News Windows 10 free even for pirates

RisingFury

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According to TorrentFreak.com, Microsoft will be offering upgrades to Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10 for everyone, including pirates.

http://torrentfreak.com/chinese-pirates-to-get-free-windows-10-upgrade-150318/

The title mentions China, but the update at the bottom says for everyone:

Update: Microsoft has confirmed that all pirates, wherever they’re located, will get a free upgrade.


If this is true, then well done, Microsoft! Though right now I'm treating it with a grain of salt, seeing as how it's almost too good to be true.


That said, they might be going the free route to compete with the tablet market.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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I wonder where are they planning on getting revenue streams from to replace this?
 
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Hielor

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You'll get updated, but it still be "pirated:"
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2899...n-non-genuine-for-pirates-microsoft-says.html
“With Windows 10, although non-Genuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license,” Microsoft said. “If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade.”

I believe this is a departure from previous versions where you couldn't upgrade if you didn't have a valid license?
 

Fabri91

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I wonder where are they planning on getting revenue streams from to replace this?

Mostly optional subscription services like OneDrive or Office 365, plus volume licenses for Windows (the free upgrade path from 7/8 to 10 is available only for consumers, not enterprise users).

Keep in mind that with this free upgrade they only loose out on the very small number of people who purchase an OS by itself (so users with self-assembled PCs) or as an upgrade, since the vast majority of consumers will not upgrade the OS of an existing system.

OEM licenses are still a thing, but for small devices with less than 8" screen size they're free and for larger it's still significantly lower than retail pricing.
 

RisingFury

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It seems that Microsoft has always accepted piracy of the Windows operating systems. They've been aware of the high piracy rates for a long time, but they don't crack down on it.

It'd be really nice to see Windows go free...
 

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It'd be really nice to see Windows go free...

And after that open-source, so we can finally see all the hidden settings
windows_hidden_settings.jpg

wincrash.gif

:rofl::rofl:
 

RisingFury

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And after that open-source

God forbid it going open-source! I don't want another Linux mess.

The reason Windows is dominant is because it has a unique build, with unique set of standards that don't differ between distributions. Development for it is easy enough. The API is showing its age and the decisions when creating it have been inconsistent over time, but it's there.


Open-source Windows would dominate the market about as well as a rock can fly. About as well as Linux :lol:
 

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I wonder where are they planning on getting revenue streams from to replace this?

From what I've heard, the 'free' Windows 10.0 will contain almost none of the built in apps that come 'free' with Windows 8.1 or earlier. Things like Paint, Notepad, a Web Browser, Calculator, WordPad, etc will not exist in the 'free' version. You will have to 'buy' and 'add on' anything that you want over and above the stripped down operating system.

Now, that being said, things like Notepad, Paint, and Calculator will probably be 'sold' for a few pennies (less than $1) and you'll only be able to buy these things from the Windows App Store, which BTW, will only be available to those with a 'valid' version of Windows. That means all those pirated installations of Windows that get upgraded to Windows 10 will find that they won't be able to buy anything from the Windows App Store. In the mean time, I'm sure they will provide lots of 3rd party add-ons in the Windows App Store (that they take a percentage of the cost) and that's where they will make their revenue stream. A constant stream of add-on purchases and 3rd party apps sold EXCLUSIVELY through the Windows App Store.

I suspect that to keep the Monopoly going, they will probably create special APIs that can ONLY be access by software that is sold through the Windows App Store that will make software faster, easier to program, etc, but that's just speculation on my part.

Dantassii
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RisingFury

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From what I've heard, the 'free' Windows 10.0 will contain almost none of the built in apps that come 'free' with Windows 8.1 or earlier. Things like Paint, Notepad, a Web Browser, Calculator, WordPad, etc will not exist in the 'free' version. You will have to 'buy' and 'add on' anything that you want over and above the stripped down operating system.

I've been hoping for this for years. If they just keep the pricing fair and if they keep the core like DirectX in, then I'd be all for it.

I don't need Notepad, calculator or IE, but I imagine there would be quite a few things I'd still buy. I really like the idea of a core OS that is for free, but with addons. Some that you buy, some that you can get for free.

Basically iTunes for OS. Instead of buying the entire album, you just buy the songs you want.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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God forbid it going open-source! I don't want another Linux mess.

Well, definitely not developed open-source, but I see no reason why not to allow a simultaneous open-source project like what google does with Chrome OS & Chromium OS. But that doesn't exactly sound like the way Microsoft really likes to do things anyways, so I doubt it would happen.


