Did anyone get a Windows 10 invite?

[Random_Spock]

Actually, that clears things up rather nicely. In essence:

- Windows 7 and 8.1 users get their free upgrade, no strings attached.

- People who installed the Windows 10 Beta and agree to remain opted in to updates will continue to get Windows 10 updates indefinitely, so they get Windows 10 for free as well. The proviso here is that they have to stay opted in for updates, otherwise they lose that license.

In short, anyone who thought they could just get rid of XP and get Windows 10 free will actually get Windows 10 free, but with the provision that they're essentially "renting" the OS in perpetuity unless they buy a real license.

To me, that sounds pretty fair.

Still not a fan of it. I'm afraid that if I try to upgrade myself from 7 that I'll screw it up. It'll literally be my first time. Not to mention the rest I'm not thrilled with in regards to 10.

Hence me waiting. Will be backing up ahead of time to be on the safe side.

 

[RevdKathy]

Windows 10 is mostly stable right now. I don't get blue screens of death, but a few things are very buggy in how they run (my tablet hates Firefox, for example) and there are limitations (e.g can't yet set google as default search). I am bug-filing all problems, as anyone on the insider programme should be, and by launch these should have gone away.

Updating via update (not a clean install) goes smoothly, easily and without issues. It should save your data, settings, bookmarks etc, though it's worth backing up. After update, you have one month in which to roll back.

The main reason I can see for not being on 10 now is security. By their own admission Microsoft is keylogging insider systems - not constantly, but in the event of a problem your system will send a report including whatever you were doing in the last few minutes. So I'm using my phone currently for banking and work email.

Windows 10 is not very relaxing on tablet (which is great - I've gone back to knitting more!) but perfectly usable.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Oh cool and once installed can you make installation media for a clean install?

MS said you could but how do you do that?

 

[Amaris]

Microsoft will likely have an ISO available for download shortly after the upgrades begin.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Microsoft will likely have an ISO available for download shortly after the upgrades begin.

Oh I read that once Windows 10 is installed you can make installation media for a clean install once you are up and running, and that was for the proper version not the preview.

 

[RevdKathy]

Microsoft have said that once you do the update and register your shiny new operating system, you can then download a clean image and create a disk or USB peg from which you can do a clean install. But you have to do it via update first to register.

At least, that's how I understand it.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Microsoft have said that once you do the update and register your shiny new operating system, you can then download a clean image and create a disk or USB peg from which you can do a clean install. But you have to do it via update first to register.

At least, that's how I understand it.

Oh ok thanks Kathy

 

[Amaris]

For those of you on XP, or Vista, some bad news: It turns out that Microsoft is not letting those people upgrade to Windows 10 if they used the Insider Preview: They clarified that this morning. This means if you were on XP or Vista, and have the Insider Preview, that's as good as it's going to get.

Aul updated the Microsoft blog post today to clarify things once and for all, and it’s bad news for freeloaders: you’re not getting an activated version of Windows 10 RTM (the final build) for free, unless you originally installed the Windows 10 Preview on a device running an activated copy of Windows 7 or 8.1.

The confusion was caused by something else, it seems: the Windows 10 Insider program, the mechanism by which new beta versions of Windows 10 are issued, is going to continue after the release of Windows 10 RTM — and if you’re still registered as a Windows Insider, you won’t need to buy a copy of 10. Instead, you’ll continue to receive new, pre-release builds of 10 from Microsoft — builds that will remain activated until the release of the next beta version.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Microsoft seems to go out of their way to make this as complicated as possible, but it's an interesting sign that they're letting people have free upgrades to 10 at all. Rather out of character for MS.

 

[Amaris]

It makes sense, though, from their standpoint. Microsoft is about market domination. XP was the golden child. When Vista came along, few people switched because the OS was flawed and buggy compared to its predecessor. Windows 7 sold very well, but people still held on to XP, with Windows 7 finally overtaking the OS well into its lifespan. Windows 8 came out, and again, Microsoft must have said "fuck success, let's try some crazy shit", so people held stubbornly to Windows 7.

