[NewsPoster]

We are working up our full review on Windows 10 as I write this piece, and like other reviews you will read around the web, we are finding a lot to like about the latest and greatest from Redmond. However, we have found the both the upgrade process for existing users something of a chore, and the outright purchase process and download process to be a downright pain in the neck. Read on to see why when it comes to customer service and support, Apple still reigns supreme.

I have always taken advantage of the fact that Apple's Macs can support a native installation of Windows using Apple's Bootcamp utility, which is built into OS X. I run Windows in a partition on my iMac, both to use as a point of comparison between the OS X and Windows software experience, as well as to run benchmarks and do a bit of casual PC gaming from time to time.

Like many users, I had taken the opportunity to register my Windows 8.1 version for the limited-time free update to Windows 10 offer that Microsoft currently has running for the next 12 months or so. It seemed like the upgrade process was going to be so simple -- however, come the launch day of Windows 10 on July 29, I checked into my Windows partition on my iMac to see if Windows 10 was ready to install.

I couldn't see any sign of it, so I ran Windows update and got the latest patches for Windows 8.1. Once all of these were installed, I checked again to see if Windows 10 was available to download, but to no avail. I tapped on the Windows 10 upgrade applet to see what was going on, but there was still no sign of the update. After a little more fiddling around, I discovered that yes, my memory had not failed me, and I had indeed been registered for the automatic update, but was "in the queue."

Boring. Apparently, I needed to basically just leave my Windows partition active, or check in every day for who knows how long, before I would receive a notification that my installation would be ready. Hopeless. So, I searched the net and found a way to force an update to Windows 10, which I went ahead and did. I understand that servers can get overloaded, but it is a bit ridiculous that on one hand you can either hand around waiting for an update to drop, while the same time have the option to search around for a way to force the update and get it done that way.

Microsoft's slogan for the Windows 10 upgrade is "Windows 10 I here. Upgrade free - it's easy." Hmmm. I own an Xbox One, and I also own a 12-inch Apple MacBook, and was keen to check out the new Windows 10 feature that allows you to stream games from your Xbox One to your Windows 10 "PC." As Microsoft is only shipping physical copies on USB sticks and which are not yet widely available, currently the best way to get a clean install for your Mac is to go to the Microsoft online store, purchase your copy for either Windows 10 Home ($119) or Windows 10 Pro ($199) and download the relevant ISO file. Apple's Bootcamp Utility makes it easy for you to get a USB stick with at least 8GB of storage and convert it into a bootable Windows 10 install drive.

When I purchased my copy of Windows 10 home from the Microsoft Store, I was immediately supplied with a Windows 10 key, and the option to download the ISO. I was surprised to see that, when I clicked on the download tab in the Microsoft online store, I was given the option not to download just one version of Windows 10, but several versions. I naturally assumed that the key would work with whichever version I picked from the provided download options, and selected the single-language version, so I could maximize my hard drive space.

I finished the install using the Bootcamp utility and tried to activate Windows. It didn't work. The key I had been provided with by the automated system was not compatible with the version I had selected to download. If it was not compatible, why was I given the option to download it?

So, that left me with no choice but to contact Microsoft customer support. I tried to outline the problem to the support person in one call center, which she apparently understood. However, she wasn't prepared to own the problem and assist me, and very quickly flicked me across to another Microsoft customer support person at another call center somewhere else in the world. Once again, I was forced to explain the issue. Again, after seemingly understanding the problem, this support person didn't want to own the problem either, and said that I needed to be put in touch with the specialist "Windows 10 Up and Running team."

She, however, told me that "due to the overwhelming popularity of Windows 10," I may have to wait quite a while to get through to that team. She tried to get me through twice, but by this time I was 30 minutes deep into the phone call, and gave up. I did, however, remember that when I went to purchase Windows 10, I was offered a pop up window and the opportunity to chat online to a support person. So I tried this option, as nowhere on Microsoft's site is it obvious as to where and how you can contact some for a live online chat.

I had more luck this time. After initially suggesting that I take the time to re-download and reinstall the "correct" version of Windows 10 Home, I asked if I could simply get a refund on the initial purchase and re-purchase Windows 10 through the currently-installed version on my MacBook. So, at least 40 minutes after first making contact with Microsoft customer support, I had resolved the problem to my satisfaction, but only after having to offer an acceptable solution myself.

Now that I finally have an (activated) copy of Windows 10 installed on my MacBook, I will be writing about the Xbox One to Windows 10 gaming streaming experience in the next few days -- but it was a salutatory reminder of the gulf in the customer support experience between Apple and Microsoft. For Apple, the product, customer service and support are indistinguishable as part of a vision to deliver a holistic customer experience that is second to none. Having a great product can only be the beginning and just one part of an overarching strategy to make it truly great.

--Sanjiv Sathiah

[prl99]

Wow, all you have to do to get Yosemite is to click on the box in the App Store updates section, it downloads, and you install it. This says a lot about the OSX and even more about Apple's customer support. I understand you're downloading Windows 10 so you can make intelligent comparisons between it and OSX but now I know why Microsoft staggered the updates, they knew there were going to be major problems that support technicians around the world were going to have to try and fix. Not a great start. I'm not sure I'm going to bother waiting to read your review of a Windows problem on a Mac website.

