- Windows 10 is the last big O.S rollout, so you'll never need to buy Windows again
- For home users with genuine Windows 7 or 8, it is free to upgrade until July this year
- Windows 7 and Windows 8 will become obsolete by November this year. By that I mean, you won't be able to purchase either of them anymore - the only Windows you'll be able to buy will be Windows 10. The O.S'es will still get updates on Extended Support until 2020.
- From my experience, it's the most stable, fastest, most intuitive O.S so far and I wouldn't go back
- The Start Menu is back with tiles as it was stupidly removed in Windows 8, though I still use Classic Shell (free)
- There is a free update to get new features of Windows 10 in summer this year, dubbed the Anniversary Update
- It's free to download and make a CD or USB installer of Windows 10 using the Windows 10 Media Creator Tool (and it has both x86 and x64 - although you should be using x64 systems by now)
Some things to be aware of
- If you have the ability, I'd recommend doing a brand new install rather than an upgrade so that you aren't left with your old Windows and old copies of all your installed drivers - some people report that wireless doesn't work after an upgrade, which is due to Windows cloning them in case you want to go back. Also, it means you can save space on your hard drives by not keeping the original Windows 7 or 8 System Reserved partition. This does mean your OEM's partitions will be erased, but they are not worth going back to for the hassle.
- If you do upgrade, run cleanmgr and C-Cleaner afterwards to clean up your system
- It's worth reviewing all of the privacy options and the settings regarding Windows Update, I would dial them all back a bit
- If you have video display issues, or issues with any other components, then use this tool in this link to install your own drivers from the OEM rather than use Microsoft's ones
'I have Windows 7. Why do I need to update?' (original post)
- Windows 7 mainstream support has already ended, so you'll no longer get free support from Microsoft
- This also means that you won't get any more security updates either, so your computer will become more vulnerable to attack
- You will not get any new functionality introduced in newer operating systems
- As time goes on, some programs will lose support for Windows 7
- Windows 10 is more user-friendly, more efficient, more stable, more reliable, more secure, and has the best device support
