(Itching on upgrading your PC (or Mac), but don’t know how? CLICK HERE for a step-by-step guide from Microsoft. )
The modern era of computing is filled with so many choices: we have smartphones, phablets, small and large tablets, laptops, and desktops. Several try to fit many different shoes, but often fail at filling all their roles. Microsoft promises that Windows 10 will be their ultimate convergence release, bridging the gap between tablet, laptop, and desktop (and phone in the near future). What better device to test this on than the Surface 3, a device that already bridges the gap between laptop and tablet? So I decided to take the plunge on my Surface to see what Windows 10 has in store for the tech world.
Initial Setup and Impressions
My path to Windows 10 was initially very smooth. Signing up for the Windows Insider Program was just a click away. I simply installed a key that allowed me access to Windows 10 Technical Preview. Many updates later, I was finally able to download Windows 10, which was a huge install. The whole process took several hours, not something gingerly done on your morning commute. After the first bootup of Windows 10, I noticed severe slowdowns and keyboard issues. Not a good first impression, but it was an early Beta version. Frustrated, I decided to reinstall it with a new version. The difference was night and day. Boot times went from slow as molasses to speedy, with applications now working flawlessly. Obviously, Microsoft is doing a lot of work quickly to optimize Windows 10, and it shows given the boost in performance in just a few updates.
Smooth Transition from Laptop to Tablet
My first test was to see how Windows 10 worked on different device formats. Transitioning to the Surface 3 was easy. Flip the stand, and viola! It immediately asks me to change to ‘Laptop Mode’. Once selected, it remembers whenever I flip the stand in and out. Flip the stand back, and it transitions back to tablet mode, which has been streamlined for ‘fatty finger syndrome’. Small icons and the desktop are replaced with a full-screen start menu designed for touch. Plugging it into my 4K monitor, it automatically goes back to laptop, sporting the huge 4K resolution. An extremely fluid experience leaves little thinking to the user.
As I settled into using the Surface 3,, the genius of Windows 10 became apparent. It’s the perfect melding of laptop functionality with tablet sensibilities and ease-of-use. The desktop transformed to a smaller, but familiar format. Gone is the full-screen start menu that became a hindrance to functionality in Windows 8. Instead, you are greeted to a familiar looking start menu à la Windows 7, where your options are all available from the Windows icon (or physical button). Touch Apps are no longer full-screen, but rather open in their own Window that can be easily minimized or closed altogether. The experience is designed with hybrid touchscreen laptops in mind, as the start screen brings to life my apps without intruding into my work. Sliding the left hand side of the screen brings out all my running applications, making multitasking a breeze. Meanwhile, swiping the right edge brings out all my notifications and quick toggles.
General Use
During heavy use, the software improvements truly bring Windows 10 to its full potential. Search has been vastly improved from Windows 8. Results come in almost instantaneously, and Windows seems to know exactly what I’m looking for before typing a few letters (sometimes before I do). I now seldom navigate using conventional methods, since Search is both quicker and easier.
Gone is Internet Explorer, and now replaced with a much speedier and modern Microsoft Edge. The new browser is extremely fast and fluid, taking little time to load up complex pages. Its been so reliable that I have yet to even bother trying out Google Chrome or Firefox on my Surface. Edge works seamlessly with the Surface 3, allowing me to save pages and take notes on them using my Surface Pen without the need of any external applications. Its become an extremely productive tool, where I can write out critiques and notes of blog posts directly on the browser.
The Desktop Experience
The real strength of Windows 10 is in the desktop experience. Borrowing from Linux and Mac OS, Microsoft has introduced multi-desktop views, where you can utilize multiple desktops to distribute your workflow more evenly. For instance, one Window can be used for email, another for primary functionality, and another for entertainment purposes. Integration between apps in your window and multi-windows is a breeze, where the top of the screen is your current screen’s apps, and the bottom your multi-screen.
