Windows 10, Ready or Not (Here It Comes)

Posted on July 24, 2015 by davidm

You may have heard me say that Microsoft will never call you or email you. Today proved me wrong about that.
I got an email from them reminding me that I’d registered to upgrade to Windows 10 at the end of the month.

Yes, that’s right, Windows 10 is coming out on July 29, ready or not.

You may have received the email from them, too, and are wondering if you should go ahead and take this “free” upgrade.

Or you may have already signed up for it. You would know if you had if you suddenly saw a new little icon in your “system” tray a few weeks ago. (The system tray, sometimes called the “notification area” is that little row of icons down to the right of your Windows screen near the clock.)
The icon itself appears like this:

You got this because you have a computer with a qualifying version of Windows 7 or 8 and it came as part of your regular Windows update.
If you didn’t get it, then Microsoft has determined that your operating system isn’t ready for it.

In Microsoft’s words: (from their Windows 10 Q & A webpage):

“If you don’t see the Get Windows 10 app on your PC, it might be because:

Your device isn’t up-to-date with at least Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
Windows Update is turned off or is not set to received updates automatically.
You’ve blocked or uninstalled the necessary Windows Update functionality.
Your device is not running genuine Windows.

Running Windows Update and installing any available updates will fix the first three issues. Need more help? Go to our Windows Community Forum.”

Before we go any further (or even if you have), a quick heads-up about this “Upgrade” and the sneaky little “Get Windows App”, as Microsoft calls it.

Quick and dirty: Windows 10 is the long-awaited fix for Windows 8. Plain and simple. Think of Vista and how Windows 7 came out quickly afterwards.

They left out ME. Understandably.

Why would you want Windows 10?

Mainly, if you have Windows 8 and hate all the tiles, you get your Start Button and Desktop back.
In fact, you get a choice of having it either way. It depends on whether you like to use your computer like a smartphone or not.
That’s all I can really see. Windows 8 was never a bad operating system – it was just the interface that was awful.

And just because you can get it for free isn’t a a good reason, ok?

Why wouldn’t you want Windows 10?

Here are some reasons:

1. Your computer and/or peripherals are not compatible. For instance, when Windows 8 came out, my scanner would no longer work and never would.

2. Your software is not compatible. An example is Office. Office 2003 (my fave) will work on Windows 7 but not on Windows 8 or later.

which brings me to:

3. You have a whole year, starting on July 29, to get this upgrade. Free. Common sense and experience say why not hold off for a few months, at least, till they get the bugs out.

and

4. You’re quite happy with Windows 7 or can tolerate Windows 8. And don’t forget: updates for both Win 7 and 8 will be available for years. There ain’t no rush.

That’s about all I can say about Windows 10 right now.
The bottom line is, I’d hold off for a while on installing this upgrade. I will be doing it myself only because I need to learn it.

But just a note or two about that notification icon, also known as the “Get Windows App”.

If you’ve been gifted with one of these, you can do a few of things with it.
1. Reserve or cancel your reservation:

Right-click on the icon and you’ll get a pop-up.

Click on “Check Your upgrade status” and you’ll get this:

To cancel the reservation, click on the “Cancel Reservation” link. Who’da thunk?

2. To check if your computer is ready for Windows 10, LEFT-click on the white icon again and look for the 3 horizontal lines in the top left corner. Click on that (with the left button of your mouse) to get the following pop-up.

Now you will see the next screen and you can click on “Check your PC” to get a compatibility report.

Here’s what I got when I clicked on “Check your PC”

and finally

3. To get rid of the Get Windows 10 App icon:

1- Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Installed Updates.

2- Do a search for KB3035583, double-click it, and then click Yes, to uninstall the update.

In some cases, the thing will come back. It’s a Windows Update after all, and may get reinstalled the next time you update.

You can repeat the above process to get rid of it OR you may simply HIDE it.
Left click on the “show hidden icons” arrow (probably just to the left of the Win 10 icon), then on Customize.

Pick “GWX” from the list, then choose “Hide icon and notifications”. Like so:

Even then, the darn thing may persist. There are more drastic things to try but I don’t recommend them for most people.

For answers to more questions, try Microsoft’s Windows 10 Q&A page.

And, again, there’s no need to rush into this.

XP – How to Tell If You’ve Got It

Posted on March 25, 2014 by davidm

For those who aren’t sure what version of Windows they are using, it’s simple to check.

