You will not be paying a yearly fee to keep Windows 10 running on your PC in 2016...or any year after that.
Blame it on Microsoft's "Borg" reputation, its historically cutthroat reputation, or just general distrust. Whatever the reason, users have been looking for a fine print "gotcha" ever since Microsoft announced Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, as long as the upgrade is claimed in the first year after Windows 10's release. (The company will charge for upgrades after that.)
Suspicions about sneaky fees reached a fever pitch in May after a Microsoft executive said Windows 10 would be the "last version of Windows" as the operating system transitions to a "Windows as a service" model. The concern was that, just as Microsoft has done with Office 365, Windows users would suddenly be forking over a yearly fee to keep the OS running and receive updates.
To allay those concerns, Microsoft recently added a clarification to the Windows 10 landing page, as first spotted by Neowin (emphasis added):
Once a qualified Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it more secure, and introducing new features and functionality over time - for no additional charge.
It looks like you will keep on receiving Windows 10 updates for your PC for free. No funny business.
Maybe it was unintentional phrasing, but that sounds like if you upgrade you get an OEM type version rather than the full retail type version that you can transfer to another machine.we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device
This should answer your questionOriginally Posted by BigMack70
What I'm curious about as a Windows 7 user... if I want to do a fresh install of Windows 10 on a new drive, will I need to install Windows 7, wait for all the updates to finish, then update to Windows 10 from there? Or will there be a way to directly install Windows 10?
I tend to do a fresh OS install every time I make significant hardware changes (CPU / GPU) so hopefully it won't drastically slow down the Windows installation process.
I tried out the technical preview and was very favorably impressed... seems like they are making good on their promise to make this the best of both worlds between Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1
*Windows Offer Details
It is our intent that most of these devices will qualify, but some hardware/software requirements apply and feature availability may vary by device. The availability of the Windows Phone upgrade may vary by OEM, mobile operator, or carrier. Devices must be connected to the internet and have Windows Update enabled. ISP fees may apply. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required. Some editions are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1. Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of this offer. We will be sharing more information and additional offer and support terms in coming months.
First It's free, then it isn't.... all I know is that rack better be stacked!
Hmmm... figured. Thanks. Hopefully there will be recovery options for re-installing on the same drive, but looks like for a new drive I'll need to re-do everything. Then there's just the question if it will still be free for me after 1 year. I'm a bit skeptical about that... wouldn't surprise me if I throw a new motherboard in my rig in 2017 and re-install if it whines about being a new PC and needing $100 from me or something to activate.Originally Posted by bvsbutthd101
This should answer your question
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/about
...why couldn't they just say "lifetime of the device"? GPUs exist and work beyond their supported lifetimes.we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device
I would imagine when you upgrade to Windows 10 you get a product assigned to you and when you switch hardware that makes the OS think it's a different computer they'll be an option to activate over the phone. Hopefully that'll still be an option.Originally Posted by BigMack70
Hmmm... figured. Thanks. Hopefully there will be recovery options for re-installing on the same drive, but looks like for a new drive I'll need to re-do everything. Then there's just the question if it will still be free for me after 1 year. I'm a bit skeptical about that... wouldn't surprise me if I throw a new motherboard in my rig in 2017 and re-install if it whines about being a new PC and needing $100 from me or something to activate.
No matter how many times M$ says that this is going to be a free upgrade, I've just watched their business practices for too long to really trust them. I fully anticipate eventually being required to pay for this. Wouldn't mind being wrong, but I'll believe it when I see it, I guess.
That was my thoughts also. Or will they just be going to oem style from now on for everyone? And then, since its the "last version of windohs", maybe even charge more for the OS outright and just continue the free updates for the life of whatever device it's put on?
Microsoft drops support for old OS after a number of years. You can continue to use them (XP for example) but Microsoft will continue to update them beyond their "supported lifetime".
Keyword is "Qualified" for those sneaky pirates you may still get that Non-Genuine Status or possibly lack of updates.Once a qualified Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it more secure, and introducing new features and functionality over time - for no additional charge.
