Windows 10 - free upgrade to those with PC using Windows 7 or 8

[melmac]

Does this free windows 10 come with something like windows media centre? I currently use windows 7 and WMC to record and watch FTA tv.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by melmac

Does this free windows 10 come with something like windows media centre? I currently use windows 7 and WMC to record and watch FTA tv.

I think if you upgrade and have WMC already it should still work? I must check on that. Does not currently come with 8.1

I too like WMC because I can use it from my bed with the remote, and read all of the menus etc. easily from a 12 foot distance with my aging vision.

Helen

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by melmac

Does this free windows 10 come with something like windows media centre? I currently use windows 7 and WMC to record and watch FTA tv.

When Windows 8 was released those updating with the "nearly free" offer could, for a limited time, get Windows Media Center for free. Maybe similar will happen with Windows 10?

As Speakingtothe says you may find that it upgrades too, but in any event have you looked at the pricing of Windows Media Center? It is only a few dollars to buy regardless; its normal pricing is almost giving it away.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I think if you upgrade and have WMC already it should still work? I must check on that. Does not currently come with 8.1

I too like WMC because I can use it from my bed with the remote, and read all of the menus etc. easily from a 12 foot distance with my aging vision.

Helen

If you have Windows 8.1 Pro, it costs $9.99 for WMC. If you have Windows 8.1, it costs $99.99 to buy the Windows 8.1 Pro pack and you get WMC.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

My other issue is the switching to subscription software that Microsoft is doing and the constant updates that seem endless.

MS is not moving to a subscription model for Windows, this is a limited-time promotional offer. It is totally different.

"Win10 is free for one year" does NOT mean you will have to pay yearly after that year, it just means after a year you will no longer be eligible to get Win10 for free.

Updates... well, updates will always be constant, you wouldn't like what happened if they stopped providing security updates.
Every platform out there provides constant updates. So does whatever current version of Windows you have.

I would gripe about the need to reboot multiple times in order to "Configure Updates" rather than simply staging new code to replace the old code after the next reboot. Linux and AFAIK Macs simply ask you to reboot at your earliest convenience, and your system is magically updated.

Plus Microsoft that a user should be logged into their Microsoft account to have the best user experience. I haven't noticed any difference either way, but that is what they tell you

"Best User Experience" means your settings transfer across computers, I believe.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

MS is not moving to a subscription model for Windows, this is a limited-time promotional offer. It is totally different.

"Win10 is free for one year" does NOT mean you will have to pay yearly after that year, it just means after a year you will no longer be eligible to get Win10 for free.

Updates... well, updates will always be constant, you wouldn't like what happened if they stopped providing security updates.
Every platform out there provides constant updates. So does whatever current version of Windows you have.

I would gripe about the need to reboot multiple times in order to "Configure Updates" rather than simply staging new code to replace the old code after the next reboot. Linux and AFAIK Macs simply ask you to reboot at your earliest convenience, and your system is magically updated.



"Best User Experience" means your settings transfer across computers, I believe.

They have moved to a subscription service for Office 365 which is what I was referring to but I was not specific. Pretty sure I did not say anything specific either about about Windows 10 being subscription based, maybe you can point out where I did?

Of course you are a Linux person from what I gather so not expected to be up to date on Microsoft, and chances are neither am I.

Windows generally allows you to update when you want to, but sometimes there is the random reboot in the middle of the night, which I resent as I sometimes have to get out of bed after the interminable update and put in my password before I can continue watching the TV show or listening to whatever. I resent it furthermore, because Windows is always warning me that software updates are turned off, which is clearly not the case.

Interesting to know that both Linux and Macs have forced or nagging updates. I ran Linux for a while and periodically try it out (last September was the last time) but it just feels rough around the edges for me. I did not encounter any forced or nagging updates, but as this would be, for me, its one redeeming quality, good to know it happens. Not that I hate Linux, just don't like it.

Probably you are right about best user experience, but for my situation, I would just as soon my settings didn't transfer unless I wanted them to do so explicitly.


Helen

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you have Windows 8.1 Pro, it costs $9.99 for WMC. If you have Windows 8.1, it costs $99.99 to buy the Windows 8.1 Pro pack and you get WMC.

Good to know. I have 8.1 pro on my tablet, but I don't watch TV on that. The odd YouTube video but they all seem to work fine.

Thanks for the info.

Helen

[bgalbrecht]

One caveat that I mentioned earlier is that if you are using Windows Media Center extenders that are not Xbox 360s, they will not work on Windows 8.x and presumably Windows 10. This locks me into Windows 7.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by murg

People tend not to notice the version of the operating system, so the concept of upgrading never occurs to them.

You stick with the operating system that came with your hardware.

