Microsoft U-turns on 'free' Windows 10 upgrade promise for ALL previewers Microsoft has been forced to quietly edit a misleading blog post that seemed to suggest that anyone could get their mitts on Windows 10 for free – if they first installed a test version of Redmond's upcoming operating system for PCs. The only caveat appeared to be that folk had to use a Microsoft Account (MSA) that's connected …
What it means is that the OS will be hamstrung unless you use a MS account to sign in, as many of the Apps require a MS account (even Calendar, for God's sake).
You can use it without a MSA, but it will not be worth it.
As for the main point of this article : screw you, Microsoft. I think I'll just wipe my VM, cos I sure as hell am not junking Win7 for this glorified mobile phone OS.
My friend, why would you torture yourself so much?
At least go to Windows 7, which was the working version of Vista.
I get your sentiment, but I can tell you with a modicum of certainty, there will be an option to create a local account without having an MSA set up. Although, they will try to obfuscate that option, meaning you'll need to look around for it.
To be honest, what's the harm though? You don't have to hand over your life story when setting up an MSA. I have one, but mostly for certifications, ISO downloads and the like (I'm an MS/Linux systems engineer).
If he is one of the lucky few who managed to get Vista to work, why should he shell out for another operating system that doesn't have much support left in it?
When Windows 10 is released those of us still running Windows 7 will once again face the option of going along with the tyrant's dictates, moving to the walled garden of Apple, or switching to open source. Given the changes in my gaming habits (only casual games and nothing that requires high end graphics), I may finally be ready to take the leap to open source after my Windows 7 PC dies/is no longer supported with updates.
Well other than saying there are other means of getting it cheaply these days, that is a fair point. Although I don't know of anyone that bought Vista separately - it was one of those OS'es that was foisted on anyone buying a computer before Win7 was released.
Not sure on the tyrant description. They are not forcing you to switch or upgrade or even use Windows 10. Incentivising, yes.
I dual boot with Linux Mint - and I'm finding more and more games work well with Linux/OpenGL - however, OpenGL is lagging way behind DirectX now, and that gap is only widening. So for gaming it kind of has to be Windows. Although that's not really Microsoft's fault - general lack of actual competition.
I should have followed the link, it's fairly obvious there <sigh>:
This change is for the Windows Insider Program ONLY, and is specific to how we’re delivering the Insider Preview builds. Once available on July 29th, you do not need an MSA to upgrade Windows 10 on your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PCs if they are not receiving Insider Preview builds. You will not be required to use an MSA on new PCs that come with Windows 10 preinstalled or clean installed from media. Some features in Windows 10 do require an MSA to use, such as downloading apps in the Windows Store.
If you don't want to use an MSA, then you may as well remain on Vista because that's been required since 8.1 and apparently, that will be required for 10. That's why I only use Windows for Gaming. For everything else, I use Mac OS and VPN. Almost every website out there attempts location tracking.
What's this about needing a Microsoft Account (assuming that is the meaning of the acronym). I'm fairly sure I didn't set one up on my Windows 8.1 laptop; though I might have been asked to create an email address at one time; but can't remember. Never used it if I have. Don't even know what it could be. Not that I use the Windows 8.1 laptop much. It is my least preferred operating system.
I have Windows 8.1 on my laptop - I was offered the option to skip the MSA creation process during initial setup (I did) and was able to use everything on my laptop including the web, installed all my favorite apps, etc. just like I did with XP and 7, no MS account required.
If you want to install anything from Windows Store or use the afore mentioned calendar (I don't) then yes, you will have to create an MS account.
"... that's been required since 8.1 ..."
This isn't correct. With 8.1, it does ask you to create a MS account if it detects an internet connection at install time. There is a non-obvious button (in the lower right I think, from memory), that lets you skip this and create a local account instead.
Saying this because I've never created an MS account nor logged in with one on a Win 8.1 computer. If it was required, I wouldn't be running the OS.
