Windows 10 To Be 'Last Version Of Windows'
However, the reality isn’t likely to please OSX fans and Windows haters. In fact, Windows is merely morphing into a new model – one that starts with Windows 10 and the fact it will be made freely available to most current users.
Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10
Nixon’s statement above might start alarm bells ringing, but the truth is that Windows will simply change with Windows 10. All previous versions have come in a single, large-format that you can go into a store and buy.
With Windows 10, this ends and like many software titles before it, it’s going online. As I reported in Windows 10 Release Date Revealed: How To Upgrade For Free, Windows 10 will launch in late July, coming via a simple Windows update that can be installed over the top of Windows 7 and Windows 8.
This is key, as it points to a Windows Update-focussed future for the operating system and this is what Nixon was referring to. Windows 10 could be the last version to be given a specific name or number – ie Vista, 7 or 8.
Moving forward, the subscription model, which will allow all owners of Windows 7 and 8 to upgrade for free if they do so within the first 12 months, will continue from then onwards.Updates will be provided for the operating system much more regularly, one assumes than current full version releases. As such, Windows 10 isn’t going mark the end of the operating system – far from it.
There will be smaller, incremental updates to add new features and improve the OS – think of it like Windows Update on steroids. Windows Update itself will feature heavily in future too, with everything going online. In late July, Windows 10 will roll out through the service and Windows Update itself will have several new features too.
You’ll be able to apply updates already downloaded on other PCs, for example on your home network or even over the Internet, while Microsoft MSFT +2.18% has also adopted P2P in update delivery, providing many sources for getting at the latest downloads to speed up delivery.
There are a few issues that remain unsolved surrounding Windows 10 though. We know that if you upgrade to the new OS via Windows Update in the first year that it will be free, but the company has yet to clarify what happens further down the line.
I’ve also been asking Microsoft what the deal will be for PC enthusiasts that reinstall their OS, other to get rid of a virus or hardware failure. Currently, you can simply insert your Windows DVD or an install on a USB stick courtesy of programs such as WinToFlash, and be up and running again in half an hour with a clean install.
With Windows 10 coming via Windows Update, does this mean you’ll have to install Windows 7 or 8 again and then install the Windows 10 update? That all sounds a bit long-winded. You’d also assume that if you had to do this further down the line, after the one year free upgrade period has expired, that you could still upgrade again without charge – presuming you’d initially updated within the free period.
Post a Comment