Windows: 7 or 10???

[skipmac]

Haven't seen this specific question asked but if I missed the thread feel free to berate me and direct me to the discussion.

Time for a new laptop and I find a lot still loaded with Windows 7 (usually 7 Pro) but most loaded with 10. Will mainly use it for email, browsing, saving some boat files, docs and manuals, an occasional movies and of course OpenCPN.

So which way to go. I hated Win 8 and tiles but a salesman (who was trying to sell me a Win10 laptop so I'm taking what he said with a grain of salt), tells me the tiles are gone and Win10 looks and feels more like Win7.

Another point, seems like each succeeding version of Windows is more of a resource hog than the one before, requiring more power and memory to run. Is that the case with Win10 vs Win7.

Any other issues or questions I should ask.

And before this suggestion pops up, don't think I want to go with some Linux version. I may be wrong but from discussions I see about Linux it requires more time and effort to install, compile, configure, etc and I just don't have the time or interest in getting involved in something like that.

[jstevens]

Skip,
I share your dislike of Win8, and Win10 does fix the tile issue (who told MS that I wanted my computer to look like my phone?). The tiles are still there, but you don't have to deal with them for normal processing. MS keeps dumbing down and bloating up the OS with every iteration, but I guess there is nothing to be done about that.
The only Win10 problem I've had was in upgrading an existing system from Win7 to Win10. That system was a 5 year old Dell and Dell did not provide updated drivers for that system. When I upgraded I lost Bluetooth and access to my external HDs. I didn't bother to go back to Win7 on that system as I was in the process of moving off it.

For your intended use I would have no concern moving to Win10 as long as the machine was pre-loaded with Win10 or guaranteed for upgrade to Win10.

Based my upgrade experience I've left my navigation computer on Win7. When I move that system to Win10 it will be to one that was originally sold for Win10. All of my naviation computers have been purchased used from auction sites. For that system I buy a duplicate computer for backup. Buy often and buy cheap.

I do run OpenCPN on my Win10 system, so no concern there.

John

[Kenomac]

I had constant problems for three years with a Windows 7 computer. I finally updated to Windows 10 against everyone's advice and all the problems went away. No issues since the upgrade.

[Dave the Canuck]

Bought a new computer loaded w Windows 10 in December. I was a little leery but it works great. One note, when you are setting yourself up on it, it will ask several times in several ways if Microsoft can collect data from your computer as you use it. Be diligent in saying no. (Like we have any secrets in this day and age).

Good luck.

[skipmac]

Thanks all. So far seems like no major issues with Win 10 but didn't see any comments on performance. Anyone experience a noticeable slow down after upgrading from 7 to 10?

Probably won't be an issue for me since I would be buying new anyway.

[sailorchic34]

I do not have 10, but I've heard it can be a data hog on wifi. That is an issue if your on a boat with a cell internet thingy. You can set wifi to metered in 10, which reduces data use.

I wonder if any anyone using a win 10 system on a boat can post data usage and if it increased with win 10.

That is the main reason I'm sticking to win 7 for the moment.

[dwoodall]

IMHO, W10 is worlds better than XP, 7, or 8. Faster, smaller footprint and far less crash prone. Grab a copy of Classic Shell if you like the XP look and feel. It's free and works great. Used on every machine since XP to git rid of those horrible interfaces. Do be wary of the amount of sharing W10 will do if you let it. Google "Things to turn off in W10" or anything close to that and you will the step by steps for turning off most of the annoying stuff.

HTH,
Doug.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Windows: 7 or 10?

Neither.

I switched to Ubuntu a couple of years ago and never looked back.

Ubuntu is just one of the popular mainstream Linux distributions, but I like it so I haven't really checked out other distributions recently.

I do have to work with Windows every now and again, which usually results in a serious case of TRA (Technology Related Anger) within half an hour

[lindabarzini]

Upgraded to Windows 10. It works great. No problems. No problems upgrading.

[EvilRabbit]

Worth looking at a MacBook too. Definitely the nicest hardware I have used. If it's for light use, look at the MacBook Air.

[Jon Hacking]

They do seem to have made 10 faster than 8 (which was horrid) but I don't know how it compares with 7. 10 does have some annoyances, like enforced updates (on Home edition) & more snooping by MSFT, but 7 isn't getting any more updates, so it's vulnerable if/when it goes on the internet. Since you'll be using it for email & browsing, you'll be on the internet, so I can't recommend 7, even though the 7 UI is what most of us are most comfortable with.

FWIW, we upgraded 7 to 10 & 8.1 to 10 with no problems at all. Both run OpenCPN & GE2KAP fine. Our new email machine came with 10, & suffered from a jerky mouse, which we eventually tracked down to a Realtek Audio Driver (!?!) called FMAPP.

If you're watching movies & using OpenCPN, you'll probably want a big screen. If your computer comes with a Solid State Drive, you'll find (re)boots (& GE2KAP) happen blazingly fast.

[IdoraKeeper]

Tests by CPU mag have shown that bench marks on identical machines comparing Win7 and Win10 are very similar. There is neither degradation nor improvement. Update behavior is different in that Win 10 home is totally automatic which can be annoying when both user and MSFT are trying to use the machine at the same time. Win10 is still free and the touch screen attributes are excellent (using a Win10 tab right now). Way more powerful and versatile than any other OS for modern tablet/convertible machines. It's a homerun. MSFT has leapfrogged the competition.

[Snowpetrel]

Just "upgraded" my old machine from 7 to 10. Not real happy so far. The soundcard doesn't work, and I can't watch panopes YouTube videos properly, the WiFi card keeps dropping out. All up not good, hopefully I'll get her running properly, but at the moment I am not impressed. Can't even get onto their app store!

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Reefmagnet]

Windows 7 will receive security updates until 2020-1-14 when all support will cease.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ilter=FilterNO


After using Windows 10 for a while now as my home PC, I would not recommend it for use in locations where Internet connectivity is limited. It still suffers from atypical Windows "worked yesterday, but not today" issues and I'm over the constant nag screen telling me I can try "Office 365 free for one month".

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I do not have 10, but I've heard it can be a data hog on wifi. That is an issue if your on a boat with a cell internet thingy. You can set wifi to metered in 10, which reduces data use.

I wonder if any anyone using a win 10 system on a boat can post data usage and if it increased with win 10.

That is the main reason I'm sticking to win 7 for the moment.

I've read some comments about this issue with 10. In my situation I would turn off the internet connection unless I'm in a position to deal with the large updates.

Really annoying that Windows won't let the user control this. $#$%^$@#!!!!