Why would you pay $99 to $199 for a new Windows license when you can get OS X for free? Also, which one is the best?

Jul 31, 2015 20:58 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 is out. Yet, Microsoft has proved it didn't learn from their mistakes and released not one but four versions of their new operating system. Sure enough, this may be seen as a progress from the 9 versions of Windows 8, as we only get four of them now.

However, the company still kept a high price for something that should be given away for free.

Let's start this discussion with the way Microsoft believes they can sell their products. First, they promised they would be giving Windows 10 for free, but as it turned out, it was all a marketing gimmick.

The FREE* upgrade is only available for the users of Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 who have bought a license before. So the millions of them who pirated Windows just to get rid of the lousy Windows Vista still have to buy the upgrade.

Free... as in not free

But wait! There's more! You can only get the upgrade for free in the first year after release. This may be understandable: Microsoft wants to have their products in as many homes or companies as possible, mainly because supporting old versions of Windows can drain their resources fast.

Let's not forget that Windows XP is still an OS used by over 250 million people. The numbers that come from StatCounter and Net Applications say Windows XP has almost 17% of the market, while Windows 8.1 is only at 10.55%. Sure enough, Windows 7 is in the top position with 58% of the users, but this is not reassuring for Microsoft.

So getting a Windows 10 license sets you back $99 to $199 (even more if you have to pay VTA and you live in Europe). What do you have to pay for Apple's OS X or Linux? Absolutely nothing. The Cupertino tech giant ended their paid upgrade era back in 2013 with the release of Mavericks.

The hidden costs of Windows

One may say that Apple's computers are more expensive so they can cover the cost of a free OS. Well, not so fast! Remember that you still need a good antivirus solution for your Windows machine. A reliable, world-class antivirus can set you back as much as $90 (€82) per year for up to 3 PCs.

Do you like Solitaire? Sure you do. You used to play that on the XP machine back in the day, right? Well, the new Solitaire comes packed with advertising. In order to get rid of that, you have to pay $1.49 per month or $9.99 per year.

Which version of Windows is the right one for you?

As mentioned above, Windows 10 comes in 4 different versions. That is another big difference from OS X. The user has to choose between "Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM," "Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit - OEM," "Microsoft Windows 10 Professional - Full Version," and "Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Full Version."

The main difference between those four is that some of them cannot be used in a local network and cannot get Group Policy Management. The Professional version doesn't get Remote Access. Clearly, most users will be happy enough with the Home version, but the Microsoft page explaining those differences is just confusing.

Adding terms like "Windows Hello," "Multi-doing" or "Continuum" gets the user even more confused. According to Microsoft, "Multi-doing" is "The best experience for doing what you do" and... that's about it. No info on whether this is something you need for certain apps or the computers that can run that "best experience."

Getting to the "Try" page of Windows 10, you can see a video about the Windows Insider Program. The video was published on YouTube back in January of 2015. It gathered only 116.000 views in 7 months. The latest iPhone ad, released a week ago, has over 1 million views. This tells a lot about what the users are interested in.

How can you buy Windows 10?

Let's just say that you have decided to get the Windows 10 Pro edition. You go to their page and click on the "Buy" button. On that page, there is no price and no "Add to cart" field. Just a "How to buy" section. You click again on the "Buy online" button and you are directed to the Microsoft store and... you are taken back to square one - the home edition of the Microsoft website.

In Apple's camp, in order to get OS X Yosemite, you only have to look it up online, click on the first link (a Mac App Store one), and press the "Get" button. Depending on your Internet connection, the new OS will be downloaded onto your computer in minutes.

Yes, the next Retina MacBook Pro or the next iMac will be more expensive than its Dell, HP or Asus competitor. But the OS will be free and there's no hassle in getting the software you want as fast as possible, there are no hidden costs and no malware or viruses that can harm your data.

Picking the right computer for you is not only about the initial cost.