Windows 10 is free for Win 7 - 8.1 users?

I just saw that too. I wonder if you can do fresh installs of 10 with a 7 key. Because upgrading is for suckers.
 
Seems DX12 is not coming to Win7 after all, I guess this is better than nothing.
 
Needs clarification. Free for the first year and you keep it forever, or free for the first year and then you pay for it (subscription) ?
 
I'm glad its a free upgrade. I actually like windows 10, its what windows 8 should have been.
 
I doubt that if there was a subscription version, that it would be the only version.
 
I think it's you have to 1 year to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you don't upgrade for free then you have to pay to upgrade later.
 
Tsumi said:
It's a free upgrade, and they fixed most of the gripes people had with 8. What more do you want?
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I'm not using Windows 7, so I don't "want" anything. I do feel, however, that it would be nice to have a gaming community that isn't fragmented between DX11 and DX12 like we were with DX9 and DX10.
 
People don't want to pay for an OS anymore? Why does everyone want Windows 10 to be free? What is wrong with a subscription model especially if its not the only option?
 
Tsumi said:
I doubt that if there was a subscription version, that it would be the only version.
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The other version being 'Windows 10 w/Bing now ft. Cortan with improved data-mining' ?

:D

MrCrispy said:
People don't want to pay for an OS anymore? Why does everyone want Windows 10 to be free?
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I don't know where you got that idea from. Maybe you're confused.
 
Raudulfr said:
The other version being 'Windows 10 w/Bing now ft. Cortan with improved data-mining' ?

:D
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As long as you can disable it like in 8, I'm fine with that ;)

DX12 vs DX11:

For CPU-bound games, up to 50% performance improvement.
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Unreal Engine 4, Unity3D have both adopted DX12.
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Not DX related:

PC and XB1 players can play with or against each other.
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"With Windows 10, we'll enable streaming of XB1 games to any Windows 10 PC or tablet"
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Raudulfr said:
Needs clarification. Free for the first year and you keep it forever, or free for the first year and then you pay for it (subscription) ?
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This is the big question, the story I saw about this "free upgrade" was kinda vague on the specifics. If it's an offer for a "free forever" Win10 upgrade, but we only have one year to cash in, that's pretty awesome. If it's "here's Win10 for free, but a year after you install it, we're gonna make you spend $$$ to keep it", that's not going to go over so well.
 
Tsumi said:
It's a free upgrade, and they fixed most of the gripes people had with 8. What more do you want?
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I wonder if they fixed the incompatibilities that came with 8.1 - my uncle got burned with Win8 install, his favourite golf game no longer works.
 
So, is it "For the first year of availability, you get to upgrade for free," or is it,"You upgrade for the first year, free, then we charge you?"
 
HvyMtl said:
So, is it "For the first year of availability, you get to upgrade for free," or is it,"You upgrade for the first year, free, then we charge you?"
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They were vague on that point. They'll be talking more about it next week.
 
If you upgrade from 7 or 8.1 to 10 in the first year, it will cost nothing. You can then reactivate on that same machine for the lifetime of that machine. Even after the first year. Installing on any other machine will cost for the key.
 
Tsumi said:
They were vague on that point. They'll be talking more about it next week.
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I think their blog is pretty clear:

"Today was a monumental day for us on the Windows team because we shared our desire to redefine the relationship we have with you – our customers. We announced that a free upgrade for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 who upgrade in the first year after launch.*

This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no additional charge. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We’ll deliver new features when they’re ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service – in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet."
Source

To me that reads as, free upgrade no subscription model.
 
Erasmus354 said:
I think their blog is pretty clear:

"Today was a monumental day for us on the Windows team because we shared our desire to redefine the relationship we have with you – our customers. We announced that a free upgrade for Windows 10 will be made available to customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 who upgrade in the first year after launch.*

This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no additional charge. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We’ll deliver new features when they’re ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service – in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet."
Source

To me that reads as, free upgrade no subscription model.
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Ah, I wasn't reading the blog. I was just reading the ARS live blog, which was vague.
 
Slashdot is reporting that it will be subscription based with the first year free.

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/01/21/1749255/microsoft-reveals-windows-10-will-be-a-free-upgrade

In particular
Importantly, Windows 10 will be free for existing Windows users running versions of Windows back to Windows 7. That includes Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows Phone. Microsoft specified it would only be free for the first year, indicating Windows would be software that users subscribe to, rather than buy outright.
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EDIT:

Context is king. The Slashdot quote is sneaky because it leaves off

However, Microsoft will support the upgrade for the "lifetime of the device," according to the announcement.
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That still isn't clear to me though, given the first part. Is the support "paid" support. Also define "device"? Non transferable licences?
 
