Windows 10 Briefing Part 1: Free for Windows 8 and Windows 7 Users

[dgstorm]

- Update 2: According to Microsoft themselves, they don't plan on introducing a subscription based system to the Windows model. They will simply only be offering Windows 7 users the free upgrade for one year. After that it will cost money.

- Updated (May Only be Free for one year, suggesting a subscription based system)

The first big part of the Windows 10 Briefing this morning is the announcement that Windows 10 will not only be free to Windows 8 users (which we already knew), but it will also be free for anyone who owns Windows 7 as well! This is phenomenal news for folks excited about the upgrade to Windows 10. There is a great deal to be excited about as a number of incredible features have been announced, including full Cortana support and much more.

There is one small caveat for owners of Windows 7 to upgrade to Windows 10, but it's an easy one. Windows 7 owners must upgrade within one year after Windows 10 hits retail stores. That time-frame is a small price to pay for folks to get one of Microsoft's hottest new products in decades!

 

[El Chorizo]

I think Microsoft was pretty much forced into this because Apple gives out the OS for free as well. So that dries up a major source of revenue for Microsoft. They still "sell" the OS on new machines, but you have to wonder when that will go away as well. Their OS market share is slowly eroding. They still have Office and such but I see that going away slowly as well. I'm amazed their stock has continued to rise, the future looks rather bleak for Microsoft IMHO.

 

[dgstorm]

I think the future looks bright for them. They finally see the direction they need to go by unifying all of their products. Also, they are working on innovating with more advanced control mechanisms than anyone else, including the gesture and voice commands. Yes, we already had voice commands on Google and Apple, but we didn't have it on the desktop, and it still needs work. We have never had good gesture based commands, and Microsoft will continue to push that envelope, as they are already ahead of everyone else in that area.

I think there is the potential in the future to see Microsoft leap-frog Apple again, the way they leap-frogged them in the Nineties. Yes, their business model is evolving, but that just means they need to adapt their revenue streams like everyone else. They are finally back on the right track!

 

[leeshor]

Microsoft is finding ways to monetize Windows in various ways. The big difference beteen Microsoft and Apple, when considering free OS upgrades, is that Apple controls all the hardware. Microsoft controls very little hardware in comparison. That gives Apple a big advantage as they can, at least in theory, generate more hardware sales.

 

[malberttoo]

I think the future looks bright for them. They finally see the direction they need to go by unifying all of their products...

Agreed. They seem to have been steering their ship in a better direction lately, and it looks like they have made some really positive changes internally as a company and with their corporate culture.

 

[GreyFox7]

MS is looking anything but bleak. id guess Google got wind of Hololens and canned Glass before they got laughed off the street even if they are totally different. Hololens puts the cool back in MS. ID expect the Surface Hub to do well also... it's the kind of exec perk that an iPad once was until it wasn't. Every exec will be trying to get one.

 

[leeshor]

Now they just need to announce the next gen of Surface. I too feel they are not going away but they may be putting a little more focus on the cloud than I would like to see. (Software as a service).

 

[GreyFox7]

I think chip troubles are behind most of the lul in the Surface line... first the Broadwell delays then Tegra k1 and Snapdragon 810 delayed...
Now things are starting to look better for a Surface 3 or Mini with a significant upgrade using either an Q SD 810 or Tegra X1 and then with the right packaging of new components coupled with a more efficient Broadwell Chip there could be a couple interesting choices for SP4 models with no one component being earthshattering but the whole package a knockout. With good components lining up the long pole in the tent now appears to be Win 10.

 

[oion]

There's misunderstanding about the sub-based thing in the OP. The upgrade is free to 7/8 users for the first year that 10 is available, and then if you didn't take that promotional offer in the first year, you have to pay. It's not "upgrade, then pay after a year." I believe this was cleared up in the Q&A afterwards.

 

[leeshor]

My understanding was that the free upgrade for Windows 7 users would come one year after release of W10. We'll see.

 

[GreyFox7]

My understanding was that the free upgrade for Windows 7 users would come one year after release of W10. We'll see.

That was the way CNET originally reported it but they revised their article. at least it makes more sense to offer free for a year... especially if they are trying to get people to upgrade.

 

[kundas1]

if windows 10 is a yearly subscription? then I'm going to stick to my win 7-8.1 thank you very much!!!