It's PR, just like Apple did with OS X. They stopped at 10 for the numbering and began using a name after it as the real version number. So they replaced a number with a name. They have to have something to catch people's attention. OS X or Windows 10 forever without any catchy name to publicize new features wouldn't make any sense. Also, if one of the updates is a market failure, they have to have a way to distance themselves from it. Not to mention technological cut-off points.Originally Posted by t00sl0w
they keep saying, "last version of windows."
the cynic in me doubts every single bit of that.
there would have to be a sunset eventually due to simple things like optimization not allowing the OS to progress without a complete rewrite....unless they are pulling some kind of modular style system with windows 10 where they can completely rewrite entire segments and then plug it back in as long as basic calls to other subsystems are the same. even with this you would be limited though if you decide you want to rewrite the com standards you created for the modules.
idk
Not at all, you've got reason to question. Windows 98 Second Edition was a paid add-on to Windows 98, coming just a year after it, so it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again.Originally Posted by majin662
The thing is though, and correct me if I'm wrong, but all this "free" business means is that security updates and updates they deem low enough priority (think solitaire) can and will be free. I haven't seen anything in their material released so far that stops them from releasing "premium content" type updates that will in fact cost money. Also have not seen language that doesn't stop them from introducing a subscription model either. Seems like your base windows 10 experience and all security updates/meh features will be free but they've left the door open to change with their wording. Or am I completely off base here with what folks concerns were?
"supported lifetime of the device" also sounds like a clever way of being able to dodge long term support for private system builders.Originally Posted by tpi2007
It's PR, just like Apple did with OS X. They stopped at 10 for the numbering and began using a name after it as the real version number. So they replaced a number with a name. They have to have something to catch people's attention. OS X or Windows 10 forever without any catchy name to publicize new features wouldn't make any sense. Also, if one of the updates is a market failure, they have to have a way to distance themselves from it. Not to mention technological cut-off points.
They still didn't clarify what the "supported lifetime of the device is". It's not the 'lifetime of the device', that would be easy to understand, it's the supported one, and it makes you think why many articles are still questioning this (including this one), along with many users, and they still haven't clarified this point.
And if some people think it's much ado about nothing, Windows 7 users have support until 2020 and Windows 8.1 until 2023. Some Windows 8 users, however, will either have to downgrade to Windows 7 by early next year or buy new hardware to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, because Microsoft changed the hardware requirements for Windows 8.1 x64 compared to Windows 8 x64, so they can't upgrade.
Microsoft did it once and after just a year, it would be reassuring to hear from them that they won't do it again. How much support period do we have? If it's not quantifiable as a single number, what's the worst case scenario? What are the variables that determine it? For now, I'm much more secure in knowing exactly when the support period of my version of Windows ends, it allows me to plan ahead, I guess most people would like to do the same.
Not at all, you've got reason to question. Windows 98 Second Edition was a paid add-on to Windows 98, coming just a year after it, so it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, especially since they are not explaining some things.
Build your computer? Nonsense, just buy it off the shelf of one of those big stores, we prepared a list of qualified vendors, makers and models for you. What? Computer not good enough? Pay $8000 for any of these wonderful rackmount servers (not those ones, though).
Yup.Originally Posted by GingerJohn
Quote:
Maybe it was unintentional phrasing, but that sounds like if you upgrade you get an OEM type version rather than the full retail type version that you can transfer to another machine.we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device
Interesting.
install W10 and image the drive?Originally Posted by BigMack70
Hmmm... figured. Thanks. Hopefully there will be recovery options for re-installing on the same drive, but looks like for a new drive I'll need to re-do everything. Then there's just the question if it will still be free for me after 1 year. I'm a bit skeptical about that... wouldn't surprise me if I throw a new motherboard in my rig in 2017 and re-install if it whines about being a new PC and needing $100 from me or something to activate.
No matter how many times M$ says that this is going to be a free upgrade, I've just watched their business practices for too long to really trust them. I fully anticipate eventually being required to pay for this. Wouldn't mind being wrong, but I'll believe it when I see it, I guess.
Not really. For most of the world there is no other alternative. I'm a regular Linux user and I can say in my opinion Linux isn't ready for mainstream usage. Even Ubuntu or Mint, a number of things still require command line and that right there is a roadblock.