Windows 10 upgrades will cost $119 after July 29

[bill]

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/05/05/windows-10-now-on-300-million-active-devices-free-upgrade-offer-to-end-soon/ [blogs.windows.com]

Windows 10 Now on 300 Million Active Devices – Free Upgrade Offer to End Soon

And, today, we want to remind you that if you haven’t taken advantage of the free upgrade offer, now is the time. The free upgrade offer to Windows 10 was a first for Microsoft, helping people upgrade faster than ever before. And time is running out. The free upgrade offer will end on July 29 and we want to make sure you don’t miss out. After July 29th, you’ll be able to continue to get Windows 10 on a new device, or purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119.

[tangor]

For personal machines (not your work primary!) I'd suggest you go for it. Smart way is to visit MS site, get the Media Creation Tool, burn your own ISO of the install and make the choice between upgrade and clean install.

My primary machine will remain Win7 ... HOWEVER, I have done the dirty deed on three machines in the HOME (not work) for the family and kids as some of the new features will make them happy. MEANWHILE, see: [safer-networking.org...] for a quick and easy way to kill the invasive side of Win10 (though you will have to stay on top of it, MS RESETS these parameters at will and without notice with every pushed update).

On a user level.... a general thumbs up. On a privacy I do not want to be tracked, marketed or sold to third parties kind of thing, a definite thumbs down. Pick your poison and go from there.

This is a preview of the future, kiddies. Once you let go of your Win7 that era of privacy will not return again.

You Win8x guys need to upgrade to 10, if for no other reason than to fix that wreck of Metro!

NOTE: as with every post on Webmasterworld, this is an opinion, granted it is based in fact and reality, but it remains an opinion.

Linux Rules!

[engine]

I was surprised to see a full screen Windows 10 upgrade interruption to my Win 8 machine today. It took over my whole screen, and was quite a surprise.

You know, it might just be worth waiting an paying, should I feel the need.

This is one that i'm interested in seeing the outcome, especially over the tracking.
French Data Protection Commission Serves Notice on Microsoft over Windows 10 Data Privacy [webmasterworld.com]

[EditorialGuy]

I updated two Windows 7 PCs quickly and easily with only minor annoyances afterwards. (I had to reconfigure a few settings--nothing worth getting tussed about.)

[keyplyr]

Like 10 a lot, much more succinct than 7. More compatible with the way the internet is moving.

The privacy concerns can be easily turned off (mine have stayed off.)

Nice to have cloud storage symmetry for my other devices when I am on the road, which is all the time.

I had no issues upgrading 2 computers, approx 20 minutes each over wifi.

I would urge anyone who has not upgraded to seriously consider doing so now while the free install is still available. It's all set up.

[bill]

I'm updating a ton of VMs so I'll have a few copies of Win10 to play with, but my primary machines are still on Win8, which I have tamed nicely over the years.

[engine]

The plan is to upgrade an old Win 8.1 machine (was originally Win7) later today. I'll have to revisit the privacy settings for it, however, I find it a frustration having to mess with the settings as some are not obvious.

[Nutterum]

The only thing I dislike so far in Windows 10 is the small nightmare to be able to make the USB port accept my Iphone charger. Everything else is running very smoothly. As for company computers, most are "zero-clients" just hardware that can boot the VMs, so nothing to really to get annoyed about. Designers, being designers work on iMacs.

[nickreynolds]

I upgraded my desktop at the earliest opportunity. My daughter has windows 8 on her laptop but can't be bothered to upgrade - what should i tell her in the way of incentives to make her bother with upgrading?

[engine]

Win 8 or 8.1? Win 8.1 was way better than Win 8, imho.
Hmmm, honestly, I struggle to think of too many good reasons. I can only think that the new OS is likely to be the focus of security for Microsoft. The life of the laptop hardware will probably end before the support for Win 8 arrives. That being the case, a new laptop will probably come with Win 10.

