[NETWORKWORLD] Microsoft's Windows 10 is still in testing, but hardware makers can't wait for the day the OS replaces the controversial Windows 8.Nobody seems sure what happened to Windows 9. Maybe it deflated to Windows 8.1.
Millions of PCs are aging, and those who have resisted Windows 8 will likely upgrade to computers with Windows 10. The initial reception to a test version of Windows 10 has been positive, as it resolves many usability issues affecting Windows 8.
I'm guessing that was because it wasn't Windoze 8.
There are about 600 million PCs that are four years or older, and those systems are ripe for upgrades, said Renee James, president at Intel, at the Credit Suisse Technology Conference on Tuesday.
I've got a Dell in my basement that used to serve the Burg. I haven't upgraded it. It still runs the latest version of Debian Linux.
"When we see a healthy macroeconomic environment and an aging installed base we expect a new [OS] deployment. The [PCs] are fantastic and at new price points. That's kind of a perfect storm, combined with a new OS, and the OS usually pushes the upgrade cycle," James said.
PCs are changing. Gloria still uses a desktop with Windows 7. The other machines in the house run Debian-family Linux. Most are laptops.
James is "very enthusiastic and optimistic" about what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10.I'm very optimistic about having a stable operating system.
"They're being extraordinarily responsive to customers," James said.
Telling the customers zackly what they need.
All major PC makers are expected to support Windows 10 when it is released early next year. Hardware makers are already customizing drivers and products for Windows 10. Advanced Micro Devices' new PC chip, code-named Carrizo, will take advantage of new features in Windows 10. The chip maker is expected to detail those features early next year.
Hmmm... tail-dog dichotomy...
Dell has found that Windows 10 provides a consistent user experience and solves usability issues plaguing Windows 8 users, said Neil Hand, vice president of tablets at Dell, in an earlier interview.
"Help desk!"
"I got a usability problem!"
"What's that?"
"It don't work!"
The upcoming OS will let users run the same programs on mobile and desktop devices. That solves a Windows 8 problem, which prevented a large number of programs from working across devices.
"It don't work? How old's yer box?"
"A year."
"Sell it in an antique shop and buy a new one!"
"The ability to create applications that are super-scalable from phone to tablet to PC is the big step in a lot of ways," Hand said.
I try not to be obnoxious when it comes to Linux. But...
- Linux isn't graphics-based. You can set it up in server mode without the mouse-driven overhead.
- For the desktop, you've got lots of choices. That's because the graphical part runs on the operating system, instead of being the operating system. Ubuntu decided the world needed Unity, their new GUI. I hate it even more than I dislike Windoze. Instead I use xfce, which is faster, better-looking, and to my mind more logically organized. If I get bored I can switch to a half dozen alternatives, including KDE, which is like Windows XP after four years at the gym.
- It's free. Go to the Ubuntu website and download the latest version. There's noplace to pay. If you're determined to pay for something, buy Red Hat. Or buy a support contract. Or send me the money.
- The software's free. I was in Best Buy yesterday and I heard a salesman explaining to an old couple--old to me, and I'm old!--how to subscribe to Micro$oft Orifice. I didn't barge in and tell them to save their retirement dollars and download Libre Office or Apache Open Office, both of which are free--and available in Windoze versions.
- It's secure. I don't have McAfee or Norton or some other antivirus. We have Clam AV--also free--on the Burg server, but I don't know if it works or not. Hackers are a lot more problem than virii. KBK (bless his heart!) told me how to limit secure shell access when we first switched to Linux, so DDOS is more problem than hackers. I don't have antivirus on my Linux boxes at home.
- Updates are automatic and seldom require a restart.
- Windoze 10 is going to allow multiple desktops. Once you use them, you'll wonder how you got along without them. I usually use four of them by subject matter. I run music in one--I like opera and ballet. I've always got the Burg open in one, a file manager in another, usually graphics, the command line, the database and/or the Burg file manager in another, and most of the time a programmer's IDE--I use geany. Linux memory seems better managed than Windoze, so the system slows down when the wireless network takes a hit, not when too many windows are open.
- It's easier to use than Windoze. I know that sounds dumb, since it's so much more stable, more versatile, etc. But the user experience is like the Mac (based as it is on a Unix system); everything just works. You can explore and play and fiddle with it, but you can also use it "out of the box" and clickety-click and typetty-type to your heart's content with logging in the most complicated step of your session.
- By this point Microsoft has collaborated with hardware manufacturers to try and keep Linux off machines. The old BIOS has been replaced by UEFI, which is BIOS locked down against anything but Windows. Last laptop I bought, I called Asus and asked how to install Linux. The guy said he couldn't tell me that. I figured it for myself after trying to use Windows 8.1 for a week. It's not hard, just hidden. Next time your Windows hangs after your kid visits a games site or your home page becomes Coupon Shopper Deals Buddy email me and I'll tell you how to do it.