Microsoft release the new version of the world’s most popular desktop operating system, Windows 10, on 29 July, and for most people, they are giving it away for free! A quick clarification on the version name is probably helpful. There was no Windows 9, we went straight from Windows 8 to 10, and even now, six years after Windows 7 was released, more business PCs ship with this version of Windows than the largely-unloved Windows 8.
If ever a business wanted to call a truce with its loyal customers it’s Microsoft with the most un-Microsoft gesture – anyone who has purchased a Windows 7 or 8 PC in the last six years is entitled to a free upgrade to Windows 10.
It’s probably fair to say there’s a fair degree of trepidation in the IT community at the prospect large portions of their user base trying to upgrade to a brand new operating system. This migration has no precedent. While Windows 10 is functionally better than 7 or 8, we are not expecting our client’s lives to become more productive after the upgrade; experience of earlier Windows upgrades suggests there could be lots of problems.
You have one year from the release date to decide if you want to accept the free update offer. There’s a lot to check before doing so: your older printers and devices may not work, and many software applications will either work differently, or not at all. It’s also unlikely Windows 10 will make your PC run faster…..
So it’s free, and Microsoft would really like you to take up their offer, as supporting old systems is a heavy dead cost on all software companies, but even a free upgrade is not necessarily good value.
I’ll upgrade mine, but not until later in the year.
