WINDOWS 10

Is WIN 10 a Con? FORBES Update July 17th - Microsoft has now updated its lifecycle support page to list Windows 10. It states the end of Mainstream Support as October 13, 2020 and the end of Extended Support (security) as October 14, 2025. This is great news and I think these time periods are fair and inline with previous Windows releases. Is This A Two Year Con? So what does “two to four years” mean? Is it two or is it four? In light of no official clarification from Microsoft the slides can help – if not result in formal conclusions. In a change of language Microsoft states device lifetime will be determined by “customer type” whereas it had previously stated it would be determined by “form factor”. This may prove crucial. For example ....[FULL] Windows 10 is famously ‘free’, but Microsoft has been worryingly silent about just how free it really is. Now, only 17 days before release, leaks suggest ‘free’ Windows 10 might not be a good deal at all… The news comes from ComputerWorld which attained Microsoft internal slides that strongly suggest many Windows 10 owners will have to start paying to receive updates within two years. The key lines ComputerWorld discovered are: “Revenue allocated is deferred and recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated period the software upgrades are expected to be provided by estimated device life…. [The estimated device life] can range from two to four years.” ‘Device life’ is the key phrase here. Microsoft has already stated revenue earned from Windows 10 must be deferred because of the free upgrade model (cash isn’t taken upfront), but it repeatedly stressed Windows 10 owners can expect to get free updates for the “supported lifetime of the device”. The problem is Microsoft hadn’t defined how long the ‘supported lifetime of the device’ will be and now we see it: “two to four years”. I just went through the drill of reinstalling Windows 8 from scratch.  The very first ADVICE I received from Microsoft was to start preparing for Win 10.  I know some rich person out there is about to junk their 27-inch iMac for a 30-inch, so instead of throwing it away, why not send it to me?  And get your own parking space here?  CRAP