To quote Gabe Aul from the exact post this article is commenting on, "Once available on July 29th, you do not need an MSA to upgrade Windows 10 on your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PCs"
You don't need an MSA to use 8.1, and how you read the above as meaning you'll need one for 10 is beyond me. Clearly Microsoft would like to sign up for their cloudy bullshit, as would Apple and Google on their respective platforms, but it's not a requirement for 8.1 and it won't be a requirement for 10.
"If you don't want to use an MSA, then you may as well remain on Vista because that's been required since 8.1 and apparently, that will be required for 10."
Bullshit. You just don't have any idea what you're talking about.
Microsoft Account is not mandatory on any generally available Windows version. Just like Apple ID or Google Account are not mandatory on their respective platforms.
Apple/Google/MS are of course pushing users to create these accounts on their mobile and desktop OS varieties but they are not required. Without these accounts you are just locked out of app stores and the backup/sync mechanisms and other perks.
" For everything else, I use Mac OS"
Oh. Are you using it without Apple ID? How easy was it to upgrade to e.g. Mavericks or Yosemite without it?
"Almost every website out there attempts location tracking."
Perhaps. But what does that got to do with the MS Account?
If you don't want to use an MSA, then you may as well remain on Vista because that's been required since 8.1 and apparently, that will be required for 10.
You can set up an 8.1 system (not that I'd advise it - 7 is much better!) without using the account. Some hunting around on the screen where it tells you to create the account there is something that lets you get past that bit without making an account. IIRC it's near the bottom of the screen (bottom 1/3rd anyway) but not necessarily obvious - not a clear "click here to not have your private data stolen".
BTW, you did do a custom set up where you can turn off all those "take photos of me and share them with advertisers" and so on stuff that is turned on in the default settings?
When you're installing 8.1 it tries to force you get an MSA account by default but you just have to fail that option and then force it to offer you the choice of creating a local account on the machine. Job done. I suspect after 29th July, the first commercial release will have the same option, force it to fail the MSA account creation and make it give you the local account option.
What! No reading of tea leaves on the sacred corporate blogs? No news stories speculating on the meaning of the presence or absence of specific words? Just a solid OS plodding along in the background, doing its job without making a fuss of things? How unprofessional of them!
(Mine's the one with the Ubuntu ISO in the pocket).
Without attempting to assign probabilities to the list below, this task being quite beyond me, either :-
1 The right hand does not know what the left hand is doing, or,
2 There is no coherent internal policy, or,
3 There is more than policy, and they are arguing about it in public, or,
4 They are rethinking the "free" policy for 7 and 8 users and want to introduce charges, or,
5 The policy is obfuscation, but they don't want you to know that, or,
6 They actually do have a policy, but they want to be certain that no one knows what it is, including their own people, or,
7 They have simply lost the plot.
Small wonder no one trusts MS or believes anything they say. I am just profoundly grateful that none of my IT requirements (or my future) depend on anything sold by Microsoft.
Good summary. The more complete article is from August 2012:
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer
In the nearly 3 years that have followed since that publication, Ballmer remained consistently unwilling to listen to reason. His incessant need to continually steer Microsoft down the worst possible path is nothing short of astonishing. After bailing at the apex of this nightmare, Nadella came in, being dealt the worst possible hand. Hats off to Nadella for quickly making lots of great choices under dire circumstances. Still he is saddled with the many ridiculous design decisions that emerged with Windows 8. Definitely the Windows 10 team did the best they could to cobble together something that no longer makes the average end-user freak out. But it's full of compromise compared to iOS / OSX.
I do wish them luck.
Definitely the Windows 10 team did the best they could to cobble together something that no longer makes the average end-user freak out.
I can't agree with that. The thing that most makes the average Windows user freak out they continue to appear to be trying to force us to subscription/cloud platforms. That's exactly what we DON'T want. This brouhaha only highlight the fact that they haven't figured that out yet.
