And the survey says...

New flings don't always turn out to be more satisfying than the ones you left them for, a statement that can apply to numerous scenarios. Among the the possibilities is upgrading your OS (get your mind out of the gutter), and the good news for Microsoft is that those in an early relationship with Windows 10 seem to be enjoying their time.

Market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) tasked Survata with polling 1,000 U.S. adults who own a computer with their feelings about their OS of choice, ComputerWorld reports. Of those surveyed, around 30 percent said they were running Windows 10, versus 27 percent who indicated they owned a Windows 8 PC and 288 percent on Windows 7.

Out of those who said they're running Windows 10, some 60 percent rated their experience with it as being "favorable" or "very favorable." Only 1 in 10 polled described their experience with Windows 10 as being "unfavorable" or "very unfavorable."

Polls and surveys are funny things. They can be manipulated to fit an agenda and just as easily misinterpreted to support a narrative. In this case, Tom Mainelli, one of the two IDC analysts who put the report together, readily admitted that these types of online polls generally trend towards early adopters, and that such users might be more inclined to upgrade. That would explain why the 30 percent figure is higher than what other research firms have shown.

Nevertheless, Mainelli is confident in the data.

"What the report shows is that 30 percent of the respondents in this survey claimed to be running Windows 10," Mainelli said. "As with any consumer survey, it's not possible to verify what they're claiming."

Perhaps more interesting that the ones using Windows 10 seem to like it. The vibe is completely different than it was when Windows 8 was released. There are concerns over user privacy in Windows 10, but for the most part, Windows 10 is enjoying a positive reception.

What's also interesting is that out of those polled who said they're running Windows 10, 45 percent upgraded through a notification pop-up from Microsoft. More than a third -- 37 percent -- also said they played with early builds as Windows Insiders and upgraded to the final release when it was launched in late July. Just 5 percent said they bought a retail copy and performed a clean install with it.

"The poll shows that people using Windows 10 like it, which is a positive," Mainelli said. "And this survey shows that while many consumers have embraced Windows 10, they're not necessarily buying new systems to get it."

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