When something is given away free, i get suspicious, paranoia perhaps but i can't remember the last time i was given something for free that didn't have some kind of a catch. Hopefully its all above board and its just Microsoft trying to reaffirm that they are the primary choice for OS's, but thats a lot of potential money down the drain, and given how much they (Microsoft) has lost on the various incarnations of Surface, among other things, i question that they would just give something away for free, without some hope of future revenue, cautiously optimistic, with heavy emphasis on the cautious, i'll probably wait until the dust clears before jumping in and getting it.
I'll probably look at Win10 once a more solid preview is available but this looks good. Can't argue with 'free'; although it technically is only free for WIn7/Win8 users.
Being 'better than Win8' is not a high bar though. Win8 is just so bad!
Win 8.1 at best can be called clunk when it comes to the UI. As for as the OS goes, its the fastest OS MS has made yet. In terms of system performance when gaming its king. Even older PCs taking the jump to Win 8.1 run smoother and faster. Also 8.1 removed a lot of the clunky.
Windows is already king when it comes to games. You wana PC game, Windows is the only real option.
Totally bogus.
Its the only real option for people to stupid or lazy to run Linux.
If DX is on Linux, then its a gaming OS and depending on how HP handles the development of Linux+ there could very well be competition for OSs in the PC world. They already have the backing of a large portion of the IT world so if they can get some developers behind it as well as Nvidia or AMD, I will guarantee portability.
As is, we wont see DX12 utilized for years giving plenty of time it to be ported to Linux again, just like with previous versions of DX...as for ARM and the ooh ahh universal app...this is something few will care about since mobile apps are weak PC programs, so anyone on a desktop wont miss a thing by not having Windows 10.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
Think about it, giving it away for free means they make NO MONEY on a product they must continually support
They do make money on it.
-upgrading ppl from Windows 7 to Windows 10 unlocks the app store for those users, the app store is making MS considerable money
-Windows 10 has a lot of integration with Xbox One, it will help Xbox sales, you can stream Xbox One to your PC, exhange social contacts between xbox and PC etc
-it will boost users of the Cortana voice assistent, which will help them improve it much faster, the more users use cortana, the faster they can tweak it, voice improves exponentially the higher your audience is
Also, remember, this is ONLY for upgrades from Windows 7 and 8, if you buy a NEW PC, you still pay for Windows 10.
Most people upgrade their OS by buying new PC, it is mostly gamers and techies that upgrade their OS.
If anything, this free upgrade benefits gamers the most.
You agree that MS will keep your system 'up to date'. This might mean that once you get the free Win10, you have to keep Windows Update On. Or maybe it means something else.
I personally don't have a problem with getting windows updates automatically but someone else might.
This is the full quote:
But consider this line: “Once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no additional charge.”
Imo, it relates to licencing changes - if Windows 11 release in the life cycle of the device, you will be eligible for free further upgrade.
I'm sure the details will be revealed later but yeah, that also is a possibility.
It could also mean that WIn10 is really the 'last' windows and MS just releases service packs for it.
Either way, free is good. Can't complain about that!
Edit1
Hmm.. MS did publicly say that they really want Windows as a subscription based service.
Not sure how that can fit into this announcement though.
If they change to a subscription service it will kill windows and send the average user to apple.
That's so funny, I'm pretty sure even then most people won't go to apple. Specially people in this forum, they like to play videogames...
I bet it forces you to use cloud. Oh wait 8.1 already does that. Except you can choose what goes to the cloud. Yea I don't like how they force you to use features that you don't need. It will be tightly connected with ads through your browser I'm willing to bet on it. I wish you could turn off the app store. I bet it will automatically pop app ads or something you really don't want. It will end up with a lot of features that cannot simply be turned off because its pushing money or they think its best for you. Like how windows 8 automatically starts defragging your HD without letting you know its happening.
Will upgrade my media center pc which is running w8.1.
I am not a fan of windows moving to a service over a product so I will prob continue with w7 possibly move to linux . My only reason to stay on windows has been gaming and I am hoping over the next few years valve can give gaming serious life on linux.
My w8.1 phone makes my video and music libraries feel like it is filled with ads so I am hoping that is turned down in 10 but I don't see that as MS is pushing their cloud + services.
