Windows 10 is an Impressive Surprise—And the Most Forward-Looking Operating System We Have

By Will Oremus

I’m typing this article on a Microsoft Surface tablet, using Windows 10.

That's important for two reasons. First, Microsoft released Windows 10 in some 190 countries on Wednesday, and for desktop PC users, it's an enormous improvement on its predecessor, Windows 8. Microsoft, whose dominance in the desktop operating system market was called into question for the first time in decades by the Windows 8 debacle three years ago, is back in business.

Second, it's significant that I'm typing this on a tablet because that's something I've never done before. Writing an article, for me, requires constantly switching between a word processor, Evernote, Slack, and numerous browser tabs. Every time I've tried to do it on a tablet—whether on an iPad, a Surface, or an Amazon Fire—the experience has been so frustrating that I've given up.

Not this time. If Windows 8 was the first operating system to turn your desktop computer into a tablet—an idea whose time has not yet come, and may never—Windows 10 is the first to let you turn your tablet into an honest-to-God-functional PC. (Thankfully, for beleaguered desktop users of Windows 8, it also lets you turn your PC back into a PC.)

In short, Windows 10 is the operating system Microsoft should have released three years ago. But it isn’t just an improvement on its predecessors. It is, as of today, the most versatile and forward-looking operating system in the world. That’s because it is the first to recognize and embrace the future of computing: a world in which all your devices are just different-sized screens running the same software.

Read the rest here.

Also this UPDATE from OSM:

Microsoft released is new operating system on July 29, but since doing so the Windows 10 upgrade is getting stuck in server woes. Many users reported all over social media channels the new install process was getting stuck, stalling at the progress bar loop then leaving a message saying, “Preparing to Install.”...It did go smoothly for a lot of people installing but there were a huge number experiencing the install getting stuck on the “Preparing to Install”.