Microsoft's plan for Windows 10 world domination

[steven36]

Unparalleled distribution strategy is the story

 

In hindsight, it's now apparent that Microsoft's plan last year for promoting Windows 10 on PCs had less to do with the single decision to give away upgrades than with a radical scheme that relied on an unprecedented distribution strategy.

 

In the last 12 months, Microsoft has carefully unveiled several steps to boost Windows 10's adoption. At each step, Microsoft touted customer benefits, even as it took measures that no operating system vendor had used to boost adoption, even as some of those steps generated criticism from users who balked at the new practices.

 

It's impossible for those outside Microsoft's inner sanctums to know whether the moves the company made were an inclusive strategy that was pre-ordained, an ad hoc series that was crafted on the fly, or a set of contingencies that, like a BASIC program written by Bill Gates decades ago, was a list of IF-THEN statements, some called in play, others discarded and thus unknown to the public.

 

The course Microsoft's taken sure seems like a planned strategy, or at least, one with multiple choices at various points. Evidence of that lies largely in the work Microsoft did ahead of time on Windows Update, the 21-year-old update and maintenance service almost exclusively dedicated to delivering security patches. Microsoft has added significant functionality to Windows Update in the past year so that it can support upgrades from one OS edition to another.

 

If successful, Microsoft's Windows 10 distribution strategy may be mimicked by others, becoming the new normal. If not ... well, Microsoft has one weapon to make sure that the strategy is successful, come hell or high water.

 

On Jan. 21, 2015, Microsoft executives announced that Windows 10 would be a free upgrade to current users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for a one-year span starting when the OS was released.

 

Although Microsoft did not immediately spell out exactly who got the free upgrade -- it did eventually, tapping those running the consumer and professional editions, but not the enterprise SKU (stock-keeping unit) that's prevalent in large organizations -- it trumpeted the deal as a win for everyone, promising not only the free upgrade and the usual advances in security and functionality, but also a constant stream of improvements over the lifetime of the operating system.

 

"Once a device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will be keeping it current for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it secure, introducing new features and functionality to our customers over time," said Terry Myerson, then the head of the OS group, a year ago.

 

For as much publicity as the free upgrade and the concurrent pledge of an always-evolving operating system got, neither of those moves was a first: Mobile operating systems, notably Apple's iOS and Google's Android, had been distributed and updated in the same fashion for years. Apple had also given away its OS X upgrades since 2013 with that year's Mavericks.

 

ut it was still a stunning departure for a company that historically milked the last drop of revenue out of Windows.

March-June 2015: Get your copy here!

In late March, Microsoft began seeding some of the PCs eligible for the free Windows 10 upgrade with an application dubbed "GWX," for "Get Windows 10."

The GWX app was eventually pushed to all eligible devices via Windows Update. Microsoft served GWX silently -- most users automatically got it without knowing -- but kept it hidden for weeks or even months on customers' PCs.

Microsoft triggered the appearance of GWX on PCs on June 1, at which time users could "reserve" a copy of the Windows 10 upgrade through the app. The reservation was essentially a way to queue customers for the day when the OS was to launch, since there was, of course, no shortage of copies to be handed out.

 

There were good reasons for getting customers to line up for the upgrade: By delivering the Windows 10 bits in "waves," Microsoft could better manage the load on its servers and content delivery network. It could also use the process to iron out bugs and fix problems that those first in line might encounter, and try to minimize those proactively by using GWX to scan each system for upgrade compatibility before "confirming" the reservation.

 

But Microsoft's plan also generated an artificial sense of urgency, a tactic long used by sellers to drum up interest. No operating system had been promoted in that way before. iPhone owners, for example, have never been asked to "reserve" a copy of the next version of iOS, for the simple reason that there has been an endless supply.

 

The effectiveness of GWX and its reservation process in producing urgency was demonstrated by the outcries on Microsoft's own support discussion groups from customers who didn't receive GWX, couldn't find it where it was supposed to be, asked why they had not been able to claim a copy of the upgrade, or wondered how they could grab the bits without GWX.

