Too good for a number scheme, Windows 10 announced for 2015

[noiseredux]

it was already clarified that there would be no subscription model: http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-window ... scription/

[MrPopo]

But Noise, it's much more fun to kvetch over the possibility that we have to pay money for it.

[isiolia]

I am curious to see how the corporate world looks at the subscription model. Considering that mine still uses IE7 for somethings, I dont see us upgrading.

It'd vary, at least. A fair number of larger corporate/edu users probably already have annual software licensing contracts, so it'd be business as usual. Where I think things get more muddled and annoying is if the OS/App model relies on each user logging into an MS/Google/Apple/etc account. Windows 8 plays at that, but you can easily get around it, and larger environments are likely using Active Directory anyway.

And while it might be a free upgrade for the first year, the way Microsoft has been cagey with language suggests that when more details drop, we may find out there's a yearly subscription fee to use Windows 10.

On the consumer level, I don't see MS trying to do that. It wouldn't make sense. None of their competitors are trying to charge for the OS anymore. I think it's heading more to a "give away the razor, charge for the blades" kind of deal. They'll give you Windows, and hope you pay for cloud storage, Office 365, that kind of thing. Or, if you're a corporate user, that you'll pay them to host all that for your organization.

[casterofdreams]

Windows 7 fo' life!

why? Win10 feels like 7, but will offer more - including DX12, which is good for gamers. And it will be a free upgrade for 7 users. And before you know it 7 will stop receiving security updates. Don't get me wrong, I love 7. I think it's the best flavor of Windows personally. But having used the tech preview of 10, I can tell you that it's far closer to 7 than 8 ever was. And if DX12 benefits us gamers, then I can't really see any reason to not upgrade (for free).

I must remain strong be resentful to anything past W7 like all those XPers.

[marurun]

it was already clarified that there would be no subscription model: http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-window ... scription/

Thanks, I hadn't seen that bit before, and though I read many articles on the topic of the free Windows 10 upgrade, and many of them mentioned software as a service, none specified there wouldn't be a yearly fee of some kind.

That said, this does leave Microsoft free to charge for certain OS features as they wish.

[MrPopo]

it was already clarified that there would be no subscription model: http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-window ... scription/

Thanks, I hadn't seen that bit before, and though I read many articles on the topic of the free Windows 10 upgrade, and many of them mentioned software as a service, none specified there wouldn't be a yearly fee of some kind.

That said, this does leave Microsoft free to charge for certain OS features as they wish.

They've always been free to do so. In fact, they've done it all the way up until Windows 8 with the split between Home, Professional, Ultimate, and all the other versions.

[ZeroAX]

They've always been free to do so. In fact, they've done it all the way up until Windows 8 with the split between Home, Professional, Ultimate, and all the other versions.

Yeah, I remember the Windows 7 starter edition on my netbook wouldn't let me change wallpapers . Nothing that a 3rd party program couldn't fix

[isiolia]

Yeah, I remember the Windows 7 starter edition on my netbook wouldn't let me change wallpapers . Nothing that a 3rd party program couldn't fix

The current incarnation of that would probably be Window 8.1 with Bing, which only really has a restriction on the OEM side - it has to ship with Bing as the default search engine (in exchange for being free, or nearly so, to include).
From the end user standpoint, it's no different from regular 8.1, though with it being an OEM-only SKU, you can't get install media for it 8.1's built in backup works, but will only restore to the same size drive or larger, so if you swap in an SSD or something it can be a pain.

[marurun]

it was already clarified that there would be no subscription model: http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-window ... scription/

Thanks, I hadn't seen that bit before, and though I read many articles on the topic of the free Windows 10 upgrade, and many of them mentioned software as a service, none specified there wouldn't be a yearly fee of some kind.

That said, this does leave Microsoft free to charge for certain OS features as they wish.

They've always been free to do so. In fact, they've done it all the way up until Windows 8 with the split between Home, Professional, Ultimate, and all the other versions.

Oh, I think they might drop this model and actually sell particular features or feature packages. This Home, Professional, Ultimate thing just masked what was included. I think this new approach frees them to sell what might almost be considered Windows DLC if they want. They might not go that route, but they seem to have left the door open.

[marurun]

Ars Technica has some further exploration of what the new Win10 licensing scheme might mean.

http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... d-at-work/