Here are 5 ways:

1. Go to the Start button on the bottom left of your screen and click on it.

Up the left side of the window, it says “Windows XP (and the edition of XP: Home, Professional etc.)

2. Go to the Start button on the bottom left of your screen and click on it.

Then, right-click on “Computer” and select “Properties”. You’ll get a screen like this:

And you’ll see under “System” what version of Windows you’ve got.

3. Check for Windows Sticker on your computer

The sticker can be on the bottom of your laptop or somewhere (back, front side, top) of your desktop computer.

4. Watch the screen when your computer starts up – Windows XP is often displayed at this time. This is called the “Splash Screen”.

5. If those steps don’t cover it for you, you can check out Microsoft’s own webpage:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/which-operating-system

All versions of XP will be affected by the April 8 (2014) End of Support date.

Windows 8.1– New and Unimproved

Posted on September 6, 2013 by davidm

Coming this October 18 is Microsoft’s new version of Windows – version 8.1.
Many see this update as Microsoft’s chance to address and remedy the complaints about their latest operating system.

It’s no secret that heads have rolled, stocks have dropped, sales of computers have plummeted over Windows 8. The thing that Windows 8 is really meant for – their Surface tablet – has not done well.

And what are these complaints? Here are the two most popular ones:

1. The Start Screen (sometimes called “Metro”) looks like an electronic cash register for people who can’t read. None of your usual programs are there and it’s ridiculously hard to find them, or find anything.
Maybe it’s called “Metro” after the grocery store chain?

2. No Start Button. This is a deal breaker for a lot of people.
Recognize these?

Chances are that’s how you get to most things on your computer.
Forget about it. It’s not coming back.

Oh, and yeah, just try shutting it down without being shown how.

There are loads of other gripes and Microsoft has heard them all. But have they listened to their customers? Have they managed to make good with this quickly released new version of their operating system?

Not that you’d notice.
In fact, several changes to Windows 8 make it worse (in my and other’s opinions: e.g..1 and e.g..2).

This October 18th, then, you may find yourself with the choice of updating to Windows 8.1

If you already have the original Windows 8 on your computer, the new version will be offered to you as a free update. It will come as an “optional” update via your regular Windows Update.

While the offer of a free update may sound irresistible, there are some serious things to consider”

No real new Start Button. It looks like it’s there but just takes you to the old Win 8 “Metro” screen. Why did they bother?
There is a thing called “Smart Search”. It keeps track not only of your web browsing history, but any searches that you make on your own hard drive. Then it sends those search results to advertisers. Not so long ago, Microsoft was accusing Google of doing the same thing.
Needless to say, you don’t get paid for being spied upon,
By default you have to create a Microsoft Account (it’s almost impossible to install Win 8.1 without one)
– the above is a way to keep you in Microsoft’s “Cloud” as much as possible and to take you to their Apps Store – to be avoided
The File Explorer (former Windows Explorer) now hides your “Libraries” such as My Documents and My Pictures.
– they really want you to use their online Sky Drive which means all your personal files will get synchronized to their server. No thanks.
The Backup and Restore is all different. Good luck even finding it.

There’s more but you get the idea.

I’ve prepare a little Windows 8.1 questionnaire to make it easier for you.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I want to do things easier and faster?

2. Do I want to find my stuff easier and faster? Or at all?

3. Do I want to let Microsoft spy on my computer and send what they find to advertisers?

4. Do I want to hang onto what sanity I have left? (in this world of mortality and confusion?)

5. Have I been bad and need to be taught a lesson by fashion designers posing as computer programmers? (think Office Ribbon)?

(Good grief! Does it come in pink?)

The correct answers are:

1. Yes, but they won’t be.

2. Yes, but I won’t be able to.

3. No, I’m already red with rage about telemarketers and about the NSA reading my emails.

4. Yes. Please!

5. No. Maybe. After all, I need to use Office. And I will if I can ever figure out the Fisher Price Office Ribbon.

Here’s my advice:

Stick with Windows 7 if possible, especially if you’re buying a new computer.
If you’ve already got Windows 8, think hard, twice or three times, about upgrading.

Major computer manufacturers aren’t so taken with Microsoft’s arrogance, either.

Lenovo, the world’s largest computer maker, is adding a “real Start button” to their Windows 8 computers.
But it is a “work around” shell program called “Pokki”, one of the many applications that make Windows 8 work and look like Windows 7. The trouble is that Pokki will also “nag” you to install apps for games, and utilities galore. Meh.

