As many of you are aware, Microsoft will be releasing Windows 10 on July 29th. They will make it available for free for all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to all “non-enterprise” users. In fact, many of you may have noticed a white Microsoft flag logo appearing near your clock announcing that fact. If you click on the icon, you can sign up for the free upgrade when it is release. Microsoft will make the free upgrade available for one year. After that time, you will have to pay for the upgrade.
There are some caveats regarding the release. First, windows users that use a Domain server are not prompted with the Windows flag. This is because their upgrades will be managed by their server administrators. Also, not all versions of Windows 7/8 are eligible for the free upgrade. Many of our customers have purchased Windows 7/8 via 3rd parties such as Techsoup. It is unclear whether these licenses are eligible.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has yet to make the Windows 10 release available to its partners. So, testing has not been done on this new version. So, its compatibility with existing software and its reliability has yet to be determined by EKG Networking. Also, we cannot test the upgrade process itself. Or, whether the upgrade can be undone.
Our advice regarding the upgrade is to sign up for the free upgrade if you are prompted via the white Microsoft flag logo. However, do not install it when Windows 10 is released. Wait.
There is no reason to upgrade right away other than curiosity. If you upgrade close to release date, you will be one of thousands who might have problems all at the same time. Also, some of these problems might not have solutions right away. So, wait.
Many of you use specialty software that may not be compatible with Windows 10 and may never be compatible. The compatibility of the software you rely upon needs to be confirmed with the manufacture of that software. You also have to make sure that your specific version of your software is compatible. Some older versions may never be tested. Some manufactures have already announced which versions of their software they have tested. However, some have not. If a manufacture has not announced their compatibility with Windows 10, wait to do the upgrade.
EKG Networking will give the all clear when we are comfortable the upgrade will do no harm. However, we may have to approve the upgrade on a case-by-case basis. Since we cannot test it, we cannot say for sure at this time.