a bit of vagueness in those statements, free supported forever could simply refer to continued security updates and such that now would eventually cease after a certain date at the minimalist end to every time a new major version is released you'll be upgraded free again. don't hear anything bad yet, but details also somewhat skipped at this point.
We think of Windows as a Service
a bit of vagueness in those statements, free supported forever could simply refer to continued security updates
Everyone charges for services eventually, everyone knows this...and if you think MS will give you something for free.....lol.
Most likely the uber duper super gimped and cut down version of Windows 10 will be that nice free upgrade everybody is hyping so much. The other versions (the ones not terribly gimped or cut down or dumbed down) will be yours for some absurd ammount of money (your good ol' Microsoft as usual). That is probably your catch.
Or probably play the F2P game and deconstruct their entire marketing philosophy, making the core OS free but everything else (and I mean lots of software we take for granted and are usually shipped as part of the very OS) worth some bucks being cashed in a microtransaction. Leave the OS as barebones as they can (W10 shipped with IE1X, just to be used for downloading Spartan or Chrome, for example) and attempt to pull a moneygrab with almost everything else. Also try to separate software suites ala Android and make rip Office apart, making Word cost 5 bucks, Excel another 5, Powerpoint another 10, and that other crap I never install worth a little less, but make all of them individual installs.
My bet is option 1, option 2 would be nice (I just want the OS, I use office only for compatibility reasons, I wouldnt touch the rest of their software withy a 10 ft pole) but then again, this discussion is only relevant for those who actually pay for their Windows installation. The other 2/3rds of the population will most probably have another dilemmas regarding installing this new version of Windows (gotta give a really good reason to make those W7/XP fans change their minds, you know).
Maybe they'll get you on Office? Will my old version of Office that works with Windows 7 also work with Windows 10?
Well, a lot of people are still on Office 2007. I suspect that may not be supported on Windows 10. That would be a reasonable choice, esp. since Office 2007 no longer has mainstream support anyway, but still would affect a fair number of cheapskates. If you have Windows 7 and Office 2007 and it works perfectly, why bother upgrading to Windows 10 if it means your Office 2007 no longer works?My office 2010 still works on Windows 8.1.
Don't see how it wouldn't.
Except Apple also makes a good chunk of money selling the hardware. Aside from their Surface line, MS doesn't.So, here are a few questions for all the doomsayers out there:
Does Apple charge for it's newer versions of OSX? Do they charge you a subscription fee to keep using the upgraded os? Did the free os stop working after a year unless the user paid a subscription fee?
The answers are No, No, & No.
How is this possible, you might ask?
Taken from an Apple tech site when Maverick went free:
"It's important to consider other revenue that Apple receives in addition to the initial product purchase price, specifically app store revenue. By eliminating the cost to upgrade, they ensure that significantly more customers upgrade. These customers are then more likely to spend more in the app store, because apps are designed for the newest OS. I think it's pretty safe to say that Apple has performed a comprehensive analysis and determined that their total revenue will increase with the new plan."
Sounds like Windows saw a success with their competitor & jumped on the wagon.
Except Apple also makes a good chunk of money selling the hardware. Aside from their Surface line, MS doesn't.
Microsoft makes a VERY good chunk of money from corporations, datacenters, OEMs, and cloud services. The mindshare and downstream finances they gain from this free Windows 10 move will pay off in ways that will probably make them wonder why they ever charged for the OS in the first place.
Microsoft makes a VERY good chunk of money from corporations, datacenters, OEMs, and cloud services. The mindshare and downstream finances they gain from this free Windows 10 move will pay off in ways that will probably make them wonder why they ever charged for the OS in the first place.
One unified platform. Similar to what Apple does.
I think they have hopes of tying you to an app ecosystem with the windows store.
When MS says free upgrade i am not sure that applies to Businesses.
I did some Googling around and it seems Office 2007 does install and run on Windows 10.
There are a few bugs reported, but that seems like precisely that - bugs - not Windows 10 dropping compatibility for Office 2007. Or at least I hope my supposition is true.
Its a 8yr old program. Stop being so cheap and get the new Office or 365. Or Libreoffice if you don't really need MS Office.
its not really that simple, for most people who own 2007 there is ZERO reason to upgrade to a newer version if all they use is Word and Excel, which I would guess is most all most home users use, sure some use outlook but for them its not worth the price of the upgrade or learning something like libreoffice which they have prob never heard of
I can't get excited until I know what they plan to do after year one....