Windows 10

My ThinkPad was automatically upgraded from 10074 to 10130 last night by Windows Update. Was a bit weary of this because 10130 didn't work too well on it before, but it seems to be working OK now.
 
Well that's not new news. There was already word that people that ran cracked copies of 7 or 8 could also get Win 10 for free.
 
voyagerfan99 said:
There was already word that people that ran cracked copies of 7 or 8 could also get Win 10 for free.
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Thats not what I'm talking about though. I'm talking about people who install the technical preview and get the full free OS on July 29th without having a valid license for a previous OS. Even XP and Vista users can install the technical preview and get it for free.
 
And being typical Microsoft, beta testers will no longer be able to upgrade to the final release for free.
 
Microsoft:

Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner, with continuous value for our consumer and business customers,” explained Microsoft in its full statement to the Verge.
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Forbes:

Microsoft has already stated that anyone who upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 within a year of its release will get the new platform for “free”. If this were applied to any previous version of Windows that would mean “free for as long as I use it”.

But now it is becoming increasingly clear that under the new vision of an all encompassing ‘Windows as a service’ this will not and cannot be the case.
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So how will Microsoft decide where to draw the line with ‘free’? It is highly unlikely that those who move to Windows 10 within the first year will not be charged for a Windows update, upgrade or major new feature ever again.
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In a rapidly moving world it is no longer good enough to work on a major operating system release every 3 to 5 years, push it as a big upgrade which causes upheaval to install and issue Service Packs once a year. The future is evolutionary, ongoing updates where the monetary value cannot be equated to a one-off payment.

In short the last thing Microsoft wants is another Windows XP situation where a single payment at its launch in 2001 resulted in 13 years of free development and tech support followed by customer scorn when it eventually called time. Endless warranties do not make for a practical business model – especially for software which has been pirated time and time again.
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...it won’t be possible for customers to pressurise Microsoft to go back. Last month Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform, admitted the future of Windows could be as open source software. Which ultimately means Microsoft has given more consideration to giving Windows away in future than it has to continuing the existing model.

“Like I said, it’s a new Microsoft” explained Russinovich when pushed on the company’s increasingly clear desire to split from its past.
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To sum it all up...how often and how much am I going to be charged?
 
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johnb35 said:
So from what I'm seeing online now is that even users of Windows 10 technical preview can get the full OS for free.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyl...ryone/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

http://www.zdnet.com/article/with-a...indows-10-to-anyone-who-asks/#ftag=YHFb1d24ec

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/windows-10-free-running-windows-7-xp-225125830.html
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Yes that's true but if you ever have to reinstall you'll need to either buy a licence for 10 or install 7 or 8.1 and upgrade via the free upgrade option (providing you do that within the first year of 10 being on sale because after July 29th 2016 that free upgrade offer goes and your only option left is to buy it).

I've got my hands on 10147 now (latest leak). Got it running in VMware. Seems stable and very similar to Build 10130, only major differences being that you can set Cortana up during Windows installation and Project Spartan branding has been replaced with Edge branding (new icon too). There's a minor bug with trying to run some apps as an Administrator, apparently. Other than that, stable. It also happens to be the first beta/preview build of Windows 10 that requires you to input a product key (but you can skip it). The key Microsoft provided for 10074 and later does not work.

I reckon RTM will be Build 10200.



 
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New flow chart on who gets the free upgrade.

http://lifehacker.com/find-out-if-you-get-a-free-upgrade-to-windows-10-with-t-1713466323

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I see they are no longer gonna give it free to people with non genuine OS's.
 
Ok that's still good for me. I should be building a new PC this summer so I'll just buy seven and upgrade to 10 for free. (or get 8.1 and stay with it...)
 
Punk said:
Ok that's still good for me. I should be building a new PC this summer so I'll just buy seven and upgrade to 10 for free. (or get 8.1 and stay with it...)
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Why would you buy 7 or 8.1 when you could just buy Windows 10? That way if you need to reinstall your PC you won't need to pay again to install 10 because you'll already own it. Remember that the free upgrade from 7 and 8.1 to 10 is only available for the first year, after that if you want to install Windows 10 you'll need to buy it.

It would be so much quicker to just buy 10 and install it than buy 7 or 8.1, install it, download and install all of the Windows Updates and then download and install 10, then download and install all of your software. Then if you ever need to reinstall 10 after the first year of 10 being on sale you'll be stuck with 7 or 8.1 unless you buy 10.
 
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Punk said:
Ok that's still good for me. I should be building a new PC this summer so I'll just buy seven and upgrade to 10 for free. (or get 8.1 and stay with it...)
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Windows 7 is more expensive, why would you buy that if you will upgrade anyways? If you don't, after a year it will cost you more.
 
spirit said:
... Then if you ever need to reinstall 10 after the first year of 10 being on sale you'll be stuck with 7 or 8.1 unless you buy 10.
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If he creates a system image of the mach9ne after the Win 10 upgrade, he wouldn't need to re-install, just restore the image. Regardless, MS has said you will be able to have a Win 10 ISO to re-install with. You won't need to buy Win 10 EVER if you upgrade within the 1st year.
 
strollin said:
If he creates a system image of the mach9ne after the Win 10 upgrade, he wouldn't need to re-install, just restore the image. Regardless, MS has said you will be able to have a Win 10 ISO to re-install with. You won't need to buy Win 10 EVER if you upgrade within the 1st year.
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Oh right fair enough. Didn't know that.

But it still makes sense to just buy 10 rather than mess around with 7 or 8.1 and then upgrade if you can't upgrade in the first year.
 
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spirit said:
Oh right fair enough. Didn't know that.

But it still makes sense to just buy 10 rather than mess around with 7 or 8.1 and then upgrade if you can't upgrade in the first year.
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Definitely. If you're going to buy a version of Windows, it may as well be Win 10.
 
I'm liking the new login screen in Builds 10159 and later! I think the login screen background image is the same as your desktop background image.

 
I upgraded my ThinkPad from 10130 to 10162 yesterday. I didn't download it from Windows Update, I just installed 10162 from the official Microsoft ISO and did an upgrade install. Seemed to go smoothly and 10162 seems to be running well on the ThinkPad! The only problem was some touchpad driver issues which meant I couldn't right click, but Windows automatically updated my Synaptics Pointing Device driver for me and it worked after that. :)

Looks like Microsoft has started compiling RTM candidate builds now, with 10176 being the latest compiled build according to Beta Archive: http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34535 (their source is BuildFeed: https://buildfeed.net/)
 
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