I'm currently working at a very large international corporation, and we are still running Windows XP. It's mostly a matter of accounting: it costs millions to upgrade beyond XP. What the bean counters don't account for is the improved boot times, security and other features.

Murg upgrading to Win 10 might be a win win for the bean counters and the techos in your company internationally.

I'm wondering about multiple licences be it company or individuals with this free version.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

"Best User Experience" means your settings transfer across computers, I believe.

and you don't even need a microsoft account for that. My husband uses his google account to log in in his tablet and his pc, both are running Windows 8.1 and both are syncing.

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Probably you are right about best user experience, but for my situation, I would just as soon my settings didn't transfer unless I wanted them to do so explicitly.

Same here. So, I turned auto-syncing off. And turned on those things I wanted to sync (two windows 8.1 tablets)

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

and you don't even need a microsoft account for that. My husband uses his google account to log in in his tablet and his pc, both are running Windows 8.1 and both are syncing.

you dont have to use a Microsoft email account as the name for your Microsoft account. you dont have to use a outlook.com or hotmail .com or live etc. you can use any email you want as the name of your Microsoft account. You can use you @ gmail.com(as i do) as the name of the Microsoft account but it is a Microsoft account.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

It seems that some posters are already using Win10, is that right?

Yep, using the Technical Preview.

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

That XP figure is extraordinary given that XP came on the market in 1999 (perhaps)?

I think the last time I successfully upgraded an existing Windows installation was from 3.0 to 3.1. I recall trying to do it from 95 to 98, which was a fiasco, so I never attempted it again and only switched to a new Windows version when I bought a new computer.

For work-related reasons, and because I'm both a geek and gamer, I buy a new machine every two or (at the most) three years. I did, however, keep XP when Vista was around, in spite of buying a new box during that era. If I didn't switch machines relatively frequently, I'd still be using XP.

My mother (67) is a good example, too. She is perfectly happy with the machine she bought in 2001 and has no need to upgrade. I check occasionally, but all she does is mail and web browsing, and any attempts of mine to suggest a laptop failed.

The only time she displayed interest in switching to Windows 7 or 8 was when she had read that support for XP had been discontinued, which made her worry about security issues. She nearly bought a new desktop (did not consider the laptop or tablet I suggested), but then decided that if she uses a different AV program, she should be fine, besides, "There's nothing personal on my computer anyway." (I guess email correspondences don't count.)

She also was uncomfortable with the idea of having to re-install everything and to re-familiarize herself with a new environment, so once the fear factor wore off, the motivation to upgrade was gone. Now she continues using XP and will continue to use it until the hardware fails.

I imagine there are a lot of people like that. Plus those who use their computers occasionally, but more or less switched to tablets or phones for their personal computing needs.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Mivo

I think the last time I successfully upgraded an existing Windows installation was from 3.0 to 3.1. I recall trying to do it from 95 to 98, which was a fiasco, so I never attempted it again and only switched to a new Windows version when I bought a new computer.

For work-related reasons, and because I'm both a geek and gamer, I buy a new machine every two or (at the most) three years. I did, however, keep XP when Vista was around, in spite of buying a new box during that era. If I didn't switch machines relatively frequently, I'd still be using XP.

My mother (67) is a good example, too. She is perfectly happy with the machine she bought in 2001 and has no need to upgrade. I check occasionally, but all she does is mail and web browsing, and any attempts of mine to suggest a laptop failed.

The only time she displayed interest in switching to Windows 7 or 8 was when she had read that support for XP had been discontinued, which made her worry about security issues. She nearly bought a new desktop (did not consider the laptop or tablet I suggested), but then decided that if she uses a different AV program, she should be fine, besides, "There's nothing personal on my computer anyway." (I guess email correspondences don't count.)

She also was uncomfortable with the idea of having to re-install everything and to re-familiarize herself with a new environment, so once the fear factor wore off, the motivation to upgrade was gone. Now she continues using XP and will continue to use it until the hardware fails.

I imagine there are a lot of people like that. Plus those who use their computers occasionally, but more or less switched to tablets or phones for their personal computing needs.

I have had occasional problems upgrading, but no horror stories. I have had worse things happen when resetting to factory default.

I prefer to reinstall my system once a year if I am not to lazy and reinstall my software.

This is because I will, unfortunately download weird crap and forget to backup the registry etc regularly, and everything just runs better after a clean install.

Both my mother and sister are reluctant to try new equipment/systems etc. Their business, but it can be frustrating when one is trying to fix something for them. But overall if they are happy, I am happy.

Helen

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

As reported on the ABC today:

One of the more-surprising aspects to getting that vision off the ground was the announcement that for the first year, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade to anyone running a PC on Windows 7 or 8.

The rest of the article can be found here.

Oh happy day!!