Microsoft's free Windows 10

[Gaybutton]

Probably most of you Windows users received the notification from Microsoft that you're going to be given their new Windows 10 free. I intend to take them up on their offer, but the question that runs through my mind is why are they doing that? Perhaps the following is the answer:
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Microsoft aims to reboot connections with Windows 10

July 25, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Microsoft is aiming to build lasting relationships with Windows 10, the operating system to be launched on Wednesday and seen as critical to reviving the fortunes of the once-dominant tech giant.

For the first time, Microsoft is making a major new version of Windows available free as an upgrade to anyone using either of the prior two generations of the system.

The goal is to swiftly have Windows 10 powering a billion devices, creating a gigantic audience to induce developers to crank out must-have apps for the platform.

Microsoft hopes to break the cycle in which consumers shun Windows for mobile because it lacks the large catalog of applications found on rival platforms, thus discouraging app makers from creating Windows versions.

Hit apps could ramp up popularity of Windows-driven hardware made by Microsoft and its partners, and increase opportunities for the company to make money from online activities such as search, shopping and software as services in the Internet cloud.

"This is all in the direction of building a relationship, being connected with you," Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett said of Windows 10.

"They make it free so developers make good stuff. And then create an ongoing relationship instead of just a transaction, which is how Microsoft has operated in the past."

Microsoft has built its empire on packaged software sold to computer users and makers.

Windows remains the leading operating system for personal computers but has failed to gain traction on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

- ’Aggressive’ move -

=====================

Special events are planned in 13 cities around the world in tribute to the more than five million "insiders" who took part in a Windows 10 test period.

The operating system will come as a free upgrade to people who already use Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and will be available in 190 countries.

Microsoft is not making Windows 10 free to computer makers, which is where it has historically gotten the bulk of its revenue from the operating system.

"The piece that is given away free is a piece that nobody was buying anyway," Gartner analyst Stephen Kleynhans told AFP.

"You can think of the free upgrade almost as being a teaser -- a free sample of the new operating system."

Microsoft has also made Windows available free to makers of small-screen gadgets such as smartphones or tablets to gain traction in the mobile market.

Windows 10 will come pre-installed on Microsoft-compatible computers and tablets from July 29 and will be available for purchase later in the year.

The move marks a major launch for Microsoft, after the lukewarm response to Windows 8, which was rolled out in 2013.

To mark the shift, Microsoft skipped directly from Windows 8 to Windows 10.

"This the first time they have gone two generations back and said you are getting it free. It is pretty aggressive," said independent technology analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.

"They are doing it because Windows 8 bounced. They have to move the Windows 7 and 8 users and do it en masse."

- High hopes -

==============

Microsoft has high hopes for Windows 10, which it wants to see installed in a billion devices around the world by 2018. Some 1.5 billion machines run on earlier versions of the operating system.

Windows 10 boasts a common base on which developers will be able to build apps that work on smartphones, tablets, PCs and desktops, and even Xbox. It will also feature virtual assistant Cortana.

The new operating system is critical for Microsoft as the PC market has been shrinking while smartphone sales have boomed.

And even in PCs, the longtime Microsoft bastion is under siege by devices such as Android or Apple tablets and Google Chromebooks.

"The hope is to pull the application guys over, particularly on the phone side where Microsoft has struggled, and give users a common experience on phone, tablet, and PC," Enderle said.

"Microsoft phones are still strategic."

Early this month, Microsoft said it will cut 7,800 jobs and wrote down the value of the struggling mobile phone division it acquired last year from Nokia by some $7.6 billion.

The announcement represented the second major round of layoffs in a year for Microsoft, which cut some 18,000 jobs a year ago as part of its effort to integrate the Finnish-based phone group.

Microsoft said that it would "restructure the company’s phone hardware business to better focus and align resources."

Satya Nadella, who became chief executive in 2014, is seeking to reinvigorate a company that had been the world’s largest but which has lost the leadership of the tech sector in recent years.

Gillett predicted that Microsoft will shift from doing major Windows releases to routinely honing the software and adding features.

"The dramatic idea is that this is Windows as an ongoing service experience that evolves with you," the Forrester analyst said.

