Windows 10 Is A Free Upgrade For All 7 And 8.1 Users

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
I guess Microsoft was listening to all the folks clamoring for Windows 10 to be a free upgrade. :eek:

Wondering how much Windows 10 will set you back? In most cases, nothing. Microsoft has announced that the new operating system will be a free upgrade in the first year for everyone using Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1.
Click to expand...
 
Hopefully there's an option for clean installs as long as you have the older disks/files.
I don't want to get stuck in a cycle of an upgrade on top of an upgrade on top of another upgrade if I have to re-install.
 
It would benefit MSFT to get as many people as possible on Win 10. This will have Bing, the new web browser (will this be ported to previous versions of Windows?), and Cortana. Not too mention, if they are able to sunset Windows 7 earlier, it should free up developers to go beyond support and make new products/new features for existing sellable products.
 
Oh snap!
Think of all the companies (I'm thinking mine) that have hundreds of Windows 7 computers that need to be updated. Before they were looking at a HUGE time/money investment to get up to date to 8, but now they can plan ahead and cut those costs down significantly and just jump to 10.

This is genuinely huge for MS.


BUT


I fear (combined with their language today about Windows being a service) that this is a first step towards a subscription based Windows.
 
Jorona said:
Its a subscription. One year free. This is a joke.
Click to expand...

I thought it was free for the first year. So, if you get in on it during that year, it's a free upgrade. After that first year, people have to start paying to upgrade. Not that it's a year free, then pay. If you get in on it, you're good.

Or am I wrong?
 
Yup its a total trap to get people into the subscription fold. The Bean counters decision to keep a revenue stream incoming.
 
Ur_Mom said:
I thought it was free for the first year. So, if you get in on it during that year, it's a free upgrade. After that first year, people have to start paying to upgrade. Not that it's a year free, then pay. If you get in on it, you're good.

Or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
I thought this too.
 
Ur_Mom said:
I thought it was free for the first year. So, if you get in on it during that year, it's a free upgrade. After that first year, people have to start paying to upgrade. Not that it's a year free, then pay. If you get in on it, you're good.

Or am I wrong?
Click to expand...

That is my interpretation as well.
 
Domingo said:
Hopefully there's an option for clean installs as long as you have the older disks/files.
I don't want to get stuck in a cycle of an upgrade on top of an upgrade on top of another upgrade if I have to re-install.
Click to expand...

Upgrading/updating from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 was also unnecessarily complicated if you wanted to do a clean installation.

I miss the way they used to do it where you just had to insert your old installation media, wait for the new installer to verify it, and continue on about your clean install.

Windows 10 is looking interesting, but I personally have little use for the features they have been touting in the preview (Cortana, fancier live tiles, more social media/news feeds). The tech preview itself has been pretty snappy, so as long as I can disable all of the junk I don't care about, I'll give the new version a go.
 
Jorona said:
Its a subscription. One year free. This is a joke.
Click to expand...

Right now, the wording isn't very clear. It seems to imply that if you upgrade within the first year of Windows 10's lifecycle that its won't cost anything. While that doesn't rule out subscription fees later, I think Microsoft would face pretty serious opposition to OS adoption depending on how they implemented it.

Either way, it doesn't really mean anything to the people who have already moved on to other operating systems.
 
Jorona said:
Its a subscription. One year free. This is a joke.
Click to expand...

OR after the yr is up you have to purchase it for 139.99 or maybe your correct full cloud service like their office 360 it is free if you sign up for microsoft cloud.
 
They need to clarify if it's subscription or not, ASAP. Or the Internet will go mad.
 
I admit the wording is abit muddy atm, but I'm betting the bean counters want a sub based windows REAL BAD.
 
I will stick with 7 only because I do not want to worry about hunting down new drivers. HP is horrible about supporting newer versions of Windows and I like my current printer and scanners.
 
MrCaffeineX said:
Upgrading/updating from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 was also unnecessarily complicated if you wanted to do a clean installation.

I miss the way they used to do it where you just had to insert your old installation media, wait for the new installer to verify it, and continue on about your clean install.
Click to expand...

Definitely. The best option actually came out of the Windows 8.1 ISO they released. You could bypass the initial ID with a 30-day test ID from MS. Once the OS was installed, you could then input your upgrade ID and it would accept it. Still, you shouldn't have to do that. Nor should you have to install the OS as a trial and then install it on top of itself like with Windows 7 either. The old way of "insert your previous Windows media" was a hell of a lot better. Anyone confident enough to install an OS from scratch is smart enough to research the best way to go about it. MS will even help you on the phone if you want!
 
Can I upgrade to Windows 7 of I get a system with Windows 10 Pro?
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Right now, the wording isn't very clear. It seems to imply that if you upgrade within the first year of Windows 10's lifecycle that its won't cost anything. While that doesn't rule out subscription fees later, I think Microsoft would face pretty serious opposition to OS adoption depending on how they implemented it.

Either way, it doesn't really mean anything to the people who have already moved on to other operating systems.
Click to expand...


Hopefully it at least means we stop seeing so many useless posts in win 8/8.1/10 threads from users who have moved to different operating systems.... It just the same whining repeated over and over anyway.
 
After a year they will probably have Windows 10.1 for sale anyway.

This is great though. I have a bunch of systems to upgrade after skipping 8.
 
If MSFT goes subscription, the incentive to make a complete O/S will be gone. They can just build the O/S as time goes on. If anything, I would expect the O/S to change every six months or maybe every quarter. Or, maybe they'll piece out the O/S. Not everyone needs remote desktop. Maybe they'll sell that piece as an app. O/S ala carte anybody?
 
