Business Insider will have a full review of Windows 10 later today.
But the general consensus, so far: After all the problems with the Windows 8.1 operating system, Windows 10 is a real return to form for Microsoft. It's familiar, but it rolls in some nice new features that make it easier to use.
Yahoo's David Pogue writes: "You really are going to love Windows 10. You'll almost certainly want to upgrade your computers to it, especially since it's free," and that "if you're a PC veteran, then you'll recognize Windows 10: It's pretty much Windows 7, with Cortana, nicer typography, and a few new features."
Meanwhile, The Verge's Tom Warren says that "Windows 10 has some great additions over Windows 8 and Windows 7, and it really feels like a good blend of the familiarity of Windows 7 and some of the new features of Windows 8. It's not irritating to use, and you don't need a tutorial to find the Start menu. It just works like you'd expect."
There are three main areas of praise:
- The Start menu: Windows 10's Start menu combines the touch-friendly "Live Tiles" of Windows 8 with the traditional Windows 7-style list of apps. "This mix of features feels like the best approach for bringing the Start menu back, and you can resize it freely to customize it further," Warren writes.
- Look and feel: Both Warren and Pogue call out Windows 10's general aesthetic as an especially big improvement over Windows 8. "Windows 10 is coherent. It makes sense. Its design no longer leaves you pounding your forehead on your desk, ruing the day that Microsoft lit up whatever it was smoking," Pogue writes.
- Cortana, the digital assistant: Microsoft's take on the Siri-style virtual assistant is being met with praise. Cortana can learn your preferences and learn your habits, so she can always present you with contextual information. "It might be my favorite thing about Windows 10," Warren writes.
Still, it's not perfect. As a new operating system, Windows 10 has plenty of bugs and some room for improvement, plus a lot of Windows apps haven't yet gotten updated for Windows 10 yet.
"I'd suggest you wait six weeks. By then, Microsoft will have swatted most of the bugs, and many of your favorite software companies will have released Windows 10-compatible versions," Pogue writes.