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On Friday [June 19, 2015], Microsoft described a way for anyone to get Windows 10 for free: activated, genuine, and updated forever. We wrote at the time that we expected the company to do a volte-face and back away from this promise. Lo and behold, it has come to pass.
Since Friday, the blog post describing the changes to the Windows Insider preview program has been silently updated. Previously it said that signed up members of the Insider Program running a preview version would "receive the Windows 10 final release build and remain activated." Now it says only that they will "receive the Windows 10 final release build." The activation wording has been removed. The company has also added a "clarifying" sentence: "It's important to note that only people running Genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 as part of the free upgrade offer." This is in contrast to what the company said on Friday, when Microsoft's Gabe Aul confirmed that upgraded preview copies would be Genuine.
So what does this all mean? The main thing it means is that we're not expecting clear communication from Microsoft about licensing any time soon. We don't imagine that there will be any technical difference: we expect that as previously described, Windows 10 installed via the preview will activate and show as genuine. It should be fully functional (no "non-genuine" watermark on the desktop or anything like that), and essentially indistinguishable from any other Windows 10 installation.
Original Submission
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Monday June 22 2015, @04:15PM
(Oh geez, when was the last time I found myself defending Microsoft?)
Guaranteeing a free upgrade path from the previews is directly jettisoning sales* (assuming the previews are free). At least with 7 and 8/.1 owners you know they've paid something at some point, even if it's only the Windows Tax. Free upgrade from the preview, they could have never paid a dime for Windows if they built their own rig.
*Although that's using the *AA argument that everybody would have bought the upgrade if it wasn't free, which probably isn't true. Free upgrades forever sounds too good to be true.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday June 22 2015, @04:30PM
Your sig is quite appropriate in this case.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Monday June 22 2015, @04:44PM
Well it is a real headscratcher for sure. I think we only have to look at the fact that the chrome browser has grown so fast and now the chromium OS coming out...all for free. Look for hooks in Win10 that mine data and push links to "trusted partners".
As for updating to 10, I'm happy with 7 because once I dumped all the OEM cramware it's a clean fast OS.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday June 23 2015, @06:51AM
Sort of, it's not that simple though. They do lose out on some sales, but a lot of those sales are to people that aren't actually going to buy. It's the same reason that MS rarely files suit against people that pirate their software unless they happen to do so at work. MS benefits from people using their software in terms of user base and individuals usually don't have enough money to pay for a lawsuit anyways.
Same goes for Photoshop, the main reason people use Photoshop is that it's what the professionals use. For most other people it includes a lot of things you don't need in a sucktastic interface.