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Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#61

Post by talmand »

yuhong wrote: post #24
bad_user wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Users in general don't upgrade unless forced, because non-technical folks are conservative. All of Microsoft's competition have encouraged (free) updates in one way or another, with much less regard towards backwards compatibility. This also creates expectations for developers, assuming that a majority will upgrade in a timely manner, therefore users feel compelled to upgrade otherwise their favorite apps may stop be…

Vista bought no improvements? BTW, I think always notify for UAC is a better idea anyway.

If the negatives outweigh the positives, would there be improvements?

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#62

Post by talmand »

thought_alarm wrote: post #59

I don't think this free upgrade is much of a shock. People who bought a Windows XP machine in 2001 enjoyed 6+ years of free OS upgrades from Microsoft. Likewise, people who buy a Mac enjoy 5+ years of free OS upgrades from Apple. If Microsoft wants to shift into a yearly release cycle and they don't give away the updates to their existing customers then they're essentially charging for service packs, which won't fly.

It's not a shock but it's outside the norm for Microsoft. Typically you do not get free upgrades from one version of Windows to the next.

You can free updates to your current version. But never a free upgrade to the next major version.

WinXP users enjoyed six plus years of free updates to WinXP.

I don't see this type of release from Microsoft changing their update/upgrade model. They're just doing it as a means to push the user base harder to transition and possibly as a small admittance of the screw-up over Win8.

Apple, on the other hand, went from cheap upgrades to free upgrades over the last few versions of OS X. It's not the same thing as Microsoft's release pattern.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#63

Post by z3t4 »

Probably they are changing business plan to take 25-30% of each app ever sold for the OS instead of just charging for the OS itself.

Finally, you do not have to port your app to all devices.

And hopefully you, as a user will be able to control how much access each app has to the computer.

Imagine buying a new smart-phone with lets say Android, then you install Windows 10 on it instead and everything just works.

The only problem I see is that they need to make the SDK easier for me to start making native apps instead of web apps. Especially the UI part.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#64

Post by stevewillows »

devindotcom wrote: post #35
McGlockenshire wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the smallprint from the page on their current Windows 10 promo site[1]: > It is our intent that most of these devices will qualify, but some hardware/software requirements apply and feature availability may vary by device. Devices must be connected to the internet and have Windows Update enabled. ISP fees may apply. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required. Some editions are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise…

No RT! That's harsh, but the truth is dropping RT like a bad habit is the best thing they could do. Sucks for anyone who bought a copy on a cheap tablet, though.

Engadget is reporting that RT will also be included

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/21/windows-10-free-upgrade/

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#65

Post by overgard »

jedberg wrote: post #2

It's not the price of Windows that was keeping people from adopting Windows 8. It's the irrelevancy and the fact that corporations don't see the ROI. The time it would take to upgrade their company isn't worth the gains, which are minimal. Unless Windows 10 proves to be a massive improvement in performance or usability, I suspect it's uptake will be just as anemic, free or not.

I think most companies like to be up to date as long as the move is at least lateral. I think the problem with windows 8 was that it was largely seen as a downgrade. Nobody really liked the new features or wanted them. If Windows 10 isn't worse than Windows 7, I think people will upgrade.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#66

Post by copperx »

Gmo wrote: post #54
rasz_pl wrote: post #50

Clippy: I heard no one likes our phone OS, so we are going to put it on your desktop for FREE, arent you glad? Metro squares for everyone!

Actually, a lot of people who have an WP 8 phone do like the OS a lot. I know I do at least.

I doubt the OS was ever an issue.

The issue was the lack of applications for the OS.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#67

Post by fit2rule »

mavhc wrote: post #28
fit2rule wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used Windows in 10+ years, so I've got some questions for those who are smarter than me on the subject of Windows: Does it come with package management yet? Can I easily avoid DLL hell these days? Can I add my own local repository and use it to maintain a fleet of workstations, making sure they always have the same configuration no matter what? Is it easily possible to connect to a Windows machine and admin…

> Does it come with package management yet? Not really > Can I easily avoid DLL hell these days? Yes, it just stores every version on the drive, seems to work > Can I add my own local repository and use it to maintain a fleet of workstations, making sure they always have the same configuration no matter what? For free? not easily. > Is it easily possible to connect to a Windows machine and administer it from a comman…

Thanks - so it seems Windows is not competitive with my 15+ years of experience with Linux. I would have thought that would have changed by now, but I guess its just different.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#68

Post by fit2rule »

Amezarak wrote: post #34
fit2rule wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used Windows in 10+ years, so I've got some questions for those who are smarter than me on the subject of Windows: Does it come with package management yet? Can I easily avoid DLL hell these days? Can I add my own local repository and use it to maintain a fleet of workstations, making sure they always have the same configuration no matter what? Is it easily possible to connect to a Windows machine and admin…

> Does it come with package management yet? No. There is the Windows Store (all or most Metro apps, GUI) and things like NuGet for Visual Studio, but that's not what you're looking for. There are third-party solutions. [EDIT: See sibling comments; W10 adds one.] > Can I easily avoid DLL hell these days? DLL Hell is no longer a concern. It's not a matter of avoiding it, it won't happen except perhaps in very unusual e…

Thanks for taking the time to reply - it seems that Windows is not quite caught up with the usability/experience that I've become accustomed to with Linux after 15+ years. I might take some time to learn about Windows 10 when its released, but it appears that it may not be worth the hassle ... I'm a Linux/embedded developer and have become quite accustomed to the serviceability of Linux. I think, based on your response, I would probably end up just getting frustrated with Windows.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#69

Post by dagw »

copperx wrote: post #66
Gmo wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, a lot of people who have an WP 8 phone do like the OS a lot. I know I do at least.

I doubt the OS was ever an issue. The issue was the lack of applications for the OS.

Or more importantly the lack of quality of the apps that do exist. As a part time WP8 user I've never really suffered from a lack of apps, but I often find that the apps that are there never live up to the quality and finish of equivalent apps on Android. Don't get me wrong, they're all fine and all get the job done, but never quite as nicely as on Android (or iOS).

The only exception where the Nokia Here navigation apps.

Re: Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year

#70

Post by voltagex_ »

rasz_pl wrote: post #53
devindotcom wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No RT! That's harsh, but the truth is dropping RT like a bad habit is the best thing they could do. Sucks for anyone who bought a copy on a cheap tablet, though.

No one is dropping RT. RT is being moved INTO your desktop and taking it over. Just look at the list of services running on your win8.whatever.

Erm, vaguely the same amount that are visible in taskmgr/services.msc in Windows 7. I'm running the 10 Preview now and the "RT" part (Metro, I presume) is much less intrusive.
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