Microsoft Needs to Kill Windows 8 to Make Windows 10 a Hit, Says HP

unifex said:

I am very consistent - I have Windows 7 on all my machines except for one test PC where I'm playing with W10 out of curiosity.

Now, my phone is Android and my tablets are the iPad and Kindle. Does anyone really think that I will suddenly go buying new hardware just because they have some kind of vision? Why should I have Windows on my phone? Even if it works, I already have a phone and it works, so why would I change? To have it look the same? I certainly don't want the phone and PC to look the same, why would I? Why can't my kids use their iPad?

Now, so far I'm not at all impressed by W10. Today I have downloaded an ISO of the new version (1511), will install it when I have the time. Hopefully it's better than the previous version, but I doubt they have changed much. I certainly do not want those forced updates. I just hate it when the machine does something on its own without me initiating it. So unless I can set up some kind of schedule or manually choose when to install which update, there is no way this OS will be installed on my work machines. Seriously, suppose I'm teaching a class using my laptop and it suddenly decides to update itself? I won't entertain a 0.001% probability of that happening.

It is not consistency for you, its consistency for them. They develop going forward for what is new. They use that same code on all of their devices, (phones, pc's, xbox, tablets). This opens up technology options they did not have before.

Updates are going to be tough for many. You can defer with professional. Either way, security updates will come when they come. It more or less works on xbox. Security has always been a complaint with Windows, XP and such were too free, now we might be getting too tight. But unless you force the issue, you will have people not doing it, and experiencing problems that were long ago fixed. And testing that stuff works is easier, when people are all on the same versions of things. Updates can be an unknown, when a bunch of other updates are missing.

lx07 said:

Bing edition was free (apparently) How much does Microsoft make from PC makers with Windows 8.1? | ZDNetHaven't seen any leaks of Windows 10 OEM pricing....

I would not be surprised if it was zero dollars for 1 year for those in the cartel - with T+Cs attached. The OEMs are still ticked off that the users got the free upgrade for 1 year.

Atomic77 said:

The truth is in a few years everything will be windows 10 related as you won't be able to find very much windows 7 or 8.1 computers on store shelves anyways.

On the shelves, that is for sure, however what remains installed is another thing altogether. MS is intent on pushing both W7 and W8 off installed systems and that is another thing altogether. It has not hurt MS so far - yes the blogisphere has gone nuclear but mainstream media has no idea or they have been paid to totally ignore what is going on. Twitter is manic and Facebook is dysfunctional idiocy. I am not anti W10, in fact I am using it under VM, so I have no horse in the race. As the thread is about HP recommending W8 be flushed to improve new hardware sales - I find that reprehensible.

Trust_No1 said:

I simply can not understand why anyone would want Windows 10 (period)? Other than Cortana (i already have Google Voice) and Edge (slow as it is), I see zero reasons to switch operating systems. It is only slightly faster (hardly undetectable), it removes functionality, the app store isn't as nice. DirectX 12 is really only nicer for gaming, but there won't be any games that use it for at least 3-5 years. So why switch?

HP is cuckoo cuckoo for evening suggesting it. They just need to build better machines that people can upgrade. Hell who wants an HP that use all proprietary parts.

I guess I am just getting to old to even bother with all the industry nonsense any more.

The attraction of Win10 is fairly easy to understand. If you own Win7/8.x, you have until 7/29/16 to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge. There will not be a Win11 or 12, etc., so if Win7/8 users don't take advantage of the free upgrade to Win10 they will have to buy a license for Win10 when Microsoft stops supporting their current OS. That really makes no sense at all, considering you can get Win10 now, in perpetuity, and free of charge, if you upgrade from a retail version of Win7/8. Additionally, from this point forward, while Win7/8 will continue to get security updates for the remainder of their lifespans, all new features and advances will go into Windows10.

I won't buy a laptop or a pre-built desktop precisely because of components being overpriced and often custom-made & requiring specialty OEM-only drivers (regardless of OS.) For personal use I have built my own from hand-picked components since 1995... Dell cannot compete, unfortunately. OEMs are strictly for people who either cannot or will not build their own desktops, or for people who want laptops or other non-user-upgradable/serviceable machines, imo.

Indianatone said:

Look here for starters..

It is how much OEMs pay MS for Windows 10 that hasn't been leaked yet...

waltc said:

There will not be a Win11 or 12, etc., so if Win7/8 users don't take advantage of the free upgrade to Win10 they will have to buy a license for Win10 when Microsoft stops supporting their current OS.

That may very be true but it is nonsense to believe MS can predict what the technology landscape will be like when all support for 8.1 expires in 2023. The whole Free thing is just a ploy to get rid of the earlier OS's IMO. In 5 years or 10 years or further out the entire computing paradigm may be radically changed so in 2015 to say there will not be a W-11 or W-12 or any new OS's is meaningless. If MS effectively transforms the OS into a service that service will always be available and everyone will pay a price one way or another and that includes everyone that accepts the Free Updrade now.

I will stay with 8.1 as it works perfectly and more than meets my needs.