Can someone clarify - does the free upgrade include all versions - e.g. my cheapy netbook which has Win7 Basic?
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Can someone clarify - does the free upgrade include all versions - e.g. my cheapy netbook which has Win7 Basic?
Still looks horrendous
Still won't upgrade!
They are playing politics with the wording and their intentions, they know full well people will turn away in droves if they announce; From now on, we are going to charge you a monthly fee to use your own computer and if you don't pay we lock you out? Caveat Emptor! (buyer beware)
"...Regardless of what features it offers, personally, I'm not paying MS a monthly fee for an OS, EVER. And that's where I've suspected they were going for quite a while. This makes me even more suspicious .... and makes Linux loom even larger in my future.
Windows is not, to me, a "service" and never will be. It's an OS for running MY choice of applications on MY hardware. And for all sorts of reasons, my choice of applications rarely includes MS "standard" packages...."
Thanks to Saracen, I couldn't have put it better myself!
Linux looks extremely attractive, I can feel a distribution installation coming on imminently!
Perhaps. But perhaps not. The official announcements, so far, have been .... ambiguous.
What is clear, from a series of comments, and actions by MS, is that the world is changing and the old model of major OS revisions, and chargeable upgrades, every three years or so is either dead or dying. My money is on dead.
Exhibit 1) Free OS for some device manufacturers to combat Chtomebook.
Exhibit 2) The heavily discounted version of Win 8, coupled with the disastrous attempt to hijack everyone onto MUI. MS are hopefully not so stupid as to have not learned from the backlash over that, BUT are still talking in terms of a device-centric view.
Exhibit 3) Numerous statements from senior staff, CEO down, about changing the "monetizing model" for Windows, about cross-platform stuff, be it desktop, phone, tablet, Xbox, about "core" and "services", about auto-switching of OS "mode", etc.
There's more, but suffice it to say it's not just cryptic or ambiguous hints, but explicit statements about long-term product direction and strategy that make it very clear something is changing in MSs wotld view. They must haven't nailed down quite what.
Charging for an OS subscription, Office365-style is one possibility, but my view is if they think there was an adverse reaction to Win8 MUI, just try foisting THAT on consumers. I doubt they'd try it.
Another possibility is the Freemium model - the "core" Win10 OS is free, but MS sell premium apps, on top, to monetarise Windows, with those apps, and perhaps 'services' like premium mail, cloud storage and sync, mail, etc, all being subscription.
Or, as suggested, it may just be free for a year then reverting to paid. But typically, if companies give something 'free', there's a catch. They are, after all, in business to make money, not provide social services or charity. The question is the form the catch will take, and that certainly isn't yet clear. It might be as simple as a bribe to get users to swirch, en-masse, to the freemium or subscription model. After all, bribing consumers works. You only have to look at supermarket reward cards to see that.
Not for Win10, you can relax. Thinking beyond that is just tying yourself in knots over ambiguous reports from today over Win10.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/21/786...phone-one-year
Quote:
In a Q&A with press following the event, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella clarified that Microsoft's vision for Windows as a service doesn't mean the company is changing its business model for Windows to a plan with an annual fee, or any kind of subscription.
All customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free within a one-year period following the operating system's launch later this year. After that period, users will have to pay for the upgrade as they would have with previous versions of Windows. Those who get the upgrade during the free period will have Windows 10 on their device permanently.
Read carefully
"a free upgrade for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 who upgrade in the first year after launch"
It's not an upgrade limited to one year, but an upgrade (not limited in time of use) that's free the first year
its not a sub, just a free upgrade for a yr. it'll make everyone who's on the os to upgrade and then not allow a downgrade ;)
then they start charging for small updates.
Indeed it does seem that there will be just a free upgrade to Win 10 and no further subscription costs or anything else(for a year at least). I see the boardroom meeting a bit like this :-
"Great Windows 10 reveal Joe!".
"Thanks, we have told them its going to be a service, just wait until they find out its $9.99 a month after the years up!"
