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'Free' Windows 10 Has High Cost To Windows 7 And Windows 8 Users


Batu69

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Are you tempted by Windows 10? On paper you should be: it combines the best of Windows 8 with a desktop similar to Windows 7, it works across PCs, phones and tablets and – best of all – it will be free. Actually scrap that last part…

Here is the official line: Windows 10 will be a free upgrade to existing Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices that upgrade within a year of its release.

Furthermore Microsoft states “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.”

Yes there are some exclusions – notably Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise and Windows RT/RT 8.1 – but for the everyday user this sounds almost too good to be true.

Read more – Why Microsoft Announced Windows 10 Is ‘The Last Version Of Windows’

And the problem is: it just might be. Here’s three reasons why:

Reason #1: Windows By Another Name

Windows 10 may not be out yet, but Microsoft has already confirmed the name of its successor: ‘Windows’.

Yes, Windows 10 will be the last numbered version of the OS and going forward it will simply become a ‘Windows’ subscription service. This upsets those who don’t like the idea of a subscription service, but the biggest concern is this: while Windows 10 will seamlessly upgrade to ‘Windows’ – this is a new beginning. Your OS would evolve into a new product for which you have to pay.

When would this happen? Microsoft hasn’t put a date on it, but two major Windows 10 updates dubbed ‘Redstone’ (a Minecraft reference) have already been flagged for release in mid and late 2016 respectively.

Could this be ‘Windows’? Right now we don’t know, but with two years between Windows Vista (2007) and Windows 7 (2009), three years to Windows 8 (2012) and three years to Windows 10 (2015) you may be getting pushed to a paid subscription ‘Windows’ in 2-3 years.

Read more – Microsoft Windows 10 Leak Reveals New Offensive Emojis

Reason #2: Nagware

Of course there is a simple answer to any ‘Windows’ upgrade for Windows 10: don’t upgrade.

After all no matter how many times Microsoft may ask you to install ‘Windows’ when it arrives, that doesn’t mean you have to and you can keep using your free version of Windows 10. Then again this looks like it won’t be a pleasurable experience.

The hint comes from the Microsoft patch ‘KB3035583’. Microsoft officially describes it as: “This update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available to the user”

But the reality is KB3035583 is nagware which creates four folders on Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices designed to push Windows 10 adverts both as the release approaches and after release urging users to upgrade.

How important is this strategy to Microsoft? Clearly very. The company recently upgraded the status of KB3035583 to being an ‘Important’ update for both Windows 7 and Windows 8 which means it will install automatically. There seems no reason why Windows 10 users won’t receive similar treatment when ‘Windows’ becomes available.

As for Reason #3, it may be the most costly of them all…

Reason #3: A Short Life

Cast your mind back one year. Microsoft announced the Windows 8.1 Update 1 upgrade and simultaneously declared that it “becomes the new servicing baseline for Windows 8.1, so next month’s security updates (on May 13th, the next ‘Patch Tuesday’) will be dependent on Windows 8.1 Update.”

In short: upgrade within 30 days to Update 1 because after 30 days Windows 8.1 will no longer receive security updates. It was a four week notice period.

Ultimately Microsoft relented and said the 30 day window would be increased to 120 days, but that still meant a product you were happily using would be insecure within four months so refusing to upgrade to Update 1 was not an option.

Read more – Microsoft Surface 3 Vs Surface Pro 3: What’s The Difference?

Will Microsoft do this to Windows 10 users when the ‘update’ to Windows comes along? Quite frankly we don’t know. The track record is there, but with Windows 10 due to launch in a few months Microsoft has maintained a stony silence about future pricing and the fine detail regarding future upgrades.

So with support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 only ending in 2020 and 2023 respectively it could be that they actually offer longer life cycles than Windows 10.

The True Cost Of Free

The good news is Microsoft can still surprise us.

Many have reacted to its ongoing silence regarding the future pricing and fine details of Windows 10 as a bad thing – and the three reasons above certainly show this ambiguity could have highly negative consequences for users who upgrade before they are clarified.

Then again Microsoft has spent the last 18 months surprising us. I recently argued that Microsoft is the new Google as I think under Satya Nadella Microsoft is currently the most interesting and disruptive tech company around.

Still the real motto of this story is much simpler and more familiar: nothing in technology is ever really free…

Read more – Microsoft Plunders iOS, Android And Supercharges Windows 10

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Crap over crap equals shit loads of crap!

