Windows 10

2 Things...

1) I am curious why you started with a statement equivalent to "the sky is blue, you can tell by looking at it" and felt the need to post it. You realize that previous version of windows have been beta all the way through release... Windows 95, ME, Vista, and Windows 8 were beta and changed drastically long after release.
Frankly 98, XP, and 7 were refinements of their previous releases. Windows 10 seems like the same thing only this time for WIn8.

2) I am curious to see what "more" you believe Microsoft is doing and why you believe that Microsoft is going to change drastically after all these years?
I didn't see anything staggeringly different so far... and while it most certainly WILL change, it won't change nearly as much as you seem to think.
I would LOVE to be wrong here, but I think "a version of windows 8 that isn't as awful" is really all we can expect. "An updated version of Windows 7" is possible, but unlikely. "Much more than eliminating bugs" is pretty close to wishing for the Nile IMHO.

 

I downloaded and installed the Technical Preview on my Latitude E6510 yesterday and it seems to work fine so far. Curious though did anyone need to enter in a product key of some sort? I ask because a product key was displayed on the same page for downloading one of the ISOs and I do not recall having to enter it during or after installation. According to System in Control Panel my developers preview install is activated. Any ideas why a product key was given?

 

You might be right about the start page, but the jury is still out on whether that fixed it or not or if it will stay fixed.

Windows for the most part are not transparent... except under certain circumstances. Usually they maintain the Fisher Price feel and are bland single-color windows. (reminds me of the "laptop enhanced" color scheme from windows 3.1) I can't help but feel they could give us options here as the interface seems able to make them transparent. (for instance they look almost like I'd ultimately want them while tabbing between windows)

I'd really like to see the interface able to make the window itself transparent and the content not so!
The window after all is just part of the interface.. the content is what we want to see. It would also make a lot of sense as you could see windows behind a window that covers it if the windows are the same size. The taskbar works as transparent for the same reason.

To be fair to Windows 10, I have not played with modifying the default interface yet.

 

I installed it on a VHD drive and played with it.

It seems pretty zippy. Benchmarks were more or less the same between 8.1 and 10 but it boots noticeably faster and I've never seen Internet Explorer be so responsive (in fact, I just launched it on the 8.1 side and it was indeed as slow as I remember).

The start menu looks like someone decided to stick Windows Phone there... it doesn't look like it belongs. They need to give us a choice between start menu, metro, and this combo... This just looks taped together and out of place.

Its responsive but the Synaptics driver not working properly for scrolling and the screen flashing 4 times at the bootloader and 4 times when it gets into Windows is a turn off as well. I'll likely delete the VHD and remove the boot entry. That's the beauty of VHD though. Gone without a trace.

 

Because you made a similar statement that was just as obvious, equivalent to "this half-finished product seems half-finished". It seemed like you've missed that part about it being a preview not recommended for everyday use on your main computer.

You don't know what I think so don't even go there.
First of all I'm satisfied with W8, the only thing that annoys me is the desktop refresh bug but that's all (something that's actually fixed in this version of W10).
The fact that MS is putting back the Start menu is a sign of them listening. Things will be a bit different since Sinofskys departure, however, I don't expect any huge changes in Windows.
MS made a big mistake when they didn't let users choose to use the Start menu, we all know that. Personally I have no use for the Start menu or the Modern Start screen.

 

I have an issue with W10 and the NVIDIA v344.11 drivers on my ASUS UX303LN.

As soon as the driver is installed I get hangs and stutters in the GUI. Everything locks up for half a second or so when certain apps are loaded.

As soon as I remove the driver everything is smooth again.

Anyone else noticed it?

 

Yeah, the 344 drivers don't work well on my 880Ms and W10 either. I'll have to play with different versions but I'm betting that I'll have to go back to 337.

 

Why do you think 337 specifically?

I read on another forum that if you have SLI try installing the drivers in safe mode and activate SLI once you have rebooted.

This isn't related to the problem I'm experiencing though.

 

OK, quote out the part where you saw that please.

I made multiple allowances for the "preview nature" of Windows 10, but the point of my post was my initial impressions. The level of emotional defensive response to this seems unwarranted and is bordering on fanboi. There was no need to defend Windows 10 from my opinion. My impressions weren't even that negative...

I go there because I can and because its entertaining.
I also figured there has to be more to this than just an emotional response.

OK, your opinion differs from the vast majority of users, which you are entitled to, but then you follow with...

Why would someone satisfied with Windows 8 want Microsoft to listen to people who aren't satisfied with it? (and thus change it)
Is it possible your satisfaction is achieved either way? Maybe any way is fine for you? Maybe you don't even have a preference? Anything with a Microsoft sticker perhaps?