Originally posted by Reizla By the time Windows 7 won't be updated any more (5 years from now?) I'll be looking for a NON-Microsoft operating system. All those things that they add to Windows really suck and I don't want/need it. Not to mention the tablet and phone compatibility for the PC which will add yet an other layer (READ: performance loss) to the system. I'll pass on Windows 10.
Windows is already king when it comes to games. You wana PC game, Windows is the only real option. Microsoft said the reason Win 10 is free for Win 7-8.1 user is to get software developers on board to write programs for the OS. This move will only solidify MS as the main OS again for years to come. I highly doubt (this coming from a guy certified in Linux and Unix) there will be an easy work around to use another OS to game. With MS move to make office products a sub based program, I would love to see them removed as king but I just dont see this happening any time soon.
I bet MicroSoft only wants the game developers (I'm an indie one as well BTW) to hop into Windows 10 because SteamOS is coming. If Steam really pulls it off, Lunix will become the gaming OS instead of Windows.
With that, I still do not see the added value of the MS store in Windows 8.x. My son's PC runs under it, and everything there is either not worth looking at it OR is already available on Android/iOS or regular Windows (non-store). I don't thing Windows 10 will change a lot there...
This type of project gives me hope but its far from replacing Windows. This will not be for the common user and myself I will dual boot this when it launches =-) Question is how well will their support be for it? Will they get developers support for drivers and programs. Their desktop mode is where they really need to get the support to get things going as most PC gamers use their PC for more then gaming. At this point they are very limited in that area.
I see everything MSFT trying to do to make Windows 10 relevant being converted to Linux+.
Yes, Linux with it's less than 1% marketshare on the desktop is a threat to Windows.....................
What games are you going to play on Linux. Minesweeper?
All of the Linux distros combined can't even beat windows VISTA in marketshare.
Linux on desktop is a joke.
With the new game streaming tech Linux can be a real option for gaming. You can stream any game from any OS all on any device. Even console games. Only problem is the desktop side of things it still has limited support. Options are few and most people who PC game use their PCs for more then that. With Microsoft moving to game streaming, companies like SteamOS should be worried more then the other way around.
Originally posted by Nanfoodle Only problem is the desktop side of things it still has limited support. Options are few and most people who PC game use their PCs for more then that.
This. SteamOS is a competitor to consoles, not desktops.
Think about it, giving it away for free means they make NO MONEY on a product they must continually support
They do make money on it.
-upgrading ppl from Windows 7 to Windows 10 unlocks the app store for those users, the app store is making MS considerable money
-Windows 10 has a lot of integration with Xbox One, it will help Xbox sales, you can stream Xbox One to your PC, exhange social contacts between xbox and PC etc
-it will boost users of the Cortana voice assistent, which will help them improve it much faster, the more users use cortana, the faster they can tweak it, voice improves exponentially the higher your audience is
1. Making money on X because of Y is not making money on X...do you do business? Are you saying that because Office makes a ton of money that MSFT could then give everything away for free? Because that IS what you are saying when you think about it. And the Windows app store could be made for Windows 7 easily...crazy thing about a PC is that software can be made for anything and doesn't require code to be imbedded into an OS core code to work...
2. If you actually believe that being able to stream Xbox One games on Windows is going to sell more Ones you are a tool. PC gamers that like weaker console games are already out buying consoles...there wont be any PC only gamers being converted lol. Not only that, but PC/Console gamers that have stated they wont be buying a One are not going to be convinced either because the One is such a weak system(yes so is PS4 so shut it) that playing those weak games wont change their minds.
3. Cortana is a gimmick and its a gimmick that wont be used by the vast majority of Windows 10 users because they either don't have a mic, or don't want to be talking to their PC.
Its clear you are the type that likes bells and whistles, the little distractions that actually should never be in the OS in the first place...not a single thing announced for Windows 10 could not also be made for Windows 8 and Windows 7...not a thing and NONE of it should ever be imbedded into the core code.
ARM code, can be MODULAR and installed separately in Windows 7 (run via an emulator)...same with every single other thing announced for 10. They are forcing it onto people because they know that if they made it optional, most people wouldn't use it, and because MSFT is doing it the way they are (not making it modular) the OS is going to be one massive exploit due to the bloated code.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
Originally posted by Phry When something is given away free, i get suspicious, paranoia perhaps but i can't remember the last time i was given something for free that didn't have some kind of a catch.
