October 31, 2017

Microsoft to end free Windows 10 upgrades, a year and a half after ending free Windows 10 upgrades

With the closure of the "assistive technologies" loophole, Microsoft's Get Windows 10 (GWX) campaign finally limps to a close. Does that mean we'll stop hearing about it now?

From Windows Latest:
On July 29, 2016, Microsoft ended the free Windows 10 upgrade offer for the owners of Windows 7 and 8.1 machines. The company, however, left a loophole, that allows any user to upgrade to Windows 10 for free despite the original offer is over. As we reported, the Windows 10 free upgrade offer was still available even after the release of the Fall Creators Update.
Microsoft is now finally going to end the offer later this year. Once the offer ends, the official loophole will be closed and the users won’t be able to upgrade their Windows 7 or 8.1 machines to Windows 10 operating system for free.
[...]
Microsoft never restricted the upgrade offer to specific assistive technologies and even no verifications where being made, basically offering the Windows 10 upgrade for completely free to any users.
I sometimes wonder if tech journalists will ever wake up to reality, here. People who haven't "upgraded" to Windows 10 are not still on Windows 7 or 8.1 because they're procrastinating, or because they just haven't got around to it yet. The procrastinators were all switched to Windows 10, by Microsoft, in some cases after having refused the "upgrade" repeatedly. Anyone still using an older Windows version had to take active steps to stay there; they're dug in now, and don't want to switch.

The lure of free Windows 10 has not been enough to lure Windows 7 users away from their OS for over two years now. The fear of WannaCry or other malware has failed to scare Windows 7 users into the safe, warm arms of Windows 10 for over six months. The Windows 10 deal started rotten, and has been a moving target ever since, and Windows 7 and 8.1 users simply decided to opt out; they're not going to change until the have to, and many won't change even then.

Yes, Windows 7 is the new XP; it really has already happened. Keeping this "assistive technologies" loophole open as long as they did wasn't just pointless on Microsoft's part, it was insulting. Now that it's finally ending, I say good riddance.