Microsoft will give away Windows 10 to all Windows Insider testers

[DanceswithUnix]

All this nonsense is becoming old, Microsoft just need to sell the damn thing for a fair straight up. Whats wrong with just selling the OS as per every other version.

People are happy on 7. The Steam Hardware survey shows as many XP users as all Mac OS version users added together. Chrome OS machines are starting to sell rather well.

They hacked off people with earlier gen phones and then again with Windows 8. Microsoft need users to stay relevant, if they had to pay users a fiver to get the latest Windows on machines then I'm sure they would.

[jag272]

People are happy on 7. The Steam Hardware survey shows as many XP users as all Mac OS version users added together. Chrome OS machines are starting to sell rather well.

They hacked off people with earlier gen phones and then again with Windows 8. Microsoft need users to stay relevant, if they had to pay users a fiver to get the latest Windows on machines then I'm sure they would.

They'd have to pay me a lot more than a fiver to get me to upgrade my OS day one. But yes, this, Microsoft is trying to push as hard as possible to keep people on their newest OS, both due to their plans to change monetization and so the need for as many potential "customers" as possible and also just that they don't want to be stuck supporting old OS to the end of time (XP is still popular).

[j0n4s82]

So just to be clear, retail means I bought the CD separately from a PC? I bought my two Win 7 licenses via ebay; respectively, the stickers say Win 7 Home Prem OA and Win 7 Ult OA. They are DELL labeled disks. My quick research says OA means nothing but OEM. If I understand your comment correctly, I shouldn't be able to install and activate the DELL branded versions. They are hardware bound. But they are activated. And I know I can install them on any other ONE machine.

Technically, your licenses aren't really legal, although it's doubtful MS will come looking for you over it. They may well go after the people that sold you an OEM key, but that's a different story. To be 100% clear, retail means you purchased your license either through a valid re-seller or MS directly, with the retailer being the primary method, and along with the license, you get 'genuine' media, complete with a happy little hologram and a shiny dvd.

When I bought them I didn't really think about OEM and retail. Ebay has OEM versions strewn all over it, here in Germany at least. If it was THAT illegal, it wouldn't be such a prevalent practice, or, rather, if MS cared much about their licence agreement they would have started to sic their lawyers on all the sellers. Isn't selling the OEM versions apart from hardware some kind of legal grey area? I think I remember reading something of that sort. As you say, however, it might just be unfeasible or unnecessary for MS to legally persecute the matter.

[GuidoLS]

All this nonsense is becoming old, Microsoft just need to sell the damn thing for a fair straight up. Whats wrong with just selling the OS as per every other version.

They'll gladly take your money. It has the exact same price listed as Windows 8/8.1 and is already listed for pre-order on sites such as NewEgg, etc.

[GuidoLS]

When I bought them I didn't really think about OEM and retail. Ebay has OEM versions strewn all over it, here in Germany at least. If it was THAT illegal, it wouldn't be such a prevalent practice, or, rather, if MS cared much about their licence agreement they would have started to sic their lawyers on all the sellers. Isn't selling the OEM versions apart from hardware some kind of legal grey area? I think I remember reading something of that sort. As you say, however, it might just be unfeasible or unnecessary for MS to legally persecute the matter.

Back when I actually used to pay attention, MS seemed to have a threshold of just how many licenses were being sold per vendor before they started sending cease and desist letters. To the best of my knowledge, when MS actually sends one out, it's wise to pay attention. I've only heard of 2 cases where they have actually gone after a consumer - one was over 20 years ago, and the most recent was when a person tried activating what was a valid oem key pasted on the side of a display computer on over 100 other unique machines, which you'll have to admit is extreme.

Like I said, you bought them in good faith, so use them in good faith. If they don't activate, try the phone activation route. The only time I've heard of those efforts being denied was after massive usage in a very short time frame.

[jigger]

So do the insider testers get the free key or have MS cocked up again?

[GuidoLS]

So do the insider testers get the free key or have MS cocked up again?

22 posts ago. This thread... http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-news/3...ml#post3486998

Short answer - nothing is free, and only those calling themselves reporters ever claimed that Insiders would get it for free.

[jigger]

Sorry I somehow missed your post.

[jezza9]

When I bought them I didn't really think about OEM and retail. Ebay has OEM versions strewn all over it, here in Germany at least. If it was THAT illegal, it wouldn't be such a prevalent practice, or, rather, if MS cared much about their licence agreement they would have started to sic their lawyers on all the sellers. Isn't selling the OEM versions apart from hardware some kind of legal grey area? I think I remember reading something of that sort. As you say, however, it might just be unfeasible or unnecessary for MS to legally persecute the matter.

It depends where you live, in the EU it is legal to resell OEM licenses because there was a case that went to the EU court (Usedsoft vs Oracle) and the result was that company EULA's cannot prohibit you from reselling a license as long as it's only in use on one machine at a time. That is why you see so many people selling these kinds of licenses in Europe on sites like eBay, Amazon and in many other places, because it's allowed.