Windows Downgrade Rights Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft has a program which few people are aware of that allows users of select Windows editions to run older operating systems. They call this “downgrade rights”, and even among those who are aware of this option there is often confusion about what all it covers and how to take advantage of it. This brief FAQ is intended to address some of the more common issues that can come up, and link to further details for those who need them.

My 4-Month Test Drive of Windows 10

We are now less than a week away from official arrival of Windows 10: the operating system that’s so extraordinary, Microsoft to give it a higher number.

I’ve been the unofficial guinea pig at Puget Systems running Windows 10 Insider Preview builds for over four months now. In the past, I’ve installed beta builds of Windows in a VM or setup a dual boot system giving me an eject button in case of disaster. But that’s not what I did with Windows 10. Instead, I went five blades. No VM, no dual-boot, no parachute.

OS Trends Over Time: XP vs. Vista, 32-bit vs. 64-bit

This weekend, Puget Systems updated many of our preconfigured systems to default to Windows Vista 64-bit. This is in direct response to a dramatic increase in popularity of 64-bit over the last few months. As part of my research in making this call, I took a look at our operating system sales over the last few years. I found the data interesting, so I thought I’d share that data, as well as my thoughts!