I suspect that to keep the Monopoly going, they will probably create special APIs that can ONLY be access by software that is sold through the Windows App Store that will make software faster, easier to program, etc, but that's just speculation on my part.

Dantassii
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That does sound somewhat plausible, but Im not sure what such APIs would exactly be. Doing such a thing with DirectX might not be received well by users I would imagine?
 

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Still, a thing to keep in mind that seems to cause many misunderstandings: there will not be a free version of Windows, just a window (yes, it's a pun) to perform the upgrade to Windows 10 for a year.
 

RisingFury

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Well, definitely not developed open-source, but I see no reason why not to allow a simultaneous open-source project like what google does with Chrome OS & Chromium OS. But that doesn't exactly sound like the way Microsoft really likes to do things anyways, so I doubt it would happen.

A browser is a self-contained unit of functionality. An OS is not.

It doesn't matter if an application gets forked, because additional addons for the application are of secondary importance. But it matters a lot when the OS gets forked, because it makes development for it very difficult.
 

Hielor

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From what I've heard, the 'free' Windows 10.0 will contain almost none of the built in apps that come 'free' with Windows 8.1 or earlier. Things like Paint, Notepad, a Web Browser, Calculator, WordPad, etc will not exist in the 'free' version. You will have to 'buy' and 'add on' anything that you want over and above the stripped down operating system.
Citation Needed
 

meson800

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From what I've heard, the 'free' Windows 10.0 will contain almost none of the built in apps that come 'free' with Windows 8.1 or earlier. Things like Paint, Notepad, a Web Browser, Calculator, WordPad, etc will not exist in the 'free' version. You will have to 'buy' and 'add on' anything that you want over and above the stripped down operating system.

Now, that being said, things like Notepad, Paint, and Calculator will probably be 'sold' for a few pennies (less than $1) and you'll only be able to buy these things from the Windows App Store, which BTW, will only be available to those with a 'valid' version of Windows. That means all those pirated installations of Windows that get upgraded to Windows 10 will find that they won't be able to buy anything from the Windows App Store. In the mean time, I'm sure they will provide lots of 3rd party add-ons in the Windows App Store (that they take a percentage of the cost) and that's where they will make their revenue stream. A constant stream of add-on purchases and 3rd party apps sold EXCLUSIVELY through the Windows App Store.

I suspect that to keep the Monopoly going, they will probably create special APIs that can ONLY be access by software that is sold through the Windows App Store that will make software faster, easier to program, etc, but that's just speculation on my part.

Dantassii
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I took that as a joke :shifty:

Evidentially, it's not a perfect upgrade from pirated copies though:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0 said:
"With Windows 10, although non-genuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license ... If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade," Microsoft said in a statement.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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A browser is a self-contained unit of functionality. An OS is not.

Yeah, Im talking about Chrome OS, not the browser. It is still an OS, if a rather thin one functionality-wise.

It doesn't matter if an application gets forked, because additional addons for the application are of secondary importance. But it matters a lot when the OS gets forked, because it makes development for it very difficult.

No argument there. The fork-happy disease has cost linux waaay too much over the years.
 

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The only feature I like about Windows 8.2 (i mean 9... er, 10) is DX12, and I know of no technical reason it can't exist on 8/8.1. How adamant do you all think MS is on holding DirectX hostage?
 

RisingFury

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The only feature I like about Windows 8.2 (i mean 9... er, 10) is DX12, and I know of no technical reason it can't exist on 8/8.1. How adamant do you all think MS is on holding DirectX hostage?

In all fairness, are you technically competent enough to make that call? :p

I switched to Windows 7 only because of DirectX 11 and I'll switch to the next version of Windows only when I get a new computer, with a DirectX 12 compatible graphics card. I see no reason to switch before that.
 

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Well, 10 will be free for users of 7 and later, plus Nvidia cards from the Fermi/GTX 400 series and later (so from the last four years) are already dx12 compatible, so it won't be the hostage situation that happened with dx10 and dx11. Don't know the situation for AMD cards, though.
 

Quick_Nick

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Well, 10 will be free for users of 7 and later, plus Nvidia cards from the Fermi/GTX 400 series and later (so from the last four years) are already dx12 compatible, so it won't be the hostage situation that happened with dx10 and dx11. Don't know the situation for AMD cards, though.

I don't care for a free upgrade to an OS that may end up undesirable (TBD). However, Win 8.1 is apparently getting DX11.3, which will have features of DX12.
 
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