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Today marks my two-week anniversary with Windows 10. As a Windows Insider, I also had access to the beta (pre-release) versions of Windows 10. I don't like to draw many firm conclusions about beta software, especially for something as complicated as an operating system. But now I've had the release version running for a fortnight, so it seemed like a good idea to go over some initial impressions of what I like and don't about Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system.

First, the install was a breeze -- once I was actually able to download the blasted thing. I got several failed attempts, and I couldn't figure out why. It was frustrating beyond belief -- then I read this article in Redmond magazine. Pay special attention to the part about the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder, and then deleting the files in the "\Download" folder. Warning: Do not delete the folder itself -- just the files inside the folder. For me, this did the trick.

49 Minutes to Install

Once that was done, the download went as it should. Then Windows 10 installed itself. In total, the install took 49 minutes -- a record for me when it comes to upgrading to a new version of Windows. I've done many, many upgrades over the years, beginning with Windows 95, which I upgraded to Windows XP. I've upgraded on laptops and desktops alike, and done it for every single version of Windows, except Windows 8 (which I bought new with my current laptop.) It should be emphasized that I have a new-ish, very powerful laptop (as I've discussed before).

But I've also upgraded Windows on other machines that were very high-end for that time. And it's never been less than about 90 minutes to upgrade before.

So for me, Windows 10 took about half the time to install. And since then, it's run very, very smoothly. I haven't experienced crashes or freezes (the notorious blue screen of death, for example), and all my previous programs have worked perfectly. This is also the first time I've experienced such a seamless upgrade. Previously, there were always problems, often small, but sometimes big, after an upgrade. Having such a huge beta program, with millions of users, surely helped Microsoft iron out many of the kinks beforehand.

For Some, It's More Like 24 Hours

The other side of the coin is my kids' laptop, a much less-powerful computer than mine. It kept choking on the Windows 10 download, saying it was downloading the OS, but taking hours and hours and hours. I've heard about some cases where it takes up to 24 hours to download! If that's you, be patient; you'll get there eventually.

I'm already completely used to the new Start button/Start Menu. I've written about it several times already, and won't rehash that information here. Suffice it to say that it changes the way you think about Windows. It has the intuitive feel of the Windows 7 Start menu, but adds new features. It didn't take much time at all to get comfortable with it, and it won't take you much time, either.

I've been playing with all the cool gadgets here and there, including the Action Center, Taskbar, Live Tiles, system settings and so on (click here for a tour of the Windows 10 interface). I'll be helping you learn about all that in the future, but the summary is that most everything I've run across thus far works great, and although much of it replicates functionality from previous Windows versions, it's still easier to find stuff, and things are more logically laid out than any previous version of Windows.

The Edge of Disappointment

I have just one big disappointment so far, and it's Edge, the new Microsoft browser. I was excited to see it in the Windows 10 betas, but it never worked very well for me. And now that I've used it in the release version, I'm still not crazy about it. In fact, I rarely even open it; I still rely on Chrome as my default browser. Things like creating and organizing bookmarks, for example, aren't as easy. It may just be that I haven't used it enough; if my opinion changes, I'll let you know.

So that's a lot of praise and a little bit of complaining about Windows 10 after two weeks of heavy usage. If I were to rank my happiness with it to this point, I'd give it an 8 out of 10. I'll be interested to see if my rankings change over the coming months, as bugs get ironed out, and I dig more fully into things like Cortana. But so far, so very good.

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