Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I didn't want to write a review on this laptop until I had a chance to use it for a while. It has been a little over a month and I feel I can be fair now. First, it came with Windows 8.1, and my last computer had Windows Vista Home Premium (I went from one unpopular OS to another). It took me a while to learn how to get around, and to use a touch screen if I wanted. I have decided I like it pretty well, I use a mix of keyboard, mouse and touch. I heard a rumor that Microsoft will provide free upgrades to Windows 10 when that comes out, but who knows? There are some small gripes with this OS, but by and large it is good. Instead of a start menu you have a configurable start page, not really hard to grasp for me. You can't resize some of the app windows, a fault I don't mind much. I had to watch a couple or three tutorial videos first to find how to do some basic things, but it wasn't a major adjustment. The laptop itself- I really like the sharp display, I am coming from a desktop with a larger monitor, but this still seems generously sized. I like having a numeral key pad, I find it much easier to enter numbers when using a spread sheet or even typing addresses. The wifi antenna seems to be quite good, I've never had a problem moving around the house or even outside with it. I like the touch screen interface- it feels good and works just the way I expect it to, a bit of laptop and a bit of tablet experience. I don't like: a touch pad, I'll never get used to it and it seems like I inadvertently touch it and the cursor flies away somewhere. I might be able to disable it, I haven't gotten to that yet. I bought a wireless mouse from Logitech and it works very well. The NumLock button does not light up, there is no way to tell if it is activated or not- if you get the password wrong, was NumLock accidently de-activated? You could use the keys over the alphabet for password use, but why not a give us a little NumLock indicator light? The sound is not very good. I was used to external speakers with the old desktop and they sounded great. The tiny speakers with this are fine to hear what someone is saying, but not for enjoying music. Oddly, even when I plug in the external speakers to the laptop, the sound is not up to the old computer's. The CapsLock button is too close to the letter A. I often hit it by mistake and have to go back to make corrections. The onscreen keyboard- I can understand the purpose of it on a tablet, but this keyboard is not detachable and it is much easier to use than typing on the display screen. Update:11/09 I was using my wife's Dell Latitude laptop from work and noticed her keyboard feel is much better than this one- the keys just respond and feel better, and it takes less effort to use. They're kind of "clicky" instead of rubbery, if that makes sense. Of course, that laptop cost four times what this one did. Update:12/24 I found a few occasions when the onscreen keyboard came in handy- if you've got a cat on your lap and can't reach the keyboard, you can get it all done with the mouse! I've found the NumLock key is too close to the Backspace button and I accidentally hit it occasionally (that lack of a Numlock indicator light is in play here).