Is Microsoft's messaging on Windows 10 pricing confusing?
I've seen a LOT of posts complaining about how confusing Microsoft's pricing is, or speculation about a bait and switch with a subscription model and whether or not pirates get it for free and whether or not Vista and XP users will get it for free and about just how confusing this is for the general population.
First of all. How confusing is this to the general population? 0. Microsoft has made NO PUBLIC announcements. They have made OFFICIAL announcements. But they haven't advertised ANYTHING to the general public as yet. And this makes perfect sense, not everything is written in stone yet. The things which are written in stone have been released via several official channels.
So then, how confusing is the official information? Frankly, not confusing at all. I'm not sure what is wrong with the internet collectively. Most of the "confusion" falls into 2 groups. One MS rep inadvertently said that even pirates would get free upgrades and he was wrong. Or, and this is the bulk of it, people go out of their way to try and add speculation to things no one has ever said officially or unofficially (such as switching to a subscription model for the OS).
Very little new information has been released via any official channel since pricing was first mentioned in JANUARY.
Saying that Microsoft isn't very clear on pricing because they haven't explicitly said that they won't charge a subscription is idiotic (and also factually untrue by the way, in a Yahoo! article a senior director at MS did officially say that once a user is on Windows 10, they will be on Windows 10 and there will be no future charges for the OS on that machine). This is like saying Apple's pricing on iOS is unclear because they have never explicitly ruled out a subscription model for iOS.
Some say, well the wording of "Windows as a Service" and Microsoft's past moves show that they are moving in that direction is also a tragically flawed concept. The Windows as a Service jargon is JUST meant as a means of describing how the typical user will receive updates (which is ONLY to say that they will have no option to opt out and they will always get the latest updates). Furthermore... Microsoft has NEVER taken a SKU which was at one point a perpetual license and then converted it to a subscription based model. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!! Microsoft HAS released new versions of products which also ADDED a subscription based option. These are two VERY different things. In other words... there is no basis for considering any of this banter around whether or not you'll be roped into a subscription or that the OS needs to be always online or any other such nonsense related to the "as a service" wording.
I want to repeat this once again, on the topic of Windows as a Service, the only confusion is the arbitrary stupidity nonsensically injected into the argument that was never there to begin with.
Since January we knew that an upgrade to Windows 10 from a licensed Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 machine would be free for a year. This was notable because historically, with the exception of some OEM deals on new computers, everyone had to pay for an upgrade. Under this, technically, every consumer license of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 can be upgraded to Windows 10 for free. What happens if you don't choose to upgrade in the first year or happen to be one of the rare people not eligible for a free upgrade? I don't know. Microsoft hasn't said yet. And aside from some blurbs about VLM agreements and few niche scenarios, not much else has been said. That is all. And I think it is pretty clear.
But! Even though Microsoft hasn't given specifics beyond that, they have said a LOT unofficially as well. It probably won't be free after the first year. Though many internally really seem to want it to be, especially for anyone with a valid license. They have stated that even if you're not eligible for some reason for the free upgrade, such as not acting in time, are on an older OS, or even if you're on a pirated version they still want it to be quick, easy and affordable to get you onto Windows 10 legitimately.
I suspect what we will see is that for a short period (maybe the same 1 year period) Home editions will be sold at some drastic discount if bought online from a Windows PC/tablet. For the sake of speculation I'll say $25. And perhaps even retail prices will be somewhat reduced over the same period (though less likely there).
Beyond that, I imagine retail copies will sadly be the standard $100+ dollars we saw for prior versions of the OS. Though, if I were a betting man, I would say that within 5 years retail prices for the OS will go down substantially. Without new versions coming out and with all of the ways an OEM can get a free license, the custom PC market will be feeling slighted.
Also, with desktop sales dropping YoY it is becoming less and less of a market for MS to be concerned with losing revenue in anyway. In fact, the only reason not to give it away for free to consumers is to justify the licensing fees that they charge OEMs which is where most of their OS revenue comes from.
And in that last sentence is yet another key reason why it makes no sense at all to speculate that Microsoft might switch to a subscription based model for their OS any time soon. Combine the fact that virtually all of Microsoft's OS licensing for consumers are pre-applied by OEMs and virtually everyone is eligible for an upgrade with the promise that once a user is on Windows 10, they are on Windows 10 and you arrive at a place where the remainder of the market is too small to bother with trying to extort a monthly or annual fee out of.