Microsoft’s efforts to adapt to modern Internet trends have included making popular productivity programs available as cloud services and as applications on mobile devices powered by Apple or Android software.

"They really are focused on delivering a range of cloud services, and in a lot of cases it won’t just be on Microsoft’s platforms," said Gartner analyst Kleynhans.

"It’s a good strategy."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... 65215.html

[Jun]

Microsoft must be losing lots of sales to former PC users who now buy tablets with Android/iOS. I like the way some of the Android apps synch from phone to tablet & it's a minor irritation when these do not work on my PC.
As for Microsoft tablets & phones, well most of the Android apps are just not available on for these. For example, Planet Romeo, Jack D & a many of the others I use.
So buying a Microsoft device is out of the question.
Of course, if Microsoft get Windows 10 onto all the PCs out there, it becomes worthwhile for developers to produce apps, so Microsoft might just get a foothold in that market. I'm starting to see what they are doing here.....

Considering the practicalities of the upgrade, if they give away Windows 10 via download, I hope there is a way of putting that onto a CD.
Right now I have a paid for windows 7 on CD, so if there is any equipment failure or hardware upgrade, a clean install is possible. A free downloaded upgrade which lasts just 1 year is less useful.

Finally, why does the existing OS always slow down just as the new one is launched? Is it to push sales of the new OS, exactly as suggested in a Dilbert cartoon ?

[christianpfc]

As a scientist, I can see through all this advertising and obfuscation.

There is no reason (I mean it breaks no law of physics) why apps designed for Android cannot work on Windows. It's just an unfortunate development that does not benefits the customer (but maybe the producers?), like driving on different sides of the road.

Anyway, I don't need most of stuff current software offers (I sometimes use notepad instead of Word because it's faster) and would be happy with 10 year old software on 5 year old hardware, but it's not meant to be.

Wirth's law is a computing adage which states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law

This entire software/hardware business is a conspiracy by software and hardware developers. The development could have ended 10 years ago, but via the vicious circle of faster hardware/slower software, people have to buy new stuff. A counterexample is scientific calculator, where the development has ended and a current one looks the same and does the same as a 20 year old. I still do the same on my computer as 20 years ago (some internet surfing and some writing and look at pictures and watch videos), but I had to buy 3 computers and new software since then.

[Rogie]

I still do the same on my computer as 20 years ago (some internet surfing and some writing and look at pictures and watch videos), but I had to buy 3 computers and new software since then.

A fair point.

In the past 12 years I have 'progressed' from a desktop PC and am now on my third laptop. I allow an unemployed friend to use one of my old laptops and it's pitifully slow (he uses it in my house so it's an identical internet connection). Other than the relative speeds little has changed.

Needless to say I am all agog (*) awaiting the arrival of Windows 10.

(*) I used that word specially for you Christian and would be disappointed if you've come across it before!

[Gaybutton]

Other than the relative speeds little has changed.

I disagree. For me, at least, there has been one major change. My newest computer crashes more frequently and easily than the old ones did . . .

What I'd love to see is one big change - computers that actually work, and stay working, exactly like they're supposed to - all the time. Maybe one of these days such computers will be commonplace, but I doubt I have enough years left that I'll ever see it.

[Jun]

This entire software/hardware business is a conspiracy by software and hardware developers. The development could have ended 10 years ago, but via the vicious circle of faster hardware/slower software, people have to buy new stuff. A counterexample is scientific calculator, where the development has ended and a current one looks the same and does the same as a 20 year old. I still do the same on my computer as 20 years ago (some internet surfing and some writing and look at pictures and watch videos), but I had to buy 3 computers and new software since then.

It is looking exactly like that.
Actually, Android seems to suffer from the same disease as Windows. Android updates, slows the machine down and I'm thinking about buying a new one.

What's needed is a US class action lawsuit. As it's the biggest US companies making the profits, I suppose there's not much chance of that happening.
Now if BP was doing this, it would be very different.

[christianpfc]

Needless to say I am all agog (*) awaiting the arrival of Windows 10.

(*) I used that word specially for you Christian and would be disappointed if you've come across it before!

