I don't really think so.  I was only on Win7 for a few months so I'm really not sure how many details are new or changed, but I sure don't use any of the device coordination, cloud, Cortana, and most of the other things I've seen advertised as selling points.

My installation of Win10 was purely to push out the end of support date.  I fully expect my (mostly new) hardware to outlive Win7 and it seemed silly to make myself pay for an o/s upgrade in a couple of years.  In that regard, no regrets here.

I think Windows 10 makes me sad because I don't "understand" it. The truth is Windows 10 makes me feel old. I don't see the value of these new features for regular mouse/keyboard users.

Cortana can be useful, but the concept of a digital assistant is somewhat foreign to me. Granted, I am not an early adopter kind of person. Microsoft is talking about Skype bots. Bots? I don't even know what that is. Looked it up: a computer program that works automatically, especially one that searches for and finds information on the internet.

Windows 10, iOS and Android give me the feeling I am living in a brave new world which I frankly just don't like. I realize my workflow is very old-school and I don't "understand" touch, touch-apps and integrated services like Cortana. I feel like my grandpa when I showed him a videogame in the early 90's. He looked at it and said: what is it good for?

I am thinking about this every day... Paradise lost. It surprises me that I am that attached to an operating system. Well, I don't mind being a geek/nerd.

My thoughts also.

I use the explorer ribbon too, so I guess I could count that.  I realized this morning that one thing I do use all the time is the little systray popup clock/calender popup, that thing's handy as heck and could've been made "just for me" .

I use Old New Explorer to replace the ribbon. Kinda like the 'feel' of it. Another thing I find useful from time to time is the organize option on the left side of the window. When you have as many oops moments as I do being able to 'undo' is priceless.

Me, well I just want a straight up desktop with none of the app clutter that began with Win 8 and got worse in 10.  I absolutely hate 10's default start menu with those damned 'suggestions' [glorified ads] and all that tile crap on it - looks fechen gaudy and is an eyesore - so I got rid of it and use Stardock's Start10 replacement menu to return some semblance of sense to the desktop.

I never use Cortana and have disabled it, I disabled or uninstalled the built-in apps, I use the Control Panel rather than 'Settings' and I do pretty much everything the same way as I did in Win 7.... and 8.1.  And no, I don't feel old or outdated.  Simply put, I use what I need of modern tech and devices.  For example, I have a Windows 8.1 phone which has tiles, and I don't mind seeing them being there, just NOT on my PC.

That answer your question?

Sadly, Microsoft, in its 'wisdom', has hacked out some of the key elements of Windows past.... Like parts of Control Panel, Windows Media Centre, etc.  There are probably others but I can't think of then right now... damned vertigo messes with my concentration, etc.

Anyway, Control Panel is mostly there in Win 10, and that's what I use over 'Settings'.  However, there are some 3rd-party programs that bring back functionality and ease of access back to Windows since things began 'disappearing'....   I often check out System Tools over at majorgeeks for new releases that may replace or better MS utilities.  In fact, there's a whole raft of great freeware and shareware that betters MS' offerings at majorgeeks.

Still, Microsoft could have done better with Win 10, in many respects, but I just see things getting worse as Windows moves over to a subscription service and users are forced to pay to use their OWN PCs.  Subscription models for 'non-essential' software is one thing, and people have a choice to subscribe or not, but a subscription for an operating system is not in the best interests of users... like when 'hiccups' occur over 'payment' and MS shuts it down.  Nope, it is not a good idea, and while some say the Windows subscription model will never happen, I believe it is inevitable.

@ bbscruffybuck

And in which division at Microsoft did you say you worked?  

Nah, seriously, if you're happy with Win 10 then good for you.

I am still doing the same as when I first posted in July of 2016. I have no use for Windows 10 other than changing it by designing Windowblinds skins. Windows 7 is still, and will always be my primary OS.

Thanks bbscruffybuck for your kind words, and enjoy!

(and where do you hide the spare key?)     

A rather long post...