[slapppy]

I like the price for the Wimdows Pro Edition. $200.00. lol in the end I wonder how many versions will this have for sale, five or ten editions.

[Sanjiv Sathiah]

@prl99 Just because the piece doesn't paint a pretty picture about Microsoft's customer support, it doesn't necessarily follow that we will pan Windows 10 -- if that's what your comment implies. We actually have our PC expert Malcolm Owen writing the piece, while as a Mac user first and foremost, I can report that I like Windows 10 a lot. Given that you can run Windows on a Mac through Bootcamp, a Mac site writing a review of Windows 10 is still very relevant.

[robertdupuy]

I have to say Apple's support is unbelievable. I won't repeat my nightmares with Dell, but suffice to say you deal with support on a regular basis and the device is still not working 100%.

But the other day my Macbook Pro mid-2012 retina, had a problem, the power supply suddenly stopped working. Which is "the" problem I've had with macbook's over the years. I just took the power supply with me, to make sure I'd buy the right one, and went to the Apple Store - they refused to charge me, they gave me a free charger on the spot.

From updating the OS, to the occasional hardware issue - Apple just makes it so easy.

[prl99]

Sanjiv, just because Apple makes the best computer to run Windows on doesn't mean a Mac site needs to give time to reviewing Microsoft's main operating system. If you require Windows for applications that aren't available on OSX, fine, but from the sound of it you're only loading Windows so you can review it. It's almost like you're trying to keep propping up Microsoft products to justify their existence and your job. I had to service and secure PCs while justifying my department's use of Macs so I know how much of a pain Windows is. If you want to emphasize anything good about Windows, then I'd suggest you do it on a Windows website. The vast majority of Mac users really don't care. I suggest you use your time investigating in depth Apple products, which is why I come to this website.

[jpellino]

Saw a Surface on the shelf at Goodwill last week. That's interesting.

[yankee77wi]

Felt that with a free upgrade, you should get all the fullest features of the OS to show it off, instead I was only given the equivalent version of Windows 7 Home but in Windows 10 name. Still holding back the joining domain ability after all this time and advancements, you can't add in domain joining in a home version? Some people do have personal servers at home, like me, and remain disappointed to not include basic functionality.

[Paulrm]

Perhaps when Microsoft gets rid of the incompetent India and Philippines offices, their Customer Service might approach human levels.
Never have I experienced more stupidity and ignorance than in trying to deal with MS.
As a settlement for one of their "tech support" (in quotes deliberately) geniuses (sarcasm) screwing up a new Mac, I was supposed to receive two years of MS Office 365. I was told to recontact the "Executive Customer Service" agent this summer so that she could renew the subscription for the 2nd year. Surprise! She's not there anymore, and rather than the email going to another agent, it just comes back as undelivered. Her phone contact also just says that no one is answering anymore.

After spending 4 hours on the phone with some of the most obtuse people (most of whom do not natively speak English), I get someone who said they'll "take care of it". So today I get an email that he tried to call me and since I didn't answer, the case is closed. He obviously could have sent me an email. There is NO RECORD of any incoming attempts to reach me on either of the 2 phone #'s that they had.

I have nothing against India, but MS Customer Service people should all get the Plague!

[Charles Martin]

prl99: MacNN has grown over the years to cover lots of things that are not, strictly speaking, Mac-oriented -- like the rest of Apple's product line (we used to have a separate site for that), and *notable* other news in the tech industry. Looking back over the years, we have always covered stuff that was not *strictly* Apple when we felt it merited attention, and we think Windows 10 qualifies (to the extent of reviewing it, at least).

Taking a look at the front page of the site as I write this, of the 16 stories on it, only about half are directly Apple-related. Of the others, we have stories about the FCC, Verizon, our new books, giveaways and deals, Amazon, and SSD testing, all of which we deemed relevant to cover (and most of which has attracted strong traffic, particularly the current Amazon and Windows stories). I don't see any objections from you on those.

We've never found Mac/Apple users to be particularly narrow-minded, so we've always covered stories of interest in the general tech world on MacNN, both when we had Electronista and now. Judging from our growing traffic, this is the right path for us.

Our focus, I assure you, will always be on Apple, but Apple is a major player in a bigger pond these days, and the interests of Mac and Apple users has grown and diversified with that shift. We don't plan on making Windows coverage a regular thing, but a new major version doesn't come out every day -- and Microsoft and Apple have a long and ongoing relationship, just as Google and Apple do. Our traffic says that readers have an interest in related topics like Windows, Xbox, Google, and Android -- maybe more so when they have issues (ha!), but it's definitely there.

The great thing about our format is that you don't have to read anything about non-Apple topics if they don't interest you -- we have a constant waterfall of stories, so you can pick the stuff that you care about and skip the rest. So when our Windows 10 review comes out, feel free to skip it -- there will be plenty of Apple stuff there as well.

[jpellino]

Never understood the several different levels of OS. User ego boost? Either have one that works best on handhelds and one that works best on the desktop, or just offer the same one that knows what to do per device and enough with the car trim level model. .