Are you upgrading to Windows 10?

Are the potential performance increases from DirectX 12 sufficient? The few articles I've read seem to indicate there is a good amount of potential for improvement once engines are written to properly take advantage of it.

Either way if Microsoft sticks to their decision to make Windows 10 the last major release then eventually you will end up using it. I feel like you would be better off switching before you're too comfortable with Windows 8.1.

 

I guess I can research and see if Cortana, the purchasing verification and whatever other bloat they added can be easily removed or if it is all integrated right into the OS. I do not want that stuff. That is the thing. They shove all of this stuff in and it would be fine if there was a very clear features list one could just uncheck to disable a feature. But forcing it on a person is what ticks me off. Anyway I will do some research.

 

Is there anything wrong with just not using it? You strike me as being hostile towards these new features for whatever reason.

I know the marketing wants us to think of it differently, but isn't Cortana essentially just a device-agnostic and user friendly command prompt?

 

I don't know if you'd be able to remove Cortana, but initial searching indicates that you can simply disable and hide it.

http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-disable-cortana-in-windows-10/

 

Why are you so against a feature before even trying it? Everyone seems to hate change.

It's so much easier to ask for Cortana to solve a math problem, open a not so frequently used app, or google something. It's voice recognition is world class. Never have had any issues.

 

Ha ha. I probably come across as hostile in my writing more than I do in person. My dislike for the new features is due to the fact I never asked for them and have no use for them. Yet they are running on the computer I bought requiring resources for no reason. If I can simply disable them as @Ryiah mentioned above that would not be an issue. Alternately, if I can locate these services and stop them from ever being started (and the whole OS doesn't become erratic) that would also work as that is what I have been doing with Windows for a long time now.

 

While there are cases where I agree, often we don't know how something will make life easier until we give it a shot. Nobody asked for an automobile, but they changed lives once they were available. I'm not convinced about Cortana yet as I haven't used it myself, but I'm certainly not against it being present on principle alone.

I guess what I'm saying is, rather than your research focusing on how to remove it from your system, perhaps also spend some time researching whether or not it might be useful?

 

I really like that they finally added support for multiple desktops. I also really really like Cortana on my Windows Phone. I even use it for things like enabling and disabling phone settings so I don't have to navigate to them.

The Continuum feature is also great as it automatically adapts to different display sizes. Having the same OS run on my phone, Surface Pro, PC, Laptop and Xbox One is really attractive to me, though we won't see the device support roll out probably until around September.

I still prefer the old start menu to the new one, but the new one is at least very usable and much much improved over Windows 8 / 8.1. And I like the fact that all "modern" apps are windowable.

Task View has been updated (ALT + Tab) and also has a shortcut in the task bar... much easier to see what you're switching to now.

The command prompt window is finally resizable. Thank you lord... because I use the command prompt fairly frequently.

You can also force the UI to Tablet mode. This is handy if you're using things like a touch-screen laptop and want the tablet style experience (like the full screen start menu ala 8.1).

There are additional login / security options. Fingerprint scanner support, retinal scanning, facial recognition. Nothing that I would ever use but still kind of cool.

There are some other features that I've seen but having tried. I saw a secure storage option when I was perusing the preview build but I can't recall where and I'm not sure what it did.

 

Naw man, it's all about profile avatar bias. Your icon has a lot of reddish tones and your posture isn't entirely passive. It's going to color how a lot of people read your posts. If you were at least smiling it would help counter balance it.

Avatar bias is realsies!

 

LOL! In a week or three I'll change it. I kind of randomly choose a profile pic every so often.

 

Some people just don't like the stuff. Years ago I bought Dragon Naturally Speaking. That was useful and I had a need for it at the time. Writing many articles and wanted to see if I could just dictate it rather than typing them all. I am not against new stuff. To be in IT there is always something new. But not every single new thing is something I need or care to look into. I have enough things I am checking out every week as it is.

 

Yes, I can't help but find myself reading a certain user's posts with the voice of a certain penguin. It may or may not make them seem a little snarky at times, but I definitely look forward to them a bit more because of it. Almost makes me curious how I come across to people.

 

True but it is easy enough just to not use features. Windows 10 is already faster than Windows 8.1 by a good margin and even more so than Windows 7. I ran it on my old quad core Q6600 and it was slick, even with the default options so it's a net gain either way. And Cortana can be disabled.

 

That sounds good. Those are real benefits. What about the purchasing identity confimation "searching for you" thing? Did you happen to notice if that can be easily killed as well? I didn't see anything mentioned in the videos about performance improvements. The focus was on the return of a start menu, Cortana, payment verification and other additions that I have no interest in. Basically I just want the OS to get out of the way so I can do whatever it is I am doing.

 

Good question... I don't even have a web cam hooked up and it didn't ask for any additional verification. Just the standard purchase so it must all be optional. I think the performance improvements are also implied because it's made to scale across different devices.

 

Do you already have a paid Windows 7 or 8.1 on that Mac? I think that's the requirement.

 

You'll probably have to install 8.1 and then you'll get prompted to update at some point in your task bar.