July 2015: Bits in the background

As launch neared, Microsoft began serving the Windows 10 upgrade files to customers who had reserved it. It did not notify users when it flipped the switch -- they effectively authorized the download when they asked for the upgrade earlier -- but delivered the bits in the background.

 

Although the pre-loading of the upgrade was supposed to take place while the PC was not being used or was hard at work, some users reported symptoms ranging from a slow-down in accessing the Web to stuttering video or audio streams as their usable bandwidth unexpectedly shrunk.

 

In itself, pre-loading the upgrade was not that dissimilar to how any automatic update, including patches for Windows or a new version of Chrome, are downloaded to a user's device. But the timing of the Windows 10 pre-fetching -- before availability -- was unusual. When software makers wrap up development and release the product, they release it: It makes no sense to withhold it from customers when it's finished, but instead push it to their devices to await an installation date and time.

September 2015: You get Windows 10, even if you didn't ask for it

At some point after the July release -- exactly when is unclear -- Microsoft began pushing the Windows 10 upgrade files to some PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, even though those customers had never requested an upgrade using the GSX app.

 

The practice went public in September, when users on metered-and-capped Internet plans began reporting that they had gone over their limits. It turned out that their PCs had downloaded the large Windows 10 upgrade without their consent.

 

Initially, Microsoft said it was simply following "an industry practice" in placing the Windows 10 upgrade on eligible devices. It later disowned that claim, however, but maintained that it would continue to automatically download the files to PCs that had automatic updates enabled in Windows Update -- the recommended and default setting -- and the one that the vast bulk of consumers leave as is.

 

In point of fact, Microsoft was right about industry practices, at least to some extent. (And Computerworld was wrong in an earlier story that claimed different.)

 

No other desktop OS does this. By default, Apple's OS X, for instance, does not download the now-annual upgrade in the background without some explicit user action, even though the upgrades are, like Windows 10, free for the taking. Users can flip a switch in the Mac App Store's preferences to change this behavior, though.

 

But some operating systems do behave similarly: Apple's iOS will eventually download an upgrade onto an iPhone if the user has previously declined to retrieve it after seeing several nag notices. iOS will not initiate the actually upgrade process, however, without approval.

 

Still, Microsoft's move was jarring to those who had no interest in changing to Windows 10, and who were upset that Microsoft chewed up bandwidth and hijacked several gigabytes of storage to download and store the upgrade.

 

The disconnect between Microsoft's behavior and user expectations had several sources. Two are paramount: This is the first time Windows users have faced a free upgrade, first of all -- Microsoft is in uncharted waters on a whole host of issues that have never been raised in the Windows world -- and secondly, desktop PC owners in general view upgrades as riskier and less compelling than do mobile device owners. That's particularly the case in the Windows ecosystem, where a seemingly-unlimited number of combinations of hardware configurations and peripherals, drivers for all that, and software make for a witch's brew of problems that can stymie an upgrade or cripple a computer.

October 2015: Pushy is the new norm

In late October, Microsoft announced the next step in its distribution strategy: It would push the Windows 10 upgrade to eligible PCs automatically, then kick off the upgrade process.

 

The first of the two-part process, Microsoft said, would add the Windows 10 upgrade to the Windows Update list on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems as an "optional" item. That list can be examined by users, letting them choose -- or not -- each optional update. At the time, Microsoft's Myerson said that step would be taken "soon." However, as of Jan. 11, there's no evidence the company has placed the upgrade on the Windows Update's optional list. (Because the company often uses Patch Tuesday to deliver non-security updates, it may begin seeding the Windows 10 upgrade as an optional item on Tuesday, Jan. 12.)

 

After that -- Myerson said in early 2016, but wasn't more specific than that -- Microsoft will shift the Windows 10 upgrade to the "recommended" list. Updates on that list are automatically downloaded and installed on most PCs. Because it's an upgrade, users will have the opportunity to cancel the upgrade once it begins.

