What it is: Windows 10 is a free upgrade for the first year, but Microsoft has found other ways to make money from Windows 10.
No company can afford to give everything away for free. In most cases, companies give away free products or services as a sales technique to get a certain percentage of people to upgrade to a paid plan of some kind. That’s exactly what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10. In the first year, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free but after that, you’ll have to pay for the upgrade.
However, even if you get the free Windows 10 upgrade, don’t think you’ll have a free operating system. To make additional money off their free offer, Microsoft offers ads in the Solitaire game that comes with every copy of Windows. If you can tolerate ads, then you can still use Solitaire, but if you want to reduce ads and get additional gaming features, you can upgrade to their Premium version for $1.49 a month or $9.99 a year.
Since this is completely optional, it’s hard to complain if you get Windows 10 for free, but it shows that nothing is really completely free. Windows 10 has also eliminated the built-in DVD player, but you can purchase one for $15. If you don’t need DVD playback capability, then you won’t need to pay $15. If you do need DVD playback capability, you can pay $15, get a free DVD player from another company, or pay for a DVD player from another company. Once again, this is the cost of free.
You can’t expect Microsoft to give everything away for free, but paying for accessories might seem annoying. Of course, what happens if you later pay for a Windows 10 upgrade. Will you still need to pay for Solitaire to eliminate ads and get additional benefits? Will you also need to pay $15 for a DVD player too? After a year, we’ll have to find out.
If you really want a free operating system, all you have to do is download and install Linux. Despite being free, Linux is a fully capable operating system that’s used in the majority of supercomputers today. Still, Linux may not be as easy to use if you’re already familiar with Windows, but that’s because learning anything new is always uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Many programs may not be available for Linux that are available for Windows (such as Microsoft Office), so you’ll also need to switch to a similar program.
Still, Linux is free but has drawbacks just like the free version of Windows 10. In life, nothing is really free.
For people who think Microsoft will give Windows 10 away for free and provide lifetime support at the same time forever is simply not sustainable. Microsoft has to make money from Windows 10 somehow. If they can’t make money through outright sales, then they’ll find another way to make money whether through ads or additional fees.
Nothing is free and that includes Windows 10. As long as you can live with that simple fact, then consider the pros and cons of Windows 10 and decide if it’s for you.
To read how Microsoft is charging for additional features in Windows 10, click here.