Windows users today are facing a dilemma. Should they upgrade to Windows 10, or should they continue to use Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, with which they are very comfortable with. The issue compounds since Microsoft has now started aggressively pushing the Windows 10 upgrade to all users of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.
Microsoft has said that Windows 10 will be the last operating system from their stables. So what does this mean? It simply means that the version number will not change, but Microsoft will continue to add features to Windows 10, keeping the version number same. Moving forward, Microsoft will adopt the SaaS or Software as a Service model for Windows 10.
Microsoft now wants to get all Windows users on the same basic Windows version and that is Windows 10 - as a result of which it is offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade till July 29 2016, to users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 by 2020 and for Windows 8.1 by 2023, and so it does prima facie make sense to grab the free upgrade and hop on to the Windows 10 band wagon. But is the decision so simple?
If one were to look at the users who upgraded to Windows 10, you will find while that most are very happy with the upgrade, some of them have been facing problems of varying degrees. Moreover there are issues being raised the Windows 10 compromises with user's privacy.
We decided to ask Anand Khanse, a 10-time Microsoft MVP and a Windows Expert and this is what he had to say:
“At some point, you will either have to upgrade to Windows 10 if you want to continue to stick with the Windows ecosystem, or you will have to shift to Mac OSX or a Linux distro. If you are planning to stick with Windows, then the time to upgrade is now as Microsoft appears to have ironed out almost all the irritants which some users who upgraded faced. The sooner you upgrade to Windows 10, you sooner you will learn to live with the operating system.
It is true that some users have faced problems after upgrading Windows 10. Most of these issues appear to have occurred, if the upgrade was forced using the Windows 10 Installation Media Tool released by Microsoft. Users who upgraded when Microsoft offered them the Upgrade via the Get Windows 10 notification, seems to have faced no or fewer issues.