[ergophobe]

Like 10 a lot, much more succinct than 7. More compatible with the way the internet is moving.

Because I am so often in a bandwidth-constrained environment, this is actually one of the things that has held me back!

[jetteroheller]

I purchsaed in May an Acer ES1-331-C0YK, 130 EUR cheaper than the same notebook with Windows 10.

I installed Linux Ubuntu 16.0.4 on it, surprised how comfortable.

I will never go back to Windows!

[keyplyr]

Like 10 a lot, much more succinct than 7. More compatible with the way the internet is moving.

Because I am so often in a bandwidth-constrained environment, this is actually one of the things that has held me back!

By saying 10 is more succinct, I am saying IMO it is faster & leaner, more efficient. By saying it is more compatible with today's internet, I am saying it supports apps directly from the home screen, it supports cloud storage for accessibility, it supports better use of wifi, better functionality, especially with mobile, etc. So how is this "actually one of the things that has held me back!" or are you saying it is difficult for you to download the upgrade due to bandwidth limitations?

[robzilla]

I didn't even want it for free; no way I'm going to pay for it any time soon. We'll see how things stand in 3+ years time when support for Windows 7 ends, which is what I happily use on my work computers. Already switched to OS X at home.

[ergophobe]

By saying 10 is more succinct, I am saying IMO it is faster & leaner, more efficient. By saying it is more compatible with today's internet, I am saying it supports apps directly from the home screen, it supports cloud storage for accessibility, it supports better use of wifi, better functionality, especially with mobile, etc. So how is this "actually one of the things that has held me back!" or are you saying it is difficult for you to download the upgrade due to bandwidth limitations?

I'm sure a lot of it is just ignorance, but all the tales of it phoning home and upgrading automatically and so forth are part of it. I can tell you that Apple devices are just hell on us (iPhones, iPads and MacBooks all). They phone home constantly and regularly cause us to spend extra money on bandwidth. We'll be out and I'll look at the router for monthly usage and every iDevice has grabbed 2GB of who knows what.

So part of it is just fear of Windows 10 being more like that. Plus, as a new OS, it's likely to have more security patches and just download more stuff until it reaches a more stable point.

And then there are the features you mentioned - cloud storage, for example, which is something I have to be really careful with. The home screen apps - I had some apps like the Washington Post app on my Win8 machine and then when I looked at the bandwidth usage, I had to kill all those.

And finally, there's the download problem you mention.

So to me, it appears (and again, this could be just my ignorance speaking), that there's little it really offers me, but has some potential downsides.

I realize that my limited bandwidth is an uncommon situation, but it does affect choices I make and it seems like every new OS uses *more* bandwidth just to live.

[engine]

I realize that my limited bandwidth is an uncommon situation, but it does affect choices I make and it seems like every new OS uses *more* bandwidth just to live.

Millions of Internet consumers around the World are on limited bandwidth, so it's a wider concern. The constant phoning home of many operating systems and their apps has become a plague, imho, and Microsoft's Windows 10 is not alone. Android had been a real pain on numerous occasions.

There's no control, and that ought to be a bigger concern than it appears to be. It's as if most people don't care, or perhaps they just don't realise.

Finally, I got around to upgrading the laptop I mentioned, and it took around three hours. I re-set all the privacy options, and, hopefully, they will stay.

[tangor]

Just upgraded the "last" machine what will be in the house ... and have spent more time trying to locate and defeat all those pesky MS Apps ... For instance, you can't uninstall it (movies and tv) but you can partially defeat it by making Windows Media Player the default app for video.

For a more general method of controlling the call home stuff see Anti-Beacon from SpyBot [safer-networking.org...] which provides a quick one stop shop for the vast majority of (privacy) settings.