 

Microsoft has a history of using this two-step with many of its Windows 7 and 8.1 updates of first ticking an item as optional, then after some time digesting telemetry from customers to see if there are any showstoppers, switching the same item to recommended status.

 

But this procedure is unparalleled, not only for Microsoft, but also for OS vendors in general. While mobile operating systems, such as iOS, will download to the device and then nag the user into installing, none actually launch the installation action without explicit user approval.

 

Microsoft is clearly banking on substantial uptake from this measure, and seemingly doesn't care whether Windows 10 is installed because the user chooses to do so or wearies of the nagging as the upgrade begins, even if the upgrade is canceled multiple times.

 

That's evidenced by the blowback from some users -- who have rebelled against the less aggressive moves made thus far -- and Microsoft's plan to carry on in the face of that resistance.

The nuclear option?

Although Microsoft has said the Windows 10 upgrade will not complete without user approval -- "You will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue [the upgrade process]," said Myerson in an Oct. 29 blog post -- it's possible the company has the next logical step on its strategy list or among its contingencies.

 

Some cynical users have wondered for months, since Microsoft first put the Get Windows 10 applet on customers' PCs, really, if the firm might dare to take the radical step of not only downloading and initiating the upgrade, but completing it as well.

 

Microsoft could justify such an action if the widely-used Windows 7 was nearing retirement, but that's still four years off. (Windows 7 exits all public support on Jan. 14, 2020.) If it were to make this move, it would need to do so before the end of July 2016, or extend the free upgrade offer beyond the current 12 months.

 

It's conceivable that Microsoft would trigger an automatic upgrade if it felt its back was to the wall because of lackluster Windows 10 adoption or believed that without such a step it would fail to meet its publicized goal of putting the new OS on 1 billion devices by mid-2018. Currently, that's not the case.

 

While Windows 10's uptake tempo has so far not exceeded that of Windows 7's during the latter's first five months of availability in late 2009-early 2010, nor has its shortfall been significant. Meeting the bar set by Windows 7 has been a major achievement for Windows 10.

 

But the nuclear option is almost certainly on the table, even if CEO Satya Nadella said a year ago that the goal was to, "...move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows [emphasis added."

 

If Microsoft were to trigger an auto-upgrade, expect to hear rationales that evoke past arguments at prior steps in the distribution strategy, including: assertions that customers prefer Windows 10 over predecessors, with statistics backing up the claim culled from Windows 10's telemetry; and assurances the new OS is more secure than either Windows 7 or 8.1 -- historically true enough, as fresh operating systems are resistant to attack until hackers dissect the code and find new vulnerabilities or ways to avoid new defensive technologies.

 

Source

[Karlston]

2 hours ago, steven36 said:

CEO Satya Nadella said a year ago that the goal was to, "...move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows [emphasis added."

 

That's worked well for the billion (1,000 million) or so Windows 7 and 8.1 users who so far rejected Windows 10. Makes Microsoft's "200 million devices installed" look pretty sick eh?

 

Hey Satya... perhaps it's your bullying, nagging, forcing, bribing, and sneakyness that have turned people off.

 

Still it's nice to hear him call us people instead of just dismissing us as children incapable of making our own upgrade decision and needing to be forced in the unethical and immoral ways Microsoft have used.

 

As Woody says in his new article... http://www.infoworld.com/article/3020748/microsoft-windows/how-get-windows-10-sets-its-hooks-into-windows-7-and-81.html

 

Quote

 

Last October, Windows head Terry Myerson promised us, "You can specify that you no longer want to receive notifications of the Windows 10 upgrade through the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 settings pages." Now, with Microsoft poised to start rolling out Get Windows 10 as a "recommended update," we need that protection more than ever. But give Win7 and 8.1 customers a chance to say, "I don't want Windows 10 now, please call off the dogs."

 

Confidence and trust -- at least among the cognoscenti -- is withering away.

