Should You Upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft is rather anxious to get people to upgrade to Windows 10 these days, and they are showing it by constant suggestions and by displaying windows that don’t have an obvious option to say “no.” In order to avoid the upgrade, you can always use the window’s normal ‘X’ button to close it without installing.

But what should you do?

Despite my annoyance at Microsoft’s insistence, Windows 10 is not a bad operating system, and in fact has many things to recommend it. If you’re running Windows 8 or even 8.1 I’d say upgrading is a good choice. If you’re running Windows 7, I’d likely wait until support stops before going for the upgrade. But that’s more a feeling than a technical decision.

The key issue with an operating system upgrade is to check the requirements for your software. It would be very unfortunate if you upgrade to Windows 10 and then find out that some key piece of software won’t work. More commonly, you’ll find that it will work, but that the manufacturer won’t support it. Over half of my clients at the moment have software that is not supported under Windows 10. In each case, this is an industry or profession specific piece of managements software. The smaller market means that updates to handle new operating systems take longer.

But there are some advantages to upgrading to Windows 10 sooner than later. First, Windows 10 brings together PCs, tablets, and phones with an operating system that functions in similar ways across devices where possible. Second, it is much better adapted to touch screens, which are becoming more and more common. While Windows does not work like Android or iOS, there are some similarities. This is the direction that our software environments are headed. You can fight it, but at some time in the not too distant future, you’re going to need to adapt.

So make a list of the key software you use and check the system requirements. My suggestion is that whenever all your software is supported for Windows 10, you should go ahead and upgrade.