What will I be doing? Well, I have to be my own guinea pig – so I may load it up. But only because I’ll be helping others with it down the road. Much like the original Windows 8.
Whatever I do, I’ll continue to use Classic Shell to add back the familiar Start Button.

I actually have to get work done – not be a sheep to Microsoft’s focus groups.

The Verdict Is In- And Out, and In Again

Posted on July 16, 2013 by davidm

The verdict on Windows 8 is pretty much in: avoid it.

Personal, business and industrial judgements are in agreement that:

1. Windows 8 is for tablets and smartphones and is a dreadful, frustrating, experience on a desktop or laptop computer.

2. Windows 8 offers nothing of value over Windows 7. In fact, it takes away much of the functionality of Windows 7 (and XP). There is no need for it.

3. Microsoft is not going to listen to its customers and will continue to take Windows 8 in the direction of hand-held devices. Some consider this a suicide mission.

That leaves most of my clients with Windows XP or Windows 7.

The problem is that Windows XP is on the way out.
Microsoft will stop supporting it next April.

What that means is that you will no longer receive windows updates including security updates, and your computer could be wide-open to hackers.

From Microsoft’s own website, here are the announcements:

“Support for Windows XP is ending on April 8, 2014. If you’re running this version after support ends, you won’t get security updates for Windows.”

The fine print:

“An unsupported version of Windows will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which can steal your personal information. Windows Update also installs the latest software updates to improve the reliability of Windows—new drivers for your hardware and more.”

The other bad news about staying with XP will be your Internet experience. Websites will be slower to display and may appeared garbled. This will be especially true for people using Internet Explorer as their browser. The latest version that XP can use is version 8. Already, many websites look terrible or won’t load at all with this old version. Add to that increased difficulties in doing online transactions, from software downloads to banking to purchasing movies or music.
It will not be an enjoyable experience.

Microsoft’s solution: “Upgrade to Windows 8”

Very helpful, but we won’t be taking their help. Thanks anyway.

So, if you’ve recently been thinking of getting a new computer or are planning to get one within the next year, think about doing it now.

There are a couple of compelling reasons:

Right now, laptops and desktops, are priced to sell. All computer manufacturers are in a sales slump (largely thanks to Windows 8) and it’s a buyer’s market.
You can still get Windows 7 on a new computer. How long you will be able to do so is not certain.

So, unless you’re a Mac user or a dedicated tablet person, the clock is ticking.

Blogging with Windows 8 – Physician Heal Thyself

Posted on February 16, 2013 by davidm

People have been asking me “Well, after a few months what’s Windows 8 really like?”

I have to confess that I’ve been using it and learning it just enough to help clients – whether it’s been advice on buying a new computer or figuring out how to get Windows 8 to work for them.

But I haven’t really put myself in their shoes till now. What about when I have do some real work?

I felt the onus to do my own acid test. A little bit of “physician heal thyself“.

Ok, so here’s the experiment:

I am going to do this whole blog post with Windows 8.

I want to do this as fast as possible, keeping as close as possible to the way I’d do a blog post with Windows 7 or XP.

Here are the tools I need: (it looks like a lot at first)

1. My spiral notebook and pen
– who’da thought that most of my original ideas get scribbled down while away from the computer (not too many in the car, I promise)
2. Windows Double Explorer – a utility for seeing two File Explorer windows at the same time – super handy for transferring files from one computer to another, or backing up files.
3. Notepad++ (a plain text editor for writing the actual text of the blog)3. 4. Scrivener – a fantastic program for organizing and editing documents or ideas, even so it looks like a corkboard. This is how I visually keep track of all the bits I write down.
5. The Journal (this is an indispensible program for me. I make a daily entry like a diary and I can search for notes and observations from days, weeks, years that might come in handy).
6. Outlook (Microsoft Office) – I’ll often e-mail research links from the Internet to myself
7. Windows Live Writer (the Microsoft Word of Blogging software – where everything is finalized)
8. ACDSee (for photo searching, basic editing)
9. Corel Paint Shop Pro (for fine editing) – does almost everything that Photoshop can.
10. Snagit – a program for taking “snapshots” of websites or my computer screen (in Windows 7 and 8, there is the built-in “Snipping Tool”, which is almost as good.
11. Internet Explorer – for research on GOOGLE , for adminstrating my WordPress blog.
11. Firefox (for compatibility)
12. Google Chrome (for compatibility)

The whole mess can get to looking like this:

I’m using a laptop that I’ve sacrificed to Windows 8 evaluation, and I’m going to use the original “Metro” Start screen. The one that comes with Windows 8 straight out of the box.
(Microsoft now calls it “The Modern UI” – the name Metro was taken apparently)

FIRST THINGS:

First, I have to get everything onto the laptop that I’ll need – programs and files from my main computer.

