So... lets talk Windows 10.
Blender works on it, as do most applications it appears (Max, Maya etc.). There are obviously some teething issues with driver compatibility ("
Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation" in particular has issues causing higher CPU usage than might be expected) and older programs seemingly running slower (although the cause for this is difficult to track down). But aside from these minor issues is does indeed seem like those holding out, Windows 7 users especially, can now upgrade. With that said, it might be better to purchase a new PC with Windows 10 in mind/pre-installed rather than installing the operating system onto 5+ year old hardware.
There
are two concerns to keep in mind though;
1)
Don't 'upgrade',
perform a 'full' install, use the Windows 10 ISO (burnt to disk) - link to download is provided after clicking the Windows 7 Taskbar icon to start the upgrade process (providing the appropriate update is installed -
note this feature may no longer be available), just click "
Install to other computers". Alternatively,
materials to create media can be found on Microsoft's site here. Obviously back up all data and have program disks to hand or internet access available (used to log into a Microsoft account during install should the user want to 'sync' data - this can be skipped for 'local' access).
2) More importantly,
users should be aware of the very real implications regarding Windows 10 being 'always on' in terms of pushing all activity to the Internet and Microsoft's services. In essence Windows 10 acts like an interface to the Internet rather than local hardware and data, as such a number of services run in the background and are difficult to shutdown or close without using Task Manager. In other words social media is always on, mail is always on, web search etc, is always on, Skype etc, is always on even when associated programs are 'closed'. For Consumers this may not be of concern, but for business it might (for example configuring POP instead of IMAP is hidden under more layers of interface than previous and depending on the application used to manage email, doesn't seem to download mail locally when POP is configured for use with Gmail, Outlook mail etc., with the result that all [business and private] communications are pushed to online services rather than being stored locally).
The take-away is that although a lot of the issues with Windows 8/8.1 are fixed, it may be better for business or those using computers for work, to install the OS to a spare (compatible) computer for testing rather than installing directly to primary hardware from the get-go.
