PSA: Microsoft is giving away Windows 10!

Date: May 3, 2016 posted by: derek in: ProductAnnouncements, TipsAndTricks

UPDATE 3: 2016 May 3rd:
You now have less than 3 months to receive your free copy of Windows 10. If you don’t get to take advantage of this offer, the normal price of Windows OS is anywhere from $129 – $299, depending on version.

Contact us now to develop a plan to migrate your eligible PCs to Windows 10.

UPDATE 2: 2016 Mar 25th:
There have been reports of Windows users getting a “forced” upgrade, or “not declined” upgrade of Windows 10. If you aren’t yet ready for Windows 10, follow the instructions here. Also, remember, if you already received it, and still don’t want it, you can revert to your previous version for 30 days. If you need assistance with any of these options, or you’re ready to make the move, contact us now!

UPDATE: 2016 Feb 25th:
You now have less than 6 months to receive your free copy of Windows 10. If you don’t get to take advantage of this offer, the normal price of Windows OS is anywhere from $129 – $299, depending on version.

Contact us now to develop a plan to migrate your eligible PCs to Windows 10.

Original article follows.

You may or may not have heard that Microsoft is giving away Windows 10 for current registered users of Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

What does this mean for you?
If you have Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 you can receive an upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost, that will download directly to your computer.

Why is Microsoft doing this?
While they aren’t fully disclosing their reasons, I can speculate:

• Most other consumer operating systems are now free. Mac OSX has been free for the last few versions already, and anyone can download and install Linux. Not only that, but most new computers ship with Windows for “free”.
• Windows 8 and 8.1 have not been received well, and many, many people are still very comfortable running Windows 7. While Windows 7 has been great, Microsoft doesn’t want another XP on their hands… they want people to move to something newer sooner, rather than 10 years down the road.
• Microsoft wants to get into the “Software As A Service” model, rather than the “buy once, use forever”… after all, if you aren’t getting security updates, you can’t really use it forever. Office 365 is a really good example of this model. $99/year for 5 computers? That’s pretty easy for most businesses, and fairly easy for most families.

What do you need to do?
Simply find the Windows 10 icon on your taskbar, and double-click it, then follow the instructions. You can skip the “email notification” if you wish. It’s the stylized black & white Windows flag, as shown in this picture:

For a more detailed walkthrough, follow Microsoft’s instructions, here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade

Enjoy!