Windows 10 upgrades even for pirated copies?

This is a smart move and it's ironic that people think being smart has to be about short-term cash-ins.

They're turning their image around and they're doing everything they can to spread their seed.

That's how you get people hooked on your future products. They're going to earn their money by selling software that needs Windows. It's not rocket science.

But there's no reason not to do it for the consumer.

Windows has been a solid OS for many years - and there's no serious alternative at the moment if you're a gamer.

The paranoia and dystopia claims are silly. What are you afraid of? Companies taking over the world? That's a laugh. The world has been ruled by people saturated by greed and power for ages.

Might as well grab a free OS while you still decide what you run on it

I'm still on Win7 prof....I am likely building a new PC in the next 2 months and have to decide if I'll go with Win 10 when it arrives. I just want all my games to work (both old and new)... I don't trust OS upgrades - subtle things slways seem to go wrong. So, the OS I install in 2 months wil be the one I use for awhile...but Win 10 may still be some months out? What does Win 10 bring to the table? (don't care about integration with MS tablets etc - only have android and apple devices). Don't have an Xbone either or plan to get one.

I wanted to ignore this completely, but seems it's headline news all over internet.
And as usual, it's just a bombastic sentence or two with journalists failed to know the knowledge and are incapable or scared to ask "nasty" questions. But if this was a planned marketing move, M$ should be happy. Everyone everywhere is talking about this.

Have to say first IMO this is Microsoft admitting their different "DRM" utterly failed. Which, to be honest, is pretty odd. Several past OS versions have automatic windows updater which could and should have been used as a license control mechanism. But for all I know, the service updates any machine without checking if it's legal or not. Sure, IIRC there is some KB update that checks the license, but also IIRC pirates simply don't install it - don't quote me as I never properly researched it. Also, don't ask me about some stuff called loader and activator, dunno much about that, but seems those also failed against pirates.

There is however something noone mentioned anywhere yet, but probably because journalists, as usual, are a bunch of ignorant fools.

I'm on win7 professional. Ultimate was a bit more expensive and I saw no real reason to buy it. Ultimate, for example, has a possibility of adding more language packs, but I didn't need that feature at home.
If you do your google, you'll notice that most pirated windows 7 is exactly ultimate version, other win 7 versions, pirated, are pretty much rare stuff. It's not strange that pirates want "the best" version, ofc.

Now if win10 will have also professional and ultimate versions, does this mean I should, to get the possible ultimate win 10 version, download pirated ultimate win7, install it instead of my win7 professional then upgrade the pirated one to win10?*

Yes, I bet that you don't know the answer either. And again with all honesty, I will not upgrade to win10 instantly on it's release but will wait to read some feedback first. But if I was the journalist, there is no way I wouldn't ask this very question.


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* just to add that upgrade to win 10 in companies that probably all use enterprise win 7 will not be free

joxer said:

Now if win10 will have also professional and ultimate versions, does this mean I should, to get the possible ultimate win 10 version, download pirated ultimate win7, install it instead of my win7 professional then upgrade the pirated one to win10?

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AFAIK Windows 10 will not have versions in the traditional meaning of the word (Home Edition, Pro etc.). But yeah, there are questions….
Like booboo I'm also wary of OS upgrades. It's messy and too many things might go wrong.
Unlike booboo I'm planning to fully upgrade my machine in a couple of years and since (again AFAIK) free upgrade will be an equivalent of OEM I will not be able to transfer Win 10 from the old machine to the new. So the best idea might be to stick with Win 7 for the next 2 years and, in meantime, see how Win 10 is doing…

I seriously doubt they'll offer free migration to the ultimate version of win10. It's probably going to be a free update to either a home or professional equivalent.

It won't be a Pro version, thats just to log into Active Directory.

Upgrading a pirate version makes sense tho, MS wants everyone to buy stuff from their new App store.

I just read an update to the announcement, and it's not as people seem to assume it will be.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/18/8252373/windows-10-free-upgrade-pirates

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson clarified in a statement to Polygon that the upgrade to Windows 10 will "not change the genuine state of the license," meaning non-genuine copies of the operating system will continue to be non-genuine.

So basically, they're helping pirates not need to download the update themselves.

That's just weird! Hey hackers, we know that your time is valuable so here is our newest OS which you don't have to crack!

Why? They want it to S P R E A D.

It's the best way to make that happen.

Anything to get people off windows 7 I guess. I’m surprised that people would even bother to get a pirate copy I the first place.

zahratustra said:

That's just weird! Hey hackers, we know that your time is valuable so here is our newest OS which you don't have to crack!

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Chance are the crack is going to be invalidated though. So hackers will upgrade to barely usable systems.

Hackers aren't that dumb. They will let some of the more naive and unsuspecting pirates to try it first. Call it Early Access testing :lol:

Hackerz use linux

Has microsoft finally found a way to destroy windows?

I just read that you have to subscribe to windows 10 like its some payed service. Yeah right. Bye bye windows, Ill play with playstation 4 then, atleast I get free games when I pay for ps subscribtion. Rest of windows I can replace with mac or chromebook or linux even.

That's not a way to destroy windows, that's a way to keep win7 alive and kicking for the next decade.

zakhal said:

Has microsoft finally found a way to destroy windows?

I just read that you have to subscribe to windows 10 like its some payed service. Yeah right. Bye bye windows, Ill play with playstation 4 then, atleast I get free games when I pay for ps subscribtion. Rest of windows I can replace with mac or chromebook or linux even.

Click to expand...

Do you have the source of this information, as Microsoft has not made any plans known to this respect (there are rumors ofcourse). Next to that it all depends on pricing of the service, if it will boil down to more or less the same price a genuine copy will cost nowadays I don't see the harm in it, especially since currently the OEM version don't come with any support, that won't be maintainable in a payed service. Just give it a try and if you don't like it use Windows7 or 8(.1) as you do now.

Most of these companies know they aren't going to stop pirates. Their best bet is to try and profit off of them in some way. Sounds like Microsoft thinks they will have more to benefit from by increasing user base at the expense of copies sold. It makes good business sense.

I think they will make the basic windows software free and add paid features and services on top. That is OK for me. Free windows, and I don't care for the rest of it. THey can make features needed for enterprise expensive, and some features that many home users will want, and still make money.

I dunno what are they thinking nor what their plans are.

Current facts:
- everyone hates IE and uses another browser (will die in win10, another browser incoming)
- everyone hates WMP (removed from win10, alternative not included)
- winXP still exists
- noone is buying win8 (unless preinstalled on a new PC), HP is selling downgraded to win7 models, companies banned or are banning win 8
- win10 enterprise (for companies) is not free
- win11 is supposed not to exist ever*, but win10 should live as a base with upgrades through updates, similar to old servicepacks or win8.1 upgrade

Count me confused, but also more determined not to jump onto win10 immediately.


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* yea, they'll probably instead of numbers use names. So we'll have windows kitkat, then windows lollypop or something. Peh.

If win 7 has become "the new win xp", why don't they just design their new OS to be like win 7 but upgraded model ? Isn't it what users want.

Instead they keep pushing products which nobody really wants. Weird business idea.