With a nod and a wink, Microsoft gives away Windows 10 to anyone who asks

ZDNet ^ | 06/20/2015 | By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report |

[SeekAndFind]

This PC gets a free Windows 10 upgrade, no questions asked

In the always confusing world of Microsoft licensing, there are two sets of rules.

One is written down in license agreements, drafted by Microsoft's large legal team, with separate terms for PC makers and end users. These combined terms are extremely specific about the rights and responsibilities of every party to the license agreement. They are aimed primarily at Microsoft's commercial customers and its PC-building partners, who account for more than 98 percent of all revenue from Windows desktop licenses.

The other set of rules is unwritten, for the most part. But its terms are fairly easy to deduce. They are intended for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and IT pros who like to tinker with Windows and PC hardware. Microsoft's TechNet program was a long-running gift to this group, offering thousands of dollars' worth of Microsoft software for a few hundred bucks.

The Windows Insider program is being run in that same spirit.

Every once in a while, Microsoft actually makes a public statement tacitly (and carefully) acknowledging those unwritten rules. That happened this week, with an announcement on Microsoft's official Windows blog outlining what's next for registered members of Microsoft's Windows Insider program:

Windows Insiders running the Windows 10 Insider Preview (Home and Pro editions) with their registered MSA connected to their PC will receive the final release build of Windows 10 starting on July 29th. This will come as just another flight.

[mountainlion]

What a piece of junk.

I manually updated all software and updates. I went to the previous references and updates all that they suggested. I ran a troubleshooting program for windows 8.1 update. Nothing works.

[Dante3]

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[bgill]

I won’t be upgrading.

[Stentor]

I did the 10 preview but it worked for a while and then refused to operate the touchpad anymore. It's a 3 year old laptop and they warned up front not to use it on a production machine. Better than 8.1.

I used the failure as an opportunity to install Ubuntu 15.04. Got openvpn running and use devede for authoring and it's all I need. Posting this from a new 8.1 laptop because the hard drive on the Ubuntu machines seems to be starting to cough. Get the 10 upgrade in July. We'll see.

[sheikdetailfeather]

I have Win 7 on 64 bit and do not have a touch screen monitor. I have a Prism tv receiver from Centurylink that interfaces with Windows Media on another computer with the same specs. I think I should probably pass on updating to Win 10.

[dayglored]

Another article on how Windows 10 is priced ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks again to Swordmaker for the ping!!

[Stentor]

'Free' Windows 10 Upgrades Kill Priceless Windows 8 And Windows 7 Features