I don't intend to install it...and I'd just wish they would stop hounding me about it.

I have delayed installing Windows 10 to give them time to work out the bugs, has this happened?  Is it ok to install it now?  I am not technically oriented so I am paranoid about bugs in new releases  :scared2:

I still have nightmares over my experience with Windows 8 and 8.1

Yes, yes, yes, 100000x yes. Windows 10 has the interface of 7 and everything that 8.1 wanted to be, but much better. It's also better with older programs, from my experience. There's a reason why Microsoft intended for 8.1's lifespan to be rather short.

I've upgraded mine and my mother's computers to W10 and I'm not looking back.

I watched the video.  Wow!  Guess they have reached the pinnacle of surveillance.  No new computers for any of you this Christmas!  

Matthew, you are astute in computers.  What will we do about this.  I have a slug loaded with windows 7.  I have updated the RAM.  Still slow.

Download a flavor of Linux Operating System. It is free. I use Linux Mint. If you download Linux Mint and burn it to a DVD, you can boot up on it and try it WITHOUT installing it. It is the live version, and if you like it, there is an icon on the desktop to actually install it. Remember that the live version is going to be slower because it runs from the DVD, not the hard drive.

Speaking as a total dunce here.

If I install Mint will the programs I already have on my Windows 8.1 just go up and run or do I have to do something to get things like Skype, Audacity and Adobe to work.  Do I have to uninstall 8.1 eventually?  Will all my files be there or do I have to remove them and reinstall?

I wish I had a spare computer to learn on, but I only have this one and I'm sunk if I mess it up.

I assume I should back up everything to an external drive just in case...

Get yourself a USB thumb drive. For 64GB you can get one for about $15. Great to backup your files to.

Linux has free software for most things. Your Windows programs don't run directly on Linux. There is Skype, Audacity and Adobe for Linux.

There is something free from Oracle called VirtualBox. You run this on Linux and you can then install any Windows operating system on a virtual drive within Linux, if you need your Windows for any reason.

Download here:
http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=22

If you already have Windows 8 then your machine is probably 64bit, so download for 64 bit.

I run the Xcfe desktop version because I am not into the bells and whistles, but you may just want to try the Live Cinnamon version and see how it is first.