 

 

[dMog]

no disrespect intended... i do respect you...  take this as a humorous response...

 

every company that makes an operating system wants to dominate the world market with it...   microsoft just has a game plan that will  actually attain that...for home computers at least ... not  for the smart phone market... i still think MS made this a cross platform  os  because they thought it was their in to the smart phone market... pretty sure they will forever be on the sidleines looking in as android has taken over that market from apple with windows phone(win10 phone) a very very far distant third  or maybe even farther back where they will remain forever

[steven36]

Microsoft knows by the time 2020  end of  life for windows 7 comes  not many are going to be using pcs  like they do now . This is why windows 10 will be the last windows to be sold as a service to the people that still use pcs  . why keep making  new versions  of a dying technology ?  By 2020 everyone  will be in the clouds  but  the Linux community . I really  think with what i seen with the telemetry ,  them giving it away free for one year , Pushing people to update . etc... Microsoft is trying to kill  the PC  industry  by 2020 .

 

If they were really trying to sell  it ..they would not  be trying  to push it off  on as many  home users as they can before July for free?  

 

It seems they know they want never be able to sell it  already.

 

Business are not buying  Windows 10 only windows 10 are making  gains at home were its free and there pushing it on people .

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/11/windows_10_makes_big_gains_at_home_lags_at_work/

 

Who's going to buy  Windows 10 when July  rolls  around?  They expect me to buy spyware  they must be out there mind .

[JessicaLeigh]

For all we know, it could be vast sums of government monies behind the OS push and advanced embedded spying software "sewn into the fabric" of Windows 10.   

[davmil]

4 hours ago, steven36 said:

Microsoft knows by the time 2020  end of  life for windows 7 comes  not many are going to be using pcs  like they do now . This is why windows 10 will be the last windows to be sold as a service to the people that still use pcs  . why keep making  new versions  of a dying technology ?  By 2020 everyone  will be in the clouds  but  the Linux community . I really  think with what i seen with the telemetry ,  them giving it away free for one year , Pushing people to update . etc... Microsoft is trying to kill  the PC  industry  by 2020 .

 

If they were really trying to sell  it ..they would not  be trying  to push it off  on as many  home users as they can before July for free?  

It seems they know they want never be able to sell it  already.

 

Business are not buying  Windows 10 only windows 10 are making  gains at home were its free and there pushing it on people .

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/11/windows_10_makes_big_gains_at_home_lags_at_work/

 

Who's going to buy  Windows 10 when July  rolls  around?  They expect me to buy spyware  they must be out there mind .

You'll buy it and you'll like it.  We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. You will adapt to service us. You will be assimilated.  Resistance is futile.

[Karlston]

4 hours ago, dMog said:

no disrespect intended... i do respect you...  take this as a humorous response...

 

Thanks for the respect but sorry, no, my post was meant to be serious.

 

My point was that Microsoft wants us to love Windows 10, yet are going to such (IMO) unethical lengths to get users to upgrade.

 

For example the "Upgrade now"/"Upgrade tonight" options do not give any real choice. Microsoft knows full well that the average user will think they have no way to decline the upgrade, so will just click on one of them and upgrade.

 

Another example, an ethical company will alert users if there is any existing software/data/whatever that will be incompatible with their upgrade, and NOT continue the upgrade.  Microsoft upgrades to Windows 10 anyway, and "solves" the incompatibility problem by deleting the incompatible things. Seriously... HOW DARE THEY?

 

IMO, there's a line, beyond which is going too far and Microsoft crossed that line when they changed users' "No, I don't want to upgrade" settings to "Yes, I do want to upgrade". Again, HOW DARE THEY? I bet if Apple or Google did that there'd be a social media shit-storm of apocalyptic fury launched at them.

 

And then there are the just plain awful things about Windows 10, the no-detail-cumulative-forced-update methodology being the main one...

