[clug] Windows 10 upgrade

[Scott Ferguson]

On 02/06/15 19:27, George at Clug wrote:
>     I wonder how many of you have heard that Windows 7, and I presume
> Windows 8 (at lease Australian) users are being offered a free upgrade
> to Windows 10 as of this day.
> 
> As I have not logged into a Windows computer today it was not until I
> was reading an email that I knew this had happened.  When asking
> others (Windows 7 users) they confirmed  seeing this message.
> 
> 
> 

First taste is free. After that, just make sure your credit card is
active and your mind is disengaged.

The M$ idea of Open Source is "you write the code and test the product,
we cash your cheques and let you see your data"


"Windows-as-a-Service with Windows 10 is Versionless Windows

Windows-as-a-Service has been rumored for quite a while, and most times
jokingly because of Microsoft's ability to turn everything into a
service for the past few years. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS),
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and so
on, have become a very real part of the Cloud vernacular. So, when
Microsoft implored us to consider Windows 10 a sort of
Windows-as-a-Service during its latest Windows 10 event, I thought the
company had finally owned up to the joke.

And, without going into too much detail to alleviate any post-event
questions, both Terry Myerson and Satya Nadella stated how important and
monumental Windows-as-a-Service will become.

Here's what we know.

Windows-as-a-Service means that once customers install Windows 10, they
will essentially be registered with Microsoft to receive rolling, free
feature additions, improvements, and updates. This is not too far off
course from what we experience today with Windows Update, and this
updating mechanism will mostly likely continue to be the vehicle to make
this happen for Windows 10. Microsoft has been notorious over the last
couple years silently including new features in some of its updates
almost as if it was testing the waters for what Windows 10 will provide.

The difference with Windows 10 is that this operating system version
could possibly represent the very last major Windows release. Which
brings us to Versionless Windows. Whether you install Windows 10 when
released, buy a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed, or decide to
upgrade later on, it will always be Windows 10. No new major version
numbers and you'll only be able to tell the Build you're using by
locating the features that exist on your particular installation. I've
talked about this before (over on WindowITPro) but, Myerson made it
semi-clear in a statement on the Windows blog yesterday…

We'll deliver new features when they're ready, not waiting for the next
major release. We think of Windows as a Service -- in fact, one could
reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the
largest Internet services on the planet. And just like any Internet
service, the idea of asking 'What version are you on?' will cease to
make sense."

The cutting question still remains: "What will it cost?"

We already know that Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows
Phone 8.1 users will get the upgrade to Windows 10 for free (for a
year), but what happens after that? If Office 365 is any indicator,
Windows-as-a-Service sounds like subscription service where you shell
out a year's worth of service and can install on multiple devices
(which, incidentally, also applies to tablets and smartphones).

Microsoft doesn't seem ready to provide pricing details yet and it's not
clear what revenue model the company will apply here, but it does
represent a huge shift in the way Windows is purchased, presented, and
delivered. Licensing experts should have a field day with this one.

On the other side of the coin, businesses that currently deploy standard
Windows images across the company and test and stage updates might have
to relinquish that control and allow Microsoft to do the work. That's
not something they take lightly, and would require a major shift in
operations and IT mindset."

ref:
http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-service-windows-10-versionless-windows


Kind regards

--
Software, one of only two industries that calls the clients "users".