Category: Technology

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Windows 10 Installation: my experience

According to several news sources, 14 Million Devices were upgraded to Windows 10 on July 29 (this number likely includes 5 million Insiders (Beta testers), but still – an impressive start. And the numbers jumped fourfold in the next 3 days.

Two out of my own three devices are part of those numbers and although I haven’t tapped a lot of the Win10 new features and I was NOT unhappy with Win8/8.1 … I am very much liking what I’ve seen so far.

But first, my Install experience on my new Toshiba laptop (quad core i7 2.60ghz processor with 16 GB Ram AND a solid state drive, i.e. a very current and very fast combination of innards) and my Toshiba Encore tablet (Intel Atom 1.3 ghz processor with 2 GB Ram, i.e. not the fastest tablet in the west!)

I reserved my Windows 10 upgrade ( Windows 10 Icon) on June 2. (I reserved my Win10 Upgrade on my new Toshiba laptop, my Toshiba Tablet and my backup Acer Laptop) On the morning of July 30, I received the pop up notification that my Windows 10 Upgrade was here – on my Toshiba Laptop. ( Windows 10 Is Here)

Throwing caution to the wind, I did the first install on my Toshiba laptop…the speed demon, but also my production machine…the machine on which my income depends. I have never, ever installed something like a new operating system on the first day on the machine I absolutely depend on. But, this round, after all I’d read and seen (videos) … I trusted Microsoft.

After the “Your Windows 10 is here” and “working on it” …and the license acceptance, the above screen appeared. VERY cool – I scheduled the install for 6:00 p.m. At 5:00 p.m., a notification popped up that reminded me that my Win10 update was scheduled in 59 minutes and gave me an opportunity to keep that time, schedule a different time or cancel altogether.

I never had a second thought…

Onward!!

Here we go!

The update proceeded without a hitch and it was nice to have both the percent complete info as well as info on what was happening: small text at the bottom of the screen.

Success at the 32 minute mark on the Toshiba Laptop.

It took an hour and a couple of minutes on my Tablet.

I have not yet received notification that the upgrade is available on the Acer. The Acer was the first device that I reserved on. There is some info that the rollout happened first for those devices that were most compatible. Additionally, the download is reputed to be a “stealth” download in that it downloaded in the background as it could and then the “Your Upgrade is Here” activates – on completion of the download. I don’t know any of those things for fact, but the order of things is working for me as I’d decided to keep my backup Acer on Windows 8.1 for a week or so and make sure there were no glitches in my work environment.

For Margaret :) … None of my folders or existing files were disturbed by the update. I haven’t read of any existing files or folders being lost by the upgrade.

There are some that are unhappy with the Win 10 install setting the default browser to the new Microsoft Browser “Edge”. I find this a bit laughable. I knew I needed to keep my default browser Internet Explorer or Chrome because Edge does not support the debugging mode of some legacy software I must support. It took me about 15 seconds to change the default browser from Edge to Internet Explorer: type “default browser” in the Cortana search box.

You can also click on Settings (Gear icon) and use the “Find a Setting” search box. AND, instead of directing you to a web page with directions, both searches take you directly to the spot to make the change.

Click on the current default browser and the Select App window pops up and you may select any browser you have installed or go and find one you want.

That’s it on my installation experience. It was easy and glitch-free on both devices. I worked Friday on normal stuff, including the legacy apps which must use Internet Explorer vs Edge and all was fine. I have zero complaints and am excited by all that Windows 10 offers. As I said, I have not really explored much, but below are a few simple things that I like a lot.

The party line is that Windows 10 merges the familiar with the new. The Start screen is back with jump links and all any Windows XP -> Windows 7 user is used to seeing. The Windows 8/8.1 tiles are there as well but if you dislike them, you can remove them. If you like them like I do, you can make them your own. You can customize the Start screen to your heart’s content!

Also the Taskbar. Add things you use often or just use the Start screen…take your pick.

Pinning applications to the taskbar was a Windows 8/8.1 feature and open apps had a lighter color AND you could see a preview of the window in miniature…but Windows 10 allows you to see the miniature preview and as you move the mouse up…you can see a full screen preview as well as get a close button. There are more taskbar features – above is just a sample.

