Microsoft's Windows 10 event is just getting started, and it sounds
like the company is eager to make it as easy and cheap as possible for
those running older versions of Windows to upgrade. Terry Myerson just
announced on stage that, for the first year after Windows 10 launches,
any device running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows Phone 8.1 will be
able to upgrade to the latest version of MIcrosoft's OS — for free. How
exactly this program will work isn't clear just yet — it'll certainly be
subject to some hardware requirements, particularly for older machines
running Windows 7. But a simplified upgrade path will likely do a lot to
help Windows 10 adoption — rather than dealing with a number of
different versions of Windows and different upgrade costs, most
consumers will simply take this free update and enjoy running
Microsoft's latest.Beyond this, Myerson shared Microsoft's vision for Windows as a service, not just an operating system. A big part of that is Microsoft's new commitment to keep devices consistently updated throughout the "supported lifetime for the device." It sounds like that means those upgrading from Microsoft's older versions of Windows will consistently receive updates to keep it as up-to-date as possible. Myerson noted that this will let developer "target every single Windows device" when they build apps — anything that makes it easier for developers to reach more users will certainly be appreciated by both the developer community as well as end users.