I also have a Win 8.1 laptop that I occasionally use (main system is KUbuntu desktop). I wanted a laptop to take to some meetings, and I wanted Windows to test some software on. I'm pretty sure I never setup any kind of account with Microsoft. I will be watching sites like El Reg carefully before any attempt to upgrade to Win 10, to make sure that silliness like being online or having accounts is not happening. If it is, no upgrade for me.
Off Topic: Heck, I haven't even created a Samsung account, which is needed to access the Tizen app store to get new watch faces for my Gear 2 Neo. (Lots of people disdain such things, but I think its a fun toy! If you do think about getting some kind of smartwatch, check carefully what it needs and what it can do. On my G2N I can read and reply to texts, read emails, receive and initiate phone calls, see appointment alerts, etc.)
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can someone please clarify that phrase????? - I understand that 'be a MS insider' means you have a hotmail account, (or it's new name, outlook.com or live.com, or MSA ( MicroSoft Account ) )
and then use this to download win10 preview to run on a pc...
Does 'registered MSA connected to their PC' mean more than you just have win10 running, and have your MSA webpage open in the browser???
I believe it means the MSA used to register for the insider program, enabling you to download and install Windows 10. What they are now saying is that insiders will have to use that MSA to login to their PC if they wish to continue getting upgrades on the Insider program.
Having a local account and then logging in to Outlook.com will not be good enough.
An interesting point not touched on anywhere is that (at least so far), Win10 will only allow one MSA to be linked to a PC. That means that a Win10 machine cannot be fully used as a multi-user machine (eg two people using it with separate accounts having separate MSAs).
They really do seem to be going down the path of treating a PC as simply another device (like a phone) linked to a MSA.
"An interesting point not touched on anywhere is that (at least so far), Win10 will only allow one MSA to be linked to a PC. That means that a Win10 machine cannot be fully used as a multi-user machine (eg two people using it with separate accounts having separate MSAs)."
F-that. Our household can only afford ONE main machine and it REQUIRES multiple user accounts because ADOBE I-stinking-D has to have ONE device that is considered a "computer" for our ereaders to legally interact with content. The hoop jumping to get working still makes me nauseous.
The more I hear and read about W10 the more I'm coming to despise it. I hated 8/8.1 but it's awkward to loathe, actually loathe software like this big brotheresque win-bloody-10
I run multiple accounts and some of those have MSA's and that "feature" is definitely in Windows 8. I'd create accounts whenever family needed access and have several people loving that. [Frankly I could reset the laptop in 20 minutes. This is why I'd like to have affordable VDI. God knows I have the equipment to spare, retail licensing, yada, yada. CALs are the stick end. Sigh.]
"An interesting point not touched on anywhere is that (at least so far), Win10 will only allow one MSA to be linked to a PC. That means that a Win10 machine cannot be fully used as a multi-user machine (eg two people using it with separate accounts having separate MSAs)."
You must be holding it wrong. I have 2 MSA accounts attached to my WinX PC. Both appear on the login page, and have separate profiles and apps synchronised to the cloudy evilness.
You must be holding it wrong
Uncommonly polite for this place. I think I have been misled (a) by crappy error messages from the OS when trying to de-link my MSA from one account and link to another and (b) the clear statement from a MS engineer on the forums that it was so. That engineer was swiftly corrected by a moderator as it turns out.
Windows 7 is the last Microsoft OS I'll ever use. I tried Windows 8 and despised it. When Windows XP support ended I had to install Linux on some older computers and I like it fine. I do favor Windows 7 for WMC and its DVR function but I'll be able to have the same functionality with Linux once Silicon Dust releases its DVR software.
Windows 3.11 is the last Microsoft OS I'll ever use. I tried Windows 95 and despised it. When Windows 3.0 support ended I had to install Linux on some older computers and I like it fine. I do favor Windows 3.11 for Windows Media Player and its Sound Recorder function but I'll be able to have the same functionality with Linux once Silicon Dust releases its CD player software.
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