Microsoft sets stage for massive Windows 10 upgrade strategy

Painter said:

neru said:

Did M$ say Win10 is their last OS or is someone pulling my leg with that one?
Also, you can bet they'll be trying like mad to get as many installs as possible over the coming months, but have they said anything yet about what will happen when the 'free for a year' offer ends?

MS have officially announced that W10 will be their last OS. What ever happens after the free offer expires is pure speculation. Here is some of that speculation...

1. The OS will remain free (except for Enterprise licenses) after the end date and there will be a subscription fee for feature updates. Security updates will remain free.

2. MS will announce the free offer is over Aug 1, 2106 and you will have to buy it at full price if you want it.

3. MS will introduce incentive pricing. Whatever that means.

4. MS will allow you to trade in your W7 retail license for W10 - meaning the GOING BACK to W7 will not be allowed. The Product ID will be retired and considered no longer genuine.

Once again, all speculative. Right now a good number of W7 users consider MS as being overly aggressive with their GWX campaign. Whatever MS does, W7 users can count on an escalation in nagging.

Free offer is over in 2106?! Outrageous, should be later than that!

joedaman633 said:

Painter said:

neru said:

Did M$ say Win10 is their last OS or is someone pulling my leg with that one?
Also, you can bet they'll be trying like mad to get as many installs as possible over the coming months, but have they said anything yet about what will happen when the 'free for a year' offer ends?

MS have officially announced that W10 will be their last OS. What ever happens after the free offer expires is pure speculation. Here is some of that speculation...

1. The OS will remain free (except for Enterprise licenses) after the end date and there will be a subscription fee for feature updates. Security updates will remain free.

2. MS will announce the free offer is over Aug 1, 2106 and you will have to buy it at full price if you want it.

3. MS will introduce incentive pricing. Whatever that means.

4. MS will allow you to trade in your W7 retail license for W10 - meaning the GOING BACK to W7 will not be allowed. The Product ID will be retired and considered no longer genuine.

Once again, all speculative. Right now a good number of W7 users consider MS as being overly aggressive with their GWX campaign. Whatever MS does, W7 users can count on an escalation in nagging.

Free offer is over in 2106?! Outrageous, should be later than that!

Ooooops typo !!! Love your sense of humor. I meant 2016. Just edited the original..

Painter said:

neru said:

Did M$ say Win10 is their last OS or is someone pulling my leg with that one?
Also, you can bet they'll be trying like mad to get as many installs as possible over the coming months, but have they said anything yet about what will happen when the 'free for a year' offer ends?

MS have officially announced that W10 will be their last OS. What ever happens after the free offer expires is pure speculation. Here is some of that speculation...

1. The OS will remain free (except for Enterprise licenses) after the end date and there will be a subscription fee for feature updates. Security updates will remain free.

2. MS will announce the free offer is over Aug 1, 2016 and you will have to buy it at full price if you want it.

3. MS will introduce incentive pricing. Whatever that means.

4. MS will allow you to trade in your W7 retail license for W10 - meaning the GOING BACK to W7 will not be allowed. The Product ID will be retired and considered no longer genuine.

Once again, all speculative. Right now a good number of W7 users consider MS as being overly aggressive with their GWX campaign. Whatever MS does, W7 users can count on an escalation in nagging.

I know you are kidding. In the U.S. you can eliminate 1,2,3 because of U.S. Laws & regulations. However, number 4 may be allowed. FTC would get on Microsoft's case the reason is a law or a regulation called bait & switch. I am not a lawyer & this is just my opinion.

I just listed what the speculation is. I do not see why 1,2,3 is bait and switch and 4 is not. I would think #4 is the most troubling. If your Government thinks #2 is bait and switch, I am confused. Isn't #2 the current MS position?

He is how I understand Bait & switch but I could be total wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch

Reading that is why I believe Microsoft could never charge a subscription base for windows 10. They can do a subscription for windows 11 or windows 365. Windows 10 has to be support until the end of the life-cycle and can never become subscription based. That is another reason Microsoft has to keep supporting windows vista, 7, 8.1 tell the end of their life-cycle. What they done & how they worded things is legal for windows 10.

There is no 'end of cycle' for W10. That is what makes it different from W7. Also the upgrade is tied to the device it is installed on, so once that device is dead, you can not move that W10 to a new device - you have to buy a license (as per the W10 EULA). As far as a subscription fee is concerned, MS raised it themselves as part of Windows as a Service, however they have yet to expand on it. I can not see how the law could prevent them from implementing an annual subscription fee for 'services' by that law. Services are separate from product. We will just have to wait and see what 'services' MS is going to deem fee based.

Painter said:

There is no 'end of cycle' for W10. That is what makes it different from W7. Also the upgrade is tied to the device it is installed on, so once that device is dead, you can not move that W10 to a new device - you have to buy a license (as per the W10 EULA). As far as a subscription fee is concerned, MS raised it themselves as part of Windows as a Service, however they have yet to expand on it. I can not see how the law could prevent them from implementing an annual subscription fee for 'services' by that law. Services are separate from product. We will just have to wait and see what 'services' MS is going to deem fee based.

I still don't see how Microsoft could legally start a subscription fee for the operating system and still call it windows 10.

That first part of your comment is still under debate, people are still waiting on clarification of upgrading a retail version of 7 or 8.1 to windows 10 is transferable or not.

Layback Bear said:

I'm thing the real Microsoft Shell Game will start when the free B/S is over.

Microsoft will have to adjust W-10 to the market place or it just won't sell in the volume that is needed.

People get a lot picker when they have to pay for something.

You can safely bet that MS has something already figured out and planned as to how they are going to make money on W10.

Disclaimer .. the following represents speculation on my part. As such it is an opinion.

It would seem to involve and require a mass amount of people to be on W10 quickly for it to work, whatever it is, hence the "give away" hard push and the pulling out of all the stops to reach the number of W10 users they need for the next step which is profitability. As the numbers lag the greater and harder the push. We are going in to a period of make or break for MS. I don't think the "give away" has had the results they were hoping for or need. MS is now making adjustments to alleviate this problem.

Once this number is attained the real motive will be reveled. They are being vague and coy about the future. This in and of itself is worrisome to me. No Corporation goes in to this type of campaign without every detail worked out well in advance, especially one the size of MS. In MS's case well in advance of the first line of code for W10 ever being written.

I do believe there is an unpleasant surprise at the end of this story.