Apple - no longer charges for their OS, OSX (assuming you buy an apple thats 2013+)
no catch
Microsoft - recently released free MS Word / Excel on tablets -- with basic editing abilities supported
Before this release, the only available app was Office for iPhone, which is a single app that allows users to connect with their OneDrive. However, that did not allow the user to create documents, and required an Office 365 subscription for the user to do more than just read documents.
The new Word, Excel and Powerpoint are available for free download from the App Store, all coming with basic editing capabilities for documents under each app. For more advanced editing features, however, users will still require an Office 365 subscription.
In addition, the new apps are developed to work well on the smaller screen of the iPhone, with a Ribbon-like interface to allow all editing options to be accessed even while using only one hand on the smaller body of the iPhone.
Couple of questions: How is 10s performance compared to 7? Is the POS 8 interface still a default part of the OS? Does 10 feel like a clunky ass tablet or phone OS when you try to do anything significant, or did they make it feel like what its supposed to be, a fully fledged PC desktop OS?
-performance is great, especially the booting is fast
-Metro (the tiles interface) is still there, but no longer part of the default desktop, the only way you get to metro is if you specifically do it on purpose.
-you have a start button by default now
-pushing the windows keyboard key by default activates your start menu, like in windows 7
-you see tiles on many windows 10 previews....but you can remove the tiles completely, truth be told, I like them, they're nice to have, you can completely customize them, drag in there whatever you want
Only problem is the desktop side of things it still has limited support. Options are few and most people who PC game use their PCs for more then that.
This. SteamOS is a competitor to consoles, not desktops.
in its current form, correct. However...
Because of GNOME you can install software on it allowing for other uses making it more like a PC. Since its Linux based and can be continually upgraded with newer features and functions it CAN actually eventually replace a desktop for a PC gamer who only uses his desktop for games. Considering there are an estimated 300 million PC gamers worldwide...that's a massive risk to Windows.
Wait, did you think that MSFT suddenly started to talk about Windows being "gamer" focused because they actually cared about gamers...out of the blue...from the kindness of their oversized hearts?!? heh.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
I edited my post above, if you push the windows key on your keyboard in windows 10, you activate your start menu like in windows 7...not like in 8
I wrote 8 by accident, the start menu in windows 10 works exactly like in windows 7, except you have now some extra tiles to the right...which activate programs, but you can remove this
Before this release, the only available app was Office for iPhone, which is a single app that allows users to connect with their OneDrive. However, that did not allow the user to create documents, and required an Office 365 subscription for the user to do more than just read documents.
The new Word, Excel and Powerpoint are available for free download from the App Store, all coming with basic editing capabilities for documents under each app. For more advanced editing features, however, users will still require an Office 365 subscription.
In addition, the new apps are developed to work well on the smaller screen of the iPhone, with a Ribbon-like interface to allow all editing options to be accessed even while using only one hand on the smaller body of the iPhone.
MS had little choice but to start offering parts of Office for free. An estimated 100 million people stopped using it since 360 was released and started using the final version of Open Office and found that many businesses started to support the Opendocument project.
More than a few have pointed out the growing fear of MSFT pushing more and more to the cloud, where many companies do not want their documents due to security issues...by giving more and more away for free, they increase their chances of retaining people longer than they normally would since they just don't seem to grasp the idea of consumer retention via QUALITY anymore.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
I see everything MSFT trying to do to make Windows 10 relevant being converted to Linux+.
Yes, Linux with it's less than 1% marketshare on the desktop is a threat to Windows.....................
What games are you going to play on Linux. Minesweeper?
All of the Linux distros combined can't even beat windows VISTA in marketshare.
Linux on desktop is a joke.
With the new game streaming tech Linux can be a real option for gaming. You can stream any game from any OS all on any device. Even console games. Only problem is the desktop side of things it still has limited support. Options are few and most people who PC game use their PCs for more then that. With Microsoft moving to game streaming, companies like SteamOS should be worried more then the other way around.
There is some indication however that usage of Linux is expanding, albeit slowly, though without some real support from games developers, its unlikely to achieve any kind of 'critical mass', there is a degree of support on Steam for Linux, but it's still a long way from being 'popular'.
One thing that would change that, is if more MMO's supported Linux natively, but there is little reason to do so, unless Microsoft gives it to them, which they were doing with Win 8, however, with Win 10 its possible that Microsoft might actually be addressing that issue.