Windows 10

I generally have weak hardware. I like silence (read fanless) and Windows 10 uses more resources than any version before it. It's heavy (try using it on a HDD ) without providing anything I want that I can't get in Windows 7 or 8.1. Then there are the privacy and forced update aspects which made it a non-starter for me. I have even stopped testing it, because I don't see the point. I'm still optimistic though. Many users are concerned and according to Netmarketshare (website statistics) Windows 10 has around 28 % desktop share, while Windows 7 has around 48 % (August, 2017). Right now Windows 10 is growing at a very slow pace, but that may change of course.

https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0

What I'm trying to say is that if MS doesn't want to lose a good chunk of their userbase, the company has to make some modifications to Windows 10. At least give users control over updates. Giving home users access to a stable (5 or 10 year supported build) would also go a long way. Wouldn't it be great if all Windows 10 users were on the same build, except Insider users? It would be easier for developers too.

Desktop Linux is getting locked down

While Linux potentially could provide a new home for disgruntled Windows 10 users I wonder if that will be the case. There is so much stupidity going on in desktop Linux land. All in the name of "security" and "security" in this case means locking down the system and removing the user from the equation. Taking away maybe the most important reason some people like desktop Linux.

Being free to poke around and tweak the system just by editing simple textfiles. "Linux is not Unix" as they say, but I like the Unix way: Everything is a textfile written in human readable text. No registry, just edit textfiles to tweak your system or use a GUI program to do it for you. This was always the core strength of Unix (Linux). Take that simplicity away and the power of Unix goes away.

MS has the resources to write complicated code. Linux devs don't. When they write complicated stuff like Systemd it works like shit. Unfortunately many distros have adopted it and some people defend it for reasons that don't make sense to me. For me, Systemd is for Linux what Windows 10 is for Windows. And it doesn't stop there. "They" want to kill most of the customization too with Wayland display protocol. Maybe Wayland makes sense on a phone, but not if you want cool stuff.

One might think that this doesn't matter for ordinary people, but it does. If you want to get away from Windows 10 for whatever reason and you are willing to accept less hardware and software support, then at least you want a stable system. There is no guarantee for that anymore. There never was a guarantee, but 5-10 years ago desktop Linux was simpler and saner (from a Unix perspective). Everything has been rewritten the last ten years and only the kernel itself (Linux) is "production quality". Everything else is "developer playground". A bit like Windows 10 actually, only difference MS has more resources and can afford "experimenting".

The future

I don't think disgruntled Windows 10 users will go to desktop Linux in meaningful numbers. They will stay on previous versions (which we already have seen by the numbers from Netmarketshare) or use phones and tablets more. Apple could expand their userbase if they wanted, but they don't want to. It's more important to keep Mac prices high. Chromebooks could also grow a little especially with Android app support.

I have seen on various forums that the resistance to Windows 10 is pretty compact (or at least vocal). I'm confident Windows 10 won't reach 1 billion users before 2020. By users I mean real users and not "Monthly Active Users" who fire up their Windows 10 VM once a month. I have no desire to see Windows 10 "fail" other than it may be the only way to make MS listen to users and give back some control. A PC should be a personal computer, not a thin client experience.

Unfortunately, there is only one way to combat what I consider "bad ideas" - don't adopt them. If I don't like Windows 10 - don't use it. If I don't like Systemd - don't use it. If I think Apple prices are too high - never buy anything from the company.

If you like Windows 10, personal assistants, virtual reality, augmented reality, voice recognition and mobile-focused tech; be happy because the future belongs to you. My problem is that nothing of this excites me. I complain about the “smartphone fetish” that has affected most of humanity, but maybe I’m just jealous of people who have something to be excited about. If I would be excited about the next build of Windows 10 or the next iPhone then my life would be, well, more exciting.    

That would be the distro I would pick for older hardware. Most modern distros contain Systemd, which I'm not exactly thrilled about, but MX Linux works around it.   Stable and lightweight - not that common in Linuxland anymore - enjoy it while it lasts. Probably half the RAM usage of Windows 7 if you uncheck a few unnecessary start-up apps. Typically around 350 MB. If you are a Nvidia guy and install proprietary Nvidia drivers that number will increase.