Microsoft will give away Windows 10 to all Windows Insider testers

[HEXUS]

This 'will they – won't they' saga has at last come to an end.

Read more.

[aidanjt]

This 'will they – won't they' saga has at last come to an end.

Until they flip flop again.

[Smikis]

weren't they giving away windows 10 everyone already?

[aniilv]

weren't they giving away windows 10 everyone already?

only to people who have non pirated versions of win7/8... This here is actually properly free.

[Corky34]

To be frank no amount of fee stuff would compel me to sign up for a MSA, privacy matters.

[Bane2087]

Hmm I'm worried about privacy issues too, for that reason I've always used a local account when installing Windows. Has anyone more clever than me drudged through the privacy statement properly?

[Saracen]

To be frank no amount of fee stuff would compel me to sign up for a MSA, privacy matters.

I'm inclined to agree. At the very least, it requires a VERY careful reading of exactly what the MSA terms and conditions are, in respect to what data you authorise MS to harvest, and what you authorise them to do with it, and who you authorise them to divulge it to, and under what circumstances they can/can't divulge it. Assuming you, that being the individual user taking advantage of this, care about their privacy. I do, and a lot, but some don't or not much.

Surely such generosity will help Microsoft on its goal to 1 billion Windows 10 devices and will be a welcome reward to those who have dedicated a spare PC to testing the various builds ...

Is it generosity?

It entirely depends on what MS meant when they said, months ago , that they're changing how they "monetise" Windows.

One way is to charge for new versions. Another is to, using whatever techniques are necessary, to build a huge installed userbase all of whom have signed up to a user agreement that allows MS to harvest personal data and monetise that data.

Another is to provide the OS free but then sell 'optional' services, be it cloud storage or whatever, off the back of it. Yet another would be a subscription model.

Currently, we don't know where MS are going with "changing how we monetize", but we do know they are going somewhere, and it could be any of the above, or some mix of some variation of the above. But it isn't the old "buy licences or licence upgrades" model.

So is this so-called generosity actually generous, or is it simply another step in the direction of whatever that changed monetisation strategy is?

My attitude is rather that of a cynic. MS is not, never has been and almost certainly never will be a charity. or, for that matter, a social enterprise working for the betterment of society. It's a business, with shareholders to answer to, and if it's changing monetisation strategy, it's doing so because it thinks it's in Microsoft's vested best-interest to do so, not because it's "generous".

Do banks provide "free" current accounts because they're nice people, really? Or do they do it because they make their money from those accounts in other ways? I said I was a bit cynical, but if we answer that question about bank's motivation correctly, we'll have the answer to how "generous" these "free" Insider-upgrades, that require MS accounts actually are.

Personally, I am NOT using Win10 at all if, repeat IF a requirement proves to be an MS account with grossly intrusive privacy implications. I am NOT agreeing to the kinds of nosiness that the Insider EULA imposes, those that may be justified to a degree for development purposes . If that same nosiness carries over to the final 'retail' EULA, then that alone kills future Windows versions for me, and almost certainly irrevocably. It will be enough to detetmine a switch to Linux, and once switched, I can't imagine what would induce me to switch back.

Ultimately, a lot comes down to "do I trust MS"? The answer to that is "about as much as I trust banks", which is barely at all, and a LARGE part of the reason is the way MS have been so coy, evasive and squirrelly about exactly what "changing monetisation" actually means.

[Saracen]

Hmm I'm worried about privacy issues too, for that reason I've always used a local account when installing Windows. Has anyone more clever than me drudged through the privacy statement properly?

I wouldn't claim to be more clever than you, but I've read the privacy section of the Insider Preview version carefully, and it's extremely intrusive. But some of that may be necessary for development reasons.

What we don't yet have is the EULA, or the privacy section, for the final 'release' version. So it's hard to know whether it'll be the same, privacy-wise, or scaled back significantly on intrusiveness.

The jury is awaiting evidence to base a decision on.

[ZaO]

So is it too late to install the test version now and get the final version for free? I'll bite the bullet of privacy invasion for a few weeks if that's the case

Then again, what terms are you under when they give you the free retail version? Are they still allowed to snoop on you in the same way? Does the test version licence/terms tag along with it?

[Unique]

does this mean if i'm running it in a VM, and upgrade, i can then later do a clean actual install on that PC for free?

[Pleiades]

does this mean if i'm running it in a VM, and upgrade, i can then later do a clean actual install on that PC for free?

Yes

[Pleiades]

Yes

Unless MS say otherwise, in which case, no.

[GuidoLS]

Until they flip flop again.

Let's see - free to legitimate 7 and 8.1 users... now free to everyone... yep, sounds like a flip flop to me.

[jezza9]

I'm afraid this article is a day late and a dollar short, the paragraph you mention was edited yesterday by Microsoft and now says you still need a legal Window 7 or 8.1 license for a free upgrade.

[GuidoLS]

So is it too late to install the test version now and get the final version for free? I'll bite the bullet of privacy invasion for a few weeks if that's the case

Then again, what terms are you under when they give you the free retail version? Are they still allowed to snoop on you in the same way? Does the test version licence/terms tag along with it?

In theory, you have until July 29th to install and register an account. I don't think I'd wait that long, though.

[GuidoLS]

I'm afraid this article is a day late and a dollar short, the paragraph you mention was edited yesterday by Microsoft and now says you still need a legal Window 7 or 8.1 license for a free upgrade.

If you aren't participating in the Insider program, you will need a legit license to upgrade 7 or 8.1 to 10. If you're running the preview, the change from preview to RTM is permanent, and free. You're mixing two different programs.