Tablets: A Work-In-Progress Masterpiece
Microsoft fine-tuned Windows 8 for tablets to the chagrin of everyone else (with very polarized opinions on either side)as it had a high learning curve for even tablet users. To address this, Windows 10 simplified the tablet experience further. The start screen is full-sized, and the desktop and file explorer are hidden away. It’s a much less distracting experience, with Search being heavily used and encouraged to navigate various files and programs. Multitasking is a clutter-free affair free of small buttons and icons, as swiping the left side of the screen brings all your running applications (including legacy ones). The one side effect of making Windows so usable for tablets is a slightly over-simplified experience. The loss of access to File Explorer feels occasionally crippling, since it is still essential to Windows.
There are also some bugs and issues I have encountered that have hindered the experience. For instance, the virtual keyboard did not work for applications using core Windows apps (non-touch), forcing me to use the keyboard dock on my Surface for Word. Getting to your applications without Search or being pinned manually is a multi-step affair, where a small icon on the left corner of the screen brings up all your apps. On top of that, the icons for your applications are far too small for touch-friendly operation, relying instead on my Surface Pen far too many times to reliably click on applications. Luckily, Microsoft is planning to address the issues regarding the usability of tablets on Windows 10.
One issue that has hurt productivity is battery life, which has been drastically reduced from switching to Windows 10, sometimes as much as half. Battery drain is noticeable in standby where Windows 8.1 would barely sip on it for hours. Luckily, Microsoft has discovered the battery bugs, and announced updates that will roll out on launch day.
Conclusion
I’ve grown very fond of my Windows 10 experience, despite some roadblocks along the way, especially on my Surface. No longer do we need several computers to do all our daily tasks, or are burdened by transferring files to several computers. Want to decode your video on a large display? Hook your Surface up to your monitor, or purchase a desktop dock (sold separately). Seamlessly switching from tablet to laptop is an eye-opener, truly revolutionizing the 2-in-1 concept.
As a tech fiend, I own many gadgets and electronic devices. In the picture above, there’s a Macbook Pro, a Macbook (older), iPad 4, Nexus 7, Acer c720 Chromebook (running Linux), XPS m1330, and a Palm m105 (yes, I still occasionally pop some batteries in it). It’s a long evolutionary road of tech. Out of all of these gizmos, I’ve never been able to rely solely on one, instead opting to use a hodgepodge of several in conjunction with a stalwart PC for most of my heavy work–all the while hating being chained to a monitor because it kills my neck. I honestly never touched any of these or my PC when using Windows 10 on my Surface.
I have been especially impressed with how fast Windows 10 has been on my Surface. I never felt bogged down in any of the tasks I used it for; whether multitasking several applications while watching Netflix, compiling basic PHP code in Eclipse, editing photos in Photoshop, or running Excel spreadsheets. I even ran 4K content to my monitor without any issues. Granted, I never did anything too intensive like video encoding, but it speaks to how efficient Windows 10 is that I’m able to do all this on a relatively lightweight computer with just 2GB of RAM.
It’s still not perfect, and Microsoft has stated several updates to fix several bugs that have mired the experience. However, its easily apparent after these past two weeks that Windows 10 represents a quantum shift in the way we use computers. It’s the Swiss Army knife of operating systems where all of your devices are seamlessly integrated together. In a way, Microsoft has come full circle since the introduction of the original Windows.
After all, that’s why we fell in love with the operating system in the first place.
Pre-order Windows 10 here.
Order the Surface 3 with Windows 10 here.
If you are upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 click here for Microsoft’s guide.
Yes, you can upgrade your Mac to Windows 10! Unfortunately, it is not a free upgrade, except if you already have Windows 7 or 8 on your Mac (for those that do, the guide above should do the trick).
You can obtain a license here… Make sure you have enough hard drive space, as the install requires at least 30GB of space, and the more the merrier!
Macs can install Windows 10 using Apple’s Boot Camp. Before you begin, check here to see if your Mac is compatible to run Windows 8, as the installation is the same. Most modern Macs are compatible with the latest Boot Camp. You might need to install the latest Boot Camp, which will be listed under a number. Click that link and follow the install instructions.
Boot Camp is very simple, but requires an external disk drive for the installation. Once you have the disk, simply follow the prompts to install. If you have any issues, simply follow here for Apple’s easy-to-install guide.
