When Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 in July of this year, it signaled a big shift in the way Microsoft does things. The biggest news was that Windows 10 is Microsoft's last major Windows release. Everything after this point is going to be an update to Windows 10. Learn about the first big update coming soon.
What got more people's attention, however, is that for the first year, Windows 10 is a free upgrade for existing users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. It's a sign that Microsoft really wants everyone running Windows 10. However, Microsoft has taken that desire to annoying levels, and its latest plan probably isn't going to help.
-advertisement-
First, a quick recap of Microsoft's attempts to get people to update. It started with Microsoft's reservation system
that downloaded to Windows 7 and 8.1 computer in the regular updates.
Before Windows 10 launched, it would bug you to reserve your copy. After
the Windows 10 launch, it regularly pops up asking if you want to
upgrade. Here's how to make it stop.Microsoft even got Internet Explorer into the game. When you opened it up, it would give you an ad for Windows 10. That was enough to annoy plenty of people, but Microsoft decided to go further.
In September, reports started surfacing that Microsoft was downloading Windows 10's setup files to computers without asking. The idea was that when you did decide to upgrade, it could start right away with no waiting, which is convenient.
Unfortunately, the Windows 10 download is from 3 to 6 gigabytes, which is a lot of hard drive space, and not good news for people on slow or data-limited connections. People were already upset about that, then something else happened.
For the October Update Tuesday updates, Microsoft accidentally, or "accidentally," pre-checked the Optional Windows 10 upgrade for many users. As soon as their computers started installing the updates, the Windows 10 upgrade started.
While it was easy enough to stop, users who weren't paying attention might have upgraded without meaning to. Microsoft apologized and said it fixed the "glitch," but it still left a lot of people upset. Now, Microsoft is trying again.
At some point in early 2016, Microsoft is going to change Windows 10 from an "optional" update to a "recommended" updated. That means if your computer installs updates automatically (which it should for security reasons), you'll see a popup asking if you want to upgrade to Windows 10.
According to The Verge, Windows 10 will download its setup files before asking, which is again going to fill up hard drive space and be bad for people on limited connections. There is some good news, however.
Microsoft says it's only going to do that once. If you opt out of installing Windows 10 at that point, then Microsoft is going to leave you alone after that. That's great for people who just want to use Windows 7 and 8 in peace.
Of course, with Microsoft publicly stating its goal to have Windows 10 on 1 billion gadgets in two to three years, that might not be the end of it. You can expect it to keep pushing Windows 10 in some way. We'll have to wait and see how it does it.
Do you think Microsoft is helping or hurting itself with this pushy approach? Let us know in the comments, along with whether or not you'll be taking that "final" upgrade option.