 

(Months ago I bought a 500GB SSD intending to install and migrate to Windows 10 on it. That SSD is still sitting on a shelf because if I do migrate I'll be giving tacit approval to the way Microsoft have used nagging, bullying, forcing, bribery, and downright sneakiness to get people to upgrade. After 20+ years in commercial IT environments, I have too many ethics and morals to in any way condone Microsoft's despicable, unethical, and immoral behaviour. If I do upgrade, it'll be to Windows 8.1)

[steven36]

3 hours ago, davmil said:

You'll buy it and you'll like it.  We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. You will adapt to service us. You will be assimilated.  Resistance is futile.

That's the thing  I already tested it  for over 90 days and it was free.    I didn't like like  it , By the time I  tired to block out all the telemetry, removed  edge , Cortana , modern apps and the store. Installed Aero Glass and tweaked  the colors and added a  3rd party start  because its the most ugly  O/S  I ever used .  Well that's a lot trouble  , Windows 10 best features are the one  I hated most,. When my HHD  failed that had Windows 10 on it From INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE error . I replaced  the HHD and put Linux Mint on it instead . It was really free, not free but!  I see no point  are benefit in using  it I will  stick  to using my Windows 7 , Win 8.1  and  Linux Mint pcs  .   Windows 10 reminds me of a stalker that want leave me alone every time I get on  one of windows machines   .So I sure will never buy it. I would adapt  totality to Linux  before I do that.   

[dMog]

10 hours ago, steven36 said:

Microsoft knows by the time 2020  end of  life for windows 7 comes  not many are going to be using pcs  like they do now . This is why windows 10 will be the last windows to be sold as a service to the people that still use pcs  . why keep making  new versions  of a dying technology ?  By 2020 everyone  will be in the clouds  but  the Linux community . I really  think with what i seen with the telemetry ,  them giving it away free for one year , Pushing people to update . etc... Microsoft is trying to kill  the PC  industry  by 2020 .

 

If they were really trying to sell  it ..they would not  be trying  to push it off  on as many  home users as they can before July for free?  

 

It seems they know they want never be able to sell it  already.

 

Business are not buying  Windows 10 only windows 10 are making  gains at home were its free and there pushing it on people .

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/11/windows_10_makes_big_gains_at_home_lags_at_work/

 

Who's going to buy  Windows 10 when July  rolls  around?  They expect me to buy spyware  they must be out there mind .

some very good points you have ...but you forgot one thing...market share... if you have the significant chunk of the market...even if you gave it away free...   gives you significant power over your competitors. why do you think coke and pepsi  fight  so damn hard over market share ....and get upset if they lose what seems an insignificant amount of it and give huge bonuses when they steal what seems to be insignificant amounts of it... when it comes to how business operates you have to look at the entire picture...not just a tiny  corner of the whole canvas 

[dMog]

no...you do  not have to like windows 10  nor do you have to install it nor do you have to like microsft either.. i do not like linux  i have tried it several times and  the main reason i do not like it is that the "stuff" i use every day will just work as well on or just not at all on linux... no i am not a professional photographer but i do take a lot of pictures  and the programs i want have no equivalent that run on linux not to mention linux is far from plug and play for just about everything that the average home user wants or already has  for  computer use,,,more power to you if you love to tweak and customize ...that is linux strong point  and if you are happy with it great...but as i said if it appealed to the great masses of users  and being free it would have bigger market share simply from word of mouth by the worlds users out there...the simple fact is linux is not for most pc OR mac users....  and for good reason...we just do not like it or want to use it and for way more reasons than i mentioned here...just like you do not and will not use 10... neither one of us is bad ....or wrong for that either

[steven36]

1 hour ago, dMog said:

some very good points you have ...but you forgot one thing...market share... if you have the significant chunk of the market...even if you gave it away free

What good  is high marketshare  witch is lead by windows 7 by the way not Windows 10 on a technology that everyone predicts  will  be somewhat dead by 2020  when windows 7 runs out of updates ?  In a few  years that will be like saying  you have the highest  makertshare  for a VCR. You ever here  of  the old saying dont count you're chickens before they hatch ? 

