Many have been asking me recently whether it is worth upgrading to Windows 10. After all it is a free upgrade for those that have Windows 7 or 8.x. So here is my opinion so far.

New Features and Enhancements

I have been using it for quite a while now even when it was in a closed beta and overall I would recommend taking advantage of the upgrade. Besides the Windows 7 like Start Menu, it offers faster performance along with some new features such as the built-in search capabilities for anything. And I have outlined these features in a full tutorial from my http://youtube.com/skaceli channel.

Easy Upgrade Process

The installation files are automatically downloaded to the computer and the system settings are preserved. It appears that Microsoft tried to make the transition as easy as possible to upgrade. The upgrade seems to take about 8GB of additional storage in your computer (just in case you decide to revert back) and it preserves the system settings such as installed printers, applications etc. Of course, this is a major upgrade thus if your settings are too complicated and you have older applications in your computer, that may not be totally the case.

If you are part of a small business workgroup network where you are sharing files and accessing other resources without a password, it appears that Windows 10 will require a password to login, i.e. the shares may need to be reconfigured.

Once Upgraded, the License Upgraded

Once you move to Windows 10, it appears that Microsoft then upgrades your license code to Windows 10 automatically. Do you get a new license code? No. It somehow records it on the BIOS and online. This then allows you to do a clean install of Windows 10 at any point without needing the license code. Stay tuned. I will post a new article and video on how to reload from scratch. For now it is good to do the upgrade as it also upgrades the license.

Free? What is the Catch?

My perception is that Microsoft is taking an aggressive approach to moving to one integrated platform across mobile and PC and at the same time offer personalized services via Cortana like Google with Google Search (Google Now) and Apple with Siri. That of course includes location/search history based services/advertising. For those that are concerned about the privacy and/or do not prefer to use these services, check this article I have put together on Customizing Privacy Settings During or After the Windows 10 Upgrade. A video is available for customizing the privacy settings as well.