This is a huge roll of the dice for Microsoft, and maybe thats why they are playing it relatively safe, by using Win 7 as a base, they know its popular, and making it free for Win 7 and 8 users is a bit of a blinder, it addresses the issue with Win 8's unpopularity, and gives existing users of the unliked OS a way out, for free, and for Win 7 users it offers something familiar, and more to the point, with support for Win 7 now fairly limited, an option to upgrade that is likely to be more 'palatable'.
If Win 10 proves to be that good, and its not an option, it really has to be, and it has to be free of the restrictions that were placed on Win 8 that caused all the initial controversy for games developers, virtually pushing them towards other OS's like Linux, then Microsoft will have done it, and assured their own future, if however, they make that exact same mistake again, then Linux will probably be the least of Microsofts problems.
these are virtual desktops, they're in the preview and you can test them out
yeah aren't they cool! What an amazing new idea MSFT came up with. totally revolutionary and belongs in the core OS code. No doubt someone else would have made that modular, a separate piece of software to install to keep the system safer, I mean, its not like there isn't software designed to specifically protect virtual desktop exploits because of the massive amounts of exploits it brings...
oh god the sarcasm almost killed me on that one.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
Free Update, if you already have Win7/8/8.1, and only for a year. So yea, it's nice, but if your getting a new license, that will still cost.
It makes sense, early adoption helps to gain some momentum, and once there is an installed base, developers will start to utilize some of the version-specific functions, and that helps drive continued adoption and migration. So it makes a lot of sense in that regard. This isn't a lot different than the Windows 8 promotion, Windows 8 was a $30 upgrade for Windows 7 users for the first 6 months or so. Free is a lot better than $30 though.
As far as the "Windows Subscription" stuff - yeah that had been a rumor for a while, but it has pretty well died since they announced the Windows Store (their app store) with Win8 - that basically took the place of the subscription revenue (at least in thinking, in practice I don't know that it's been a big winner, I never use it but I don't know how many other people do or do not). I doubt the Windows Store is going away with Windows 10 - it could use a good deal of improvement, but that's something that Microsoft tends to do pretty well; iterate on products until they become good.
Originally posted by JJ82 1. Making money on X because of Y is not making money on X...do you do business? Are you saying that because Office makes a ton of money that MSFT could then give everything away for free? Because that IS what you are saying when you think about it. And the Windows app store could be made for Windows 7 easily...crazy thing about a PC is that software can be made for anything and doesn't require code to be imbedded into an OS core code to work...
Consoles are being sold with a loss and so is beer in stores. It a pretty normal practice. Not everything has to make profit on it own. So the idea is not that odd.
Comments
Win 8.1 at best can be called clunk when it comes to the UI. As for as the OS goes, its the fastest OS MS has made yet. In terms of system performance when gaming its king. Even older PCs taking the jump to Win 8.1 run smoother and faster. Also 8.1 removed a lot of the clunky.
Totally bogus.
Its the only real option for people to stupid or lazy to run Linux.
If DX is on Linux, then its a gaming OS and depending on how HP handles the development of Linux+ there could very well be competition for OSs in the PC world. They already have the backing of a large portion of the IT world so if they can get some developers behind it as well as Nvidia or AMD, I will guarantee portability.
As is, we wont see DX12 utilized for years giving plenty of time it to be ported to Linux again, just like with previous versions of DX...as for ARM and the ooh ahh universal app...this is something few will care about since mobile apps are weak PC programs, so anyone on a desktop wont miss a thing by not having Windows 10.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster
http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
They do make money on it.
-upgrading ppl from Windows 7 to Windows 10 unlocks the app store for those users, the app store is making MS considerable money
-Windows 10 has a lot of integration with Xbox One, it will help Xbox sales, you can stream Xbox One to your PC, exhange social contacts between xbox and PC etc
-it will boost users of the Cortana voice assistent, which will help them improve it much faster, the more users use cortana, the faster they can tweak it, voice improves exponentially the higher your audience is
Also, remember, this is ONLY for upgrades from Windows 7 and 8, if you buy a NEW PC, you still pay for Windows 10.
Most people upgrade their OS by buying new PC, it is mostly gamers and techies that upgrade their OS.
If anything, this free upgrade benefits gamers the most.
That's so funny, I'm pretty sure even then most people won't go to apple. Specially people in this forum, they like to play videogames...
Yes, Linux with it's less than 1% marketshare on the desktop is a threat to Windows.....................
What games are you going to play on Linux. Minesweeper?