Global PC market woes show no sign of easing: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/global-pc-market-woes-show-no-sign-of-easing/articleshow/50084015.cms

Every day  i read  about  a technology that's been declining  since they made windows 8 that M$ makes software called Windows  for

They can have whatever  marketshare  for free but when people are not buying the box it goes  in  the whole thing is on the verge  of collapsing anyhow.  And there giveaway runs out in July  and yet to be seen they will ever  be able to sell it.  

 

I cant wait  tell July comes  and  its ends up like Windows  8  the hype will  be over were  the only people using it  are free up-graders  from the past and no one  but people who buys new PCs  will buy it .

 

I will not make any contentment about using something there going to want me to buy over and over that I'm not even sure  that has a long term future  .

 

 

Global PC market woes show no sign of easing
 

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50084015.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Global PC market woes show no sign of easing
 

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50084015.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

1 hour ago, dMog said:

i do not like linux  i have tried it several times and  the main reason i do not like it is that the "stuff" i use every day will just work as well on or just not at all on linux.

Funny everything i do on a computer  works for me on Linux . different  apps but it provides  me with a rich home PC  environment. this means  you have less options than most do . Just because  you are a slave to  M$  dont mean we all are . 

 

Because I use Linux even after everyone else  heads is in the cloud  with whatever  . I will still be on the ground with a traditional pc format  in the future.  Legacy  apps the main reason most use Windows are being replaced  by the cloud  they say by 2020  most will  be . Who's to say one Microsoft  after they get everyone trapped  on Windows 10 want pull the plug on them one day seems they already started  with putting modern apps in windows  there trying to phase  them out . Sounds like this could be the case one day.

[Ryrynz]

I actually really like the OS (10586.36) and It'll only get better..

Was running 7 Pro and also 8.1 on other boxes.
Have no issues with 10, the best OS yet IMO, what 8 should've been..

Still got a large amount of work to do removing the old elements from the OS.

The Start menu is pretty average but Startisback++ fixes that completely.. as well as making the quickstart icons the size they should be..

happy camper.

[davmil]

8 hours ago, Ryrynz said:

I actually really like the OS (10586.36) and It'll only get better..

Was running 7 Pro and also 8.1 on other boxes.
Have no issues with 10, the best OS yet IMO, what 8 should've been..

Still got a large amount of work to do removing the old elements from the OS.

The Start menu is pretty average but Startisback++ fixes that completely.. as well as making the quickstart icons the size they should be..

happy camper.

I wouldn't go this far, but it's nowhere near as bad as all the raging and whining.  I think it's look-n-feel will be around for awhile with Windows 8.x serving as a stepping stone between the older Windows interface and the new much like the infamous/flawed role of Vista.

[Ryrynz]

17 hours ago, davmil said:

I wouldn't go this far, but it's nowhere near as bad as all the raging and whining.  I think it's look-n-feel will be around for awhile with Windows 8.x serving as a stepping stone between the older Windows interface and the new much like the infamous/flawed role of Vista.

 

Best *Windows OS.
Redstone should be the nail in the coffin for all previous Windows versions.

10 all the way.

[steven36]

9 hours ago, Ryrynz said:

 

Best *Windows OS.
Redstone should be the nail in the coffin for all previous Windows versions.

10 all the way.

By the time  Redstone  comes  out of beta  Windows 10 will cost money and anyone who didn't  install it want be eligible .   It may get another  growth spurt in June but they got a very long  ways to go to get over top of windows 7 .  Don't forget we can also update to windows 10 and  roll back to our old O/S  and reinstall windows 10 when ever we fell like it

[Mandy]

On 1/14/2016 at 9:15 AM, steven36 said:

By the time  Redstone  comes  out of beta  Windows 10 will cost money and anyone who didn't  install it want be eligible .   It may get another  growth spurt in June but they got a very long  ways to go to get over top of windows 7 .  Don't forget we can also update to windows 10 and  roll back to our old O/S  and reinstall windows 10 when ever we fell like it

Yeah good idea for the roll back which is not free as such due to limited threshold period within which one has to do the roll back to old windows.

