Will new PCs be sold soon with Win 10 installed? Or will you need to buy a Win 8.1 PC, as currently on sale, and take this free upgrade to Win 10?

Reading the FAQ linked here it appears that once you buy Windows 10 it doesn't have an end of life cut off so carries on indefinitely subject to "Lifetime of the device"
This has to mean that system upgrades will be very restricted and more than likely will be exactly the same as the present OEM license which means that when I upgrade my motherboard and/or CPU I will need to buy another license.
Any other scenario would mean that Microsoft would lose an fair chunk of revenue

This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device � at no additional charge. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We�ll deliver new features when they�re ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service � in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet.

Edited by deleted (Fri 23-Jan-15 14:17:00)

Win 10 is a little way off yet (late 2015 by news reports) so until it is released PCs will continue to come with Win 8.1. Once it is released most PCs will shift to Win 10 but obviously old stock may be supplier with 8.1 for a while.

Also a Titus Alert:-

What is Windows 10?

Windows 10 is the name for Microsofts next generation operating system.

In reply to a post by IanBB:

The Windows 10 FAQ confirms your statement Ian in that if you upgrade in the 1st 12 months it is free permanently.

While it all looks correct from a quick glance; it was written by a non-Microsoft employee and appears to be an unofficial FAQ.

but it included links
and this is the relevant one http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2015/01/21/...
BUT
These are the actual words

This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device � at no cost

So what is the supported lifetime of the device

Edited by deleted (Fri 23-Jan-15 18:38:11)

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

So what is the supported lifetime of the device

Well that's kinda obvious... They will continue updating but there will become a point where you device doesn't meet the revised system requirements or whatever, at that point game over.

I hope that you are correct and for devices which aren't upgradeable I would think that you are.
However for a computer what is classed as an upgrade and allowed and what would make it seen as a new machine and then the license would no longer be valid
Given the way I build and rebuild my computer Microsoft wouldn't get another penny out of me

Well that has never been "cut and dry" with regards to upgrading computers etc. I suspect they will have to clamp down on that a little bit. To be honest though even if you do have to start paying I doubt many people are going to kick up much of a fuss... You may say they won't get another penny from you but that might well change.

I am happy to pay Microsoft reasonable amounts of money for Windows on my systems. What I am not prepared to pay is for cloud services that I am forced into. if they pull that stunt then I too would be sticking with Windows 8.1. Note that does not mean subscription services, I am fairly OK with that, I am not OK with having my OS forcibly tied into cloud services beyond reason.

In my case I almost certainly won't upgrade as I intend to do a full rebuild later this year which will involve moving my present system to my old XP case (the PSU is OK for it) along with my last but one graphics card which is presently sitting in a drawer
The new system will probably have a Xeon processor as I don't want on board graphics and the price is only a bit more than the i5 CPU

Edited by deleted (Fri 23-Jan-15 19:11:50)