Fulcrum Group Windows 10 Review

Tyson Rasanen, Fulcrum Group’s Renewals Specialist and team member you’re highly likely to speak to on the phone when you call, has some words of wisdom and general commentary for you, after his recent upgrade to Windows 10.

Regarding who is eligible for the free upgrade and who isn’t, Tyson observes, “if you have Windows Enterprise you won’t (and can’t) be upgraded for free but if you use Windows Pro you CAN upgrade for free…and.you may be surprised at how straightforward the update seems.”

Tyson says, “the biggest plus to my update was that it was shockingly smooth!  I didn’t experience a single problem with my existing apps migrating over – even updating the video drivers. The upgrader will tell you ahead of time if you have any apps that aren’t compatible, so the most laborious effort I had to make was pressing the go button for rebooting, twice.” He goes on, “Don’t be surprised if you need to re-boot more than once due to driver “weirdness” in the upgrade, but overall, you can probably expect a smooth process.”

Here’s the Top 5 Cool Things Tyson wants to share with you about Windows 10:

1.  Cortana – Microsoft’s voice control virtual assistant.  Tyson observes, “She’s similar to Google Now in its infancy…What she does, she does well.”  The default search engine she redirects to is currently Bing but you can redirect links for Chrome and Firefox if those are your preference. For Chrome, you redirect with The  Chrometana App and Firefox you redirect by changing This Setting to checked.

2.  Edge – Microsoft overhauled their default browser, Internet Explorer, into a better, faster, more secure Internet browsing experience. Edge also allows for cool fun like doodling on a web page.

3.  New UI – A mix between Windows 7 and Windows 8, the new User Interface looks nice and has a fully functional Start menu with added Tiles feature from Windows 8.

4.  Multiple Desktops – Very “Linux-esque,” Win 10’s multiple desktops feature allows you to organize your workspace for distraction-free work.  Find examples here.

5.  Action Center – Microsoft gives us one central location for all changes made to your device in a given time period. This comes in especially handy in a business environment when you check the action center after you’ve stepped out and may see at a glance that you’ve received an incoming email, chat request or calendar appointment, or in the case you use apps which ‘announce’ things.

“Its obvious that Microsoft is taking a lot of inspiration from Linux, lately. I think we’re in for a lot of new cool stuff in the future,” says Tyson.

Some bandwidth and potential privacy issues (on components that can be adjusted per your preference) have been brought to light since Windows 10’s release – along with a few other potential security “gotchas”, noted below.

• Wired – Windows 10 Security Settings You Need To Know
• BGR – Windows 10 Upgrade Security Spying How To Opt Out

As always, before upgrading your systems to Windows 10, feel free to run it by us here at The Fulcrum Group.  We are your trusted IT advisors, here in Dallas/Fort Worth.  Shoot us a quick email or talk to us personally at 817.337.0300 .

Be sure to follow The Fulcrum Group on social media for relevant discussion on those – and all – hot tech topics.