To transfer anything to the Windows 8 laptop, I’ll want to have two windows open – one that shows the folders on my main computer and one to show where I’ll be transferring to on the laptop.
I notice that there is NO Windows Explorer anymore in Windows 8. There is “File Explorer“. (That needed a name change anyway, to avoid confusion with “Internet Explorer”.)

The new File Explorer Icon

Instead of firing up File Explorer twice and getting the size of the windows right, I’ve found a utility called “Windows Double Explorer” that works only in Windows 7 and 8. I used to have a program called “Twofer” that works wonderfully with Windows XP, but it doesn’t work here.

This is a screenshot Windows Double Explorer:

So, what do I have to copy?

1. My blog post folder with a first draft of this post I started on my other computer.

2. My “plain text editor” where everything gets written without formatting or jazzing up.
I install “Notepad++” a great free editor. But, now, where can I start it up from? There’s no icon on the screen. Wait, there’s no Desktop screen at all. Just those “Tiles”
Ok, how to find it? Remember there’s no Start button that I can click on to see “My Programs”.
I have to go to the “Charm Bar” (don’t you love it?). The Charm Bar is something you see when you hover your mouse pointer over the bottom right of your screen, thusly:

I click on the Search “charm” and type “note”. I get a new screen with three results:

If I right-click on Notepad++, I have the option to “pin” this program to the Start screen, creating yet another “tile” or pin it to the taskbar, so it’s always there on the bottom of my screen.

“Pin” to Taskbar screen:

And now on your “Desktop”, you’ll see:

All of this, so far, is just to get the most basic of tools I’ll need to do a blog post.

From here on in, I’ll be adding text and pictures to Windows Live Writer, editing content, doing a little formatting, adding a few links, and uploading the whole schmear to WordPress.

There, I’ll look at it again, get disgusted, make final edits, and hopefully not leave too many typos.

So, the blog post gets done and it only took me 4 or 5 times as long with Windows 8.

Sure, it was the first time and that accounts for some of the extra hours put in. But some things with Windows 8 will never go away. It will always be a matter of constant flipping between that “Modern” Start screen and the familiar desktop.

To be productive, there will always have to be work-arounds. The chore of finding and “pinning” your oft-used programs will go on. This is the big failing of Windows 8:

You cannot completely “live” in either the regular desktop environment or the Start screen (what David Pogue, the tech columnist for the New York Times calls “Tileworld for Touchscreens”).

And there are two Internet Explorers, two Control Panels, two photo-management apps, two email programs, two ways to right-click, and so on.

It’s too bad because, under the confusing layer of the Start screen, it’s actually an ok operating system. It’s fast and so similar to Windows 7 that, if you add back the Start button, there’s not much difference and not much to learn.

I actually like the “look” of Windows 8 more than Win 7 or Vista. It’s cleaner and crisper.
And there were even some pleasant surprises among them, for example:

– some older and expensive pieces of software that would not run on Vista or Windows 7, now run on Windows 8, literally saving me thousands of dollars.
– files copy much faster than Windows 7 or Vista

The simple fix for Windows 8 is to install Classic Shell or one of the other third party programs that lets you boot to the familiar desktop and gives you back the Start button.

For now, this is as much of Windows 8 as I want to use for day to day work. I will be continuing to use my Windows 7 computer to get things done – fast.

IT’S NOT MARMITE, IT’S WINDOWS 8!

Posted on November 29, 2012 by davidm

That’s what reviewers are calling Windows 8 – The Marmite Experience. You love it or hate it.

Trouble is, a lot of people will have no choice in the matter if they’re buying a new computer with Windows on it.

Here is my story of setting up my first brand new computer with Windows 8.

A long-time client of mine decided he needed a new computer, his trusty 7 year old desktop having finally stopped working. It would have cost more to try to bring it back to life than it would to simply get a new one.

We priced out a few options and settled on a Dell Inspiron model. It arrived a few days later. With Windows 8 on it.