All of the Linux distros combined can't even beat windows VISTA in marketshare.
Vista is an OS from 10 years ago!
Linux on desktop is a joke.
Will upgrade my media center pc which is running w8.1.
I am not a fan of windows moving to a service over a product so I will prob continue with w7 possibly move to linux . My only reason to stay on windows has been gaming and I am hoping over the next few years valve can give gaming serious life on linux.
My w8.1 phone makes my video and music libraries feel like it is filled with ads so I am hoping that is turned down in 10 but I don't see that as MS is pushing their cloud + services.
This type of project gives me hope but its far from replacing Windows. This will not be for the common user and myself I will dual boot this when it launches =-) Question is how well will their support be for it? Will they get developers support for drivers and programs. Their desktop mode is where they really need to get the support to get things going as most PC gamers use their PC for more then gaming. At this point they are very limited in that area.
With the new game streaming tech Linux can be a real option for gaming. You can stream any game from any OS all on any device. Even console games. Only problem is the desktop side of things it still has limited support. Options are few and most people who PC game use their PCs for more then that. With Microsoft moving to game streaming, companies like SteamOS should be worried more then the other way around.
This. SteamOS is a competitor to consoles, not desktops.
1. Making money on X because of Y is not making money on X...do you do business? Are you saying that because Office makes a ton of money that MSFT could then give everything away for free? Because that IS what you are saying when you think about it. And the Windows app store could be made for Windows 7 easily...crazy thing about a PC is that software can be made for anything and doesn't require code to be imbedded into an OS core code to work...
2. If you actually believe that being able to stream Xbox One games on Windows is going to sell more Ones you are a tool. PC gamers that like weaker console games are already out buying consoles...there wont be any PC only gamers being converted lol. Not only that, but PC/Console gamers that have stated they wont be buying a One are not going to be convinced either because the One is such a weak system(yes so is PS4 so shut it) that playing those weak games wont change their minds.
3. Cortana is a gimmick and its a gimmick that wont be used by the vast majority of Windows 10 users because they either don't have a mic, or don't want to be talking to their PC.
Its clear you are the type that likes bells and whistles, the little distractions that actually should never be in the OS in the first place...not a single thing announced for Windows 10 could not also be made for Windows 8 and Windows 7...not a thing and NONE of it should ever be imbedded into the core code.
ARM code, can be MODULAR and installed separately in Windows 7 (run via an emulator)...same with every single other thing announced for 10. They are forcing it onto people because they know that if they made it optional, most people wouldn't use it, and because MSFT is doing it the way they are (not making it modular) the OS is going to be one massive exploit due to the bloated code.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster
http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
Apple - no longer charges for their OS, OSX (assuming you buy an apple thats 2013+)
no catch
Microsoft - recently released free MS Word / Excel on tablets -- with basic editing abilities supported
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/19682/20141108/microsoft-office-now-free-for-iphone-ipad-and-android-but-heres-the-caveat.htm
Before this release, the only available app was Office for iPhone, which is a single app that allows users to connect with their OneDrive. However, that did not allow the user to create documents, and required an Office 365 subscription for the user to do more than just read documents.
The new Word, Excel and Powerpoint are available for free download from the App Store, all coming with basic editing capabilities for documents under each app. For more advanced editing features, however, users will still require an Office 365 subscription.
In addition, the new apps are developed to work well on the smaller screen of the iPhone, with a Ribbon-like interface to allow all editing options to be accessed even while using only one hand on the smaller body of the iPhone.
EQ2 fan sites
-performance is great, especially the booting is fast
-Metro (the tiles interface) is still there, but no longer part of the default desktop, the only way you get to metro is if you specifically do it on purpose.
-you have a start button by default now
-pushing the windows keyboard key by default activates your start menu, like in windows 7
-you see tiles on many windows 10 previews....but you can remove the tiles completely, truth be told, I like them, they're nice to have, you can completely customize them, drag in there whatever you want
in its current form, correct. However...
Because of GNOME you can install software on it allowing for other uses making it more like a PC. Since its Linux based and can be continually upgraded with newer features and functions it CAN actually eventually replace a desktop for a PC gamer who only uses his desktop for games. Considering there are an estimated 300 million PC gamers worldwide...that's a massive risk to Windows.
