Have you upgraded to Windows 10? Here's a preview of what to expect

Some of you are probably tech-wizards and some of you are not. For those of you who are not, you may be wondering what Windows 10 is all about. It's the newest operating system from Microsoft that was released on July 29.

Ruth to the Rescue went to a software expert to get some idea of what you can expect from Windows 10.

Brad Wardell is the President and CEO of Plymouth-based Stardock, a company that creates software designed to improve the Windows experience. He said the system offers some nice upgrades.

"You load something it seems a little bit faster. It boots a lot faster. In fact, it's one of  those things like, where my mom went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 -- she was like it loaded so much faster," Wardell said.

He also said there are also perks for gamers: "If you have an Xbox at home you can actually stream your Xbox game to your PC."

And, Windows 10 comes with "Cortana," a voice-activated assistant. Sadly, she wasn't cooperating 100 percent when we were filming. A few times when Wardell asked her for help the response was, "Something's not right, try again in a little bit."

However, after a few tries, he was able to get an answer to "What's the temperature outside?" Cortana replied, "It's currently 72 and partly sunny."

Wardell said now is a good time to switch because Windows 10 is free to anyone with Windows 7 or Windows 8 currently running on their computers. Plus, the longer you wait, "You're not so much missing out, it's more like you're slowly can be left behind," said Wardell. "A good analogy would be like if you have an iPhone and you haven't upgraded to the latest one, and what will happen. You just keep finding things not being available to you."

WiFi Sense

Windows 10 also includes a new feature called WiFi Sense. Privacy advocates have raised some questions about what that means for your online security.

Here's a short summary of what WiFi Sense means to you.

The feature allows you to automatically log your friends onto your WiFi network, without giving them your password. You've probably been through the experience when someone visiting asks for your password to use their smartphone or computer at your home. Now, they can be allowed on automatically.

There's is a downside, you cannot share with specific friends, but the feature allows all your Facebook, Skype, and Outlook.com contact to automatically log in. You do have to allow that to happen by clicking "Share network with my contacts" when logging in, but some people think that access may be too broad.

Before you upgrade to Windows 10, you should consider if, and how, you will use that feature.

Make sure your settings are set to a level that makes you comfortable. For more information click here.

Wardell said he doesn't see WiFi Sense as a major security risk, as giving people access to your network does not give people access to your computer or other devices.

Improving the Windows experience

As developers, Wardell and his team are excited about Windows 10 because as it allows them opportunities to create new products to enhance your experience with the updated operating system.

On Aug. 12, Stardock released a new product called "Star 10." 

"It lets you have your Windows 10 Start Menu behave more like a Windows 7 Start Menu," said Wardell. It's a feature many people missed when Microsoft changed things up with Windows 8. 

Those small improvements are what his company specializes in.

"We go through and find out what are the things people like about it, and what are they things they don't like about it, and we make software that fills in those gaps," Wardell said.  

For frequently asked questions about Windows 10, follow this link to Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-faq

For more information about Stardock, follow this link: http://www.stardock.com/Â