I took the computer out of its box, plugged everything in, and pushed the power button. And when it booted up, here’s what we saw.

I think I designed something like this in Grade 3.

Nothing resembles any previous version of Windows. No icons, no Start button, none of the usual things on the screen. Microsoft calls these coloured blocks on the screen “tiles”.

So how to begin using this thing?

“Let’s get my e-mail going”, my friend suggests. Okay, that’s a good place to begin. There’s even a “tile” on the screen that says “Mail”.

All right. Now, my client has always used Outlook or Outlook Express for his email. What happens when we click on the Mail tile is that we’re taken to an online (Internet) screen that wants us to “sign in” or “create a new account”. He’s already got an account, why does he have to make a new one? He doesn’t have to. All we want to do is set up Outlook and get on with e-mailing like he’s used to.

A little problem here: where is Outlook? We know it’s on the computer’s hard drive somewhere – we ordered it with Office already installed. But there doesn’t seem to be any way to locate the program. No list of programs, no Start button to find programs, no way to search for it.

I notice a tile on the screen that say’s Desktop. Hooray! I click on it and get something that resembles Windows XP or Windows 7.

But still no Start button. Just where will I have to go to start up Outlook?

Now I’m starting to get really unhappy. Keep in mind that I’d already been playing with this new operating system for a week. I was getting bored having to work around this new User Interface just to do my work. Easter egg hunts happen once a year, not every time you turn on your computer. But that’s what you will discover with Windows 8. Or, rather, not discover.

I had to look up on Google just how to find and start up the old familiar programs. Without having the Windows 8 screen right in front of you, it’s too hard to describe how we got it happening, but after some looking, we got Outlook running and set up his e-mail.

But that experience with Outlook is indicative of everything you try to do with Windows 8. Nothing is where it was.

I won’t go through every program we tried to get going. The main conclusion is that we had to ignore everything that was on that big colourful childrens’ tile screen – except the Desktop tile, of course. Every tile that says Mail, Music, Video, Pictures will take you to the Microsoft Store where you have to sign up for a special account and use an “APP” that you’ve never seen or heard of before. These tiles don’t start up the programs you’re used to like Windows Media Player, Photo Gallery, Outlook – just a bunch of stuff that should be running on a cell phone.

The good news is that you can completely disable this new Windows 8 Start screen. There are a few little programs, some free, that let you boot up your computer so it looks just like Windows XP or 7.

That’s what we did. We used a program called Classic Shell that gives you back your regular-looking desktop and your Start button. I don’t know how many people are going to be able to do without such a program.

Windows 8 is for touch screens, plain and simple. In my opinion, it has no place on a regular desktop or laptop computer. At least, not as long as Microsoft forces it’s new way of doing things on its customers.

My clients are practical people. Most use their computers for e-mail, surfing the Net, and word processing. All these things are still possible with Windows 8, but not as easy as it once was. It just takes a bit of tweaking, and then Windows 8 will behave very much like Windows 7. But it does take a bit of tweaking.

If all this scares you a bit, and you are in the market for a new computer soon, there are still some systems available with Windows 7. For the next few months, even new computers that come with Windows 8 will be able to have Windows 7 installed on them. The hardware will still be compatible for a while.

Or, you can get a Mac if you want. Linux if you dare.

The final verdict on Windows 8: some people will never acquire the taste for Marmite.

A Word About Windows 8

Posted on November 8, 2012 by davidm

Hi Everyone,

This is just a quick note to clients and friends about Windows 8, the new operating system from Microsoft.

Windows 8 has been out for just one week and the reaction to it is mixed, to say the least.

Windows 8 is totally different looking from anything you’ve seen before. If you’re familiar with the iPad or other “touchscreen” tablet devices, you’ll be right at home.

(your new Windows 8 desktop screen – where to begin?)

But if you are like the vast majority of my clients, you will be baffled simply trying to get your favourite programs to work.

Here’s a typical article about the trouble with Windows 8:

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/76479.html

I’ve been playing with Windows 8 for the last week and I’m having a tough time myself.

So my short message today is: If you are thinking of buying a new computer soon, you may want to get one with Windows 7 while you can.

Windows 8 is that different

I set up my first Windows 8 computer for a client tomorrow. I’ll be posting my experience on the Reluctant Computers website:

You may want to check it out.

And if you have any questions or need some help, just get in touch.

Thanks for reading,

David

and, at the risk of jumping the gun: