BigLar

The problem wasn't getting the printer to work - that was the easy part. The XP driver was well laid out and included lots of the semi-standard features (duplexer, etc.) as simple click buttons. The 'generic' drivers did this, but they were somewhat hidden and less convenient to find and use.

Of course, pretty much any PCL5 driver would work on that printer; it's just a matter of prettiness and convenience on the driver interface. I have no hope of finding up-to-date drivers for my old 24-pin printers or even the (gasp) daisy-wheel job.

blackjack-21

No mention of the printer's driver issue on the MS site. I went to the Epson website to see what OS's are compatible with my printer, and found that it only went up to W7 and a few older OS's. Emailed Epson and got the negative reply I mentioned above.

Not a big problem as our printer only cost $50 at the time, but it still works well for our infrequent basic printing needs (printing from the pc, scanning, and copying), and the ink refills are inexpensive compared to our prior HP printer that went out about the same time that our 11 year old Dell Pentium3 bit the dust. The Epson refills for all four color cartridges cost about $68 total, while the HP cartridges were over $92 at the time and probably higher now if they're still available. And while I knew that the Epson printer we bought new along with our current pc just over three years ago was an older, inexpensive model printer, still I don't really want to discard an item that is relatively new (for us) and continues to work well when needed.

So I may just wait before getting the W 10 free upgrade, as there's a year available to see if other people have issues with it, or if my printer dies in the interim.

OT--Will I still be able to use my pc which doesn't have touchscreen capability, nor do I want that, or will I have to make additional changes to keep it with the usual separate keyboard and mouse after downloading the W 10, and if we're not happy with the results of the newer W 10 can it be easily removed and let us then revert back to W7 without problems?

bj-21.

BigLar

From what I've read so far, I don't believe you will be forced to use a touchscreen. I don't think even Win8 requires you to use one. I also hope that MS learned their lesson with that.

Regarding the other issue, I too very much want to know the answer, which is why I'm hoping to download the ISO image rather than be forced to do a upgrade-in-place. I can't believe MS would require that, if for no other reason than there will be driver issues, and people who would then be stuck would not generate a lot of goodwill for those Redmond Rascals.

nkedel

You might be surprised on the dot-matrix one; Windows has generic ESC-P drivers and most Epson or compatible printers will work.

My brother has my old RX-80 "clone" (sold as a Seikosha, but it's the same parent company) working via a USB-to-serial cable. Works fine on Windows 7 when he occasionally has to print multipart forms. What amazes me is that you can still get ribbons for it!

They also have driver for a good number of the actual Epson LQ series models. If your dot matrix printer isn't an Epson, it might have Epson emulation -- it's worth checking.

I actually could use a running dot matrix printer for occasional use. You can still buy new ones, but at around $300 (and probably 9-pin at that), it's not worth it.)

Now, for old printers, I have an IBM Quietwriter (not sure which model) in storage at my mom's place. As far as I can tell, no drivers for that; I'm not sure if that even made the jump to Windows*, although it worked dandy with Wordperfect back in the day -- ribbons were a touch pricy, but absolutely beautiful text output. (* although Google suggests that Windows 98 was the last version that supported it, so I guess it did.)

nkedel

Once again, I'm fairly sure that actually means "we don't support it and haven't tested it" -- odds are very good that one of (A) Windows update with a MS-provided driver, or (B) just running the Windows 7 installer, will work on Windows 10.

No guarantees -- although it would be pretty easy to set up Windows 10 tech preview on a VM to test it, either using USB passthrough, or if the printer has network capability, printing over the network.

Yes. Windows 8/8.1 was more touch-centric than Windows 10 is, and while some of their design choices were clearly "happiest" on a touch screen PC, even that didn't require one. Windows 10 actually (as of the tech previews; they are promising more touch features) loses some nice-to-have behavior on a convertible tablet, although I don't miss them much on my convertible. It runs beautifully on my non-touch-screen travel notebook (Lenovo X201 -- a late 2010 model.)

It's supposed to be able to be reverted; I actually successfully DID a revert from 10 tech preview back to 8.1 and was amazed it worked. I would strongly recommend taking a full image backup before letting it upgrade, just in case.

blackjack-21

nkedel seems to have answered my questions before I replied to your post, for which thanks also.

I went to the MS W10 website to ask the questions I mentioned, including the printer's driver, ability to use my pc's mouse and keyboard, and the ability to revert back to W7 if not happy with W10. Waiting for answers from MS insiders or tech experts also, as I'd rather not mess up the whole W7 shabang if it turns out we don't like or can't use W10. Downloading the ISO image to a disc may hopefully work, if possible, and would give us the opportunity to easily go back to W7. We'll see what their answers are, without being so technically technical or involved that they go right over my head.

bj-21.

WillCAD

Windows 8/8.1 definitely do NOT require touch screens, and neither will Windows 10.

One of the biggest complaints about Win8 was that it eschewed the traditional desktop and Start menu in favor of the new Start Screen (or whatever it's actually called) with configurable tiles. This was definitely done to make the main interface of the OS more touch-friendly, particularly on mobile devices, but it works with any pointing device. It's just awkward to use the tiles screen with a mouse.

Windows 8.1 brought back the Desktop, though the tiles screen is still there instead of the Start menu.

From what I've read, Windows 10 brings back the Desktop/Start Menu mix, but adds optional tiles to the Start menu to make it more touch-friendly. It's a mix of the two systems, which should provide more choices (choices are good!) and flexibility.

My PCs are both non-touch for the foreseeable future - I just bought a new 27" screen for my desktop this year, and am not due for a laptop upgrade for another 2 or 3 - but I still plan on adopting Win10 fairly soon after it's released.

Unless it sucks, in which case I'll stick with Win7 for a while longer.

ajGoes

That's the Metro desktop.

gobluetwo

I've never been able to install W7 SP1, so I tried for a few hours this weekend to try to fix it on our home laptop, but no joy. I'm sure there is some reason for it failing, but can't figure it out. Good to know, at least, that this is why I don't have the upgrade notification (yet, hopefully).

BigLar

Holy crap! 27" ??

a) How do you find room for that thing?
b) Not to be snarky, but do you have any vision problems?

I have a couple of 21" screens and I like them, but something a lot bigger than that would give me pause.

Anyhow - more power to you.

nkedel

Flatscreen, or CRT? And 4:3 or 16:9?

I'd have to see your reaction to the 30" monsters that my present employer buys (I actually preferred the setup I had at my last place, which was 2x 24" monitors, but this works pretty well.)

WillCAD

I actually did have to re-arrange my desk a little. It replaced a 19" widescreen and it's gigantic by comparison.

This is the model:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-...&skuId=3924024

My vision isn't great, but when I wear contact lenses it's 20-20. The big monitor is great for watching HD digital content, and at 27", it's big enough to see when I'm not actually sitting at my desk.

Funny thing is, as big as that monitor is, once you get used to it, it's just a monitor.

I do have to turn it off at night, though. The screen saver can light up my entire apartment as brightly as the overhead light.

Letitride3c

On shortlist for upgrade, if & when present 5 years old setup "fail" (cover story for DW ... "what's wrong with your big monitor, huh - ) Home office has 3 monitors, 22" is my primary and has a 2nd. input for the Dell's docking station, old 17" Dell monitor for the security cameras & backup server - although output goes to 24" HDTV monitor with multiple inputs, which has the TVbox & Chromecast connections - mixing in work, play & monitoring.

Sale prices for these "big" monitors are dirt cheap these days as long as one isn't fuzzy about specs.

BigLar

All my desktops go to screen save after 20 minutes, and the whole thing goes to sleep after 30. I have a bad habit of walking away and then not noticing on my way to bed.

Supposedly, that brings the total power consumption down to a few watts and saves the time when booting up next day or whenever.

Also, my RAID server is on the same schedule, so when it's not being used it will just sit there in the basement with no monitor, no fans, and all the disks at rest. Five days later, when I want to use it, it wakes up when someone tries to access it and, at the cost of the few seconds it takes to wash its face and comb its hair, it's alive.

Nothing at all to do with big monitors or Win 10, but I like to do my part to conserve energy (and cut my electric bill down). @:-)

BigLar

At one time I had a 19" CRT monitor, and it weighed a ton. In those days, the 'normal' monitor was 14" or (usually) 15". A 17" CRT monitor was the sign of a plutocrat and much desired. When I closed down the office (death of partner), I gave away the big guy to a buddy who really lusted after it.

I believe they were all 4:3 (1024x768)

I have three Dell laptops (all 15" screens) that are 1920x1200 (16:10) and that's more than enough for me - sometimes they're a little hard to read.

The 21" are 1440x900 (also 16:10) and present a very readable screen - of course, I don't do a lot of things with multiple screens, tv tuners, etc., so I don't feel any pressure to get either a bigger screen or a 'better' aspect ratio.

(PS - I also have a couple of 10" Lifebooks that sport 1280x768 screens. Great for watching DVD's with the computer on the tray back in coach. I think the whole deal, with charger, mouse, computer and carrying case comes in at about 4-5 pounds)