In a radical move from software company Microsoft, they will be offering to upgrade any of their Windows 7 or Windows 8 devices to Windows 10 for free. Even if they are pirated versions.
As we all know Microsoft is traditionally not the giving type with the word “free” being used as a loose term. For the sceptics among us please read the fine print: “for the first year”. Oh, and of course Microsoft office will be sold separately. Is this just a new sales gimmick or a companywide mind shift? According Microsoft’s executive vice president Terry Myerson, in the first year that the software is available, the company will upgrade any device running Windows 7 to Windows 10 for free.
Perhaps Microsoft is following the example set by the widely popular Mac OS and iOS used on Apple devices. Apple Inc. gives away their software upgrades to keep users connected to their latest cloud services. “We think of Microsoft as a service” said Myerson, during Microsoft’s Windows 10 unveiling in Redmond, Washington.
If we look at Microsoft’s history and the bitter disputes with Apple Inc. Microsoft was as protective about their proprietary software as a lioness of her cub. Microsoft’s strategy here is simple, to beat piracy. Allowing even pirated versions of their software to be upgraded to a genuine copy of Windows 10. Prices for Windows 10 will only be announced after the 1 year grace period expires according to Cnet.
Microsoft is not only stopping at computers, and will be trying to penetrate the mobile market even more by working with Chinese handset maker Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd. Xiaomi which generally use Google’s Android OS on their phones will offer a test version of Windows 10 on their handsets according to Reuters. Windows 10 applications are also in the pipeline through China’s biggest social networking companies Qihoo 360 Technology Co and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
The Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4 1975. Mainly with the goal of making an easy to use computer interface and of course, money! With Microsoft’s latest announcement from such a veteran corporation some may think the company is getting senile in its old age. I would like to think they are finally growing up and learning to chant Kumbaya alongside the revolutionist Linux hippies they fought so hard against.