The main alternative ecosystems are run by Apple and Google. The other thing to bear in mind is that we are in an ecosystem war that Microsoft wants to win.

Microsoft’s boss Satya Nadella keeps repeating his “ cloud first, mobile first” mantra, and Windows will continue to become increasingly mobile and cloud-aware. I know this upsets people who think their PCs should work just like they did in a previous century, but the whole technology world is changing and Windows is changing along with it. I say “the more mobile, the better” because Windows 10 is a mobile operating system. (The touchscreen isn’t essential, it’s just nice to have.) If you have a modern Windows laptop or 2-in-1 with UEFI firmware, the upgrade is more attractive. If you have an old desktop PC with no touchscreen, no camera and no microphone, there are fewer benefits. Whether it’s worth upgrading now depends on what sort of PC you have, but the more mobile, the better. There will (probably) never be a Windows 11, because Microsoft is now producing two small updates each year instead of one big update every three years. It has therefore encouraged early adoption by offering a free upgrade to Windows 10 – again, like Apple and Google, except that Microsoft’s upgrade offer is only available for a year.Įither way, once you have installed Windows 10, it will be updated free for the life of your device. Of course, Microsoft – like Apple and Google – would like everyone to use the latest version of its operating system. By contrast, we know that Windows 7 is going away: Microsoft will stop supporting it in 2020.

Updating windows 7 to 10