Saturday, September 5, 2015

Asus T100 Transformer Windows 10 upgrade quick notes

What.

I didn't really plan on making any input on this, but there has been so much written and spoken about the upgrade to 10, how to do it and security issues...so I had to comment.

I do not have the reference, but apparently the free Windows 10 upgrade for selected OSs requires an install over an existing installation...so that is how I did mine.

Where.

Background is I have a bone stock T100.  I moved files around and deleted some programs to give myself 7 gigs of space on the C: drive.  (I have a large microSD card for the D: drive)

It was running Win8/8.1 (I think it might have been 8 and I upgraded to 8.1...don't remember) preinstalled, and no OS key on the machine or on the box...so kind of hard to type one in (I won't get into software that gets those keys)

Why.

I did not like the 'metro' of 8.1...although as a tablet it was handy at times...depending on what apps you had. 

How.

So I used the toolbar prompt to upgrade to 10.  It downloaded some files, and started installing.   During the install it said I can always roll back to 8 and it did not ask if I wanted to migrate data.

Took maybe half hour to an hour to do the install, rebooted a few times during the install.

Now here is the part where you need to pay attention. 

SECURITY!

After the install is complete, it goes through the setup process, and asks a ton of questions (If you don't select default install).   The good news is you appear to have a lot of control over privacy and security...the bad news is it defaults to sharing everything, using all open wifi spots, sharing your location and browsing history with whoever, and probably some others I don't remember.  

The better news is you can say no to everything, and later on in the settings can easily turn some back on if you feel lucky.

The big news about sharing your wifi settings to your contacts has changed...the settings are different,  I did not see the same options that I read about.

Impressions.

I already much prefer 10 to 8.  The tablet interface is similar but a bit different...and BTW the 'metro' screen is not the default, but you can pull it up by selecting 'Tablet mode' on the right swipe menu.  (for those used to the 8 interface).

Overall feel is much tighter...I felt 8.1 still was a bit flakey...this one feels like it has a strong regular desktop mode, and the tablet mode (metro) also feels much tighter.

Software.

All my previously installed software, either desktop programs, or metro apps still work just fine...and they haven't moved.  (although the metro screen is a bit different).


Summary.

If you are running 8/8.1 hurry and do this upgrade!   I haven't upgraded 7 yet...I will probably do my 7 laptop first...but I don't yet see any downsides to upgrading it either...however if you like your 7, you might as well wait...but if you are on a tablet...upgrade.



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