Below are links to my initial Windows 10 post which includes several links on Windows 10. And following that link are two YouTube videos on Windows 10:

The first is a Joe Belfiore video – Joe is the Microsoft voice of Windows 10. I feel like he is a friend of mine. He is passionate about Windows 10 as he was about Windows 8/8.1 and Windows phone. He invokes a curiosity in me to delve into all that the Windows operating system is capable of. His video is nearly 34 minutes long. If that seems too long, try the second from a Windows Insider (non Microsoft beta tester). That video is just short of 12 minutes and highlights some of the new features in an easygoing way.

Lastly – do you need to upgrade? No. It is a personal choice. If you are happy with your current setup and are not a power user … at least wait a bit. Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 registered owners have a year to update for free so you can take time to decide and let the first round of patches and updates happen.

I love the way the technology is going and I am thrilled with the Microsoft management team: Satya Nadella at the top and the others I’ve watched in developer conference videos. I think the future of technology is exciting. I also think that which platform you choose: Apple, MS, Android … there is not a wrong choice – look at them, find the one that resonates with you and how you’d like to use your devices. Ultimately, things are coming together in a way that makes it easy to select one and work with the others. In my mind, it is an incredibly fun time and will only get better.

Now, if technology could solve global warming and particularly the Hot-Hot summer we are experiencing this year in Montana … I would be ecstatic!!

My Windows 10 Post

Joe Belfiore

A Windows Insider (non Microsoft)

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Windows 10 is here!

And I have it and I really, really LOVE it!

Very cool and an easy upgrade … the download happened in the background and the install took 35 minutes on my machine.

Details this weekend.

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New stuff: it keeps getting easier

About 3 months ago when I was reworking my Windows 7 backup computer, it suddenly quit. I tried all I know and let it sit for days and tried again, but it was done. It was 5 years old which is ancient in my world, but still…as a backup, I thought it would work for some of the older software I was supporting.

My production machine, my Windows 8.1 Acer is two years old and I bought it to have a Windows 8 machine and as an interim machine as it was inexpensive and kind of light in the memory and processor speed. But it has been doing fine until several weeks ago when suddenly the “P” key and the left arrow key stopped working. And it was not because there was a crumb or something in the key. The touch keyboard’s P and left arrow didn’t work either.

In a panic, I considered another inexpensive computer.

But, I went online and found that other people had the same issue with the Acer and some of it was resolved by a reboot. Although, a reboot is typically the first thing I do, I started the whole trouble shooting issue thinking the problem was mechanical. It wasn’t until later in the day that I realized the touch keyboard was also having an issue. Bottomline, I rebooted and both keys came back on board.

Still.

I make my living on the computer and a non-working computer = no $$ and I was a bit nervous about an already not so robust machine that was 2 years old, possibly failing completely.

I had been looking off and on and putting off a purchase but the glitch got me looking seriously and today the new machine arrived.

I bought a customized Toshiba. Toshiba customizable laptaps ship direct from China.

The new machine has 16 gb RAM, 256 gb Solid State Hard Drive, an Intel i7 quad core 2.6 ghz processor with integrated graphics. This baby should fly like the wind!

The cool thing is that after starting up, the start screen had the usual extra stuff: games, various extra this and that. But after I signed in, the machine got itself ready and before I new it, my new start screen looked like my Acer start screen…just the way I like it.

Wow. So happy! I still have to set up my work environment, Quicken, Photoshop plus some utility programs that I use, but they are all subscription and/or downloadable and the only time consuming thing will be my work environment.

I’m guessing that instead of days to set up, I should be good to go in several hours.

New stuff: it keeps getting easier.

Elsewise, another beautiful day that topped off about 74F with a nice breeze.

Happy Friday.

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Consume and extend and find the good

So, two weeks ago.

Two things of momentous importance in my life: Find the Good by Heather Lende and the Microsoft Build 2015 Keynote.

It might sound like a tenuous connection, but for me, it seemed as if the two were intertwined in that week … with some similar messages.

The Microsoft Build 2015 Conference and specifically the Keynote address (nearly 3 hours!), might make most of my blog audience yawn and skip the rest of this post. But, the keynote address is a look into the future…a near future…as in this year. And it is amazing.

