Windows 10 isn’t really free. Realizing why and how it isn’t really free can help you understand why installing the operating system on 1 billion systems by 2017
is such a big deal for Microsoft—and why this version of Windows is
very different at its core than Windows 7 and its predecessors.
Let’s get the “free” part out of the way before we dive into that, though.
Sure, you can go snag a free Windows 10 upgrade right now if you’re
running Windows 7 or Windows 8—but that doesn’t mean Windows 10 is free.
Buying a fresh Windows 10 license still costs $100-plus, and PC makers
still pay Microsoft a fee for each and every computer that ships with
Windows installed. Linux is free.
The Windows 10 upgrade is only “free” for people who have already
purchased a Windows license, be it via a standalone license or bundled
with a premade PC. You can’t just go download Windows 10 and install it
on a new PC without spending some cash.
So why is Microsoft tossing Windows 7 and 8 users this yummy no-cost bone?
Optimists may say it’s a result of new CEO Satya Nadella’s reimagined,
more open Microsoft. Cynics may say there was no way Microsoft could
realistically charge for upgrades now that Apple and Google have
conditioned users to expect free operating system updates.
There may be truth in both of those, but a large part of Microsoft’s
sudden generosity no doubt lies in the desire for cold, hard cash.
Wait, what? Isn’t Windows 10 fre… er, a free upgrade?
Yup! And therein lies Microsoft’s genius.
Windows 10 is a free upgrade only for consumers. Very, very, very few consumers ever
pay money to upgrade their operating systems. Look at the masses
sitting pretty on Windows XP and Windows 7! For most of the operating
system’s history, Windows users were one-and-done buyers that never
emptied any more cash into Microsoft’s pockets unless they decided to
buy a one-time Office license or an Xbox.
Windows 10—like Windows 8 before it—changes
that. It’s infused with all sorts of hooks into Microsoft’s superb
ecosystem of services, which are a strong focus under Nadella’s watch.
Cortana
ramps up Bing’s market share with every search you make. OneDrive backs
up everything to the cloud, and of course you can buy more storage
space if you need it. The Video, Groove Music, and Xbox apps encourage
entertainment purchases through Microsoft. The new Edge browser
and the very operating system itself track you to serve targeted ads.
The free Office apps encourage paid Office 365 subscriptions to unlock
full functionality. Underneath it all, the Windows Store is the
repository for all of Microsoft’s vaunted universal apps (and plenty of
other things to buy). Heck, even Solitaire begs for a monthly subscription to ditch ads now.
Mark Hachman
What have you done to Solitaire???!!
In other words, while Windows 7 customers never contributed anything to
Microsoft’s bottom line, Windows 10 is chock full of opportunities for
Microsoft to make some money off of you, long after you’ve paid up for
your Windows license. Which, of course, you still have to do. Microsoft
isn’t crazy.
And that’s just fine! Windows 10 is a wonderful operating system, and a worthwhile upgrade from Windows 7 and 8. Plus, Microsoft provides you the option to disable or outright not use any of its services—though they are pretty damned polished and helpful. You don’t have
to pay Microsoft any more money or let it peer over your shoulder just
because you use Windows 10 (though the express installation settings
enable it all by default, natch).
But Windows 10 definitely isn’t free—and it pays to know why.
Sick of Windows spying on you? Go Linux
With Windows 10 snooping on your every keystroke, it's time to consider an alternative: the Linux desktop.
You can try to turn Windows 10's data-sharing ways off, but, bad news: Windows 10 will keep sharing some of your data with Microsoft anyway.
There is an alternative: Desktop Linux. Linux Mint looks like classic Windows, but without any of Windows 10's privacy leaksYou
can do a lot to keep Windows 10 from blabbing, but you can't always
stop it from talking. Cortana, Windows 10's voice activated assistant,
for example, will share some data with Microsoft, even when it's
disabled. That data includes a persistent computer ID to identify your
PC to Microsoft.
For Windows 10 to really show off its stuff it must share your data
with the cloud. For example, not only is Cortana useful as an assistant
-- in the way Apple's Siri and OK Google are -- but it also supplies the
data for Microsoft's software-as-a-service (SaaS), business
intelligence (BI) program the Cortana Analytics Suite.
So
if your company plans on using Cortana to its best advantage, not only
will all your keystroke, voice, and Edge and Bing data be collected,
everyone else's data will be collected. That's great for big-data BI,
but it may not suit you.
So, what can you do? Well, you can't go to Android,
Chromebooks, iOS, or Mac OS X. All of them, to one degree or another,
also share your data with their parent companies.
It's worth
noting that Android and ChromeOS are both based on Linux, while Mac OS X
traces its roots to BSD Unix. In all these cases, just like Windows 10,
their vendors have decided that the cloud is where the future lies.
You
know all that stuff you've heard about how all of IT was going to the
cloud? Guess what: That's already happened for most major data center
and server operations and now it's come for the desktop.
So, if that gives you a privacy panic attack,
you can either stick with your old operating system, which is likely
Windows 7, or move to Linux. Eventually, when Windows 7 is no longer
supported, if you want privacy you'll have no other viable choice but
Linux.
There are other, more obscure desktop operating systems
that are also desktop-based and private. These include the BSD Unix
family such as FreeBSD, PCBSD, and NetBSD and eComStation, OS/2 for the 21st century. Your best choice, though, is a desktop-based Linux with a low learning curve.
For Windows users, I think Linux Mint 17.2 with the Cinnamon interface is your best choice
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