7 Reasons You Need to Upgrade to Windows 10 Right Now

If you’ve still been hanging on to Windows 7, it’s understandable. It was one of the most popular Microsoft operating systems. And, even though it’s nearing its end of support on January 14, 2020, it’s still used by many loyal computer users.

As of June 2019, about 35% of all desktop users were still using Windows 7, just 10% less than Windows 10. We’d guess that many of those 35% haven’t yet realized all the excellent features that Windows 10 has to offer.
Windows 10 is a major upgrade in the user experience that includes many features that used to be enjoyed by Mac users only. It also happens to be a reliably stable OS, which puts many business owners at ease when it comes time to upgrade.

So, why should you upgrade to Windows 10 right away? Here are 7 reasons you’re going to want to make the switch sooner rather than later.

Top Features, Tips & Tricks Offered in Windows 10

At the end of 2018, Windows 10 was active on nearly 700 million devices, with adoption growing rapidly throughout 2019. It’s the number one operating system in the world.

Here are some of the reasons why.

Customize Your Start Menu

The start menu in Windows 10 is designed to give you exactly what you need to launch your most used applications quickly. You don’t have to search through a long list of programs to find what you’re looking for, just drag and drop your favorites into the start panel interface.

You can group similar programs into sections that you can also name. For example, you could have a “Work” section, and include inside for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Slack and Salesforce. Or have a “Play Time” section with Netflix, Xbox, and Solitaire. 

Send and Receive Texts on Your Computer

A feature that iPhone and iMac users have had for a while was the ability to connect their phone and send and receive text messages on their computer. (Much easier if you’re typing a long text!). Windows 10’s latest major update in October of 2018 brought this same feature for Android users. 

Just pair your Android device using the Your Phone app in Windows 10 and enjoy sharing photos, texts, and more between devices.

Dictate Work to Cortana

You can enable Microsoft’s voice assistant, Cortana, on Windows 10 and save yourself some typing or get answers to questions, like “What’s the weather today?”.

Set up Cortana by clicking the Windows Start icon and then typing “Cortana” into the search bar. It will walk you through the setup process to give you access to the powerful speech recognition assistant, which you can use for dictating notes, emails, and more.

Stay Backed Up to OneDrive 

If you have an Office 365 subscription, then each user automatically has a Terabyte of storage on OneDrive and it’s fully integrated with Windows 10. Store and share files across devices easily and securely and automatically back up your computer so every file is being saved as you type it.

OneDrive is a lifesaver if you have a program crash while you’re in the middle of editing a document. Instead of bemoaning the fact that you didn’t save before you crashed, you’ll be retrieving the file through the autosaved OneDrive copy. 

Take Screenshots of Any Area You Like

One feature that could potentially change your life, or at least your computing, is the flexible screenshot feature in Windows 10. This is an example of them “one-upping” Apple by offering more flexibility to how screenshots are done. 

Press the Windows Key-Shift-S, and you’ll get a small screenshot bar at the top of the window. You can choose the first option to drag a rectangle over the area of your screen that you want to screenshot or choose the freeform option to get a circular type screenshot, based upon how you drag the cursor. 

Screenshots are then opened in Snip & Sketch and you can add annotations if you like before saving.

Snap Windows Side-by-Side

Don’t you hate when you’re trying to see two windows at the same time and have to keep toggling back and forth? Maybe you’re typing numbers from a web browser window into an Excel spreadsheet and just wish you could see them both easily.

Windows 10 has a Snap Assist feature to help. Just drag a window to the corner and it will snap into place, taking up half the screen. You can also snap two, three, or four windows evenly just by dragging them to the appropriate corner.

Pin Favorite Webpages to Your Start Menu

Remember that customizable Start Menu? Well you can also save links to your most used webpages there too for quick and easy access when you need it.

You’ll need to pull up the webpage in the Edge browser. Then just click the three dots in the upper right corner and choose “Pin this page to Start.” Note: If you don’t see it, hover over “More tools”.

Get Help with a Smooth Windows 10 Upgrade

Want to ensure your upgrade to Windows 10 goes smoothly without any hiccups? Call BrainStomp! Whether you’re updating the operating system on the same PC or upgrading computers and need to migrate your data, we can make sure the transition is fast and efficient.

Schedule your Windows 10 upgrade today by calling 260-918-3548 or contacting us online.