Windows 10 gets thumbs up (and a few grumbles) in early reviews
The reviews are pouring in for Windows 10, the new Microsoft operating system out today, and they’re generally positive.
Reviewers with Wired, the Verge, TechCrunch, The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today — just to name a few — offer their thoughts.
Everyone seems to love the revamped Start menu, and that the new personal assistant, Cortana, is designed to work well with Start. The Edge browser wins some praise, too, though beating Internet Explorer isn’t exactly a big task.
Windows 10’s ability to switch tablet modes is liked by some — it’s different depending on whether a keyboard is attached — and found way too confusing by others.
On the con side, there are still bugs in the system, and a serious lack of Windows apps. Cortana’s voice recognition also is panned but is bound to improve. In the meantime, its gaffes should be good for a few laughs.
They all give a thumbs up on the crucial question of whether to upgrade, though most recommend waiting a couple of weeks, or more, for bug fixes. And remember: Reviewers are techies. They love new stuff. The Windows 10 upgrade is free for a year, so there’s no big hurry.
Windows 10 also removed a few things from versions 7 and 8. PCMag has a quick roundup of those features and suggests programs to replace them. Windows Media Center, for instance, is going away, but people who used it can try Kodi, Plex or MediaPortal instead. And people who still play a lot of DVDs on their PC could try the VLC media player, CyberLink PowerDVD or Corel WinDVD.
Me? I have an Android phone, an iPad and an older desktop running Windows 7. I don’t think using the same OS across platforms is happening for me any time soon. But I’ll probably make the Windows 10 leap in September for my desktop — or wait a little longer if there still seem to be substantial hardware conflicts and other bugs at that stage of the game.
This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 8:34 AM with the headline "Windows 10 gets thumbs up (and a few grumbles) in early reviews."