First of all. How confusing is this to the general population? 0. Microsoft has made NO PUBLIC announcements. They have made OFFICIAL announcements. But they haven't advertised ANYTHING to the general public as yet. And this makes perfect sense, not everything is written in stone yet. The things which are written in stone have been released via several official channels.
So then, how confusing is the official information? Frankly, not confusing at all. I'm not sure what is wrong with the internet collectively. Most of the "confusion" falls into 2 groups. One MS rep inadvertently said that even pirates would get free upgrades and he was wrong. Or, and this is the bulk of it, people go out of their way to try and add speculation to things no one has ever said officially or unofficially (such as switching to a subscription model for the OS).
Very little new information has been released via any official channel since pricing was first mentioned in JANUARY.
Saying that Microsoft isn't very clear on pricing because they haven't explicitly said that they won't charge a subscription is idiotic (and also factually untrue by the way, in a Yahoo! article a senior director at MS did officially say that once a user is on Windows 10, they will be on Windows 10 and there will be no future charges for the OS on that machine). This is like saying Apple's pricing on iOS is unclear because they have never explicitly ruled out a subscription model for iOS.
Some say, well the wording of "Windows as a Service" and Microsoft's past moves show that they are moving in that direction is also a tragically flawed concept. The Windows as a Service jargon is JUST meant as a means of describing how the typical user will receive updates (which is ONLY to say that they will have no option to opt out and they will always get the latest updates). Furthermore... Microsoft has NEVER taken a SKU which was at one point a perpetual license and then converted it to a subscription based model. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!! Microsoft HAS released new versions of products which also ADDED a subscription based option. These are two VERY different things. In other words... there is no basis for considering any of this banter around whether or not you'll be roped into a subscription or that the OS needs to be always online or any other such nonsense related to the "as a service" wording.
I want to repeat this once again, on the topic of Windows as a Service, the only confusion is the arbitrary stupidity nonsensically injected into the argument that was never there to begin with.
Since January we knew that an upgrade to Windows 10 from a licensed Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 machine would be free for a year. This was notable because historically, with the exception of some OEM deals on new computers, everyone had to pay for an upgrade. Under this, technically, every consumer license of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 can be upgraded to Windows 10 for free. What happens if you don't choose to upgrade in the first year or happen to be one of the rare people not eligible for a free upgrade? I don't know. Microsoft hasn't said yet. And aside from some blurbs about VLM agreements and few niche scenarios, not much else has been said. That is all. And I think it is pretty clear.
But! Even though Microsoft hasn't given specifics beyond that, they have said a LOT unofficially as well. It probably won't be free after the first year. Though many internally really seem to want it to be, especially for anyone with a valid license. They have stated that even if you're not eligible for some reason for the free upgrade, such as not acting in time, are on an older OS, or even if you're on a pirated version they still want it to be quick, easy and affordable to get you onto Windows 10 legitimately.
I suspect what we will see is that for a short period (maybe the same 1 year period) Home editions will be sold at some drastic discount if bought online from a Windows PC/tablet. For the sake of speculation I'll say $25. And perhaps even retail prices will be somewhat reduced over the same period (though less likely there).
Beyond that, I imagine retail copies will sadly be the standard $100+ dollars we saw for prior versions of the OS. Though, if I were a betting man, I would say that within 5 years retail prices for the OS will go down substantially. Without new versions coming out and with all of the ways an OEM can get a free license, the custom PC market will be feeling slighted.
Also, with desktop sales dropping YoY it is becoming less and less of a market for MS to be concerned with losing revenue in anyway. In fact, the only reason not to give it away for free to consumers is to justify the licensing fees that they charge OEMs which is where most of their OS revenue comes from.
And in that last sentence is yet another key reason why it makes no sense at all to speculate that Microsoft might switch to a subscription based model for their OS any time soon. Combine the fact that virtually all of Microsoft's OS licensing for consumers are pre-applied by OEMs and virtually everyone is eligible for an upgrade with the promise that once a user is on Windows 10, they are on Windows 10 and you arrive at a place where the remainder of the market is too small to bother with trying to extort a monthly or annual fee out of.
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