When 8.1 came out, it had fixed a number of issues that consumers had, but people still held to Windows 7 because like XP, the OS was solid and stable. There was simply no need. That's why Windows 10 is free for users of 8.1 and 7. Microsoft doesn't want another Vista or 8 debacle where people happily downgrade their OS and refrain from buying new hardware unless it came with the older OS. It's embarrassing.

So what do you do? You release an OS that has the advances of the previous OS, but the user friendliness of the OS two generations prior, and then you give it away. It's a formula for success. I imagine in a year's time that Microsoft will be touting the wildly popular Windows 10.

 

[C. Cole-Chakotay]

I'm glad I found this thread! I also got the invite, but think I'll wait a little before downloading and installing.

 

[Amaris]

I'll let you guys know how it goes, since I'm planning to do day one download and install, or as my friend calls it "being the canary willing to go into the coal mine first."

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It makes sense, though, from their standpoint. Microsoft is about market domination. XP was the golden child. When Vista came along, few people switched because the OS was flawed and buggy compared to its predecessor. Windows 7 sold very well, but people still held on to XP, with Windows 7 finally overtaking the OS well into its lifespan. Windows 8 came out, and again, Microsoft must have said "fuck success, let's try some crazy shit", so people held stubbornly to Windows 7.

When 8.1 came out, it had fixed a number of issues that consumers had, but people still held to Windows 7 because like XP, the OS was solid and stable. There was simply no need. That's why Windows 10 is free for users of 8.1 and 7. Microsoft doesn't want another Vista or 8 debacle where people happily downgrade their OS and refrain from buying new hardware unless it came with the older OS. It's embarrassing.

So what do you do? You release an OS that has the advances of the previous OS, but the user friendliness of the OS two generations prior, and then you give it away. It's a formula for success. I imagine in a year's time that Microsoft will be touting the wildly popular Windows 10.

I know why they're doing it, I just think that's interesting as a sign of the diminishing importance of desktop operating systems.

With a lot of computer tasks moving to phones and tablets, video games having more diverse platform options, and the general decline of the desktop computer, MS is feeling the squeeze on all sides and I guess they gotta protect their OS monopoly somehow.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

My icon has now vanished for a few days..... Has this happened at all to anyone else?

 

[DonIago]

I tend to have the opposite problem, in that I hide the icon in my notifications but it resets anytime I reboot.

 

[RevdKathy]

Actually, you won't be able to delay before downloading. If you have the icon, Windows 10 will download itself, probably a few days before the 29th. You will have the option not to install.

Because of the free roll-out via download, Microsoft are spreading out the download window by this method to take the strain off their servers on the 29th. That way everyone gets the new install on the same launch day, but without the horror of MS servers crashing 2 hours in.

What they haven't considered is the effect of this on people running tablets with 16 or 32gb drives who don't have 2gb to spare for a download to sit there for a few days.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well there is the option of uninstalling KB3035583 which is the notification tool, and it won't download windows 10 and will get rid of the notification, then you can download when you please.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Actually, you won't be able to delay before downloading. If you have the icon, Windows 10 will download itself, probably a few days before the 29th. You will have the option not to install.

Because of the free roll-out via download, Microsoft are spreading out the download window by this method to take the strain off their servers on the 29th. That way everyone gets the new install on the same launch day, but without the horror of MS servers crashing 2 hours in.

What they haven't considered is the effect of this on people running tablets with 16 or 32gb drives who don't have 2gb to spare for a download to sit there for a few days.

You would hope it would first check to see that there's enough room to download, but then, this is Microsoft.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I assume it does but that does mean if you only have 3.5gb free space and it downloads 3gb for the update you're left with little to no space left.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've seen them build in buffers in other instances, so presumably they'd do the same here.

Obviously, it's dumb to say "the download is 3GB, there's 3.5GB available, let's roll!" You'd want at least that much again as slack, and maybe a bit more just so you don't exhaust all the space.

But I don't know what kinds of calculations they'll be doing.