Sort of? I've been building PCs for about 20 years, and when doing it for others, I'd have them buy a license. For myself, the only time I can recall buying a Windows license was for Windows Home Server and WHS 2011. I got a free Windows 7 Ultimate license, which I have now upgraded through 8/8.1 to 10 Pro.

But yes, a mainstream Windows user pays for a Windows license, either through a direct license purchase, or through the baked in price of a machine.

Most users did not pay to upgrade machines from 7/8/8.1 to 10, but that was a bargain with the devil, as it made it easier on the decision-makers at Microsoft to find other ways to make money off of Windows 10 users.

Part of setting up a Win 10 machine should include disabling telemetry, even though it's not easy.

https://winaero.com/how-to-disable-telemetry-and-data-collec...

It probably won't be long before the Windows 11 version is here.

> Most users did not pay to upgrade machines from 7/8/8.1 to 10, but that was a bargain with the devil

Bargain with the devil? Most users didn't pay to upgrade machines from 7/8 to 10 because they had nothing to gain from the upgrade. You only bargain to get things that you want.

Er, no, they didn't pay because Microsoft offered the upgrade for free. They did upgrade, they just didn't pay to do so. Hence "a bargain with the devil."

And I'm saying that, if the upgrade had cost money, they wouldn't have done it.

Look at the number of people who upgraded from 7 to 8.

Most people want the new and shiny even if a select few prefer the stable, safe choice. Mainstream preferences overwhelm the tech savvy. Already I see forum threads on Slickdeals where people are talking about how important it is for any computer you buy to be Windows 11 ready...

What a horror story, thanks for the comprehensive answer.

This reminds me of the "Gmail man" video Microsoft released mocking Gmail mail snooping to show you ads. Well... nowadays MS is waaaay ahead of that, with ads at the OS level.

Barely. You've been able to upgrade for free for at least 10 years, and even a new license is like £30.

It's not surprising they're trying to add adverts. Sucks though.

Windows 10/Pro costs 145/259€.

If you paid 30 bucks you paid for a stolen or otherwise illegally sold license.

> You've been able to upgrade for free for at least 10 years

Actually it's 6 years. There were no free upgrades before Windows 10 as far as I'm aware.

> If you paid 30 bucks you paid for a stolen or otherwise illegally sold license.

Citation needed.

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/get-windows-10-free-...

> Now, let's address the elephant in the room. While we can't vouch for all of them, websites selling lower-priced Windows keys are likely selling legitimate codes. One popular site, Kinguin, has 37 merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. Mark Jordan, Kinguin’s VP of communications, told Tom's Hardware in 2019 that Kinguin's merchants acquire the codes from wholesalers who have surplus copies of Windows they don't need.

> "It's not a gray market. It would be like buying Adidas or Puma or Nike from a discounter, from TJ Maxx," Jordan said. "There are no legal issues with buying it from us. It's just another marketplace."

> According to Jordan, Kinguin's merchants have sold “several hundred thousand” keys and are not one-time sellers posting listings for codes they don’t want. As part of its fraud protection, a Kinguin employee randomly buys a key “every now and then” to make sure they’re legitimate, he said. Jordan added that it’s rare for a customer to get a key that’s been resold, but if they did, customer support would help them get a new one for free.

> Actually it's 6 years. There were no free upgrades before Windows 10 as far as I'm aware.

Windows 7 was released in 2009. If you bought it then you've had free upgrades for 12 years.

Where can I get a legit license for £30?

eBay