There isn't. Microsoft is trying to phase out legacy versions of Windows. Windows 10 is the last build of the old development model (where they released a new stand alone build of windows every year or two) That strategy created a headache which resulted in Microsoft being forced to support multiple legacy versions of Windows. Even when they after sunsetting Windows XP, there are still large numbers of XP computers still out there. Just think about the amount of money it costs Microsoft to produce updates and patches for all of these old versions of Windows. Plus think of the security hazards of running old versions of Windows. Microsoft hates having to deal with that. The big thing with Windows 10 is a unified code base for all platforms. This is akin to Apple's OSX. Every new build of MacOS is just an update to OSX. Microsoft wants to do the same thing. Apple phased out all older versions of MacOS. Now Microsoft wants to do the same by giving away Windows 10 as an incentive to get people to upgrade. Take rates of Windows 8 were terrible and they desperately want people to get onto a common OS version so they can start pushing out incremental and manageable updates like Apple does.
No idea. Apple went with paid updates for a while and recently switched to free updates but they can always go back and charge for the next major update. The beauty of the iterative update system is that you have flexibility on whether you charge users and for how much. I imagine they'll experiment with free updates and paid updates over time and see what works best. For now, the biggest thing is to get everyone on the same OS code base and finally kill off legacy versions of Windows.
how do i get that white windows icon off my toolbar? i clicked "reserve my copy" b/c i thought that would get rid of it, but its still there.
They announced that they'll start charging for Windows a year after it is released. If they didn't announce that they'd eventually charge, people would delay upgrading. The reason behind announcing that you only have a year is to create a financial incentive to upgrade quickly. This is about rapidly phasing out Windows 7 and XP. They also announced that users with pirated copies of Windows are also eligible for upgrades. http://bgr.com/2015/06/02/windows-10-prices-free-reservation/
How were you notified? (never mind - after installing some updates, the windows icon appeared and I clicked on it)
I have Windows 7 Professional with Office 2013. So will I get Windows 10 Professional (and still keep my Office 2013 [for which I no longer have the code or anything])?
Right, but my question is for me specifically. If I click this button right now, get the "free" upgrade. Will they charge me for it down the line?
This is a smart move. Now we don't have to hear the nonsense about the billions pirates supposedly cost MS over the years. MS' personality change is refreshing.
Every tech blog I have read said that is not the case. From what I gather they are moving to a distribution cycle similar to OSX where 10 is free, but subsequent updates will be smaller and cheaper. I'll do some digging...
No. You have one year to upgrade and its free for life. If you laze around and fail to upgrade goodbye free Windows 10. Although I've never met anyone that has purchased their OS anyway unless it was on a laptop or prebuilt so... lol. http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...crosoft-is-giving-away-windows-10-to-pirates/ A little more on that free upgrade for pirates thing.
No not at all. The only thing they might charge you for is future upgrades to Windows 10. (kind of like how Apple has created future upgrades to OSX and charged users for them)
Let me expand on my explanation, it will work something like this: Legacy and new PC users will get Windows 10.0 for free. Updates will be larger than services packs but smaller than entirely new OSes. So, if Windows 10.1 comes out with bug fixes and new features, to go to it you will be charged a nominal fee (probably $20-$40). You are not forced to go to 10.1 at any point (in the same way with OSX you can stay with Snow Leopard or Snoop Lion and not go to Condor or T-Rex). However, if you choose to stay on a certain 10.x iteration, you may lose access to certain app updates through the windows store (because they may need a new distro to run the apps). Legacy apps (Windows 7 apps and lower) should not be affected by this. Does that help?
Just bought a laptop with windows 8, and I have another with 7. Looks like I get the free upgrade too. Sweet. Thanks for the explanation. And I only pay extra when I want to crank it to eleven!
