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After taking the plung and upgrading to Windows 10, I feel a lot like I’ve stepped into Zenon: Girls of the 21st Century. Or perhaps Agents of SHIELD… Or any of a million space age movies with smart software and multifaceted user interfaces.

I’m not one to hop on bandwagons but… hot damn, I’m actually impressed. My faith in Microsoft has been rather questionable recently. They’ve made some very poor business decisions that affect me, as the consumer, like putting out substandard products and nickle-and-diming the masses for every adjustment we never wanted to begin with.

BUT, Mr. Microsoft (or Ms. or To Whom It May Concern), I have to salute you.

Windows 10 has plenty of the natural quirks of learning a new program, but not nearly as much glitching or relearning as I had feared. The interface is clean, and similar enough to the old systems to feel comfortable, but with enough newness to keep it interesting and worth the upgrade.

The inclusion of Apps instead of classic software (because yes, they are a bit different) is fascinating… It’s strange to think standard computers are headed that direction, but it makes sense. It’ll take some getting used to though, for those of us who knew the world before smartphones.

Accessing programs and finding things I’m used to using is a bit different… You’ve changed the index a bit. That’ll take me more time to acclimate to. You have been very thorough in your tutorial walk-throughs, however. And the availability of help options, which I greatly appreciate.

… In a broad note about technology, I’m concerned with the push toward touchscreen interfaces. I appreciate the perks of accessibility, and the ability to manipulate what’s on your device with a minimum of tech knowledge. Touch screen technology has opened the market to plenty of marginalized people; those with physical restrictions and those with minimal understanding of technology. And I think that’s superb. It follows the premise of the original internet, which was to make information freely accessible to more people. I love it.

  I also appreciate the frustrations of a system that reacts to the slightest input. Parents of toddlers and people with less dexterity (or simply those with large or blunt=tipped fingers) can attest to how frustrating it is to have the wrong buttons pushed and have to start all over again. At this point in the revolution, I’d be surprised if we went away from the technology now. But I’m still trepidatious.

All in all, Mr./Ms. Microsoft, I am quite pleased with not only your product, but with the grace and class in which you brought it forward. I applaud you for seeing this technology jump for what it is, and for ushering it in with such gentility and care. Nicely done.

P.S. You got bonus points for not glitching my Sticky Notes into the abyss. Silly I know, but I was honestly tickled that they survived the move and were right where I’d left them before the upgrade.

[Conquering the world, one Sticky Note at a time!]