On Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:59:58 -0400, ". . .winston"
wrote:

Char Jackson wrote on 08/10/2015 5:38 PM:
On Mon, 10 Aug 2015 16:57:08 -0400, ". . .winston"
wrote:

(PeteCresswell) wrote on 08/10/2015 2:16 PM:
Somebody is asking me to help them select a Windows laptop.

It's really the blind leading the blind, but I cannot convince them of
that.

My gut says to avoid 10 if at all possible (forced updates, for
instance)... and go with the familiar 8.1 with Start8 or, if possible,
7.

What think Those Who Know?

Ask them if they'd like a MSFT operating system that stop receiving
security updates in 4.33 years.

If they say no...then your choices are Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

As pollsters know, you can usually get the answer you want if you ask the
question in the right way. Above, if the intent is to encourage someone to
choose 8 or 10, that's a good question to ask. OTOH, given what we know
about 8 and 10, they are both immediately disqualified for consideration,
making the choice an easy one.

It's a valid question that could impact the purchaser's economics in
4.33 years beyond the need to purchase an operating system receiving
security updates on the same device.

My experience may not be typical, but the folks I run into seem to
universally share a few traits:
1. They don't make computer purchasing decisions based on what might happen
that far into the future. Current pain is a much bigger motivator than
possible future pain.
2. Many of them don't expect to be using the same computer that far into the
future. If they are, they'll deal with the possibilities then, whatever they
might be.
3. Most are senior citizens, and they've learned to take life as it comes.
Long term planning is for a younger generation.

The first two apply to me, as well. IMHO, basing a purchasing decision today
based on what might happen 4-5 years in the future is beyond foolish, but to
each his or her own.

I'd be willing to take that bet....that purchasing a new device with an
expectation of the o/s being supported for security patches more than
4.33 years, your advice would be ignored by the majority (in fact, it
probably already is starting to lean in that direction more than it was
13 days ago).

Of the people in real life who actually seek my advice, so far no one has
gone ahead with the Win 10 upgrade. Plenty have asked about it, but after
discussing the pros and cons, all have so far declined. They ask my opinion
and I provide it, but the choice is of course theirs.

Regarding the general computing public, I'd guess that nearly all who have
upgraded have done so not because of any perceived improvement in their
lives, but because the new version is, well, new, and everyone knows that
new is better, and free is better still. Except when it isn't, of course,
but uninformed users won't know that. Barnum and Bailey would be proud of
what Microsoft has achieved here.