"Free" Windows 10, eh?

'Free' Windows 10 Now Looks A Terrible Deal

No further comment...

 

Also,:

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/07/02/computerbase-you-have-30-days-to-downgrade-windows-10/

 

Who called it about the subscription model from the outset? I did. Microsoft isn't in the business of giving things out for free. Apple can give their OS away for "free" because you have to buy their hardware unless you have a lot of patience for hackintosh... Not to mention that they have a total monopoly with their app store and iTunes built in. Microsoft has been teasing subscriptions for Windows for years. Good thing I have the ability to drop back to 8.1

 

Where in that article does it mention a subscription???


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" The other perspective returns us to the “deferred revenue” Microsoft says it will encounter with Windows 10.

The interesting part is Microsoft claims the money it loses from the free upgrades will be made up within three years. If there’s a free upgrade plus two years of free support (for all consumers) then the introduction of subscription based charging, this suddenly fits together and angry conspiracy theories run wild."

 

I feel like the article, which is still second hand and unconfirmed by a second source, says lots of conflicting things. For example: "The company confirmed furthermore that the free upgrade won’t have any hidden costs or time limits"


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I got Windows 7 for free. Microsoft has been giving out Windows for free since Vista. If you bought a system with the older OS a couple of months before the new one came out you got the new OS for free. I did it with Windows 7. MS IS ONLY giving out the consumer upgrades for Win and and 8.1 for free. All others have to play including enterprise.

 

What, what? Hidden costs and time limits? OMG

 

Microsoft has only given out free upgrades with the purchase of a new machine that came with the old OS when they were on the verge of a new one. I know. It's how I got my Alienware M17xR1 off that Vista crap it came with to 7... But that was an upgrade disc only and required workarounds to install it as a full version. Microsoft is giving a full key after you upgrade but what concerns me... Machines like mine... I have a full OEM 8.1 license from Sager... I don't even need to put in my key when I reinstall... What if Microsoft revokes those keys after the 30 day grace period to roll back? There are so many unanswered questions...

 

^And really that sums it all up IMO. Micro$haft seems to really like the "unanswered" state of things. I got my deep bucket of popcorn ready as the information inevitably starts to pour out, if not from Micro$haft, from those that naively or inquisitively dig in days, weeks and months following release. For us trying to stay informed and give this thing a chance, patience is the key.

 

I don't know how to interpret the document. Is there only one way to do it? I guess it is...

http://www.microsoft.com/investor/downloads/events/Windows10_Revenue_Recognition.pptx

 

The Adobe way, eh? That document only concerns changes to volume licenses though, if it stays like that than consumer/oem ("D&C") is still a 'pay once' model. However, they do have a rather strange definition of the word " fun":



Yes ... the ' you have x days to renew your license' kind of 'fun'. Thankfully the fun's reserved only for large businesses. Think they had better check popularity/profit of Adobe CC before venturing in that direction ... next thing Dell wakes up and thinks it's a good idea to view the BIOS as a Service;

Code:

Boot Error Code #1; insufficient funds.

 

I don't believe they are able to overwrite the key embedded in your computer's bios. So you can revert back by doing a clean install like before. They cannot revoke any Royalty OEM key anyways so all the big brand Win7 machines are also safe

That 30 days is probably the time backup of the old OS is stored. Just a guess though.

 

That would be disgusting to encounter. Pay for play. Yuck!

 

It's still unconfirmed. As far as I can tell, computerbase is the only source reporting this, so I'll reserve judgement until MS confirms (or at least a second independent source).


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Right, so far everything goes back to that one German site. I thought it true as well until I found all the sites were just interpreting the one site as well. Truth be told, before, when you upgraded there really was no supposed downgrade right, the license rights were just transferred. To get back the old OS you were pretty much stuck with doing it manually. Since now you are given the rights though are there stipulations along with it?

 

It's all speculation until we hear something/anything official...

 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

 

^^^^^^

From the link above, emphasis added:

So much mud and so many gray areas in just a few sentences...

 

I agree. Isn't that kind of mud usually found in EULAs?

Windows 7 RTM and Windows 8 RTM are not supported anymore, you HAVE to update to keep getting support. Similar to Windows 10, but not the same thing.

 

Yes, indeed it is. This piece that I've quoted sounds like something a credit card company would come up with, though...

I can't say anything about W8.x offerings since none of the machines in my household run any of those operating systems BUT I've been able to decide on which updates I install or not ever since the days of W2K through W7 which is the current flavour around here and if that ability gets taken away with W10 I'll simply stay away from the OS in question. It's really that simple.

 

I honestly think I am going to start tinkering with Linux more and dual boot with Win 8.1. I will just boot to Windows for gaming. And in a few years, chances are I won't be doing much PC gaming any more the way things are going. I'll just have to buy a pre-built desktop so that the OEM can pay to fix my computer due to Windows botched updates.

 

I actually got to that point after W8 RTM. CentOS FTW.

Nah. In the rare occasions that I join my kids for a game, it's on one of their consoles. But to each their own.

Well, presuming that nothing major changes in my own work environment - and that I'm alive to begin with - I've got about a year and a half to go from the point of W7 losing support to the day of my intended retirement. Between vacation, sick time and short term disability I believe that I'll manage not having to use any of MS' more recent offerings just fine.

Presuming, of course, that my employer doesn't flip the bird to the Redmond thugs in the first place which I could very well see happening, especially with the way W10 Enterprise is supposed to roll...

 

So you're telling me that you can still get updates for Windows 7 RTM? Either that or you misunderstood me completely.

 

Will give it a look.

But, but, but... #PCGMR - PC Gaming Master Race!

No, I still enjoy a good strategy game and flight sim now and again. Two things you just can't do on a console.

Going Windows Free. Thought I'd never see the day... but it looks like it cometh.

 

I understood you perfectly well. You're effectively saying that one must install SP1 on W7 to continue receiving updates.

Let me express myself more precisely: I've installed SP1, for the most part out of sheer habit. But there was a *ton* of updates that came as an option - and I don't mean being labeled as "optional" by MS - both before and after it that I haven't installed.

 

I don't like the forced updates, but the forced drivers are a much bigger problem IMHO. I can see why MS wants the former, but not the latter...

 

My P79xx was a Vista machine with the free Windows 7 Upgrade. From there I did the upgrade to Windows 7 Pro though the control panel. My primary machine is an OEM Windows 7, bought just before I would have been forced to do 8.0. All machines receive regular updates.

I just put in a RTM, well Windows 7 system builders SP1, disk on a friends laptop a couple of months ago and he still gets updates too.

 

Agreed.

Because they want the full control of every single system running Windows. An abysmal concept no matter how one looks at it.

 

Controlling drivers then controls, stability, features, performance and conformity.