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knowledge never took place! thanks for some more bits of info regarding the "Windows 10 upgrade move".

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I suspect the subscription model is the accurate guess. Losing the O/S revenue model is a major hit so there has to be a new revenue scheme to replace that. Leasing software will turn out to be like leasing a car - easy to get in to but more expensive than owning in the long run. Capitalism's just that way - returns go to the investors and risk takers.

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I suspect the subscription model is the accurate guess. Losing the O/S revenue model is a major hit so there has to be a new revenue scheme to replace that. Leasing software will turn out to be like leasing a car - easy to get in to but more expensive than owning in the long run. Capitalism's just that way - returns go to the investors and risk takers.

In the end there model will fail people will stop buying newer windows at all if it becomes rentware . It will be interesting to see things people make to turn off nagware etc . There's no such thing as a short life on windows to date even . Windows 7 came out in 2009 it want stop getting updates tell January 14, 2020. 8.1 dont stop getting them tell January 10, 2023. When XP came out people said bad things about and swore they would stay 98 se forever. When Win7 came out some said bad things about it and swore they stay on XP forever and still some hard heads wont upgrade and its 2015 . The bottom line people dont like change . Its sort like some who chose to use old programs were nothing ever updates much even though they dont work as good as new ones do. :lol:

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I suspect the subscription model is the accurate guess. Losing the O/S revenue model is a major hit so there has to be a new revenue scheme to replace that. Leasing software will turn out to be like leasing a car - easy to get in to but more expensive than owning in the long run. Capitalism's just that way - returns go to the investors and risk takers.

I don't think they'll be losing a whole lot. Business licenses aren't getting the free upgrade, so no loss there. OEMs will still pay for licenses on new machines. That leaves everyone else. A new version of Windows comes out, who installs it? Most people don't upgrade their OS, they just keep using whatever came with the computer. They weren't going to buy 10 anyway. The exception is people like us, who build their own systems and can tell you every piece of hardware in it from memory. We're a tiny minority of computer users out there and the few geeks like me1 who actually paid for their OS are all they're really losing. For a little investment at the outset, within a year they'll get as many people as possible all running the same OS. That will pay dividends in the future by saving them money on programming costs. Instead of having to write and test software (and patches) for 4 different versions of Windows, they just have to make it work on one. That should easily make up for the loss from the few users who might pay for an upgrade.

1 Yes, I actually paid for my copy of Windows. Microsoft was running a special for students when 7 came out and I got my copy insanely cheap.

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I haven't even considered upgrading to a tablet - mobile OS. When a new DESKTOP OS gets released i will think about it.

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I haven't even considered upgrading to a tablet - mobile OS. When a new DESKTOP OS gets released i will think about it.

That's what Windows is..

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I suspect the subscription model is the accurate guess. Losing the O/S revenue model is a major hit so there has to be a new revenue scheme to replace that. Leasing software will turn out to be like leasing a car - easy to get in to but more expensive than owning in the long run. Capitalism's just that way - returns go to the investors and risk takers.

I don't think they'll be losing a whole lot. Business licenses aren't getting the free upgrade, so no loss there. OEMs will still pay for licenses on new machines. That leaves everyone else. A new version of Windows comes out, who installs it? Most people don't upgrade their OS, they just keep using whatever came with the computer. They weren't going to buy 10 anyway. The exception is people like us, who build their own systems and can tell you every piece of hardware in it from memory. We're a tiny minority of computer users out there and the few geeks like me1 who actually paid for their OS are all they're really losing. For a little investment at the outset, within a year they'll get as many people as possible all running the same OS. That will pay dividends in the future by saving them money on programming costs. Instead of having to write and test software (and patches) for 4 different versions of Windows, they just have to make it work on one. That should easily make up for the loss from the few users who might pay for an upgrade.

1 Yes, I actually paid for my copy of Windows. Microsoft was running a special for students when 7 came out and I got my copy insanely cheap.

You're probably right - points well made. I don't mind paying MSFT for their product as long as they support it properly, which, by-and-large, I think they do. I'm a professional, not a (pure) pirate and they've mostly supported/repaired my issues... certainly when using vanilla Dell/HP/IBM hardware. I just can't risk my clients to unknown builds and sources of UNIX despite their advantages as the support & training costs outweigh the familiarity Win/Office provides for meat-n-potato offices.

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I haven't even considered upgrading to a tablet - mobile OS. When a new DESKTOP OS gets released i will think about it.

At the end of the day, they're toys unless they plug into a dock of some sort.

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