Free Windows 10 Now Looks A Terrible Deal

BunnyJ said:

The life time of the device means as long as the device is working. That can be any length of time.

Exactly. People are missing the distinction between the actual physical life of the device and the "projected" lifetime of the device. Microsoft is estimating that said device will last 2 to 4 years and is using that estimate to calculate/project future revenue. If that device was upgraded for free to Windows 10, they aren't going to make any money on new Windows sales until it dies. A very optimistic estimate if you ask me. A phone or a tablet might byte the bullet in that time frame but I'm hoping to get a lot longer use out of my laptop and desktop PC.

DavidY said:

So the question is what is the difference between the lifetime of the device which you've defined above, and the supported lifetime?

My guess is that it's support by the OEM that is being referred to here.

If it was support by Microsoft then it would just be saying that Microsoft support it only as long as Microsoft support it, which while true wouldn't tell anyone very much as it's circular.

It should be that for the life of the device you have the Wn10 upgrade installed you will receive free upgrades/Updates. And if you did purchase a copy you will receive free upgrades/updates for that with no time limit.

alphanumeric said:

Exactly. People are missing the distinction between the actual physical life of the device and the "projected" lifetime of the device. Microsoft is estimating that said device will last 2 to 4 years and is using that estimate to calculate/project future revenue. If that device was upgraded for free to Windows 10, they aren't going to make any money on new Windows sales until it dies. A very optimistic estimate if you ask me. A phone or a tablet might byte the bullet in that time frame but I'm hoping to get a lot longer use out of my laptop and desktop PC.

I agree.. I plan on keeping this PC for around 5 years so they don't get money off of me unless I decide to either purchase a copy or do a new build. The article in the OP is causing more confusion than it's worth.. IMO.

alphanumeric said:

Exactly. People are missing the distinction between the actual physical life of the device and the "projected" lifetime of the device. Microsoft is estimating that said device will last 2 to 4 years and is using that estimate to calculate/project future revenue. If that device was upgraded for free to Windows 10, they aren't going to make any money on new Windows sales until it dies. A very optimistic estimate if you ask me. A phone or a tablet might byte the bullet in that time frame but I'm hoping to get a lot longer use out of my laptop and desktop PC.

Good catch Alpha: The devices might not even crap the bed, it's just these devices are often only used so long and the owner buys the latest and better one. For example, I only need a cell phone to call and SMS and use as a calculator on my forklift in the warehouse I work, nothing more, so I still have my old Nokia 2330 classic. I know people, though, that have 10 to 20 phones, and get a new one every couple of years. So for them the lifetime is until a better one comes out.

BunnyJ said:

It should be that for the life of the device you have the Wn10 upgrade installed you will receive free upgrades/Updates. And if you did purchase a copy you will receive free upgrades/updates for that with no time limit.

As far as I know, free upgrade or not, if that device is running Windows 10, you get updates and Windows upgrades free, for the physical life of that device.

DavidY said:

I don't think that answers my question on what the word 'supported' means in Microsoft's statement.

If Microsoft had said 'for the lifetime of the device' then it would match your statement above. But they didn't say that - they said 'for the supported lifetime of the device'. That word will have been put there for a reason...

Post the whole statement with a link and I'll have a look. I'm no lawyer but I'll see if I can make any sense out of. It sounds like just a bean counter term to me. Don't forget, support can also refer to free phone support that has a time limit on it, and has nothing to do with Windows update etc. That author took stuff and twisted it all around so it makes absolutely no sense, to me anyway.