:o I’m so sorry. 😃 I’m planning to replace my ancient Vista machine with a new Win 10 machine when the dust clears. How does it compare to Win 7 or before? (I use Win 7 at work and like it.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/16 "2015-07-24T01:51:01Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > You’ve figured out the code. You must be silenced. Oh thanks, leachim, now we are all on Bill Gates hit list! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/17 "2015-07-24T03:05:24Z")
My son thinks that from now on OS upgrades will always be free. They never sold many anyway and they would like to encourage everyone to upgrade so they can stop supporting them sooner. It cost them more to continue supporting them than they made from people buying upgrades. Maybe they don’t realize that often people don’t upgrade because they don’t want to have to learn a whole bunch of new things, none of it documented. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/18 "2015-07-24T16:48:18Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My son thinks that from now on OS upgrades will always be free. They never sold many anyway and they would like to encourage everyone to upgrade so they can stop supporting them sooner. It cost them more to continue supporting them than they made from people buying upgrades. Maybe they don’t realize that often people don’t upgrade because they don’t want to have to learn a whole bunch of new things, none of it documented. I’m sure they get it because companies are the same way. IT is very reluctant to upgrade. When I worked at Intel my home computer OS was ahead of my work computer OS, and my current company is skipping Win 8 altogether. Lots of companies are. The cost of the upgrade is trivial compared to the cost of testing it on all your applications and supporting users who are forced to learn something new. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-upgraded-to-win-10-today/725581/19 "2015-07-24T18:06:59Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Maybe they don’t realize that often people don’t upgrade because they don’t want to have to learn a whole bunch of new things, none of it documented. Yes, I’m enormously unenthused to find that[updates for Windows 10 will apparently be mandatory and unstoppable.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/17/windows-10-forced-automatic-updates/) I’m not a fan of computers that can spontaneously decide that they need to update and reboot themselves at random intervals. Worse than that, if there’s anything I’ve learned from having apps on a phone, is that developers take a savage pleasure out of tracking down useful and convenient interface features and eviscerating them over the course of subsequent updates. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Law that says “Any app that can be remotely updated will become increasingly ugly, less functional, more cluttered, and harder to use as time goes by. Also ads.” With this in mind, I’m expecting Windows 10 to eventually devolve to a bunch of obscure icons, the clicking of any of which leads to: “Would you like to share this 100 page Word Document to your Twitter page now?”.