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devman said:
Slashdot is reporting that it will be subscription based with the first year free.

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/01/21/1749255/microsoft-reveals-windows-10-will-be-a-free-upgrade

In particular
Click to expand...

The wording used is that it will be free to upgrade for the first year. That can be interpreted in one of two ways:

1. Free for first year and then it will start costing you, as Slashdot is saying, or
2. You can only upgrade for free in the first year. After the first year, any Windows 7 or 8 installation will NOT be free to upgrade. Based on the additional wording in the blog linked above, this option is the most likely correct interpretation.
 
staknhalo said:
Yeah, thats all bullshit they pulled outta their ass (Slashdot).
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You have to realize that slashdot is just reposting news from other places. So this slashdot post eventually points to mashable, which has a different reading of the story.

Ultimately the quote I posted from the official windows 10 blog strongly indicates that it will be free and not subscription. The 1 year caveat is that the upgrade is only free for one year, after that you will have to pay to upgrade.
 
Microsoft did similar thing when Windows 8 came out. Limited time upgrade from 7 for only $14.99. A few months later they had a $40 upgrade for a limited time.
Free is better.
 
Erasmus354 said:
You have to realize that slashdot is just reposting news from other places. So this slashdot post eventually points to mashable, which has a different reading of the story.

Ultimately the quote I posted from the official windows 10 blog strongly indicates that it will be free and not subscription. The 1 year caveat is that the upgrade is only free for one year, after that you will have to pay to upgrade.
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I thought that too, and after reading the mashable source which sourced the MS announcement I can say that this isn't very clear at all.

First, define "device"? and then "device lifetime"? Are the licences non-transferable, what happens if I upgrade my PC in a year. These are things I'm worried about.
 
I really hope it's not subscription only. I despise the idea of "renting" software.
 
devman said:
I thought that too, and after reading the mashable source which sourced the MS announcement I can say that this isn't very clear at all.

First, define "device"? and then "device lifetime"? Are the licences non-transferable, what happens if I upgrade my PC in a year. These are things I'm worried about.
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Prob gonna be like OEM computers in a way, where it will stay activated as long as the HWID matches the montherboard it was first installed on; or something. Like current Windows activation w/ OEM licences.
 
nekrosoft13 said:
everything is pointing to subscription model.
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How so? Microsoft is simply doing what it has to do faced with free OSes and upgrades coming from every where else. The should be more than able to make up the difference with non-OS services and app store purchases. The important thing to remember is that most Windows computers NEVER get upgraded. Most people never pay a dime directly for the OS. They aren't going to start now.
 
nekrosoft13 said:
everything is pointing to subscription model.
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source?
please post those.

anything else points to free upgrade.
no subscription.

Like you know what they Microsoft people say
http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-free-year-windows-7-windows-8x-and-windows-phone-81-upgrades

"Terry Myerson, Microsoft's Executive Vice President of Operating Systems, took the stage first today and surprised the crowd by giving an official statement on pricing.

When Windows 10 officially releases, users of Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. That, by itself, is awesome news. But, of course, there's a caveat. Microsoft really, really wants users to install and use the new OS, so the company is putting a deadline on the deal. One year after Windows 10 releases, the new OS will no longer be offered as a free upgrade. Myerson gave no indication of what the upgrade might cost after that."
 
devman said:
I thought that too, and after reading the mashable source which sourced the MS announcement I can say that this isn't very clear at all.

First, define "device"? and then "device lifetime"? Are the licences non-transferable, what happens if I upgrade my PC in a year. These are things I'm worried about.
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If you had a retail license, it should be transferable. If you had an OEM license, it won't be, though there are typically ways around that.
 
Tsumi said:
If you had a retail license, it should be transferable. If you had an OEM license, it won't be, though there are typically ways around that.
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Citation needed. Because nowhere have I read that retail will be transferable. What is your assumption based on?

The concern is over Microsoft's specific language about "for the life of the device" - if they intend that only to apply to OEM keys, why mention it in a general presentation intended for a wide audience?

Think I'll be staying put on Windows 8.0 until we know for sure that Windows 10 won't require purchase of a new license if I want to upgrade my PC, or motherboard dies, or any number of legit issues that can arise.
 
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http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-windows-10-will-not-be-sold-as-a-subscription/

Update: It seems there's still confusion. It is very clear from this post that for the first year it's available, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free if you have Windows 7 or 8. You will not pay for it. After that year is up, nothing will happen to your Windows 10 license. If you do not upgrade within that year, however, you will have to pay for an upgrade. The offer expires after a year, not the upgrade.
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