Oh no, it's back to 'skool' again!

The moment I have been dreading has arrived!  Today Microsoft unveiled their all-new, all-singing, all-dancing MS10, er, thingie.  My IT Manager (aka: 'SoD'), had warned me that it was imminent.  That means, of course, that I will have to go back to 'skool' to learn how to use the damn thing but worst of all, of course, is that the headmaster is 'SoD' and he's a hard, mean taskmaster!

I do realise that in this modern world everything is constantly on the change but it is irritating when you finally get the hang of something, they - yes, it's always that mysterious entity called 'they' - suddenly change it all.  But, to be fair to one of my 'New Best Friends', Bill Gates - good ol' Bill! - I understand that this is the last major change from Microsoft.  From now on they will eschew grand openings of revolutionary computer-thingies and instead will simply and quietly make small adjustments as they go along with this new system.  Very sensible.

I understand from my 'IT Manager' that we will not be switching immediately so there is no chance of this distinguished blog suddenly disappearing - sorry, did you say something?  When I make my great leap into the unknown I will provide you with plenty of warning.  The changeover shouldn't take me more than a year or two at the longest!

 

Comments

[Lawrence Duff]

Groan, every time Windows goes through an upgrade you warn everyone that the blog might disappear. But the blog is on the interweb-doflicker-thingy, not on your PC, so even if your PC spontaneously combusted, and you with it, your pearls will be there for all ad infinitum (until you stop paying Typepad).

SoD

[David Duff]

See what I mean, people? Proper old nag-bag he is!

[missred]

Wise men also wait for all the bugs to be worked out of the system - say about 6 months or so.

[David Duff]

Wise words, Miss Red.

[Backofanenvelope]

I saw an advert for Windows 10. It high lighted that it will run on all devices, PCs, tablets, phones etc. Goodness me, why didn't anyone think of that before now. Oh........

[Lawrence Duff]

Let's hope Win 10 hits the bull's eye and takes out those Apple and Android splitters.

Oooh yes, let's hope so, I can feel my day rate floating gently up to heaven ...

SoD

[Andrew Duffin]

D, why bother?

I have to do these things at work, because they pay me to.

But at home I am resolutely on Windows 7 and intend to stay there.

Apart from the servers, of course...

[David Duff]

Andrew, I still have a quiet sob for 'Vista'!

[Lawrence Duff]

Andrew, Win 10 is FOC for 1 year for all legit Win 7 / 8 users: -

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/29/windows-10-free-upgrades-explained/

After 1 year you'll have to pay.

Since Win 7 support has ended for functional fixes, and continues until 2020 for security fixes only (http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-7-support-what-happens-on-january-13-2015/), if you get a non-security problem there'll be no fix for it. If you don't update to Win 10 within the year, I bet that the very first day after one year you'll get a problem and have to chuff up for Win 10.

Best thing to do is wait until "Win 10 with Bing" comes out, one of the variations on the Win 10 theme.

Why?

A bit of history ...

"Win 8.1 with Bing" came out last year, and everyone wondered what it was. Well it was full Win 8.1 but with the search set to Bing by default. But there was nothing at all to stop you setting the search to Google, or whatever, it was just the default. In all other respects it was Win 8.1, except one: It was free.

I'll repeat that in case you thought you were hallucinating.

Win 8.1 with Bing was free.

OK so I work in IT and am therefore an inveterate liar. It was free so long as the machine you bought was less than $200 dollars. More to the point, it was free for the manufacturer to install Win 8.1 for Bing on their PC, laptop, and tablet products, so long as they sold the device for $200 or less.

Microsoft were aiming at the Chromebook marketplace that Google was cleaning up in at the bottom end of the market. ChromeOS, or whatever the splitter's software is called, was FOC, and Microsoft didn't have an offering at that end of the market - until "Win 8.1 for Bing".

So last year Microsoft dipped their toe in this market, and all the devices sold out at double quick time - a full Windows PC or laptop for less than $200 - you what?! I managed to blag one for my God son, but thereafter they virtually disappeared.

So everyone's waiting to see when "Win 10 for Bing" comes out, and will it be the exact same cost model. A leak from Intel seemed to indicate it would be: -

https://www.google.cz/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=cSy6VdqiGuak8wfmi5igDw&gws_rd=ssl#q=windows+10+for+bing
So here's what to do: -

Keep your old Win 7 clunker going during the 1 year you've got for the FOC upgrade, while watching our for the less than $200 devices to come out with "Win 10 for Bing" on them. When they do, buy one of them. Migrate your stuff - apps and data - onto the new device, in the comfort that you can always "run back to your clunker with Mummy 7" if it all goes horribly wrong.

Then when you're over and stable on your sexy new "Win 10 with Bing" device, you can hit the "free upgrade to Win 10" button on your old Win 7 clunker, and enjoy two devices at Win 10 level for having paid nada to M$! And if that goes wrong, it's not the end of the world because you were already established on your sexy new "Win 10 with Bing", so all your data and apps are ok.

Now that'll be £500 plus VAT please (and I hope you're listening to this, Fart-Knocker, coz this is how we're going upgrade the family later this Summer, as I have already described several times ...).

SoD

[David Duff]

SoD, as I was reading I was already thinking that I must warn Andrew that he could be facing a stonking great invoice from the most expensive IT consultant in the land - but then I read your last line - you beat me to it!

I can't wait for the changeover, such fun!!!! And don't keep telling me that fairy story about all my stuff will be kept 'up there on a cloud'! That's the sort of fairy tale crap I used to read to you at night to get you to fall asleep. Then, of course, you reached adolescence and there was no way I could keep you awake! Such is life!