Windows 10 Preview on Dell Venue 11 Pro Tablet

Question

Windows 10 Preview on Dell Venue 11 Pro
Hardware
Dell Venue 11 Pro (7130/7139) tablet computer with:
Intel Core I3 4020Y processor (3MB Cache, 1.5GHz Dual-Core)
4GB 1600MHz memory.
128GB SSD.
Lexar 64GB MicroSD memory card.
Lexar 64GB USB memory card. (2 – used as needed, connected 
via USB 3.0 port).
10.8 inch IPS Display with FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution with 10-pt capacitive touch.
Intel GT2 Graphics.
Dell Active Stylus.
Intel(R) 7260AC Dual-Band 2x2 802.11 ac WiFi + Bluetooth(R) 4.0
Dell Wireless 5808E (LTE/HSPA/EVDO) Mobile Broadband Card - Verizon
Factory installed OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64 bit).
Download
Downloaded Windows 10 Technical Preview Enterprise Edition (64 bit) image file from:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview.
Download time < 15 minutes. File size 3.888GB.
Download was smooth and apparently error free.
Transfer of OS to USB Memory Card
Rufus 1.4.10 application program was used to create a bootable USB Memory Card and to install the OS on this card. (http://rufus.akeo.ie/). The process was easy and was error free.
Install Windows 10 on the Dell 11 Pro.
A Dell factory backup was done to a bootable USB memory card. (Dell does not ship the Venue with any OS or other software on external media).
 The Rufus generated USB Memory Card was inserted into the Venue’s USB 3.0 port.
Windows Explorer was used to display the USB files and to select and execute “Setup”.
The Windows 10 installation asks if one wishes to keep the existing application programs, drivers and other current files. The recommended answer is YES. This was an unusual experience for me because the typical requirement is to do a clean install from
a bootable device that is read on computer power up. It was very nice to be able to preserve the current application programs and drivers and to do the installation from “inside of” the old OS.
 The installation process was quick, there were no error messages or any obvious problems.
There was no requirement for user responses during the process.
 The first tasks on initial start-up of the OS are to check for updates and to provide logon information.
The update requirement depends on an operational connection to the Internet. In our case, the connection is by WiFi and there would normally by no way to initiate this without having been logged on to a running version of the OS. It is a typical “cart before
the horse” problem. Fortunately, it is possible to defer this step which is what we did.
 The next problem is creating the logon. Dell’s default on display intensity is dimmer than is desirable and, at least on this tablet, it is difficult to see the contents of some of the logon fields. You cannot change the display intensity until after
a successful logon. The “CAPTCHA” step is especially difficult and annoying. The dim display makes it tough to recognize the alphanumeric characters which may be on angles, overlapping, indistinct and of varying intensity. One has to guess about some of the
characters, to change to different CAPTCHA selections and to repeatedly attempt a logon. My recommendation is not to use CAPTCHA in any part of the software.
 Microsoft encourages the use of a “Microsoft system wide” user name and password. 
There are some advantages to this, but, as others have pointed out, it has some risks.
 Touch screen virtual keyboards are infamous for problems with accidental selections of adjacent keys and unintended character repetitions. Fortunately, the Venue 11 has a large sized virtual keyboard and there is less chance of key selection errors
than is true with the small sized displays. The Venue does has problems with the unintended character repetitions. All of this causes difficulties with initial password setups in which the entered data are hidden with stars or other characters and one also
usually has to enter the new password twice. A few software developers have started offering users a check box option for display of the entered password information. This is really helpful for reducing the number of times that one might need to enter a new
password and then repeat it for confirmation.
Initial Experience with Windows 10
There have been no known problems with missing or incompatible drivers. I don’t know if any drivers were updated between 8.1 and 10 except that there was a somewhat lengthy automatic install of a new driver for the cellular modem. This device and its software
have not been evaluated as yet. I do not know if the software enables regular cellular voice operations. It is unlikely that it enables the automatic transfer of voice communications between WiFi and Cellular networks, as is available from some vendors.
 Access to the Control Panel, Command Prompt and other administrative functions is now possible via the “Start” icon display once one realizes that you need to scroll the display fully downward and to the right in order to see the “administrative” icons.
 In spite of the relatively large Dell Venue display (10.8 inches), there are still many fields that are small and/or are too close together to be reliably selected by finger touch. Some of these fields cannot be selected at all by finger touch. The
problem can be reduced by increasing character and display sizes and by the use of an Active Stylus. Use of a mouse plugged into the USB port is a temporary solution if one doesn’t have a stylus.
 There have been many instances of failures to respond to icon selections by repeated finger presses. The reason for this behavior is unknown. The problem can be temporarily cleared by a soft restart.
In some fields, autofill correctly displays a list of choices, but the application program crashes with an unknown error message if you touch select one of the choices.
There is a hardware “Windows button icon” that is located on the front rim of the computer, halfway between the right and left sides of the unit. This is a very poor location because it is easy to accidentally press the button while holding the computer
in one’s hand. The button should be recessed and should be located on a side of the computer.
There should be a mechanical button to increase or decrease screen intensity. There should be a user selectable option to control ambient light regulated screen intensity.
This isn't necessarily a Windows 10 issue, but there has been a recent marked increase in advertisements that are added to the results of Google and Yahoo searches, e-mail traffic
and other Internet transactions. The latest twist is that unless one accepts an advertisement's initial suggestion - usually by clicking on a YES or OK icon - then the display is locked and you cannot close it short of ending the task or doing a soft reset.
There is no choice to Cancel. Selecting the X close icon or close on a drop down box doesn't close the advertising Window display.

Answer 1

I'm running 9879 on my Venue Pro 11 and cannot get the stylus to work.
Did you test that scenario? For such an early release of the OS, everything seems not too bad. But I really would like to be able to test OneNote with ink support!!