Wait, did you think that MSFT suddenly started to talk about Windows being "gamer" focused because they actually cared about gamers...out of the blue...from the kindness of their oversized hearts?!? heh.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster
http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
I edited my post above, if you push the windows key on your keyboard in windows 10, you activate your start menu like in windows 7...not like in 8
I wrote 8 by accident, the start menu in windows 10 works exactly like in windows 7, except you have now some extra tiles to the right...which activate programs, but you can remove this
at no time do you activate metro unless you
A: click the metro app tile
B: click a metro app you docked into start
Better to be crazy, provided you know what sane is...
Windows 10 feels like a faster version of windows 7 really.
Remember, the preview didn't give us access to cortana or the new IE browser or the Xbox features or anything else.
What they did give us, is virtual desktops. Meaning you can create a new desktop tab...that is completely clean, I do use that quite a lot.
MS had little choice but to start offering parts of Office for free. An estimated 100 million people stopped using it since 360 was released and started using the final version of Open Office and found that many businesses started to support the Opendocument project.
More than a few have pointed out the growing fear of MSFT pushing more and more to the cloud, where many companies do not want their documents due to security issues...by giving more and more away for free, they increase their chances of retaining people longer than they normally would since they just don't seem to grasp the idea of consumer retention via QUALITY anymore.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster
http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
There is some indication however that usage of Linux is expanding, albeit slowly, though without some real support from games developers, its unlikely to achieve any kind of 'critical mass', there is a degree of support on Steam for Linux, but it's still a long way from being 'popular'.
One thing that would change that, is if more MMO's supported Linux natively, but there is little reason to do so, unless Microsoft gives it to them, which they were doing with Win 8, however, with Win 10 its possible that Microsoft might actually be addressing that issue.
This is a huge roll of the dice for Microsoft, and maybe thats why they are playing it relatively safe, by using Win 7 as a base, they know its popular, and making it free for Win 7 and 8 users is a bit of a blinder, it addresses the issue with Win 8's unpopularity, and gives existing users of the unliked OS a way out, for free, and for Win 7 users it offers something familiar, and more to the point, with support for Win 7 now fairly limited, an option to upgrade that is likely to be more 'palatable'.
If Win 10 proves to be that good, and its not an option, it really has to be, and it has to be free of the restrictions that were placed on Win 8 that caused all the initial controversy for games developers, virtually pushing them towards other OS's like Linux, then Microsoft will have done it, and assured their own future, if however, they make that exact same mistake again, then Linux will probably be the least of Microsofts problems.
these are virtual desktops, they're in the preview and you can test them out
basically, it's what it say, it's another "version" of your desktop
let's say you have 20 windows open, in stead of closing them all or minimizing you open a new desktop by clicking the + icon
or let's say you want a play and work environment, open 2 desktops
No it has a desktop mode but its very limited.
yeah aren't they cool! What an amazing new idea MSFT came up with. totally revolutionary and belongs in the core OS code. No doubt someone else would have made that modular, a separate piece of software to install to keep the system safer, I mean, its not like there isn't software designed to specifically protect virtual desktop exploits because of the massive amounts of exploits it brings...
oh god the sarcasm almost killed me on that one.
"People who tell you youre awesome are useless. No, dangerous.
They are worse than useless because you want to believe them. They will defend you against critiques that are valid. They will seduce you into believing you are done learning, or into thinking that your work is better than it actually is." ~Raph Koster
http://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/
Free Update, if you already have Win7/8/8.1, and only for a year. So yea, it's nice, but if your getting a new license, that will still cost.
It makes sense, early adoption helps to gain some momentum, and once there is an installed base, developers will start to utilize some of the version-specific functions, and that helps drive continued adoption and migration. So it makes a lot of sense in that regard. This isn't a lot different than the Windows 8 promotion, Windows 8 was a $30 upgrade for Windows 7 users for the first 6 months or so. Free is a lot better than $30 though.
As far as the "Windows Subscription" stuff - yeah that had been a rumor for a while, but it has pretty well died since they announced the Windows Store (their app store) with Win8 - that basically took the place of the subscription revenue (at least in thinking, in practice I don't know that it's been a big winner, I never use it but I don't know how many other people do or do not). I doubt the Windows Store is going away with Windows 10 - it could use a good deal of improvement, but that's something that Microsoft tends to do pretty well; iterate on products until they become good.
Consoles are being sold with a loss and so is beer in stores. It a pretty normal practice. Not everything has to make profit on it own. So the idea is not that odd.