Nice that you share this but I'm not gonna read it too long and not even confirmd by Microsoft So I wait to see the word from MS
Actually they have said plenty. They said W10 will be free for the life of the machine and that would mean until it's recycled, no other way to interpret that. Of course that doesn't mean they will provide updates forever but if or should I say WHEN they start charging for this as a subscription those machines upgraded within the first year would be exempt. Of course to get around that they can just come up with a new name for the subscription OS.
While I'm more than likely to get a new PC from now till 2-4 years out, the timeline is somewhat odd. Windows 7 itself is supported til 2020, which is 4.5 years-ish. So does that make Windows 10 even shorter supported? That's not quite re-Azuring....
Maybe they charge 49$ for every 10.1 10.2 10.3 incremental upgrade once a year, so the subscription would mean if you want to receive updates, you'll need to upgrade to most recent yearly build in 4 years. /brainstorming
I think it would be much less than that, maybe $99/yr for ten machines. They charge $99/yr for 5 machines plus 5 tablets plus 5 phones with office365 and office is twice the price of windows if you wanted to buy individual copies.
I have heard both extremes "Updates are free forever" and "Updates are free for the supported lifetime of the machine." Supported lifetime could be any arbitrary amount of time such as one year or simply the manufacturer warranty expiration date. The reality is likely somewhere in between. It all depends on whether Microsoft can see enough revenue from their subscription services and Store sales to justify keeping the OS free so that all potential customers are always on the same (or close enough) version of the platform.
That's the way it should be! Everything what isn't come from the 'Horses Mouth' is considered as simple Rumor!
That has been clarified by Microsoft sometime ago. There is only a year granted to upgrade your system and after that it will be supported free of charge for lifetime of the machine. It is very palpable to me. I ask my father if he likes to upgrade his old system or get a new one when Windows 10 finally debut. His reply is to see what the upgrade really entails before making the choice to do one of them. As for me I am probably going to get a new Windows 10 system in a year or two to prevent future compatibility and support problems. I can see the system requirements are a bit complicated than what is stated in the official Microsoft page regarding if the future requirements and support will be raised beyond the initial ones.
MS can and does change their mind - so for me.... 1 tablet will remain Win 8.1 forever 1 Desktop will be Windows 10 - Old HDD with Windows 8.1 in storage 1 Desk Windows 8.1 Enterprise (very undecided) 1 Laptop (Factory Restore 8.1 Pro) always have and change to Windows 10 Pro. PS: Every thing also has a Restore Image by at least 2 different Backup/Restore Programs... all on External HDD.