Why upgrade to Windows 10?

TIME is running out for PC users who have delayed taking advantage of Microsoft’s free offer to upgrade their computers from Windows 7 or 8.1 to the latest all-singing-and-dancing version of the Redmond company's operating system. Doughty souls who have stuck with Windows 8 will first have to upgrade to Windows 8.1 before being able to participate in the deal. However, come July 29th, anyone wishing to upgrade to Windows 10 will have to pay upwards of $119 for the privilege. To avoid the expense, registered users of Windows 7 or 8.1 (Windows XP or Vista do not qualify) should download a free copy of Windows 10 from microsoftstore.com before the cut-off date. Alternatively, they can finally respond to the pop-up message that has been nagging recalcitrant users to do so for the better part of a year.

The question is, should they? As this column has argued before, upgrading any PC or tablet running Windows 8.1 to the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system is a no-brainer. Windows 10 is everything (and more) its ill-conceived predecessor should have been in the first place.

But that is not necessarily true for Windows 7. Over the years since its release in 2009, Windows 7’s robustness, user friendliness and low maintenance cost has made it a firm favourite among PC users, especially those in business. Four years after it was officially replaced, the old workhorse continues to run on over 50% of all Windows PCs, while fewer than 15% use Windows 8/8.1, according to data collected by Net Applications, a web-analytics firm in Aliso Viejo, California. By contrast, Windows 10 currently accounts for around 17% of PCs in the Windows family, many of which were bought over the past year with the latest operating system pre-installed.

Companies are understandably reluctant to upgrade the hordes of Windows 7 machines they have installed over the years, because of the cost and hassle of retraining employees to cope with Windows 10’s idiosyncrasies. Also, to get the full benefit of Windows 10 means investing not just in fresh software but also in new hardware, especially touch-sensitive tablets, laptops and desktop screens. Besides, planning an enterprise-wide migration from one operating system to another is no trivial task. Ensuring there are no costly glitches can take several years of preparation. Corporate IT departments can usually cope with no more than one such upheaval a decade.

As enterprise customers call the tune, Microsoft has promised to provide security patches for Windows 7 on old computers until January 2020. Modern PCs bought over the past year that were downgraded to Windows 7 (for corporate compatibility reasons) will cease to be supported after 2016. These will need to have Windows 10 installed to receive security updates.

What this all means is that Windows 7 users have four more years to decide whether they really want to upgrade to Windows 10. If they decide to carry on using their trusty old operating system, they will be free of disruption while enjoying reasonably secure computing until the cut-off date in 2020. They will then have to decide whether to buy an upgrade licence to use a more mature Windows 10—or think of something else to do instead.

Your columnist has decided to forego the free upgrade to Windows 10 and stick with Windows 7. A side-by-side comparison of the two operating systems conducted over the past year has convinced him that Windows 10 is still not ready for prime time. There is much to admire about its speed, security and stability, but Windows 10’s lack of serious networking smarts is a deal-breaker as far as he is concerned.

Others may disagree, and conclusions drawn from a sample of one system are hardly representative. But there does seem to be a fundamental flaw in the way the latest build of Windows 10 manages its WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. For instance, when the machine being tested goes to sleep, it loses its wireless connection. No amount of fiddling with Windows 10’s settings, drivers and trouble-shooting (next to useless) will then fix the problem. Even online forums have offered little in the way of help. The only solution is to reboot the machine, so it can re-discover the network gateway. Meanwhile, even though they are properly paired, numerous attempts have to be made to get Windows 10 to detect the machine's Bluetooth keyboard. Such annoyances may be unique to the set-up concerned, but they are justification enough to ditch Windows 10 for the time being.

On the other side of the coin, there are good reasons to stay with Windows 7. With security upgrades guaranteed for the next three or four years, no hardware or software will need to be replaced; no new drivers installed or keyboard shortcuts learned; and all those pesky wireless problems can thankfully be forgotten. As it is, Windows 7 simply gets the job done—and that, for most computer users, is probably reason enough to stick with it.

However, there is another reason why one might wish to give Windows 10 a miss. Major architectural changes are in store for operating systems over the next few years. That includes not just Windows, but also Apple’s OS X, Google’s Chrome OS and other open-source flavours of Linux. By 2020, the most widely used operating system is likely to be something resembling a blend of today’s mobile and desktop systems. As it is, the most widely used operating system today is not Windows, but Android—Google’s open-source operating system that powers 80% of the world’s mobile phones.

All the leading participants are pursuing this convergence in one way or another. Apple denies it has plans to merge its iOS (iPhone/iPad) and OS X (Macintosh) operating systems. However, recall that the iPhone was based on the Macintosh operating system, but pared down to meet the phone’s limited computing power at the time. In the intervening decade, the processors used in mobile phones and tablets have come to rival those in computers. Meanwhile, the use of touch—a unique feature added to the original iOS—is now found in some of the latest computers. Clearly, Apple wants to keep its phones, tablets and computers as separate product categories—so customers will be tempted to buy one of each. But the slowdown in all three market segments could make the firm change its mind. One look under the hood suggests combining the genius of the iPhone with the power of the Mac would be child’s play.

For its part, Google has been far more forthcoming about its plans for convergence. The growing popularity of Chromebooks—cheap, slimmed-down laptops (ie, “thin clients”) that use Google’s browser-based Chrome OS to access software and data in the cloud—has given fresh impetus to the company’s convergence plans. After a slow start five years ago, Chromebooks are now being snapped up by education establishments, businesses and others on a tight budget. As a result, Chromebooks now outsell Macs, and account for over 50% of new devices in American schools.

The one thing Chromebooks lack is a selection of applications to rival the 200,000 or so available for Windows laptop and desktop PCs. But what Google does have is access to the million or more apps written for Android phones. Ergo, adapt Chrome OS so it can use all those Android apps available through Google’s Play Store—including Microsoft staples like Office 365—and do it so all that is needed is an over-the-air upgrade. Chromebook users would then have all they ever wished for. And the Windows franchise that has made Microsoft such a dominant force in the world of enterprise and personal computing could begin to look very shaky indeed.

Microsoft is aware that it has more to lose than most from this rapid convergence of phone and computer system software. Though mobiles using the company’s Windows Phone operating system (now branded as Windows 10 Mobile) have a minuscule 0.7% share of the market, Microsoft has pressed on with plans to develop a universal architecture aimed at letting Windows 10 run on all sorts of devices—from smartphones and tablets using ARM processors to X-Box game consoles and PCs with Intel inside. The idea is that apps developed for one platform should be able to run seamlessly on all the others.

If Microsoft can pull this off, it will earn itself a place in a market where computing and mobile communication have become essentially one and the same. But if it falls any further behind, all bets will be off about whether Microsoft can remain a top-tier player. Being none the wiser himself, the only advice your columnist can give to those wondering what operating system will replace their current one is, er, watch this space.