Considering that from July to Dec Microsoft pushed Windows 10 update from build 10240 through to build 10586 down users throat  

[Mandy]

I wish Microsoft listen so that when Redstone comes out of Beta and becomes a stable OS users with limited knowledge should be able to control updates easily without using gpedit

since due to some rare programs compatibility some users sticks to Windows 7 peacefully no hassle 

[steven36]

2 hours ago, Mandy said:

I wish Microsoft listen so that when Redstone comes out of Beta and becomes a stable OS users with limited knowledge should be able to control updates easily without using gpedit

since due to some rare programs compatibility some users sticks to Windows 7 peacefully no hassle 

As long as you plain to use  old hardware you will be able get away with windows 7 or 8.1 but newer generation processors  are only going to support Windows 10 .  So  we really want have a choice if we plain to upgrade in the future  .

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/

 

But im not going to put Windows 10 on my old hardware that was not made for Windows 10 really even though it will work but not as good as hardware made for windows 10 .  Sooner or latter you will need a new PC by then maybe Windows 10 will be more stable .

 

The way its going be for the new generation of processors you want be able to get around buying windows 10 . They want work on windows 7 or 8.1 and changing processor  will void you're current free version of Windows 10 once  the end of July  2016 comes .

 

This will just drive more people to piracy  if they dont figure out a way to defeat it.

[Mandy]

Good point !! Fast and energy saving processor with a versatile motherboard is the way forward to enjoy a free OS with no  limit on as many clean  installation before July 2016 

However people with some programs would most probable  not be drawn in if you look at win 10's stability upset  of say unsigned drivers. Some still use Win XP  to run designated programs peacefully 

 

As for piracy I may be wrong but I think some don't even care for the freebie due to Microsoft's way of handling certain  aspects including telemetry and updates 

[steven36]

28 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Good point !! Fast and energy saving processor with a versatile motherboard is the way forward to enjoy a free OS with no  limit on as many clean  installation before July 2016 

However people with some programs would most probable  not be drawn in if you look at win 10's stability upset  of say unsigned drivers. Some still use Win XP  to run designated programs peacefully 

 

As for piracy I may be wrong but I think some don't even care for the freebie due to Microsoft's way of handling certain  aspects including telemetry and updates 

1. its promotion there promoting it free to sell it down the road

2. you're beta testing for  a very rich company that  should  be doing the testing for you.or at lest pay you  Google  is free but they pay big bucks to researcher  who finds bugs in there products.

3. They make money from you're data .

4. Windows 10 is far from being  really free, but  its free to use , but its free for a price.

5, Windows 10 is only  good for the lifetime of you're PC or a major hardware change.

6.  If you dont want to buy windows 10 in the near future and plain on a hardware upgrade you only got less than 6 mths to do it .

7. If you use windows 7 are 8.1 in the future  if you need to replace hardware its only going to work for the current generation and older processors  . New ones want have driver support for older windows.

[Mandy]

12 minutes ago, steven36 said:

1. its promotion there promoting it free to sell it down the road

2. you're beta testing for  a very rich company that  should  be doing the testing for you.or at lest pay you  Google  is free but they pay big bucks to researcher  who finds bugs in there products.

3. They make money from you're data .

4. Windows 10 is far from being  really free, but  its free to use , but its free for a price.

5, Windows 10 is only  good for the lifetime of you're PC or a major hardware change.

6.  If you dont want to buy windows 10 in the near future and plain on a hardware upgrade you only got less than 6 mths to do it .

7. If you use windows 7 are 8.1 in the future  if you need to replace hardware its only going to work for the current generation and older processors  . New ones want have driver support for older windows.

 

I bet the very day a price request  even a voucher for Win 10 comes in hardware upgrade or not people start looking for alternatives after July 2016 !!