I don't understand why people think MS can charge a sub for windows... I don't think it's going to fly... I'm pretty sure people don't want to pay a monthly fee for their OS, I sure as hell don't... I'll stick with 8.1 if that's the case
 
Ugh, can't they simply come out with a good OS platform to start from sell it for $99, and then have 'Upgrades' for those who want the Tiles/Social Media, Entertainment Usage, etc...

I want a plain vanilla win10 install with no fluff.

It may just be time to try using Linux Mint Cinnamon more :)
 
Does anyone know what percentage of Windows sales/revenue is upgrades vs new retail/oem?
 
Ugh, can't they simply come out with a good OS platform to start from sell it for $99, and then have 'Upgrades' for those who want the Tiles/Social Media, Entertainment Usage, etc... and then IMPROVE on it over the years/months with free upgrades for minor things/patches/security and big improvements/feature sets are sold individually.

More $ for them, and no annual license crap.

I want a plain vanilla win10 install with no fluff.

It may just be time to try using Linux Mint Cinnamon more :)
 
Modred189 said:
Oh snap!
Think of all the companies (I'm thinking mine) that have hundreds of Windows 7 computers that need to be updated. Before they were looking at a HUGE time/money investment to get up to date to 8, but now they can plan ahead and cut those costs down significantly and just jump to 10.

This is genuinely huge for MS.


BUT


I fear (combined with their language today about Windows being a service) that this is a first step towards a subscription based Windows.
Click to expand...

That's not quite how enterprise licensing works. Most agreements pay a certain amount per seat and include a large amount of products. Our agreement with MS permits us to install any version of Windows on any PC. The cost of going from 7 to 8.1 for us isn't the cost of the OS, it's the cost of the labor to do the work and end user training.

Large enterprise doesn't pay per copy so it's pretty irrelevant for them.
 
FLECOM said:
I don't understand why people think MS can charge a sub for windows... I don't think it's going to fly... I'm pretty sure people don't want to pay a monthly fee for their OS, I sure as hell don't... I'll stick with 8.1 if that's the case
Click to expand...

The problem, you see, is that these people are unable to comprehend the simple fact that they are a very small minority and that the average user would never pay a subscription for Windows, that'd be ridiculous to them.
 
Biznatch said:
Hopefully it at least means we stop seeing so many useless posts in win 8/8.1/10 threads from users who have moved to different operating systems.... It just the same whining repeated over and over anyway.
Click to expand...

Yeah, people who have trouble figuring out something different are better off not knowing there are other options. They like the insular safety of the familiar and resort a pretty aggressive means of defending themselves to avoid thinking in new ways. I'm sure you and I both feel bad for those kinds of people.
 
amdgamer said:
I will stick with 7 only because I do not want to worry about hunting down new drivers. HP is horrible about supporting newer versions of Windows and I like my current printer and scanners.
Click to expand...

no idea about printers, but for scanners: http://www.hamrick.com/

It's not free, but your scanner will work. I bought almost 15 years ago...never bothered with scanner's software.

Of course back then I think it was always lifetime support. I believe that lifetime support is more now.
 
amddragonpc said:
If MSFT goes subscription, the incentive to make a complete O/S will be gone. They can just build the O/S as time goes on. If anything, I would expect the O/S to change every six months or maybe every quarter. Or, maybe they'll piece out the O/S. Not everyone needs remote desktop. Maybe they'll sell that piece as an app. O/S ala carte anybody?
Click to expand...

It's not a subscription. This is similar to the deal where people could upgrade to 8 and get Media center for free for period of time after the release. After that you had to buy it.
 
If the upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 10 includes the higher memory limit of 128GB like WIndws 8, then go for it.

One of the things that bothers me is that the big companies have been slow to upgrade compared to the consumers. I think Microsoft is taking advantage of this fact.
 
Steve said:
I guess Microsoft was listening to all the folks clamoring for Windows 10 to be a free upgrade. :eek:
Click to expand...

I'll admit it. I was wrong. I really didn't think they'd give it to 7 users for free. With that said, may mean you can't migrate your 10 license to a new machine 2 years later. You can reinstall 7 or 8.1, but not 10. If you can migrate it, then I've got a lot of 10 licenses I can get, cause I have a lot of 7 licenses and a couple of 8s too.
 
FLECOM said:
I don't understand why people think MS can charge a sub for windows... I don't think it's going to fly... I'm pretty sure people don't want to pay a monthly fee for their OS, I sure as hell don't... I'll stick with 8.1 if that's the case
Click to expand...

Here is the Rub:
Direct X 12
Further updates and programs
BlueRay 4x and or Atmos support ETC

All that will be tied into the "update"

As long as they drop the subscription low enough people will buy it. Say there is a buy in price and a low charge for windows (2015) You have the OS, the base as it was released and all the updates for that year, but if you want updates from there you'll pay some low yearly fee. Lets say it's tied into other things as well. A "cloud package" so to speak.

1 TB of One drive (perks for audio, video?)
Xbox Gold
Xbox Music
Access to online Office
Oh and windows (insert year)
For about say $100
 
Awesome, I have plenty of legit Windows 7 licenses.

I expect we will still have to install from less-than-legal sources to do a clean install or to avoid jumping through hoops for activation.
 
wizzi01 said:
It says in the first year. Not for the the first year. I know reading comprehension is hard.
Click to expand...

Windows_10_0121_34.jpg


You're right, reading comprehension is hard, idiot.
 
Okay so I'm actually watching. They are being vague on this purposely. The screen shot was inrefference to how it was spoken. "In the first year of windows 10's release..." The upgrade will be free the first year of it's release, marking a time window. Why was not given. I'm thinking There will be windows 10 and beyond for windows as a service. That beyond is the subscription. Perahps you'll always have the released code.
 
FREE FOR THE FIRST YEAR.

Um. So, NOT Free. Most likely a subscription service. Count me out, if they do that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top