Free upgrade to Windows 10 is still possible, time limit - advertising move

As you know, Microsoft, after the release of its new operating system, Windows 10 constantly did two things: trying to convince users of previous versions of its OS to upgrade and reminded that on July 29, 2016, it would be impossible to upgrade for free. Then the company claimed that after the named period, the upgrade to the new version of the operating system will be paid for by all users.

In general, this is good, since never before has a corporation offered the possibility of a free update of the operating system. Some users suspect the Redmond company that in the future, Windows 10 will be provided as a paid service with regular updates, but so far it is not. Moreover, it seems that the time limit regarding the free update is just a publicity stunt, because you can upgrade for free now.

Probably, this fact cannot be considered a breakdown of covers, but still many users are not updated now because they do not want to pay. And do not need to do this. According to the journalist of the online publication ZDNet, the whole process of free updates is extremely simple. You need to go to the Windows 10 download page , download a copy of the latest operating system, and install it by updating the existing installation of Windows 7/8 / 8.1. Microsoft does not comment on this feature. But it is known that the free update is still available for users with disabilities, who work with Assistive Technologies (and the corporation doesn’t even try to check if the person really has a problem, or he simply indicates it in order to upgrade for free). Now, with the discovery of another way to upgrade, it is safe to say that the completion of the free update is nothing more than another publicity stunt.
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Probably, the corporation expects that users who want to upgrade, but do not want to pay, will look for a way to achieve what they want without money. And there are, as has been shown above, two such methods at once - both of which, as far as can be judged, are completely legal; here you do not need to use third-party software to activate Windows, nor take any other additional ways to register your copy of the operating system.

Instead of aggressive marketing - small tricks

Over the course of several months, Microsoft has been using extremely aggressive marketing to promote its new operating system. About this did not say and did not write just lazy. And in the end, the corporation itself recognized this.

“We know that we want people to work under Windows 10 in terms of security. We tried to find the right balance so as not to cross the line and not be too aggressive. I think that for the most part during the year we found this balance, but there was one particular moment when, you remember, the “X” in the dialog box, which should mean cancellation, did not really mean cancellation, ”Chris said recently Chris Capossela, director of marketing for Microsoft. In no country have regulators paid attention to the company's actions, so yes, it is a good move to do something at your discretion to promote the product, and then to apologize.


The installation selection window looked like this - it was simply impossible to refuse this offer.

Aggressive marketing of the company caused a flurry of user discontent. According to some , the current apology of the representative of Microsoft - just a distraction from the whole story with updates, an attempt to draw attention to the private manifestation of the company's policies, oblige themselves.

Be that as it may, the company continues to try to convince users to upgrade to the new system, using already not aggressive methods, but small tricks. And it works - the new operating system pretty quickly captures the market, faster than any other OS. As for the requirements of the operating system, here, in general, everything is good - users of even the newest computers and laptops can easily work with this OS, in some cases (all other things being equal) it loads and runs even faster than Windows 7 , 8 or 8.1.

As for the 12-month free period, there is either a desire to encourage users to quickly update (as mentioned above), or, quite likely, the corporation concluded an agreement with a number of equipment manufacturers, according to which it closes a year later opportunity for users to get a new OS without money.

By the way, today the corporation has published interesting information regarding the ability to control the data collected by the user. This is, first of all, the new service Privacy Dashboard. Creators Update will be available in the spring.

“Many of you have asked for more control over data, a better understanding of how data is collected,” said Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson on a blog. “Based on your feedback and wishes, we are launching new projects that will help you better control your personal data ".

Do I need to update?

There are several answer choices. If the user still has Windows XP or Vista installed, and the computer settings allow updating, then yes, the update is worth running. The fact is that this system is still better protected than the old versions of the OS, plus security updates are released for it, which is no longer the case for Windows 7 or Windows XP.

If you have Windows 8 / 8.1, then you need to think. They are still supported by the corporation, they work well, updates are released regularly. If you still want to get the latest OS - then why not? Windows 10 gamers get DirectX 12. Ordinary users can only get satisfaction from the fact that they have all the “newest”. If DX12 is not really needed, then you can wait, there is no huge difference between the G8 and the Ten.