Questions about Windows 10

Hi all I have some questions and do not know really where to post them but on here. I have windows 8.1 and I was told I could update to Windows 10.. I hear allot stuff about windows 10 I am not thrilled about. If I wanted to keep windows 8.1 will I still receive updates for it? Because tonight when I tried to update it said their was nothing and that they would let me know when I can update windows 10.

In other words I had no more updates but to windows 10 when it comes.

Any info would be great. I tried to google it but it was not answering my question.

Thanks

 

It gets regular support until 2018, then just security updates until 2023.
More info:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/lifepolicy#General Questions

 

Wait until you upgrade. (I'm waiting at least a year). I just read a horror story about an Insider who is running 10 and lost a laptop and two phones.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2940...review-when-downloads-go-very-very-wrong.html

 

I took an image of my laptop 8.1, which was running well, and then joined the insider program for 10. That was about a month ago and it has updated itself three times so far, currently to build 10162. I haven't experienced any significant issues with 10, just the odd glitch which is to be expected at this stage, but nothing that has stopped me from using it just as I used 8.1. It's OK but I can't really see what all the hype is about. If it crashes out I'll just restore my 8.1 image but it does seem pretty stable. I wouldn't recommend upgrading a main system just yet but if, like me, you have a second machine, and know how to image it, then I say go ahead now and start to get some feel for what's coming.

 

Pro tip: Make sure you download drivers before installing ANY OS.

I am running 10162 on a spectre x360. A few glitches here and there, but mostly bug free. My wifi worked without extra driver installs too.

 

The only thing that didn't work for me "out of the box" was my audio and my XP audio driver works just fine. All other device drivers (video, ethernet, wifi, bluetooth, etc.) were installed during OS installation.

 

To me my windows 8.1 has been a nightmare and I know some things about computers. I do not dare download windows 10. I did research on it and it has big brother getting more into our business. I often thought about going with Linux OS. I am tried of updating almost every year or 6 months and having to work those bugs out then dealing with more in the updating system. I am tired of being traced by government in my personal business. I am just not happy at all I would like a system where it is easy to operate and not have to know all my info is being spied upon.

Have any of you used Linux?

 

Yes. I found one I like LXLE Desktop.
http://www.lxle.net/
I'm running off an 8GB USB stick on my old 7" eeepc which has an outdated hybrid linux installed
and I also tried it on an 11.6" Acer netbook which has Win 7 (64 bit) Home Premium running.

Get an 8GB USB stick so you can test it. It will run slower off a stick than installed but it is a great way to see a) you can handle an unknown OS and b) your hardware works with the distro. It does has persistence so if you make changes to the browser, they are saved on the stick.

1. Get this http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
2. Get this http://sourceforge.net/projects/lxle/

Put in your 8GB stick and then run the universal installer.
In the first box, scroll down and select under other LXLE Desktop.
In the 2nd box select the LXLE ISO you've downloaded.
In the 3rd box select your USB stick. (I always double check by opening my computer to be sure the letter I choose is the 8GB USB stick). You do not want to select the wrong drive letter.
In the 4th box, move the slider over. I did it as far to the right as I was able because this is your persistance section. All changes will be saved there on the stick.

Click create and Be patient. It takes a while to "write" the ISO to the stick. Then it creates the persistence partition and it might seem like it is doing nothing but it is working.

When it's done, if you know your computer will boot from a USB device, you can reboot the computer and have a look at the distro.
You might need to click something near the clock for your wireless. I had to and it found my router and all I had to do was click connect.

The gauge on the desktop which shows time up, etc. can be hidden by clicking (I believe the bar to the left most side of the clock). You can turn that widget on and off.

There are 100 images included so you can change the desktop theme easily.

 

Thanks for all the info. I have been wanting to read up more on Linux.. Do you have pages I can go and find out more about Linux? So appreciate the info for sure.

 

I think your best option is to join a Linux forum.

http://www.linuxforums.org/

The site also offers free magazines and guides.

 

Hey thanks loads! :wave

 

If you have the "Get Windows 10" white icon, usually in the bottom RH corner of your desktop, just open the dialogue box. You'll see 3 blue horizontal bars on the LH side, top corner. Just click on that and go to "View Confirmation." Just cancel the reservation for Windows 10. You'll be asked again if you really want to. Just confirm that you do. Your choice but if you don't get it and later decide you do want it, you may not be able to upgrade after a certain time. There may even be a way to download and save an ISO image against your Windows 8.1 Product Key number or another Product Key Number if the Upgrade changes it. The advantage of the staggered upgrade is that patches may be readily available if problems arise. Good luck.

 

Nothing "uncertain" about the time frame. It has been spelled out very clearly. The upgrade offer is good for one year.

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/features

 

I never said it was uncertain. I'm not that pedantic as per my reply and try to help so I didn't cover every nuance. It was an on the spur response. I naturally assumed the obvious.

 

plodr gives good advice and her instructions are pretty detailed. I am also a linux user and I often try out new and interesting distros in a virtual machine (I personally prefer VirtualBox) just to learn more about them. I can vouch for LXLE that it is a very good, and interesting distro.

In my opinion, it's biggest strengths are that it is a "lightweight" system that is specifically tuned to run well on older hardware; conversely, it is extremely responsive on newer hardware. Its second biggest strength, IMO, is the use of "desktop paradigms" at the time of login. LXLE has "paradigms", which are "layouts without the theme" that resemble WinXP, Gnome2, Mac, and Unity desktops. I believe LXLE defaults to the WinXP paradigm, so the desktop is somewhat navigable and very familiar to a new user. But if you want to try something else, simply choose a different desktop at login and it will remember your choice until you purposefully change it again.

LXLE has a website where you can learn more about it.
http://lxle.net/

The only other thing that I would add is that if your existing machine is Win8, you will probably need to disable SecureBoot and/or FastBoot in order to boot from USB in the manner plodr described. Good luck exploring!