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Microsoft: Windows 10 Will Remain Free For People With Accessibility Needs (betanews.com)
Reader Mark Wilson writes: The free ride is coming to an end. Windows 10 was always going to be free for the first year after release, and this year is up on 29 July. There are, of course, still ways to get your hands on Windows 10 for free beyond this date. One way is to buy a new PC with Windows 10 installed, although not many people would regard this as a free upgrade. But Microsoft has also confirmed that people with accessibility needs will still be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free after the deadline. Writing on its Accessibility Blog, Microsoft points out that the 29 July cut-off point does not apply to people with accessibility needs.From Microsoft's blog post: As you may have heard, the free Windows 10 upgrade offer for customers running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 is set to end on July 29, but we want to clarify that that deadline will not apply to customers who use assistive technologies. We are continuing to deliver on our previously-shared vision for accessibility for Windows 10 and we are committed to ensuring that users of assistive technologies have the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 10 for free as we do so.
Glad to see they will still allow those who were unable to correctly click the update now button another chance!
Microsoft will victimize the handicapped and disabled, who can't defend themselves to start with, by continuing their authoritarian dictatorial technological terror campaign of forcing Windows 10 on these poor devils' bought-and-paid-for computers
Microsoft == Technological equivalent of Daesh
aka fat people
Wouldn't anyone using Windows 10 be considered as having accessibility needs?
Does this mean the forced-upgrades arms race will finally come to an end?
Will this mean the end of the stupid forced, fuck-you-user, upgrades then?
The Windows 10 upgrade is NOT free. This is just basic economics. It requires that you trade in a license of win 7, 8, 8.1, which means that the upgrade costs you the current market value of the OS you are trading. If a Win 7 Pro license currently sells for $50, then upgrading to Win10 costs you $50, even though no money leaves your bank account. If you went into a car dealership and traded in your old car for a newer car of equal value, the dealer did NOT give you a free car. You paid for it with your old one. Understand?
Stop buying into marketing lies. Waiving the additional fee for the upgrade may be a benefit, but it does not make it free.
Does this imply a specific build of Windows 10 that has accessibility options permanently enabled? That would seem unlikely unless it just enforces 1 option to be active at all times.
I am guessing if that were the case, the "hold ctrl to find the mouse cursor" option would not count...
The solution would have to be automated though, right? I mean, MS isn't going to make a huge amount of work for themselves by verifying doctor's notes or something like that...
Interested to see how this will work and how long it lasts (since it seems like a pretty easy system to "game").
Perhaps MS is just creating a glaring loophole and giving everyone a "wink and a nod" to allow them charge for Windows 10 at the same time as making it "free" for anyone who wants it...
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Good news everyone! Downgrading your OEM install of Windows 10 Professional to Windows 8 Professional or Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate is still free! And will still be free after 29 July 2016.
https://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/what_to_do_downgrade_rights.aspx
https://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/downgrade_rights.aspx
We all know that people with mental disabilities are the core target group of windows. Yes, this sounds like an insult of people with disabilities, but windows was clearly designed for people with an 57 IQ.
Are you an obscure has-been? Use my system, and you too can get free ads.
"I called 1-800-trump2016 and they got my ridiculous product mentioned on Slashdot!" -- Microsoft PR exec
"Bear trap will close when your leg is inactive for a period of time."
So, does this mean MS will stop trying to force feed that bloated piece of spyware now? (do any of us really think that is likely to happen...). Now they are trying to look cool be saying people with disabilities get added consideration? I smell tax credit somewhere...(I'm no tax lawyer but it smell like they benefit from this financial on top of all the data they intrusively collect and the ability to turn on/off features as they see fit...gee sounds like the iphone..)
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
Haven't these poor people suffered enough?
"Bear trap will close when your leg is inactive for a period of time."
Of course the leg may be damaged, but thats ok, its the bear arms that are valuable
Forget all the "Windows 10 is spyware" stuff for a second; the interesting thing to watch is the tactics they're using. In my opinion they're pursuing a good strategy (for them) but it's going to really anger most "prosumer" users and smaller business users.
The interesting thing about Windows 10 is that it's not a "free upgrade," it never was "free," The consumer versions (Home and Pro) of Windows 10 use data mining to pay the bills with Web 3.0 bubble money. From an IT perspective, the only option these days is Enterprise if you want full control over the machine. You only get Enterprise if you sign a Software Assurance agreement, meaning you basically are paying on an ongoing basis for the OS. The big difference is with Windows 7 and 8, small to medium shops would usually just re-use the Professional license that the OEM obtained when they built the PC, without having to re-license it, because the Professional version gave enough control over the computer. With Windows 10, you can't disable the Store or the telemetry on anything except the Enterprise version, nor can you access the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) which is the closest thing you can get to the old RTM + Service Pack update cadence.
Honestly, it's just semantics. Since it's still a "product," Microsoft still needs to tout a free upgrade as the stepping stone from the previous OS versions. They're just taking a one-time revenue hit pulling everyone up onto the same version of the operating system much the same way Apple has been trying to do. In return, they get all the "grandma PCs" running ancient versions of Windows out of the ecosystem and can redeploy all those development resources doing legacy stuff to the new versions. Windows 8 is basically in the coffin, and Windows 7's end-of-support date is constantly being moved up in such a way that they don't violate any promises, but they do make it hard to deploy new copies of it. In reality they're going to be offering whatever channels they can for free upgrades to Windows 10; there's no upside for them not to at this point.
What if I still got the update for free after the deadline. Should I be thankful or should I feel offended?
Window 10 will remain free until you are all assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
So free was not enough to convince all those people that they need new and bloatier spying windows in their computer... How about make rock solid operating system that you dont need to run admin rights, and that docent spy everything you do on computer, reserve rights to do what ever it desires in your computer...
its not microsofts right to dictatte what we are allowed to do with our own hardware.
"get your hands on Windows 10 for free beyond this date. One way is to buy a new PC with Windows 10 installed"
Are you somewhat retarded?
Resistance is futile.
Yes indeed it's SO FUTILE that Microsoft has to BEG people to upgrade
Win10 is hard enough to use as a non-disabled person.
I love machines and technology. Which is why I get sad every time I fiddle with Windows 10. It's totally backwards.
I never thought I'd see it, but Windows 10 might be the death rattle.
Oh, I'm a retard, and I'm okay,
I sleep all night and I work all day.
CHORUS: He's a retard, and he's okay, ....
He sleeps all night and he works all day.
now free retardation with your acceptance of win10 EULA
I see that the upcoming release has a new enhancement called "bash". Well, any of my Windows installs already have/had bash. That's what I do to the computer so that Windows loads and functions.
Now I can get back to using Windows 7 without wondering every day whether MS has tried to backdoor Windows 10 onto my machine.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
"Bear trap will close when your leg is inactive for a period of time."
Of course the leg may be damaged, but thats ok, its the bear arms that are valuable
Valuable enough that there is a constitutional right to bear arms.
Free data rectal probing for the disabled! Yipee!
Paid operating systems are unethical at any price. Do we really want a software corporation deciding who is more deserving of cost reduction.