The Build conference is geared toward software developers – which is what I do – and it is an unveiling of new tools, new platforms, new ideas and a new device. Along with an overview of all of those things, there were showcases of people who are using those tools to make incredible applications. And while those applications will hopefully make money for those developers, it is more than that. The showcased applications opened windows into some pretty incredible stuff:

  • a composing application for music that allows the composer to quickly sketch in notes, to copy and paste refrains and to play it back
  • several apps that provide information … up to the date and changing as fast as someone can key it in … in response to various world catastrophes
  • interactive apps that engage users to help make decisions on charitable giving…mission of this app is to ensure that charitable dollars go where the giver wants and that charities worldwide have an equitable chance to entice funding
  • the NFL utilizes the technology and the Microsoft Cloud (Azure) to upload statistics and video to make all of those onscreen squiggles, up to the minute statistics and video available to the teams and the play-by play broadcasters
  • and much more…above just a few of the showcased applications.

    • Hololens … this is NOT Google Glass. Video link at the end of this post, but the Hololens is here now…leveraging not only some of the technology of Xbox, but also of Windows 10 and other of the new tools …YES, Windows 10!! and some incredible hardware to bring a device to market that has life changing opportunity in education, remote support, how we interact with each other and with technology. I commented to my co-worker that it was very cool. He replied, “No, it is HOT!”

    Our work team saw many things in the keynote that we could see would make our lives as software developers easier, more efficient and more fun! We are excited. All of us have made our livings to date using Microsoft products. None of us are haters of Apple or Linux or Android and one of our team and his family are all Apple, but Microsoft’s software remains our platform of choice for development.

    The other exciting thing about the keynote was Microsoft’s decision to embrace all devices. New Windows Universal applications will run on all devices and they are releasing a container tool that will allow iOS (Apple), Linux and Android applications to run these Universal applications. Hoo-rah! And they demoed how this works in the keynote (the 9 minute version includes this).

    Part of my reason for sharing this, even though it might make everyone’s eyes glaze over – is that it illustrates the great opportunity for those who have a passion for anything – to use technology to share the passion, to teach, to communicate, to learn, to solve problems and to make the world smaller and hopefully more peaceful. Microsoft’s relatively new CEO, Satya Nadella, expressed it as giving developers the ability to “consume” and “extend” the tools and platforms for incredible applications.

    Is Microsoft in this to make money ??? Certainly!! – they are not a charitable organization. But, for me, the point is that this round of innovation is exciting. These tools and platforms ARE consumable and extendable and I am excited to be part of it.

    The day before I started watching Build 2015 ( I watched it in snippets over 2 1/2 days), I started reading Find the Good by Heather Lende. Heather Lende lives in Haines, Alaska and one of her jobs is writing obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News, a weekly newspaper published in Haines. I can’t remember how I found her or her blog, but both the blog and her books are favorites of mine. They make me think about life and how I approach my own life and about being more thoughtful and compassionate.

    The title of Heather’s most recent book: Find the Good refers to how she approaches writing an obituary. It makes sense. Most people, even those that seemed curmudgeonly – also have some or even a lot of good to them. A person might be hard to live with but maybe there was a reason and maybe beyond the difficult aspects of that person … there is good. Heather finds it as she speaks to the family and friends and occasionally as she helps sort through the persons belongings.

    I read “Find the Good” during the days when I also watched the Build 2015 keynote. The Build conference and particularly the keynote are definitely a marketing effort by Microsoft. But as stated, Microsoft is not a charity. The development and support of software is not inexpensive. I truly cannot fathom the man hours that are in the development of the tools they showcased. But what I saw in the keynote was the passion of the speakers – both Microsoft employees and the showcased developers. I was inspired and in the midst of some of the terrible, horrible and shocking news stories…this passion, this finding of good things with technology and seeing the good in most of humanity – THAT is the connection for me and I’m thrilled that I have been and will continue to be part of using this incredible technology.

    A few links below:

    The Build Conference in 9 minutes: Microsoft Build 2015 in 9 minutes

    The Entire Build Conference (nearly 3 hours, but worth it if you are interested in software development and I encourage everyone to watch at least Satya Nadella’s intro): Microsoft Build 2015 Keynote

    An interesting article about the differing approaches of Microsoft and Apple – neither right nor wrong, just different and viva la difference – each of us has the ability and opportunity to choose!: Apple and Microsoft visions for the future are delightfully different

    Hololens: Hololens

    If nothing else, please watch “Hololens”. If you or a child or a grandchild or ??? has a passion for anything and they have a vision for a way to make “doing” it better, more engaging and/or more accessible…watch all of these with them and be inspired.

    Cheers, all!!