"The fools hahaha"
"Hold on, their making inquiries, some people are questioning the details"
"Quick, someone do something intelligent and Pam cancel that Ferrari order"
"Whats that PCGamer mag? Subscription you say? No of course not, there will be no fees whatsoever, no subscriptions or anything, its all free!"
"Good thinking Terry!"
I'm deeply suspicious of the news surrounding this new version of Windows, all the signs point towards embedded data mining which will then either be sold, or risk being stolen by malware. A personal assistant built in as standard? Do they not remember the failure that was Clippy?
I'm loathe to trust any "helpful" feature that claims to learn my habits, especially as early reports on the demo version implied it had a built in key logger always enabled...
I have read carefully. Over quite a long period. Statements have been, and still are, ambiguous.
Nothing in Nadella's 'clarification' covers how much any upgrade will cost, after the first year, or if 'services' will be chargeable on top of that. Or what the model is in future, or negates previous comments about changing how MS monetarises Windows.
Personally, though, I don't much care. If MS comes up with a product I like (and I'm doubtful about that), at an acceptable price, and pricing model, I may stick with it. If not,
some systems will stay on legacy Windows for legacy applications, and others will move to Linux, as some already have after the MUI debacle.
So it's not really about relaxing, Otherhand. I don't much care either way. Whatever MS do, I'm ready for it, including migrating any changing upgrades away from MS entirely. Which path I take depends on what MS do, but I'm ready either way, so don't much care what it is. I've already established, and tested, existing in a computing world here that involves no new MS products at all, and I know I can cope with what I want and need to do, using either a combibation of legacy Win7/XP or Linux. I don't need Win10 at all, so if I don't like either features, usability or pricing, I simply won't go to it. If I don't like features or usability, I won't use it even if it is free.
As am I. Hence my comment earlier about 'disabling it entirely'.
Bluntly this is a cunning push to wipe out win 7 and win8/81...
...and its a good thing from MS view. One OS to standardise on. Burying the dog that was w8 and pushing a unified front. One OS to support only. Offer upgrades and downsize the other teams.
With MacOS free now and Android making serious inroads they have no option but to kill Windows phone and push for W10 across MS phone devices.
What is entertaining to me is they are apparently FINALLY giving us "seamless" workspaces. Being able to "push" between your phone, pc, laptop, xbox was the original idea behind w8's terrible tablet fetish. It WAS a good idea just horribly implemented and MAJORLY flawed with its tablet or nothing approach. If they had kept the start menu instead of trying to make the entire world use a tablet os... maybe 8 wouldnt have got as badly slammed. I dont know about you but i like to multitask on my PC... and 8 was a ballache for that.
I'm cautiously optimistic with how this is playing out. It also helps that W10 doesnt piss me off ANY where near as badly as W8 did... Its also faster than my main machine is on my little test box. (feelwise anyway. havent tried specific benchmarks but file copying alone is MUCH faster.)
"Myerson clarified that Windows 10 users will still get free updates and support for the lifetime of the OS, exactly like past versions of Windows (like XP and Windows 7's Service Packs, for example). There's no subscription model for updates or support or continuing to use the OS. Myerson's reference to Windows 'as a service' simply meant that Microsoft plans to update the OS with smaller, more regular updates rather than the big, chunky updates of past Service Packs. A year after Windows 10 is first available, it will no longer be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users. Microsoft will then sell Windows 10 the same way it has sold past versions of Windows."
http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwin...ws-windows-10/
After upgrading to Win10, will my license still work if I want to downgrade again to Win7?
Would be interesting to try this on my old Win7 laptop, but laptop hardware support for new operating systems can be, erm, challenging. If I have no option to back out, I might not want to try it.
It is Microsoft people! If there is a way of ripping you off then they will rip you off.
Remember!
A wolf in sheeps clothing is still a wolf!
In this first year of Windows 10 how much is it going to cost then if you wish to install a copy on a new build PC? Unless its cheaper than remaining (in retail) copies of 7/8/8.1 then a builder will just buy an old copy and then upgrade.
Not sure what the market share is for self built PC's but its a potential dent in hardware sales if your going to have to install and upgrade an old OS or have to pay for the new one.