And what happened to "much more than eliminating bugs" from your previous post?

 

Haha, spot on. First windows I ever used was 95 and guess what, 2014 and we are still with a desktop, a start menu and a taskbar.

 

It was my way of pointing out that they do listen, more now than when they made W8.

My hope is that a Windows version that is much more appreciated in general would shut up whining drama queens in general all over the internet, but that's just wishful thinking.

When it comes to the Start panel, yes, Simply because I have no use for it.

Would you care to elaborate?

Hmm, I've realized that I could just as well use OS X or Linux, but since I know Windows quite well and I can still get it for free I see no reason to change. Currently I think both W7 and W8 works well for me so I don't think that's gonna happen. Anything with a MS sticker would be a stretch, I'd rather not pay for it.

I've bought a laptop once that came with Windows XP tho. My bet is that you've paid for more MS stickers than I have.

It's still there, I haven't deleted it. Haven't checked tho. By now you've realized that I wasn't replying just to you specifically, right?
Edit: I read my post again, I honstly couldn't see anything emotional about it: Link.

 

It seems the Windows Update NVIDIA driver (v340) also causes the same half second system hangs/stutters.

 

Just in case someone is interested in reading about W10: Who really knows Windows 10 Technical Preview? - Oliver's Blog - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

 

I read that blog piece by Niehus you linked to, and I found the hapless babble in there deeply, deeply depressing. That's pretty much all I am going to say about it. If people like this guy really are driving the direction Microsoft is taking with Windows 10 and beyond, then I'm done with Windows.

 

They don't listen. They react to a very poor sales result. There's a big difference. Listening would have been implementing what people asked for from day one for Windows 8.

 

Depressfull slash Histeric.

New features within Windows 8:
Internet Explorer 10 with Enhanced Protected Mode
IE10 ASLR Support for none-ASLR aware AddIns
Internet Explorer 10 64-Bit with 32-Bit Support
Fast and Fluid UI
Secure Boot
Flat Desktop Design and Improvements
Start Button replaced by link to new Start-Screen
PHA-HA-HA-HA-HA, PHA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAA!
Microft! Features?! YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!THESE ARE GIMMICKS!You lost the way how your customer thinks. If you had competitor you would become a living dead!

 

As someone who enjoys Windows 8.1, this is easy to answer. For starters, the great majority of complaints I've seen derives directly from the lack of the Start Menu and the addition of the Start Screen, along with Hot Corners, Charms, whatever.

The old Start Menu blows, simply put. I mean, it wasn't a bad design when it was launched (Windows Vista for the iteration with embedded search), but I've always found the endless stream of folders and sub-folders from which people track down their applications obnoxious. From Vista and on I've plainly used the embedded search, the rest was there just because.

Windows 8 got rid of the Start Menu and presented the Start Screen (a bold move by all means), which was ill-received by desktop users (and well, to be frank I think it works better for tablets because people there are way more used to "lose context" all the time).
This did not affect me at all, I just booted into the desktop and stood there 99% of the time. Clicking Windows button to search for an application, setting, whatever and getting results full-screen (Start Screen) or in a small box (Start Menu) is practically the same for me.

I find the new Start Menu an improvement over both last iterations so far, at least for the desktop user. You can use the Start Menu as well if you like, just change in settings. Such is the power of choice, now we can have either an improved Start Menu or a Start Screen, just need to change settings.

Also, God bless the Win+X Windows 8 Power User menu. Now that was a pretty useful addition. Windows 10 brings virtual desktops and an enhanced app viewer / snapper, which looks like it's Microsoft's take on a OSX feature; which is a good thing, if you're going to take clues from the competition at least take the good clues, and this is clearly the case here.

I don't think Microsoft is back-pedalling with these changes. This is not a return to Windows 7, it is an evolution from 8.1 with more choices and features (most of which are yet to be seen apparently).

At any rate, the main changes are probably underneath what we can see, deep in the core.

 

KernalPanic does have a point, will it be enough to satisfy 7 users while not alienating 8 users.

10 is still using the start screen of 8, just made smaller so it's not taking up the whole screen and added some of the 7 style to it. Still, plenty of time for MS to make additional changes so early days maybe.

 

I agree that there doesn't seem to be any features that would encourage large enterprises to move to 10. Most companies I work with are currently in the process of upgrading from XP to Windows 7. I would imagine they will keep Windows 7 for as long as possible. The main development in Win 8/10 is the touch facility, but the majority of business machines are not touch-based. Furthermore, laptops that are 4 years old run office applications perfectly well, and so there is no need for larger companies to spend a fortune upgrading their entire stock, and if they do a gradual replacement of machines, they'll want a common OS with their existing stock. Of course, there are always exceptions.

