Ron wonders why he hasn't gotten a Windows 10 invite. Will he get left out? Leo says no. Although not everyone is getting that invitation, and Microsoft isn't saying why, they do say that everyone with Windows 7 and above will get a free version of Windows 10.
Gail has decided to "learn to love" Windows 8.1, and is now wondering if it's worth upgrading to Windows 10. Leo says he merely tolerates Windows 8.1, and the good news it that several of its annoying features such as the charms bar are going away in Windows 10. The Start button will also return with a hybrid menu that combines the traditional Start menu with the Windows 8 tile interface. Leo foresees some issues with that interface, though, since it will cause more clutter when adding programs.
Rich really likes Windows 7, but he's been getting a notice asking if he wants to upgrade to Windows 10. He's not so sure if he wants to, though. Leo says he doesn't really have to. That icon is really just for signing up to reserve a copy. When it's time to install, he can always choose not to.
Alan would like to take the existing system he has and wipe it to get ready for the upgrade to Windows 10. He's wondering how Microsoft is planning to do the upgrade. Leo says that there will be a clean install upgrade available, but nobody really knows how it will work. Paul Thurrott has an article on it. He'll download an ISO disc image, put that on a bootable USB (great idea) or burn it to a DVD, save the key, and activate it. It'll be pretty straight forward.
Dennis bought a used Lenovo T61 with Windows XP and recovery discs. He bought Windows 7 64 bit and sought to install it, but he can't. Leo says that Dennis may want to try 32 bit instead because of the age of the machine. Leo suggests wiping the drive because XP can't upgrade past Windows 7. So he should wipe the drive and give it a native installation.
Matt isn't sure his 2013 MacBook Pro is upgradable to Yosemite. Leo says it is, and all he needs to do is check the Apple App Store.
Mike called to ask Leo if he should put any money into his five year old MacBook or just upgrade. Leo says that it's high time to upgrade to a new Mac since he's going to want to move forward with Yosemite. If he can afford a new one, that's the best option. The connectors of a laptop can start going out after that time.
Roy bought Windows 7 for his new laptop. He hears that he will be able to upgrade to Windows 10, but why would he do that since he walked away from Windows 8? Leo says that Microsoft has made a lot of fixes to Windows that make it more like what it was before Windows 8's radical redesign. Users with Windows 7 and 8 will be able to upgrade for free. Leo says that Windows 10, which he has been using, has made major strides. That being said, he shouldn't feel the need to upgrade right away. He can wait a few months after it launches.
David has a Windows 7 Professional Machine and he's about to upgrade his computer. He wants to migrate everything over. Leo says that there is a Windows Migration Assistant, which is currently entitled Windows Easy Transfer. When he runs that, and it'll walk him through it by connecting both computers via Ethernet.
Vicki keeps getting notified about doing an upgrade to Yosemite. But being a private investigator, she's afraid to upgrade because it could break the software she uses. Leo says that's a legitimate fear. In general, if she's doing work on it, it's good to always be slow in performing major updates. She could consider doing it in between cases or while on vacation, perhaps. A major upgrade like that can break her software, or with a utility like iDVD, Apple may decide not to support it any longer and not include it in the next version of the operating system.
