English: The free logo of Microsoft Windows of simple shapes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Posted on 05/13/2015 5:29:58 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Free may be good when it comes to some things but until recently, I always thought free and OS were not synonymous with quality, unless you were talking about the poor variety.
I gave Apple some grief awhile back when it made its operating system, OS X Mavericks free to download and use. Most of my criticism was directed at how we, the consumers, became Apple’s primary software testers. I also spoke harshly with respect to the degrading quality of the system software releases that could be expected, given the fact it was free.
Now Microsoft has come up with a twist to the free OS game with the recent announcement that Windows 10 will be available for free to Windows 7 and 8 users provided they download it within a year’s time of it first being available to do so.
I am intrigued by this offer and will bite on both my ancient HP Compaq desktop smartly running Windows 8.1 and my not nearly as ancient Asus laptop with Windows 7 as long as both adequately meet hardware demands of Windows 10.
I think Microsoft’s free OS ploy is even better than Apple’s was back in the day.
Apple had a mature version of Mountain Lion and it is still available today for $19.99. In order to get a free OS from Apple you had to be sure your Mac had enough beef to handle the increased demands of Mavericks. Plus there were file sharing networking issues with Mavericks (that still exist today) that troubled users and prevented many Mac owners from taking the free upgrade plunge. Apple’s current OS X Yosemite is also plagued with networking and other bugs that while reported by various users to Apple, remain unresolved. Apple to date, has not done a terrific job of addressing reported bugs.
Microsoft has been relying on its beta testers for Windows 10 and so far results have been good. There has also been word that Microsoft won’t be naming the OS released subsequent to Windows 10, Windows 11 or some such other incrementally numbered name. Supposedly, 10 will be the last numbered version of Windows and it’ll just be improved with updates. If it works, and its features satisfy the majority of users, Microsoft would do best to just refine and improve Windows—you don’t need another commercial name or number marking new features.
Yes, we can thank Apple for applying the screws to Microsoft just enough so that it will be releasing Windows 10 for free. What happens after the first year is up is not clear at this time. Since the majority of enterprise users are Windows-centric, it’s possible that discounted versions of Windows 10 will be offered to those businesses still running Windows 7 and 8 after the 1-year deadline to upgrade to Microsoft’s latest and greatest for free has expired.
Apple gave away its operating system and never looked back. It has had quality issues that won’t go away though, ever since. Microsoft will quash bugs on its Windows 10 before, during and after its release. It will also possibly cease with catchy names for its OS, too, much to my and many users’ satisfaction.
On one hand you have the consumer juggernaut that is Apple and on the other, the dominant enterprise stakeholder that is Microsoft. They each rule their respective niches. Only this time, the battle over free and what it means in terms of quality, can be just the thing that the sleeping Redmond giant needs to restore some of its revenue-generating luster.
Who wouldn’t try Microsoft’s version of free, especially since its predecessors that cost money are running on the overwhelming majority of business machines around the world?
for later
I just installed W10 on my wife's ancient laptop. 3.66 GHz, 3 GB memory, small magnetic hard drive.
Boots in 5 seconds, runs fast, as did W 8.1.
No MS religion here. Just sayin'....
>3GHz and 3GB RAM? That’s far from “ancient”.
Thanks for the link. I've posted it as a new FR thread over here, and pinged DayGloRed for his attention to it for his ping list.
I have a lumia 1510 and love the way it syncs across so well to my laptop
Exactly! I use OneDrive on my business PC so I can access everything from my phone or Surface Pro on the go.
My life is synchronized!
...and Microsoft is fighting to keep emails private from the government!
Precisely! One of the best documentaries made on the history of the personal computer is TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS.
The 3 part series covers every aspect in the development of personal computing from Ed Roberts Altair 8800 that used the Intel 8080 microprocessor and was featured on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, and ends with the surge of Microsoft in 1998. Ironically, as the documentary concludes, Apple seems to be losing steam. Of course, looking back now, it is precisely because Apple was focused on hardware that it has become the contemporary winner vs MS whose livelihood depends on software.
The above link is to Part 1 after which you will be linked to the other 2 parts. Caution: for computer history buffs, it is highly addictive. Enjoy!
In the not-too-distant future we will laugh at the concept of buying an operating system.
Just as Apple, over time, embraced Intel processors and became more “compatible” with 3rd party hardware, Windows will, over time, tighten up “what will run under Windows” requirements and become more like the Apple ecosystem. In other words - Mac has become a little more Windows-like and Windows will become a little more Mac-like.
All of that will lead to free operating systems. Why? Paying for an operating system will be an impediment to jumping from one eco-system to another. The one main advantage that Apple has, currently, is that you cannot run OSX on non-Mac hardware, but you can run Windows on Mac hardware. When you buy a Mac you have the capability of running all Windows and Mac software, but when you go with a Windows PC you are stuck with just Windows.
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