However, the future release of Win 10 might help Win 7 sales, as businesses could be worried that MS might stop selling Win 7 once Win 10 has been released.

 

Or, maybe they're just slow.

But seriously, I don't agree. The new Start menu may seem like backpedaling (and honestly, they don't have much choice), but I don't see how updating the Command Prompt would affect sales, they could just have used the old one. I mean, why even bother?

And I do understand now why that text I linked to got pulled, after reading more of it.

 

As of the current Technical Preview, the Touch interface and the Startscreen are largly ignored in Windows 10.

If you say "but there are live-tiles" - yes. But they have nothing to do with a touch-interface, live-tiles are just interactive icons, nothing more. Not to mention they can be removed entirely...

 

If I recall correctly, this first Technical Preview focuses more on the desktop. In future updates they'll rework the touch interface switching and charms.

I don't have a touch device to test, but I thought the Start Screen and stuff would be basically the same as in Windows 8.1 right now for that kind of devices. Only the desktop should be changed, I guess.

 

The startscreen appears to be slightly broken in Windows 10 compared to Windows 8.1 - especially since the hot-corners don´t work anymore.

You are right, the startscreen will be reworked with future updates it seems - see Continuum, which isn´t available in the Preview. The startscreen they show there is slightly different from the one available in the preview, which is nearly the same as in 8.1.

 

With Continuum what had previously been the "Metro Environment" has been abandoned entirely, and the Start Screen seems to reside on the desktop in some sense. At least that was my impression.

 

As explained in a few posts above, the start screen is what you see when you hit the windows start button, it just doesn't take up the whole display as in W8/8.1 so you can still see most of the desktop behind it. It hasn't gone, just been reconfigured.

 

I have 344.11 installed on the preview in notebooks with a 570M and 850M and not experiencing any driver issues.

Any activity where it's happening?

SSD or spinner?

Other OS on same hardware witth 344.11 OK?

 

That would confirm what I said above: "Metro" has been abandoned, and the Start Screen is integrated into the desktop environment, sort of like an oversized Start Menu.

 

We know what W10 is right now, my interest is what direction it takes in a month or two. Will they truly address the desktop user or again just retune metro? It looks like a good start but are they truly ready to embrace change?

 

I've tried 3 different NVIDIA drivers and they all cause the intermittent hanging / pauses on my ASUS UX303LN.

Really annoying and Windows is now taking to itself to automatically install v340 even after I disable the 840M and remove the driver.

 

I think Continuum is made specifically for 2-in-1 systems like the Lenovo Yoga: Windows 10: Enterprise Features & Core Experience for Businesses - YouTube

Edit: http://www.wpcentral.com/get-back-modern-start-screen-windows-10

 

How about a Windows 8.1 driver from Asus ASUS UX303LN downloads?

Did the stock graphics driver that was installed with the Preview have the issues too?

The windows/system32/driverstore/filerepository folder has 19gigs of NVIDIA inf files compared to a Windows 8.1 install 3gigs.

I have 40 entries

You can use Smart Driver Backup ( http://www.freewaregeeks.com/download/SmartDriverBackup2.12.zip) to backup current display driver to a folder, go to that folder and you will see the inf file named as system's
now you know which driver is used and you can remove all other Display drivers

Maybe all those inf files are causing issues?

Doing this is not for all to try.Be careful

 

I'm not really sure I am explaining it too well. It's not integrated into the desktop. Metro aka start screen IS the Start Menu.

Here is W8.1 with start screen size reduced.


Also able to access the other features of the start screen.


What 10 has done is added some of the menu's from 7 to the Start Screen to make it a little more like 7 and reduced it's size so it does not blot out the desktop behind it. Not a radical OS change IMHO.


FWIW I also had no problem installing 344.11 on the desktop with 10. It's an older graphics card so don't know if that makes a difference.

 

I would disagree with your statement that the Startmenu of Windows 10 is just a smaller version of the startscreen. Its rather the Windows 7 startmenu with some tiles sticked to it, which also are removable.

It also lacks features from the startscreen For instance, its impossible to group the tiles right now.

 

All good ideas. Tried them all and unfortunately experience exactly the same issue every time.

I've tried disabling the window animation and shadow effects too.

It's a very odd problem.

On a seperate note, for people with Optimus having issues with games not running on the dGPU try downgrading to Intel drivers 15.33.22.64.3621.

Supposedly that fixes Optimus.

 

Windows 10 is absolute stupidity to me. The fact they skipped the nomenclature '9' just... just... WHY?

MY OCD IS NOT PLEASED AT ALL! NOT PLEASED ONE SINGLE ATOMIC MEASUREMENT! DAMN YOU MICROSOFT!

