Wait for Windows 10 to get flaws repaired

Bill Husted

I had high hopes — unusual for a cynic like me — for Windows 10.

After all, Windows 8 and 8.1 were such disasters that a smart company such as Microsoft knew it had to hit a home run with the next version of Windows. And early on, I believed that the software giant was making all the right moves.

Tacitly acknowledging that 8 and 8.1 were busts, it skipped Windows 9 altogether in an attempt to distance itself from those horribly designed versions. And, to give Windows 10 an extra push, it did something very un-Microsoft-like. It made Windows 10 free to those who were using most versions of Windows from 7 onward.

That seemed just right to me. Then, to make things even sweeter, early reports about 10 from experts I respect made it clear that 10 was much more usable than 8. To confirm all that, I used a pre-release version and it was clearly better than 8. Sure, it had some glitches and bugs but, after all, it wasn’t the finished version. So that was to be expected. I figured most of those glitches would be gone by the official release date.

Now, after using the final release version — as many of you are doing — about the best thing I can say for Windows 10 is that it is indeed better than Windows 8 and 8.1. But that’s very much like saying that being executed with a lethal injection is superior to taking a seat in the electric chair.

So let’s start with my advice for those who haven’t yet made the move to Windows 10. Then we’ll talk about my reasoning. Wait a bit. There are a lot of rough edges — both in the actual installation process and in using Windows 10. And the free upgrade offer holds for a year. So there should be no hurry to upgrade yet, especially if your computer is running OK with Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. Let the early adopters find all the flaws and give Microsoft some time to fix things.

If you just must move to Windows 10 then buy a new computer with it installed. That takes care of the two biggest problems I’ve run into at home, and that I’ve read about online. You’ll avoid deal- ing with the possible horrors of installing Windows 10. You’ll also skip compatibility problems since the new machine will be designed for 10. Based on emails from readers and in my own case, some programs and hardware that had been working fine refused to work when running Windows 10.

I should have known better when I adopted an optimistic attitude toward 10. For one thing, operat- ing systems are enormously complex beasts, and even the best of them are filled with more bugs than a rotten log until they’ve been on the market for a while.

There’s another reason I should have been more cynical. My own idea of how an operating system should act differs greatly from today’s model when it comes to both Microsoft and Apple. Here’s what I mean. An operating sys- tem should be like a skilled professional waiter at a high-end restaurant. The best waiters seem to anticipate your every move and yet you don’t notice them until you need them. Unlike the guy at middling restaurants, the waiter isn’t going to pull up a chair while you are eating and tell you about Uncle Earl’s fishing trip. They stay in the background working away to make sure your meal is perfect. But they do their best not to interrupt or intrude. So should an operating system.

The modern system of operating systems clashes with that philosophy. There are all sorts of extra features and gadgets. When my computer starts up I get — whether I want it or not — tiny windows filled with add-on services that offer up the weather, try to sell me movies and software, and tout various Windows services. That’s distracting and also adds complexity of an already complex piece of software. I just want the operating system to operate efficiently in the back- ground and let me run my programs.

Look, you can probably tell I’m upset about all this. I had looked forward to Windows 10. And despite all my ranting, I suspect it will end up being a pretty decent operating system, maybe even the best Windows yet. But, for now, it is filled with random pitfalls.

If you use Google to see what others are experiencing you’ll find many others who had trouble installing it, had trouble with hardware and software compatibility. And you’ll also find some who think it’s wonderful.

I can’t know whether you’ll have a fine experience with it, or whether you’ll be faced with dozens of problems. I do know that if I didn’t need to use it to stay current because of this column I’d be moving back to Windows 7 for a while.

By the way, that’s something Microsoft did right. It is possible to return to Windows 7 just by clicking a few buttons. It’s a limited-time feature and one I’d sure be using if I could.