Users are reluctant on the concept of “free Windows”

Dec 29, 2014 07:01 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft hasn't yet unveiled the new pricing model that it plans to adopt for Windows 10, but some sources close to the development process revealed earlier this year that Redmond was even considering offering the new operating system free of charge to a number of previous customers.

Does this mean that Windows 10 could be free for existing Windows users? Not necessarily, but at least those on Windows 8.1 could get the new OS as a free update, while those on Windows 7, Vista, and even XP might only have to pay a small fee to switch to this particular version.

While it's not yet clear whether Windows 10 will indeed be offered free of charge or not, some people are afraid that this would actually mean that Microsoft might adopt a completely new strategy that would in the end bring ads on our desktops.

Posts on the Windows UserVoice thread confirm that some users are indeed afraid of this thing and actually want Windows to be available with a fee in exchange for a no-ad experience.

User suggestion: free updates, paid full product

One of the users who posted on UserVoice suggests a different approach, that would make a lot more sense for Windows 10, considering the possibility of seeing ads in the future release.

“Windows updates? That will be a very good suggestion. Free windows? That's not gonna happen. Seriously, I wouldn't stand ads all over my desktop because how the heck MS is gonna earn? They invested millions of dollars just to perfect the OS. They even go creating this site just to satisfy what we want as consumers. They believe in this product I can tell but this thread is a very bad suggestion, experience and security-wise,” he says.

Ads could ruin the whole experience

Of course, there's nothing confirmed at this point and ads in Windows 10 could only be the result of bad speculation, but there's no doubt that ads on the desktop would really ruin the whole experience you get on your PC.

Basically, ads could only be displayed with an always-on Internet connection, and some people claim that the Start screen and Metro apps could actually be the only two environments where ads might show up, but again, such a scenario is very unlikely for the time being.

More details on the new approach for Windows 10 will be provided next month, during a January 21 event focused on consumers, when several new features are also expected to be revealed.

Our take: ads on the desktops aren't really a good way to monetize a “free Windows,” so we really doubt that such a thing would happen anytime soon.