This Windows update allows users to upgrade from a previous version of windows, to Windows 10 without needing to download and burn an ISO to a DVD and re install. By joining the Windows Insider Program a windows update will appear and take care of the update for you. This is still a technical preview of Windows 10, however it is geared more towards consumers interested in testing out windows.

This build came along with new that Microsoft will be letting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 users upgrade to Windows 10 for free up to a year. 

 

In a previous build of Windows 10 that I had on a virtual machine I tried to install Visual Studio. The previous build of Windows 10 could no do it and had bizarre glitches. This build runs Visual Studio fine however it was already installed and this build is running natively on a laptop rather than a virtual machine.

See my article about the previous build of Windows 10.

 

Because I am running this build of Windows natively rather than in a virtual box like previous builds, I can not accurately compare the stability. That said, this new build seems to be much more stable than the last.

This build has a few new features.

Contra is now next to the start menu and gives a google now type of feed including recent search history, national and local news, and weather.

 

 

You can switch to a tablet mode which brings back the windows 8 start menu and forces windows to run maximized. In a previous article I wrote this feature didn't exist yet. I am happy to see that it does now. 

 

 

There is now a Xbox store, although it is just a preview.  

 

Overall this new build of Windows 10 is very stable. Windows is finally catching up to Linux and Apple. 

Update:

Windows will be keeping the metro tile start screen for touch devices.

 

Disclaimer 

If you like experimenting with operating systems great news, Windows 10 is now available to demo.

If you just hate windows 8 and want to move on to the next thing or you love windows and can't wait for the next one, this isn't for you not yet. Windows 10 is not ready for the consumer yet. Although so far Windows 10 is great news for both of you.  

This is just a preview so it has bugs and isn't very stable, also a key logger. So don't install this on your main computer.

If you like experimenting with operating systems, are curious and have an extra computer laying around, or have a computer suitable for running a virtual machine and want to check out Windows 10, this is for you.

If you understand this is not a usable operating system and is just for testing purposes, lets begin.   

Installation 

1. Make a Virtual Box of set an old or extra computer. Not too old it needs to have reasonable specs, but if you get it running on something really old let me know.

2. Go get the ISO burn it to a DVD and put it in your computer or mount it in your virtual machine.

3. Boot off of the DVD and follow the installation instructions on screen, it will do everything for you.

Review 

I installed Windows 10 in a virtual box on top of windows 7. My computer has an i7 with 8 GB of RAM and had no trouble running Windows 10 in Virtual Box.

It synced all of my settings and wallpaper from my windows 8.1 tablet. This was a pretty nice feature however I would have liked if it installed all of my programs and apps as well. At first I did not like the windows live user log in but I can see how it can have some benefits.    

Windows 8 has received a good deal of hate for the metro tiles replacing start menu and some people actually like the metro tiles. The new start menu tries to make a compromise by putting the metro tiles in the start menu. For the desktop or laptops, this is perfect. For tablets I am not so sure. My experience with windows 8 tablets is limited, however I think the metro dash makes more sense for tablets than this start menu. Windows 10 will make a lot of desktop and laptop users happy, while possibly upsetting many tablet users.

Update: Touch screen devices will have the metro tile start screen. I retract what I said about it not being good for tablet users.

The metro apps open in a window instead of full screen mode as seen with the app store below.  

Overall it seems relatively stable for a developer preview however some apps have crashed when attempting to run them and they will not start unless virtual box is in full screen due to screen resolution.

The main selling point of Windows 10 for me is multiple desktops. I am surprised it took this long for Microsoft to implement them. For those of you not familiar with having multiple desktops, you are in for a treat it really helps you keep things organized. 

I am looking forward to the stable release of Windows 10 that is free of any key loggers, but only for the desktop. For small tablets Windows 10 is a giant step backward. For large touch screen tablets and desktops Windows 10 will be a giant leap forward.