Sorry to disappoint you, but I did.

[Gaybutton]

Today Windows 10 became available to me. I downloaded and installed it - and it takes a long time to complete the installation.

I really don't see anything special about it. It didn't hurt anything. All my programs work just fine with it. But it also didn't help anything. As always, every time Microsoft comes up with a new operating system, they're not happy unless you have to figure out how to find things and do things that were easy to find and do before. If there are any new features that are particularly exciting, I haven't figured out what they are. Of course, I've only had Windows 10 for a few hours, so maybe there are features I'll really like, but just haven't found them yet.

Meanwhile, there are a few things things I find annoying:

1. In my opinion their "fabulous" new browser, called Edge, is my idea of a piece of crap. I always use Firefox. I wanted to import my 'favorites' into Edge, but as far as I can tell, you can only import 'favorites' from Internet Explorer. I had to first import my Firefox 'favorites' into Internet Explorer and then import them into Edge. Once they were there, it's hard to find them and they're not in an order I like. I haven't tried to rearrange the order, but so far it's a pain just trying to access them at all. I'm sure there's a way to make them easy to access, but I haven't figured out how yet. I'm not sure I'm even going to bother. I'm going to stick with Firefox unless Microsoft comes out with a vastly improved version of Edge.

2. Some of my video and music file associations were changed. I had to re-associate them with the files I like them to open with.

3. When restarting the computer, it seems to take significantly longer for everything to load - much slower than Windows 7 was.

4. I was hoping downloads would come in faster. They don't.

5. Adblock Plus works beautifully in Firefox. So far it doesn't seem to be available for Edge. Supposedly it has its own ad block program, but a lot of ads are popping up anyway.

All-in-all, I'm "underwhelmed." I upgraded from Windows 7, but so far I don't see anything that's really new and improved. I for sure haven't found any "How did I ever live without it?" features.

If any of you install Windows 10 and find particularly good features about it, please post. I'd like to know what I'm missing. At least all my programs work. And at least it's free. If I had to pay for Windows 10, as far as I'm concerned it would have been a waste of money.

[Jun]

A lot of these devices plateau in terms of functionality.

During our lifetimes, first we had computers, then word processors, spreadsheets, guis, photo editing, audio, video, the internet, high def streaming then eventually they run out of useful things to add on.

That's when the pointless updates come in. They move things around for the sake of it, which doesn't help at all. Windows seems to have had several generations of that.

The most recent version of Android is similar -moving stuff around just for the sake of it & is perhaps a step back from last years version. The equivalent of XP to Vista.


As for the browsers, well I have been using Firefox for years. However, even they are just starting to lose it in the last 6 months. The browser is being very awkward about using flash & has become a little slow in general use. Clearing cookies and so on does not fix it. Unfortunately no one else has a product that is competitive in terms of customisation options -tab mix and so on.
Actually, last week neither Firefox nor Chrome would run BT TV using flash, so I had to open Explorer for the first time in about 3 years.

[Gaybutton]

I have been using Firefox for years. However, even they are just starting to lose it in the last 6 months.

I agree. I encounter annoyance problems with every browser I've tried. The main reason I'm sticking with Firefox is not because it is my idea of great. For me, it's the least of the evils.

I compare operating systems, both for computers and smart phones, with TV and DVD player remote controls. All kinds of buttons I never use, along with several buttons that I've never figured out just what the hell they do. Instead of coming up with useless bells and whistles, I wish the next generation of innovations would be computers that actually work, and stay working - along with being easy to use without confusion. And if they really have to include unwanted third party software, at least give us the option of deleting it. If they ever come out with something like that, I'll be the first one in line to buy it.

While I'm busy complaining, I also realize that computers have changed the world and the younger generation has never experienced life without computers and mobile phones - and Gay Romeo. That's wonderful, but along with it there are serious flaws that need to be addressed. Computers and software are still in their infancy and going through growing pains. It's hard to even try to imagine what computers will be like 100 years from now, or 500 years, or 3000 years from now. I'm glad my life is within these times, but as for what will be readily available in the future - I'm sorry I'm going to miss it . . .