Apart from the absurd naming scheme, then yes, I am very much looking forward to this version of Windows, as much as I like Windows 8.1. In my opinion 8.1 has vastly improved on the core mechanisms of Windows (i.e. new file transfer manager alone, but also many more core improvements such as improved performance, task manager etc.).However, it can definitely be improved by removing Metro on desktop/laptop environment. In my personal opinion, Metro is great for tablets but absolute for anything with a lack of a touchscreen.

So yes, I am all for this Windows '10' in everything but the absurd name... just call it Windows 9 for sake Microsoft! Please! For my sanity! Please! Pretty please!

... obviously somehow my OCD will have to live with the nonexistence of Windows 9...

...*sigh*

...

 

Yes.. they should have named it Batista

 

Maybe they skipped 9 cause 7 ate it?

Maybe possible issue with poorly written 3rd party programs broke cause it couldn't differentiate between Win 95, Win 98 and Win 9?

 

That's the supposition of a few different sites: When code for Windows 95 & 98 was written, it checked for "Windows 9" in order to recognize the aforementioned operating systems. So a new Windows 9 would cause the code to work improperly.

 

That's one explanation I've read, the other is that 9 is an unlucky number in many countries.
If MS skipped the internal name "Office 13" for Office 2010, then I guess it's possible that they could skip "Windows 9" as the official name for Windows Threshold.

It's still better than 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP and Vista.

 

Then just call it Windows Threshold? Or Windows IX?

 

You need to understand programmatically that it's just a Window then you would understand what I have posted.

Groups of the old W8 on W10. Maybe not made readily available due to space requirements and keeping the startmenu window relatively unobtrusive, or maybe will be added later depending on feedback. idk.


Funny how most seem to be discussing why it's called 10 rather than it's merits.

 

Widows key + C brings up charms bar if anyone is interested in it.

 

Maybe that's what MS wanted us to do. They created a distraction. Now no one is discussing how good/bad Windows 10, but instead everyone focuses the name.
You can't fool me MS!!!

Damn, that's like 100500th time I heard that one today!

 

Dang, I was really looking forward to Windows 666, but now you've crushed my dreams.
Edit: XP is a dead smiley-face with its tongue hanging out in many countries, but they didn't skip that one!

 

Was it really widespread when they released XP though, it's pretty old by now and I don't remember that one being widespread back in 2001.

 

Not really, at least around here texting and smileys weren't really a thing yet.

XP comes from "experience", as far as I know. That word was widely used by then if I recall correctly, no association to anything else in mainstream use.

Why do people care that much about Windows 10 nomenclature anyway? 10, Threshold, hell, even "biscuit" would be fine (although biscuit would probably sell more if coming from Google)

To me, Windows 8.1 is Windows 9; with some features postponed to Windows 10 release, but still.

 

Windows Biscuit.... Best I have heard yet!
Makes me want to get some biscuits and gravy and do some gaming this coming winter.

Seriously though, I hope that the next windows works the way I want without any mods.

 

Then give some feedback to MS. That's the whole idea of the preview.

 

Figured I'd install and see exactly what is what. To dual boot from Windows 7 you have to disable UEFI compatibility on my system. made a 200GB partition on the second drive and installed there. went to boot windows 7, got a needs repair disk, finally got windows 7 started by changing boot device order and then it had to chkdisk all drives. got rid of it 10x faster than I put it on the system as it came oh so close to trashing my Windows 7 install.

 

I do not recommend bare-metal installs for Win 10 unless you do not use that computer for anything but testing.

Because of the preview nature of Windows 10, Microsoft is collecting pretty much everything you do with it.
Here is a portion of the preview agreement:
*****
When you acquire, install and use the Program, Microsoft collects information about you, your devices, applications and networks, and your use of those devices, applications and networks. Examples of data we collect include your name, email address, preferences and interests; browsing, search and file history; phone call and SMS data; device configuration and sensor data; and application usage.
For example, when you install the Program, we may collect information about your device and applications and use it for purposes such as determining or improving compatibility,
·use voice input features like speech-to-text, we may collect voice information and use it for purposes such as improving speech processing,
·open a file, we may collect information about the file, the application used to open the file, and how long it takes any use it for purposes such as improving performance,
or enter text, we may collect typed characters and use them for purposes such as improving autocomplete and spellcheck features.
*****

Basically, MS has the right to collect info on ANYTHING you do in Win 10 for now. (including full browser history and keylogging)
While Microsoft the company probably doesn't care about the info in question for any reason but improving the product, some of their employees might very well have an interest.

While this HAS been overblown, it could very well cost you if you do not understand what is happening.

Read the fine print this time ladies and gents. It is important.