If you’re a Windows user you probably know it’s that time again. Microsoft is about ready to release its latest version of windows, Windows 10. How you feel about this may be directly be related to what version of Windows you’re using today.

If you’ve purchased a computer in the last few years, particularly from a retail outlet, you’re likely running Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. Microsoft’s release of Windows 8 was nothing short of a disaster. in their wisdom, or at least the wisdom of the people running the show at the time ( who are nearly all now gone) , Windows was ready for a complete facelift. Brand-new interface, out with the old in with the new, and a consistent look and feel across all devices. So basically your tablet, computer, and phone what all look alike. That’s what the people in charge thought customers wanted. But what they found out was that nobody wanted that. In my experience, working with people using Windows 8, at least 10 to 1 they absolutely hate and despise the change. Nobody wants to learn new things, but this much radical change at once makes absolutely no sense. So if you’re running Windows 8 you’re probably looking forward to Windows 10. I mean the thought is, it can’t get any worse, can it? To you, I completely agree.

Windows 10 is setting itself up to be a pretty good release. Beta testers are saying there are few bugs at this point in the interface change, in a lot of ways, it’s back to Windows 7, and it is a welcome relief. in many peoples mind, they’re ready for the change. As always, with any new operating system, I want to caution you that you may not want to be the first person you know to install windows 10. I would say it’s going to be harder for a lot of people to resist since Microsoft is providing the update for free to windows 7 and 8 users. But with any release, it makes some sense to wait a little while and let other people get a feel for how well the operating system really works in the real world. So Windows 8 users, while I share your enthusiasm, I also hope you don’t jump to soon and end up sorry that you did.

The next group of people are folks who run Windows 7. If you’re using windows in business, this is likely the version you’re using today. Windows 7 was a terrific release. it was solid, clean, and had a few bugs once the first initial patches were released. In fact if you’re a Windows 7 user you may be dreading windows 10. You were fortunate enough not to be forced into Windows 8 and the debacle that it brought. So windows 10 is probably something you won’t want to jump on right away. And I completely agree with you too. Windows 7 has been such a stellar release, and software developers have continued to develop suffer for it, but putting off the windows 10 update for a while is probably a good idea. If Windows 10 turns out to be as good as it looks like it could be, holding off a little while certainly won’t hurt anything. So to you Windows 7 users, I’m thinking about six months of waiting might be in the cards. Let’s let Microsoft get the operating system out, all of the initial bugs fixed, and hardware developers time for drivers to be updated before we make a big job and move forward.

Now if you’re in the third group of Windows users, those running obsolete system such as Windows Vista, or Windows XP, you have a much harder decision. Both of these operating systems are not being supported by both Microsoft and third-party developers. If you’re an XP user Microsoft is not even patching bugs or security holes. That’s a very tenuous place to be and you know better than anyone that it’s probably time for an update. But if you’re using these older operating systems, you’re probably going to need to update your computer too. So purchasing a new machine with Windows 10 already installed is probably your best choice. Having hardware built for Windows 10 will likely make it run better and give you a much better experience. but since you’ve waited so long to do an update, you need to be aware that you’re going to have pain. It’s quite likely some of the hardware you have won’t work, many of your software programs may need to be updated and cost you additional money, and some software may no longer be compatible at all. To you I say, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the update by making a list of all of your software, checking with vendors to ensure that they’re compatible, listing the hardware that you will retain after buying the new computer, and making sure they’ll be windows 10 drivers for this hardware. From what Microsoft is telling us nearly everything that runs in Windows 8 will run in Windows 10. So if you want to begin your preparation by checking for software updates available for Windows 8 you’re probably going to get a good idea of where you stand.

I’ve done some testing with Windows 10 and so far I’m quite optimistic. I believe it’s going to be a good release for Microsoft, and after Windows 8 it better be. But like most windows updates, it’s never good to be the first guy doing the installation. So let’s give it a little time before we make the decision to do the update. Hopefully, after we read enough good reviews, we will all be excited about updating all of our computers to Microsoft’s new version of Windows.

And if not, I’d always be happy to help you make the move to the Mac!