[Terius]

I upgraded to 10 and like some things about it, but it's unstable. File Explorer suddenly stops working (reboot required). Internet connectivity suddenly goes away (reboot required). And so on. I've read others with similar complaints, and it appears other software - programs or drivers - are involved in causing these conflicts. But I'm using the same programs I used with 8.1, and I didn't have these problems with 8.1.

I remain hopeful things will get better eventually, but for now, I have to reboot at least once every day. Usually 2-3 times.

[ergophobe]

There's no control, and that ought to be a bigger concern than it appears to be. It's as if most people don't care, or perhaps they just don't realise.

I wouldn't have realized the particular bandwidth hogs that are Apple devices if we didn't mysteriously run out of bandwidth from time to time and then log into the router logs to see what caused the overages... and it's always an iPhone or iPad except on the rare occasions it's a MacBook (and this is not for lack of Android and Windows devices connected to the network).

I would wager that the vast majority of people have no need or interest in profiling which devices and apps are using bandwidth unless it's so extreme that it causes network congestion.

[keyplyr]

Except for the occasionally unlucky install that gets vented here, the vast majority have had no issues. I work at a university where hundreds of Windows 10 installs have taken place over the last year and have not heard of any issues at all, and I do talk computer with a lot of people.

I have installed Windows 10 on 2 computers of my own with no issues (both free upgrades from 7pro.) I also watch bandwidth and see no increase.

There was a helpful thread here about where to turn off the reporting. I turned most off as well as removing cortana. I left the reporting on for the security apps.

[jetteroheller]

It's not only a question of issues, it's a question of fair exchange.
While the price of hardware has decreased very much.

I paid 2000 for a notebook 3000 EUR, now 250 EUR, the price of Windows remained nearly the same.
No big discussion, if Windows would be now 20 to 30 EUR,
but 130 EUR is out of exchange.

[keyplyr]

Another option for the Windows 10 experience is the Intel Compute Stick CS125 which plugs into an HDMI port on your monitor or TV.

Puts a Windows 10 desktop on your screen with 2g of ram. Has 2 USB ports. One of which can be used for added storage.

MSRP is $159 but Amazon and eBay offer reduced prices.

[mcneely]

I installed Linux Ubuntu 16.0.4 on it

You think Ubuntu 16.0.4 is cool? .. You should go after Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon 2.8.8 -- It's the Bee's Knee's IMO .. smooth, fast, and less clunky. And .. now get this .. You can even make it look like Windows 10, if you were to be so inclined to do so ..

[Robert Charlton]

Does this imply that MS will no longer try to sneak Windows 10 upgrades into Windows 7 updates?

[tangor]

Who knows? Might change their mind, particularly when approaching end of life for the Win7/Win8.1 (2020 and 2023 respectively).

That said, MS has indicated that if Win10 was installed during the free period and ROLLED BACK to the previous OS (7 or 8.1) they would not attempt to send further Win10 upgrades. Then again, they might change their mind yet again!

Ms REALLY wants everyone to be SaaS (Software as a Service) as that is where the money is .... and they don't have to notify or fiddle with updates and optionals, they just do it.

[Robert Charlton]

I'm asking about updating Windows 7 now. Is it safer than it used to be?

The logic behind my question is that since the Windows 10 upgrade is no longer free, it becomes even more awkward for MS to force an upgrade (but Microsoft has been doing some amazingly stupid and high-handed things to meet its internal goals).

[tangor]

@robert, can't answer that. But for mission critical Win7 machines I have installed GWX Control Panel which blocks Win10 at the update and registry level. That is not to say it can't be circumvented by MS via a different 'update".

To that end I have all my Win7 machines set to Check for updates but let me chose to download or install.

Given some smarmy behavior the last few months of the free period (clicking X to exit Win10 nag was permission to proceed, for example) I have no doubt MS might sneak stuff in.

What has been installed on many machines is the report/inspection collector gadgets to see if your system supported the Win10 upgrade. I'm still looking to get rid of that batch of call home stuff on my 7 systems. (GWX Control Panel got nearly all of that)