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Re:Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year by MrGuyUser on Wednesday January 21, 2015 @01:47PM (#8924704)
Windows 10 looks pretty awesome. And if you like me down graded to an android phone from a pretty good old windows 7.8 phone you'll realize that the voice recognition stuff on android hardly works. I use a nexus 4 which is too new to change again, but I hate that I can't reply to texts with the headset. Yeah I know there is probably an app out there and probably a mode. I didn't figure it out. Win 7.8 phone did it automatically and switches off when you turned the headset off. So the Cortana feature looks even more amazing to me. One note that I've realized the voice rec on the latest version of Android works acutally pretty good now. It's been like 4 years. And still doesn't work great with the headset. All apps on android are scary since they want all kinds of access to contacts, messages, phone. Oh boy, I can't install anything because I'm too afraid of what it might do with that access. I only really trust the native stuff.

What I wonder is how they plan to monetize free windows 10 as a service. I'm not going to be happy if I find it's another yearly fee like Office 365. I searched forever to find a legit activatable copy of office 2010 to avoid that.

Re:Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year by dragonwriter on Wednesday January 21, 2015 @02:02PM (#8924825)
> What I wonder is how they plan to monetize free windows 10 as a service.

I've seen no reports of free Windows 10 at all, just free upgrades in the first year of release from older Windows versions (so that Windows 10 rapidly builds an install base, rapidly becomes a target for developers, and therefore becomes more attractive as a new purchase due to the software built for it.)

Re:Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year by sliverstorm on Wednesday January 21, 2015 @01:54PM (#8924749)
Supposedly the big money has never been in Windows licenses. For example, Office is a big money-maker for them. So it is in their interests to have everyone run Windows, even if they don't get license revenue.

Hearsay though.

Re:Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year by kryptiskt on Wednesday January 21, 2015 @01:59PM (#8924803)
Windows licenses is a big money maker, but nearly all of it comes from OEM installations and enterprise customers. Few people shell out for upgrading their old computer, they tend to run what came installed on it.
Re:Windows 10 upgrade to be 'free' for one year by 7952 on Wednesday January 21, 2015 @02:04PM (#8924843)
They should just merge the consumer versions of windows and office together. Cut the subscription plan and make it reasonably expensive even for OEMs. This would let them differentiate themselves from Chrome OS and retain all their old Office customers.